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It appeared as if it were a never ending drive. It was raining. The light had started fading. We were driving on a road which was not paved, and according to GPS in my phone, the road didn't even exist! Given the rain, there were not many person on the road. The last thing we would have wanted there is to get lost in the middle of nowhere. On the hilly terrain, taking an u-turn would have been a challenge too.
So when we saw a small grocery shop, we stopped and asked for directions from the shop owner. It turned out that we were not lost. However we were told to continue our uphill drive for some more time. The process of asking for the direction was repeated at every available opportunity. In the meantime, I heard a worried voice of my better half from the back seat: "Did you not check the distance properly"? It was bit embarrassing, specially for a person like me who would often plan till the last mile. Clearly, I had underestimated the distance to our destination as well as the time required to reach there.
The bumpy gravel road on which we were driving our hatchbacks finally ended. Literally, there was no more road to go! However, as the proverb says, all's well that ends well. By the time we were at the gate of our destination, Paren Nature Resort run by West Bengal Forest Development Corporation Limited (WBFDC).
Our Destination - Paren Nature Resort by WBFDC Our shelter for the nights - Cottages at Paren Nature Resort Two little cars - The machines we drove from Kolkata The companions : Sakuntala, Reeha, Nadira, Ananda and ... myself (behind the camera) Butterflies on the lawn Wild leaves in the compound On a sightseeing trip to Bindu - Last border outpost of India Natural border - Indian rock on the left, Bhutanese on the right! A photo break that we took The road we drove The track we crossed
Unlike last few of our roads trips, this one was relatively well planned. Online bookings were made more than a month before the journey. The planning, nevertheless, was done due to the compulsion rather than the intention. The assembly election was going on in West Bengal and the last day of election was on May 5. We didn't want to drive for a road trip during the election period. Due to a prior commitment, I had to return at my workplace by May 20. We also needed to visit our family home at Malda for a week during the summer break. Unfortunately, we could not begin our journey before May 12 due to some other works. So effectively I had just eight days in hand.
Ananda had been asking for some time to plan for a road trip during the break. So I suggested him a travel plan explaining my own constraints. He readily agreed to it. As per the plan, we would drive to our family home on May 12 and spend three nights there in the first leg. Ananda and Sakuntala would drive on May 14 and would stay the night at Malda town. We would join them in the early morning of May 15 and we would drive together to North Bengal. On the return leg, we would drive back together to Malda on May 18. They would drive back to Kolkata on the next day whereas we would spend one more day at home and drive back to Kalyani on May 20.
Day 1: Drive to Malda:
Anyone who has driven on Kolkata-Siliguri route would appreciate that driving on this route requires some additional preparation compared to many other routes in our country.
This thread at Team-BHP is a testament to this fact. There are known bottlenecks. There are also suggested bypasses, some are official and the rest are unofficial. It is often "normal" to see a 10 km long truck queue at a railway level crossing. It is also pretty "normal" to receive suggestion to drive through some narrow bylane rather than a National Highway! The suggested route often varies based on time whether you are driving during the day or during the night. If you are going a cross a point in the morning then there is one suggestion. If you do the same in the afternoon then there is another one. The route also varies based on the season whether you are driving during the summer or during the monsoon!
However, most would agree that National Highway 34 (NH-34) provides the shortest route, and the best time to drive on it would be early in the morning. Krishnanagar-Baharampur stretch, which was in a dreaded shape until a couple months ago, was repaired recently. So we decided to follow the NH-34 route at the maximum. As planned, we began our drive early in the morning and by 5 am we had entered NH-34 at Kalyani More. The traffic were sparse and the road surface was smooth. We made a steady progress and decided not to stop at Krishnanagar, our usual pit stop. At around 7:45 am, we encountered our first hiccup of the day at Beldanga. Local businessmen had blocked NH-34 there with certain demands. By then we had covered around 130 km of distance. While I was waiting there, a passer-by suggested to take some local roads to skirt the blockade. It turned out be a good decision as we were able to re-join NH-34 within 20 minutes to continue our onward journey.
Sun was about to rise - Shantipur Bypass on NH-34 Traffic snarl due to a road blockade at Beldanga Through the bylanes of Beldanga - To skirt traffic snarl on NH-34
After crossing Beldanga, we reached Shibpur Toll Plaza at around 8:45 am. The next stretch of NH-34 were 4-laned tolled section where one could speed up a bit. So we decided to stop at the toll plaza to freshen up and have our breakfast that we were carrying with us. We resumed our journey from there about half an later. Along the way, we encountered regular traffic snarls at Ballalpur and Kaliachak where we lost about an hour in total. Nevertheless, we could reach our family home to have a hot lunch just in time!
