[Uprasenjit]

The closest friends I have are from college. We know each other for almost 10 years now yet we didnt go out much on road trips or any kind of trips. Our last weekend holiday to Henry island which is 150kms from Kolkata was in november. We had a lot of fun there and like any other groups we started planning for our next trip.

Though 6 month or more have passed and nothing happened. Suddenly a need of a trip arrived when I was in the UK. This time they required more than a weekend trip. As usual a whatsapp group was formed for planning and people started pouring ideas. Ideas about where to go, when to go, how to go and for how long. Strange thing about planing is the joy and fun. I feel planning is 50% fun of the entire trip. However I was not active this time because I wasnt sure if I would be able to make it or not.

Finally after months of discussion the date was fixed. I came back to India on 28th May and 3rd June was the proposed journey start date. Others have booked their train tickets whereas I have planned to make it a roadtrip. 3rd June was friday and my wife couldnt take leave on that day, hence we planned to start at night.

This was the first time I was going to Siliguri alone. Hence the route was very important. I spoke to many Bhpian to get an update of all possible routes to Siliguri. And after discussing with them taking the entire NH34 seems to be less risky. The condition of NH34 has improved a lot from last October. I was only worried about where to take stops because we were alone.

Day 0-1 - We started at 7 pm from Rajarhat. The idea was to stop as less as possible throughout the night. We stopped once at Krishnanagar to get some food. After that we didnt stop till Islampur. We changed our seats and my wife drove for sometime after Baharampur till Farakka. The car was refilled at Islampur.

The other team started at 12am from Sealdah station. Their train was quite late and by the time I have reached Siliguri they were 2 hours late. So we decided to head towards Ramdhura. One the way we had out breakfast at Teesta Bazar. Everytime we are here we stop at Teesta bazar for breakfast. You will get good momos here. As Ramdhura was only 3 hours drive from Siliguri I was driving slowly. If you are driving then once you reach Kalmpong you might have to ask for direction to Delo Pahar, because most of the people werent aware of any place called Ramdhura.

We stopped once for breakfast at Teesta Bazar and then headed towards Ramdhura. We reached Ramdhura at around 12pm.

Our homestay was booked in prior. As we arrived Ramdhura the homestay owner came to greet us. He took us to another homestay as there were a large group coming to Ramdhura and the other home stays werent so large. The new homestay was only five minutes walk but was on a much better location. This homestay was run by a young lady and her family. The name of the homestay was Jojolapha.

My friends had only reached Siliguri by that time. It would take another 3 hours for them to reach Ramdhura. So I decided to roam around and utilize this 3 hours. The nearest place which I didnt visit before was Sillery gaon. So we headed towards Sillery gaon. On asking few locals the route to Sillery Gaon they said that my car wont go there as the roads are broken and only high GC SUV can go there. Well this made me more eager to go there.

The road towards Sillery Gaon wasnt that bad. Though it was a rough one and had slush but it shouldnt be any problem for any high gc car.

http://youtu.be/8In2GWnmhEs

We came back to our homestay around 2pm. We were dead hungry but our friends didnt reach even then. As soon as they reached Ramdhura we ran towards kitchen.

The young owner cooked us brilliant food. She offered Rice, Dal, Sabji, Egg Curry and some other items I didnt recognize. It took us only few minutes to finish everything.

After having our food we went to our rooms. The rooms were clean and big. We were the only visitor on that day.

We being the only visitor that day Ramdhura felt like disconnected from rest of the world. It was like we were the only one talking in the entire hill.

The fog in the pictures are not fogs but clouds. Mt Kanchenjunga can be seen from Ramdhura but due to clouds we missed that. The clouds has its own charm and I have always loved the cloudy feel in the hills. We took rest that day and most of the day was spend sitting in the balcony and looking the mountains in front.

In the evening we asked for some snacks and the lady made us wonderful chilli chicken.

Day 2- While one of my friend just wanted to spend the day doing nothing the other one wanted to explore other places.

We had a lovely wai wai break fast with some boiled eggs. We decided to go to few places which are close so that we can come back before lunch.

Elessar after 800 km

A taxi was already there which brought my friends from Siliguri yesterday. THat taxi belonged tO the brother of the house owner. We asked him to take us to Delo and to any nearby river.

Delo is the next hill top. Delo has a beautiful nature park knows as Delo Park, There is also few good resort at Delo. When we reached Delo the place was already crowded. I was wondering how only few kilometers can change everything. While Delo was totally crowded with lots of tourists Ramdhura had only us.

