The Taj Mahal is located in Agra, around 125 miles or so from my hotel. According to Google Maps, this trip should take just under 3 hours. I will have to have a word with them about this estimate... Nothing against the capable folks at Google, but I think they need to add a few steps to their algorithm which calculates travel times. Some suggestions:
Are there more than three of these per mile?
If so, reduce average speed by 5 mph.
Is the average occupancy of an auto rickshaw on this road greater than 12?
If so, reduce by another 5 mph...
Will any villages be encountered along the way?
If so, add 5 minutes per village - 10 if it is market day
I could go on and on... The trip took 5 hours which comes to an average speed of 25 mph on what is for India, a major highway. Apart from the road being in overall poor condition in most stretches, the traffic is heavy, and all manner of vehicles are sharing the same road - cars, trucks, buses, bicycles, pedestrians, wandering cows, tractors, carts being pulled by horses, oxen, and camels, auto rickshaws, and even herds of sheep. Add to this the total disregard for lane markers, turn signals, right of way, etc..., I even saw numerous cars and trucks going the wrong way down divided sections of highway. After 5 hours of this I was exhausted. I squeezed the "oh s#!t" handle in the back seat of the car so hard and for so long I think I left my palm print impedded in the plastic.
The Taj was incredible - worth the journey anyhow. Sadly I left the cable at home which connects my camera to the laptop, so I will have to upload pictures and post them when I get home.
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