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Travelogues
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Introduction:
Quicksilver (as I call my Ikon) has been with our family since more than a decade now. I took possession of her since Jan'15 after my uncle decided it would be a good idea for me to take care of her. Since then, the journey with the Ikon has been full of stories. Being so old, it required a lot of time and part replacements. Though did not clock much on the ODO there was body wear and areas that needed care for longevity. The initial months were spent in the garage and eventually I got her to a "as good as new" condition (picture below).
After that I was longing to take her for a weekend drive and thus made a trip to Bakkhali with family.
Story in
this thrad
Having done this trip and few other long runs I started gaining confidence in the machine and always wanted to take her to the much talked about destination: Darjeeling.
Few preps done before the journey
1. Got a new pair of tires. Since the other pair was not even a year old, I had four perfect tires for the trip
2. My car jack gave way a couple of weeks before the journey, so I decided to go in for a hydraulic jack this time. Checking amazon I came across a nice package with good essentials that would come handy on any drive. I was satisfied with the products, obtained at
Amazon
3. A thorough car wash and an under-body coat.
4. Got all oils/coolant etc checked a week in advance. Carried extra oils and coolant. Also had the old drive belt handy, just in case.
5. Got new fog lamps ordered and fitted, the stock ones were in a "gone" condition
The Plan:
The plan to drive up to the hills was pretty spontaneous. My uncle and family had a marriage to attend at Darjeeling which had got postponed. Having tickets booked, they asked my dad if we were interested to make this a family get-together instead. Initially I was finding it tough getting holidays and obviously the train journey to Siliguri etc. Then, I got this idea about a drive to the hills and my dad was the back bone for everything to work out thereafter.
Being children of the hills, my dad and family were well versed with the driving technique, they also knew the local language so there was no scare for me driving there for the first time in my life. I have been there often, years ago and always ride in a driver driven Sumo/Qualis/Tavera/Innova. On an occasion I have also accompanied my uncle and family in their Bolero.
The plan stood as follows
Day 1 - 6th May'16 - Leave from office in the evening and halt anywhere between Bardhaman and Malda depending on the distance and time
Day 2 - 7th May - Move from halted place in the morning and reach Kurseorg (Cochrane place) by evening
Day 3 - 8th May - Move from there after breakfast, some sightseeing and onwards to Darjeeling. Stay location - Hotel Montana (Rink Mall)
Day 4 - 9th May - Rise early enough to view the sun rise from tiger hills and get back for some rest. Leave for Rock Garden at noon and then to Dudhia by evening.
Day 5 - 10th May - Start as early as we can for Kolkata.
Thanks to BHPians
himadrimondal,
BlackPearl and
1100D for the route planning/suggestions. This thread helped a lot, took exactly this route while going, shared by himadrimondal.
Link
Thanks to
PapaBravo's TL for general pointers on the places to visit
Link Day 1 - 6th May
Met BHPian
debarshim in the morning at office as I parked my car next to his Pajero SFX. Would be a good starting pic to the TL.
Starting ODO
And then it was just travel that day. Started at around 6 PM. Stopped for dinner at Azad Hind Dhaba(AHD) on NH2. Went on after that, took a petrol break and finally stopped for the night at around 1:15 AM at a Hotel Nataraj (Farakka). The place was neat and we had a comfortable sleep.
AHD Halt The food, perfect for the Sardar in me! The road after leaving Bardhaman. The Hotel at Farakka
....continuing day 3
The trail to Goethals, done ages ago by my uncle/dad And then the leech experience Finally the school
Fifth field @Goethals, for people who can relate to it
Our stop en-route Darjeeling Hotel Montana, Rink Mall We were seven minutes, too late for Glenary's to serve us. So this! Notice the board, top left Day 4 - 9th May
We had set the alarms before going to sleep the night before, for 3:30 AM to catch the view of the sunrise from Tiger Hill. So, as planned, we set off for our destination on time. We had booked an Innova for this stretch. The Innova was so that we did not have to bother about parking and to avoid driving back through a highly cluttered early morning tourist traffic. It was fun sipping hot coffee on the hill top. We saw the Kanchenjunga and the sun rise. The pictures of the sunrise are not very clear since they were all mobile shots. On the descend we came across a horrible traffic jam (as we were told before) due to the late comers. The driver said this was a usual sight.
On our return, we stopped at Glenary's for Breakfast and ice cream at Keventers. We got back to our hotel and slept.
Once we got up, around noon, I went to check on my car. Our plan was to go to Rock Garden. I found some coolant below the coolant elbow and found the pipe fasteners were loose. tightened them and topped the coolant. While setting off for rock garden the other driver (of the Datsun Go - hired by my uncle and family) was showing lack of confidence to do the Rock Garden trail (steep and sharp turns). We approached an Alto and we negotiated for a fare amount.
The Rock Garden trail was a good experience for me. After doing Pankhabari, this was a bit more challenging. Steep inclines and sharp turns. By the end of it the local driver (driving the alto) complimented my driving skills. They usually underestimate the capability of a common man (a person driving in the planes ;)). The honesty with which he showered praises put a smile on my face.
Our plan thereafter was to drive down to Mirik. My late grandparents house was once in Mirik. It was now sold to a Family who was obliged to have us over. My dad/uncle explored the house they lived in, decades ago, lots of sentiments attached. After a cup of tea and some snacks we moved to Dudhia to spent the night at an accommodation provided by this family.
Dinner was organised at Dudhia. We filled our stomachs and went to sleep soon so as to get enough sleep before we started early the next day for Kolkata.