We didnt stay longer here and move towards a place called Bidyang. We have asked the driver to take us to a river and he took us to the bottom of the hill. I am sure very few people knows this place.

When we reached we saw a small stream. The way towards the stream was somewhat broken. Our taxi which was a xylo and the driver refused to cross the stream. H said we wouldnt be able to come back. So he parked his Xylo nearby and asked us to walk the rest of the path.

I wanted to take my EcoSport further.

The reason why our Xylo didnt want to come down was -

http://youtu.be/ur_WsaBcdEY

This is how I tried, even I had to try thrice to climb the gravel -

https://youtu.be/TAMRZST-a5Q

The river/stream at Bidyang was a popular tourist sport among locals. Yet outsiders like us didnt know about the place. The locals were having picnic over there. Some people even converted the stream into a personal bath tub and sat over there for hours. My friends crossed the stream on foot, many other people were crossing that stream. After spending almost an hour it was time to go back. My stomach was also asking to return.

http://youtu.be/c17Xmf7WrIA

We had a stupendous meal once we came back. Mountains always make me more hungry than ever. There is something mysterious about the water in the mountains. You an eat as much as you want but you will never feel odd.

In the evening we walked around. Ramdhura is just beside a army camp and photography was not allowed there so I dont have many photos of the surrounding place.

The trip to Ramdhura was almost over. Ramdhura is a perfect holiday gateway. It is serene, beautiful, crowdless and more important the homestay Jojolapha was friendly. The young owner made brilliant food as well. You wont find Ramdhura in the map as it is relatively new place for tourists. There are very few homestays here and that is the best part of Ramdhura.

[Uprasenjit]

Day 3- We woke up early as we had to head towards Darjeeling. Darjeeling was just opposite to Ramdhura. While Ramdhura was quite and didnt have proper mobile network Darjeeling was crowded and busy and modern. The plan for Darjeeling was made for shopping and food.

On 6th June Monday morning we bid adieu to Ramdhura and started for Darjeeling.

We took this route -

There are beautiful tea gardens on this way to Darjeeling.

The road towards Darjeeling is quite steep.After entering Ghoom we started facing traffic jams. Yes there are traffic jams even in the hills.

The road from Darjeeling to Ghoom has toy train lines and the toy train is now in operation, hence the traffic jam. The train line crosses the streets multiple time and whenever a train comes traffic guards stops all incoming vehicles to let the train pass.

This was the first time I came to Darjeeling in my own car. I was aware of the traffic and also of the parking problem in Darjeeling. Our hotel was booked by a friend and I didnt even know if the hotel had parking or not. So I called up few bhpians who knew Darjeeling well and took information about parking areas.

After reaching Darjeeling my friends went straight to train station. They have booked a ride to Ghoom and I went to hotel. Fortunately our hotel has some space in front and I was allowed to park there. But I was warned that the taxi union might want me to move the car whenever they want. That little space was a taxi stand. Hotel Marvel International was ok type and only 5 minutes walk from mall.

In the evening we went to Mall road. This was not the peak season but the crowd was more than what I expected. Mall has changed too from the last time I have come here 2 years back. There is a giant screen now which plays music videos and sometime an advertisement of an royal enfield group. Because monsoon was near there were clouds all over and you can really feel the clouds moving. The clouds also brought rain eventually. A heavy rain which made the entire mall empty. People started running and trying to hide wherever they could. We went into a curio shop.

At around 8pm when the rain stopped we went to Glenary's. At first we were told there was no seat available today. But when we said them that we wont eat anywhere else if we dont get a seat in Glenary's the manager asked us to wait.

Finally after waiting for almost one hour we got seats. Many of my friends was having food here for the first time and they were really excited about Glenary's.

We ordered few chicken steaks and grilled chicken. I found the food to be over hyped but it was the best you can have in Darjeeling.

Day 4- How can one miss the awesome breakfast of Keventers in Darjeeling. We woke up early for the breakfast otherwise no one was in hurry. My friends had their train at 4pm from Siliguri and I could start anytime I want. But Keventers become really busy and its difficult to get a seat without waiting if you are not early. Hence the hurry.

We were so early that Keventers didnt open. Keventers run from 9am. Once Keventers opened we were the first we go in that day. This is what we ordered -

After having breakfast it was time to go back home. If I start from 10am I would reach at 10pm. With heavy heart I bed adieu to my friends and Darjeeling and started the return journey. I am sure no one wants to go back home when you are in Darjeeling and there is 500 km in front to drive back. But alas- if we dont go we would never come back.