Food break at Shibpur Shibpur Toll Plaza Shibpur Toll Plaza Tolled section of NH-34 Approaching Farakka town Day 2 and 3: At home:
We spent next two days at home. On the third day, Ananda and Sakuntala were driving to Malda from Kolkata. I had suggested them to take NH-2/SH-7 route to reach Morgram and from there to follow NH-34. During the day, I ranged them up frequently to check their progress. Barring a very rough stretch of SH-7 near Panchgram, they had more or less smooth drive and were able to check into Golden Park hotel at Malda town in the afternoon.
Day 4: Drive to Siliguri:
It was another early start of the day as we began our drive at around 5:15 am. The plan was to reach the hotel where Ananda and Sakuntala were staying and from there we would drive together towards Siliguri. From Kaliachak, we took the Mothabari route. The road surface of this stretch seemed to have deteriorated compared to last year. So progress was bit slower than we had anticipated. By the time we reached their hotel, they had already checked out and were waiting for us at the parking lot.
At Golden Park, Malda
After spending only few minutes there, we resumed our drive at around 6:30 am. The traffic was less in the morning and we were able to cruise at a decent speed. It was around 7:15 am, when I noticed a long queue of stranded vehicles on the highway. What was perplexing to me that even smaller vehicles were not trying to move ahead by taking the empty lane. In a normal traffic jam situation, that would have been an expected behaviour. I asked a passer-by to know what has happened. He could only tell me that apparently there had been an accident. I was in a dilemma whether to wait there or push ahead a little bit. This stretch of NH-34 was being widened to 4-lane with several diversions and traffic seemed to be plying in both directions in both the lanes! After going ahead about a kilometer using the right lane, I could see a crowd that had gathered on the highway. I decided to stop the car at the right edge of the highway which was around couple hundred meters away from the crowd.
It was a cloudy morning but it was pleasant. A nice breeze was blowing. Nevertheless, I was having an eerie feeling about the situation. I asked a gentleman who was coming from the direction of the crowd. He told me that a middle-aged man who was getting into the highway from a cross-road in his bicycle, was hit by a speeding state transport bus. The person had died on the spot and his body was still lying on the road. The state bus had fled the scene. The irate crowd then had smashed the glasses of all vehicles that were parked near the spot and were refusing to move out the body.
Couple of hundred meters away from the spot
Given the situation, we had nothing much to do. After around 20 minutes or so, the first police van arrived at the scene. They tried to pacify the crowd but in vain. Soon another police van arrived there together with an ambulance. After an hour or so, the police finally managed to convince the crowd and traffic movement was allowed to begin on NH-34.
Our plan of having an early lunch at Siliguri was all but dashed. However, we still had enough time to reach there just in time. After crossing Raiganj, we took Botolbari-Rudel-Dhantola route to reach NH-31. By taking this detour, one could avoid going through Dalkhola which at times can be completely unpredictable to highway traffic. Besides, this route has its own charm as it passes through beautiful rural landscapes! At around 11 am, we reached Dhantola on NH-31. We took a small snacks break there. After Islampur, the landscape changes quite drastically. One could sense the features of sub-Himalayan terrain along the highway. Beautiful tea gardens dot both side of the highway. We took multiple photo breaks along the way.
On Botolbari-Rudel-Dhantola route A corn field Corns are being Sun-dried on the road! Sprinklers are in use - a tea garden beside NH-31 Tea garden along NH-31 Photo break near a tea garden along NH-31
At around 1 pm, we parked our car at the basement of City Center Mall in Siliguri. We were feeling hungry as we didn't have a proper breakfast. So we went straight to the food court for lunch. Our final destination for the day was another 28 km from there. So there was no hurry for us. After completing our lunch, we went to refuel our cars. Withing few minutes after leaving the petrol bunk, my car was flagged down by a police officer and was signaled to pull over. The officer then asked for the papers of the car and later asked for my driving license. After checking them for few minutes, he returned all our documents and gave us a go-ahead sign.
On the way, we took few more photo breaks at Sevoke and later at Coronation bridge before reaching Mongpong just before 4 pm.
NH-31C At Sevoke The first taste of hill drive for the trip Iconic Coronation Bridge
Day 5: Drive to Paren
Soon after Mongpong, east-bound NH-31C descended into the plain. This stretch of the highway is a visual delight for a nature lover. One would drive through the highway surrounded by a green cover of nature. On the left, one could see the grand Himalayan mountain range whereas the plain of Dooars extends up to the horizon on the right.
Soon After Mongpong Colours of the nature Crossing the town of Malbazar
We reached the town of Malbazar at around 10:40 am. There we stocked up our supply of drinking water as we were running low in it. Soon after we resumed our drive towards Khunia More which was our exit point from NH-31C.
Chalsa - Matiali drive
Along the highway, when we were about to reach Chalsa, we had a change of heart. Instead of driving straight to Khunia More, we decided to take a north-bound detour to drive along Chalsa-Matiali road. I had read recently that this road was extremely beautiful. Most would agree on the advantage of having a road trip is that it allows to alter the travel plan on the fly. So, as we thought, we exited from the highway at Chalsa to drive towards Matiali. Immediately after Chalsa crossing we started gaining heights through a series of moderate hairpin bends. Afterwards, we reached a plain-land that extended up to Matiali. We took several photo breaks amidst the beautiful tea gardens. This road too was in a prime shape. After completing around 15 km of this round-trip drive, we were back at NH-31C just before noon.