The rush at Tiget hill The remains of the coffee cups at the hills. Nuisance we make. Sunrise Kanchenjunga far away The cause of the traffic. And this is the usual thing every morning. On our way back, to Glenary's now. Darjeeling station Keventer's Flowers at Glenary's At Chourasta
To be continued...
What a lovely Travelogue there
navsjab !! clap: Makes me tremendously nostalgic - the place, the car, the places you visited takes me back in time to the numerous visits that I have previously made to Darjeeling and surroundings. Rated 5* for all the above reasons.
Your Ikon might be an Old Lad buddy, but your adrenaline punched in with the Josh under the hood of your ride makes a potent cocktail indeed. The things that the car is capable of can put a lot of the new generation cars to shame.
It's summer time and the kids have a prolonged vacation as we ourselves were thinking of doing Darjeeling yet once again in the coming week. Though with a twist of just being there this time and pampering ourselves amongst the Tea Gardens and enjoying every bit of Tea Tourism by staying at a Colonial Tea Estate. This would have been my 3 month old son's first road trip. However, the frown on my wife's face said "Darjeeling again ?" and I was compelled to cancel the tentative plan and hunt for another destination instead.
Though one of our most memorable road trip was the one when we drove 2 Ford Ikons to Darjeeling; that is when my daughter was 3 months old then. Sharing some pictures of our trip in 2011 :
The Ikons setting sail at Sinclairs, Siliguri :
The Gidde Pahar route we chose to drive upto Kurseong :
The Ikons staring at the Hill Cart Road junction :
Some skill with a mere point and shoot camera at The Rock Garden :
The Rink with the Kanchenjunga as the backdrop :
View of Kanchenjunga from our Room :
The Ikons looking into the camera @ Pashupatinagar :
Enroute Mirik :
Daughter catching up with some sleep :
The Machines rebuilding the Josh in them after the driving down Pankhabari :
Keep driving and make the Josh Machine munch on more miles and keep writing such wonderful travelogues and sharing it with us - to make some relive their memories and to inspire some. Cheers !!
Nice travelogue navsjab! Which route did you take from Kolkata? Can you give some update on the condition?
I will start for Darj on 3rd June.
Excellent travelogue Najsjab, rated 5 stars! Darjeeling is one place I would love to go anytime of the year. Feeling nostalgic after going through your thread. Last time I was there was way back in March. Thanks for posting the travelogue and good to see that the original josh machine is still keeping you happy. You have maintained the car really well and if I am not wrong you got the best maintained vehicle award from Ford in Kolkata! Keep travelling.
Congrats navsjab on your maiden trip to the hills. Glad to see you had a gala time and the Josh machine performed flawlessly! As someone else mentioned, please update us on the route you took, also i am surprised you did a halt at Farakka, maybe because of family. Did u face any problems parking in Tiger hill & rock gardens as last time i didn't take my car as i was worried about the same. Rated ***** :thumbs up
Wonderful Navsjab. Short & crisp travelogue there. After you maiden trip to hills, I am sure the winding roads will keep calling you again. For Cochrane place did you climb up Pankhabari or went thru Rohini & turned from Kurseong ?
Keep Traveling !!
Regards,
Pawan
Quote:
Originally Posted by AJ-got-BHP
(Post 3978474)
What a lovely Travelogue there navsjab !! |
Thank you Arav. Lovely pictures. The duo looks superb!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uprasenjit
(Post 3978805)
Nice travelogue navsjab! Which route did you take from Kolkata? Can you give some update on the condition?
I will start for Darj on 3rd June. |
Hey, thank you Uprasenjit. You can check this out
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3947053 for the route
I took the route via Bardwan-Khargram and then a small diversion to the right before Panchgram as the road becomes really bad there. You get back to this route and go via Morgram-Farakka-Malda then take the Dalkhola bypass, Botolbari route to come on the highway before Islampur.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackPearl
(Post 3978824)
Excellent travelogue Najsjab, rated 5 stars! .....
..... You have maintained the car really well and if I am not wrong you got the best maintained vehicle award from Ford in Kolkata! Keep travelling. |
Thank you BlackPearl. Yup I got a ford t-shirt for that :D
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samfromindia
(Post 3979010)
Congrats navsjab on your maiden trip to the hills. Glad to see you had a gala time and the Josh machine performed flawlessly! As someone else mentioned, please update us on the route you took, also i am surprised you did a halt at Farakka, maybe because of family. Did u face any problems parking in Tiger hill & rock gardens as last time i didn't take my car as i was worried about the same. Rated ***** :thumbs up |
Thanks Sam. Yup the stop was due to family and having a long day at work. I did not take my car to tiger hill due to the parking problem. If you are on time, parking is not an issue but it takes an hour or more to get back after the sunrise because of the rush. Parking at Rock Garden was not an issue (Took my car there).
Quote:
Originally Posted by PapaBravo
(Post 3979383)
Wonderful Navsjab. Short & crisp travelogue there. After you maiden trip to hills, I am sure the winding roads will keep calling you again. For Cochrane place did you climb up Pankhabari or went thru Rohini & turned from Kurseong ? |
Thank you PapaBravo. Yes, I would love to go to the hills again :)
Went up Pankhabari, great experience.
A very crisp and sweet travelogue. Darjeeling is a place which is very close to every Bengali's heart! Being a Bengali i must say, i have visited Darjeeling 'n' number of times but again by reading your travelogue i feel like packing the bags yet again!
Hope to see many more such beautiful travelogues from you in the future. :thumbs up
Lastly my 1.5L petrol welcomes his big brother with 1.6L petrol to the hills of Darjeeling ! :D
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