Some shots while returning-

Ghoom is always covered with clouds and it is both fun and risky to drive.

Finally we reached Rohini road. Rohini roads always tells me your trip is over and you will be in the plains within a moment.

The famous traffic jam of Farakka started from Kalichak. Thousands of trucks stood on the road and they moved only few meters for an hour. I guess I was lucky both the time while going up and coming back as I didnt face any traffic jams.

Once you cross Farakka there shouldnt be any traffic for the rest of the journey. There is nothing much to write about the return journey. Only that we stopped at Baharampur and bought a delicious Egg Tadka. We reached home at 12 am.

Entire road trip captured in dashcam, a 4 min video -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZxzsWa9Fi4

Trip details -

Total distance covered - 1350 km
Total fuel- Rs. 5425, 87 ltr
Ramdhuraa homestay - Jojila homestay, 800 per head including fooding and lodging. Contact no - 09614716466
Darjeeling hotel- Hotel Marvel International - 1500 per room, AC

[Aditya]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[arindambasu13]

Lovely pics and nice crisp travelogue. Darjeeling has become way too crowded and commercialised, i.e. the town centre and mall areas, and generally also less cleaner than it used to be several years back. The inevitable outcome of irresponsible tourism I suppose. Even then, the vistas are beautiful, especially on the roads leading to and away from Darjeeling.

[Samfromindia]

Nice and crisp travelogue on one of the most beautiful places in our state. College friends are indeed the closest buddies for many and its great to see you guys went together with family on this road trip Both pics and videos are great and the trip details will surely help someone going for a small vacation @Himalayas in near future. Keep the travelogues coming ! Rated 5 stars.

[Samba]

Lovely travelogue Prasenjit. The pictures are fantastic. Rated 5*

Visiting these less know destination's than visiting the regular tourist destination's in North Bengal are lot more fun, scenic and adventurous! The lack of tourist influx has still kept these places pristine & beautiful.

The climb up after the stream crossing was really tricky but from the video it looked you did a commendable job specially after the way the Xuv 500 struggled. Great driving.

Hope to see many more such wonderful travelogues coming from you in the near future.

[Uprasenjit]

Originally Posted by Samba

Lovely travelogue Prasenjit. The pictures are fantastic. Rated 5*

Visiting these less know destination's than visiting the regular tourist destination's in North Bengal are lot more fun, scenic and adventurous! The lack of tourist influx has still kept these places pristine & beautiful.

The climb up after the stream crossing was really tricky but from the video it looked you did a commendable job specially after the way the Xuv 500 struggled. Great driving.

Hope to see many more such wonderful travelogues coming from you in the near future.

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

Nice and crisp travelogue on one of the most beautiful places in our state. College friends are indeed the closest buddies for many and its great to see you guys went together with family on this road trip Both pics and videos are great and the trip details will surely help someone going for a small vacation @Himalayas in near future. Keep the travelogues coming ! Rated 5 stars.

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Lovely pics and nice crisp travelogue. Darjeeling has become way too crowded and commercialised, i.e. the town centre and mall areas, and generally also less cleaner than it used to be several years back. The inevitable outcome of irresponsible tourism I suppose. Even then, the vistas are beautiful, especially on the roads leading to and away from Darjeeling.

Thank you guys. The ever increasing tourist has become the reason of visiting new places. Our beloved Darjeeling is so crowded at times that we have to think twice before going there.

The XUV went up when a local tried instead of its owner. I guess the locals knows fare better how to drive on those areas.

[prk265]

Hi

Great travelogue. Can u update the group on the road condition of NH 34.
I am sure a lot of us are planning a road trip during pujas in Oct

[Uprasenjit]

Originally Posted by prk265

Hi

Great travelogue. Can u update the group on the road condition of NH 34.
I am sure a lot of us are planning a road trip during pujas in Oct

Hi - Thanks. I have posted the latest update here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3997006

However that was almost 2 months back, things have changed. Few bhpians would be going to north bengal end of this month, better take an update from them.

[sourav.info111]

Awsome pictures Prasentjit. Although I am away from home in Kolkata, (as I stay in Bangalore) I would definitely plan a road trip to Ramdhura and Darjeeling once I am in Kolakta. You have inspired me with the lovely pictures and well written travelogue.
Thanks mate.

[prk265]

We are planning a road trip from Kolkata to Bhutan during the long puja holidays!

Your Travelogue was really inspiring & informative.

[SVK Rider]

Lovely pics and video.
Seems that ES handled the rough terrains decently.