Destination Sandakphu, the Land Rover territory. Update - another trip till Phalut Ever since we got the delivery of the Bolero the itch to go for a long distance drive had started. On Wednesday afternoon it became unbearable and called up ADC da to find out if it is possible to do the old Silk Route in 4 days. ADC da does not say no to any travel and never says that something cannot be done, but when he takes some time to answer and says that it will be tight, it is better not to take that risk. He said that it is doable but permits have to be taken and can take time and I did not have any spare time. The next option given by him was to visit the Jainty River in Buxa forest near Indo-Bhutan border. So it had to be destination Buxa forest. Informed wifey that we would be going out that evening and she agreed immediately. Wrapped up the work at office by 6:30 p.m., got the new number plates fixed on the Bolero and started our trip at the stroke of 9. We went on this route about a month back and Incognito had put up a travlogue on that - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...g-kolkata.html
So it was a known road to us through Barasat, Krishnanagar, Moregram,Malda. This is the first time I was driving the Bolero over bad patches and I was unaware of it strengths and weaknesses. At first I was driving it like a sedan, trying to slow down when I saw a pothole or a small bump and I was getting very disappointed with the ride quality. We were being thrown around in the car. Then I suddenly remembered the golden words of a Jeep Thrills member, Ritik Kakoty, who has a 4x4 Bolero Di. He had told me once that "You don't have to slow down on rough road". I started telling myself not to slow down on the rough patches. The behaviour of the Bolero transformed after that. The road felt smooth and we made rapid progress. We reached Malda at around 3 a.m in the morning. After Malda I started feeling sleepy and wifey started driving. After about one hour, I woke up and saw that we had stopped at a huge traffic jam. The road was being built on the side and it was not paved, the lower foundation with gravel was there. Wifey (Rajsri) asked if she could take that road and I said no. Immediately saw a white sumo fly past us through that road. Before I could blink we were following the sumo. After about 2 kilometers there was nowhere to go. The was a field beside us about 7 to 8 feet below the level of the highway. Asked Rajsri to take that route but she was scared. Gave the wheel to me and I promptly got the Bolero down on that route. After about 500 meters we had to go back on the road and there was a 7-8 feet slope of about 35 degrees and the ground was slippery with gravel and stonechips. The Bolero could not go up that slope in 2wd mode and not even in 4H. A day before going out on the trip, I had learnt how to engage the 4H and 4L lever from Ritik and I never thought that the lesson would help me out so early. Engaged 4L and the Bolero came up the slope as if nothing happened. The truck drivers around were awestruck and clapped. From then on I started praying for traffic jams . Reached Siliguri at 9:30 a.m. Asked a few people for directions towards Guwahati, took the right turn at Sevok and after a few kilometers the scenery changed. It no longer seemed to be a place in the hills. The road was plain and on both sides there were lush green tea estates. Crossed Gorumara, Jaldapara, Khairbadi, Hanshimara and reached Buxa forest at 12:30 p.m. In between the road was extremely bad (even by Bolero standard) for about 30 kilometers after Jaldapara. I was driving on with this picture from ADC da in mind - ADC da's Safari on the Jainty River
However when we got the permit at Rajabhatkhawa it was mentioned there that driving the car on the river bed was prohibited. The river bed looked like this - Jainty River Bed
The river had dried up during this time of the year, but the place was beautiful. We planned to stay there for a night but unfortunately there was not a single room available in any of the lodges/resorts. The forest rest house had got burnt and was in complete ruins.
Some pictures en route to Buxa Forest - Freshly laid tarmac Tea Plantations Bad stretch of road after Jaldapara Reserve forest
So my dream of driving the Bolero through water and taking pictures like ADC da got shattered and we had no place to stay. Rajsri and I decided that we drive to Darjeeling as we were sure to find a place to stay there and Darjeeling is very close to both our hearts. But being close to heart does not bring Darjeeling closer on the map. It was quite far at about 270 Kms from Buxa. It was 2:30 p.m and we made some quick calculations. If I could drive fast we would be able to reach Darjeeling by 8 o clock in the evening. So we started without another word and reached Siliguri at 5:30 p.m. Rajsri got some food packed at KFC (Siliguri City Centre), asked a few people about the Pankhabari road and reached Darjeeling at 8:30 in the evening. Got accomodation at Planter's Club and almost 23 hours of driving came to an end after about 1100 kilometers.... I fell asleep within seconds and started dreaming about the adventures that await. A teaser pic of the Bolero at Sandakphu To be contd..
P.S: Special thanks to ADC da for taking those innumerable calls and answering all the questions I could throw at him..
Last edited by BlackPearl : 16th March 2012 at 13:48.
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