Chalsa Railway Station Chalsa-Matiali Road Sakuntala and Ananda Two and half leaves Natural green Dream Road My better half, our daughter Reeha and yours truly Delightful drive
Drive through Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary
We crossed Murti river bridge soon after leaving Chalsa and began to drive through Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary. The highway NH-31C passes right through the sanctuary, effectively bisecting it in two parts. Our exit point, Khunia More, however was in the middle of this reserve forest. At around 12:05 pm, we began our north-bound drive through the forest after exiting from NH-31C. The sound of moving vehicles on the highway started slowly disappearing. After a while only sounds that we could hear, were the sounds of crickets and the slowly revving engines of the cars. After Khunia More, it was a single lane road. So we were driving at a moderate speed. Further, in order too allow an oncoming vehicle to pass, we had to put one of the tires off the road every time. Luckily, we encountered only few oncoming vehicles in the entire stretch.
Inside Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary along NH-31C At Khunia More Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary along Khunia - Jhalong Road
After reaching Chapramari railway level crossing, we decided to stop our cars for a while. The calmness of the jungle was simply mesmerizing. The sounds of crickets was so prominent that it would confuse one's mind to believe that it was during the middle of a night rather than a day. The songs of different birds was often breaking up the monologues of crickets.
Railway level crossing inside the forest
Chapramari Sanctuary is known to host large number to elephants. Unfortunately, this very railway track has become a killer track for the elephants. In last couple of years, tens of elephants have been mowed down by speeding trains along this track.
Railway track through Chapramari WLS Elephant crossing zone The road ahead - through a dense jungle
The road from Khunia More was narrow but at least it was smooth. However, after 10 kilometers or so the road surface started deteriorating. It made progress even slower. After 17 kilometers of driving through the wildlife sanctuary, we came out from the jungle finally through the check post towards Jhalong.
A stretch of bad road Check post - out of Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary
Last afternoon at Paren
It was around 12 noon when we returned to Paren from the sightseeing trip of Bindu. There we saw an Innova which was parked next to our cars. So it seemed that other guests that the caretaker had mentioned about, might have arrived. From the yellow number plate, it looked like a rented vehicle from Siliguri. In the meantime, another set of people had arrived at the nature resort to install TVs in the cottages. Later while having lunch we learnt that the administration was making efforts to upgrade the infrastructure at the resort. With so many people around, this afternoon was in a quite contrast to the previous one.
Lunch at Paren Staffs at maintenance work The cottages Few more cars Lost in thoughts Day 7: Return drive to Malda:
Finally, the day had arrived. We had spent last few days thoroughly enjoying the drives and the destinations. However, as the reality bites, we had to return to our place of work. There was a long drive ahead of us. We were ready to depart from Paren Nature Resort by 5:30 am. All of a sudden, a misty cloud came down over the entire area. It brought down the visibility to less than few meters around us. We decided to wait for some time to see any improvement. By 6 am, the visibility had increased only a little bit. However, considering the distance that we needed to travel on that day, we decided to begin our drive slowly from the hill.
During the drive, we had our breakfast at Siliguri and then had lunch at Raiganj. At around 4:30 pm, we bade good bye to Ananda and Sakuntala as they checked into the hotel at Malda town and we continued our drive. We reached our family home at around 6:00 pm.
Day 8 and 9: Return drive to Kolkata:
The eighth day was also the counting day for the assembly election in West Bengal. Ananda and Sakuntala left Malda town early in the morning so that they could reach Kolkata at the earliest. They followed full NH-34 route from Malda and comfortably reached Kolkata by lunch time. On the ninth day, we began our return journey at around 5:15 am from our Malda home. We reached our campus by 11:05 am using full NH-34 as we did for onward journey. This return drive turned out to be our fastest run ever on this 265 km stretch.
The cloud engulfed the resort at once
During this 1300 km round trip, we had moments of joy and fun, some moments that gave us opportunity to ponder over the meaning of life. There were also moments that made us anxious over the uncertainty. At the end, this road trip has etched some sweet memory in our mind. With these thoughts, let me end this travelogue here. Thank you for reading and good bye for now!
The route that we took to reach Paren Nature Resort from Gairibas The route we took from Siliguri to Paren Nature Resort Goodbye! Paren Nature Resort
Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!
very interesting travelogue. after reading, i feel like i had travelled from kozhikode(kerala) to paren.
Very nice & crisp narration Hossain Sa'ab. Your narration did take us along with you on your journey. North Bengal has some very nice places like these where one can for weekend.
So NH34 according to you is fully traversable ? Also, what does the checkpost at Jhalong check ?
EDIT : Please cross post some photos in
this thread so that more people are benefited.
Regards,
Pawan
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