[sub.g84]

It is a Friday morning, almost the start of a weekend. And reading this blog by Mr.D's XUV has simply made me nostalgic of my ML05 roots. God I so wanna go home. Thank you for sharing this lovely travelogue with the beautiful pictures of N.E. India. Truly 'Paradise Unexplored'.

[nishsingh]

Truly magnificent write-up!

I hope it's okay to get goosebumps and bit teary eyed looking at just the pics?

Am truly inspired, and am pretty sure that this travelogue will be the first in my list of things to check while planning a trip to the North-East.

[mpksuhas]

Ahh, so finally the long awaited travelogue. Definitely worth the wait though.

Superb pics, need to have a crash course from you on how to get these sharp and vivid pics.

I was thinking of not visiting Assam and Meghalaya when ever my NE trip finalizes since I had visited couple of times earlier. However, seeing the locations mentioned by you I can understand that there are still more places left out to be seen.

Kaziranga is another place which is very much on my to do list. Hopefully next year.

[fundagenie]

Good write up bro (I meant XUV btw)

Happy to hear that you liked the sticker. Pls ask the lazy Mr.D to post your pic with the sticker.

FundaG

[krishnakarthik1]

Beautiful travelogue sir! The pics are fantastic and the narration was even better. Thanks XUV for letting us know that low gc cars also can make the trip. Now my verna has also started speaking to me

[Ace F355]

Awesome Travelogue and wonderful snaps, Mr. D

Thanks so much for sharing with us, now the fire to re-visit NE is burning even high inside me.

[mallumowgli]

And as per the popular demand, the promised travelogue appears

Wonderfully written - Mr. D's car has really upped the entertainment quotient there. Brilliant snaps too.

[wanderernomad]

Excellent write up and pictures. Captured the essence of the NE. Just a few questions:
1. Which range of Kaziranga did you venture into? After 4 years and many safaris we are yet to catch a Tigers tail. You were incredibly lucky.
2. Can you please give some more details of your Balasore-Siliguiri and Siliguri - Kolkatta legs. I intend to drive down to Chilka in Mid March and looking for updates and in sights on this stretch.
Thanks once again for the lovely write up and pictures.

[Keynote]

Excellent pictures matched with excellent write-up and emotions. Read it in one go Mr.D, thank you so much for sharing!

[RajeshK]

Excellent pictures and write-up. So much tempting.....!!!

[procrj]

Thank you Mr.D for finaly posting this wonderful Travelogue! Super pics and engaging content Where next?

[bhp_maniac]

Excellent write-up! Enjoyed reading every word of it. Can't forget to mention the stunning photographs!

[NPV]

Mr. D - simply Awesome with breathtaking pictures, S-P-E-L-L-B-O-U-N-D!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience . Rating much deserved 5*

Curious about the homework done - How long did it take to plan such a lovely trip ?

[dhanushmenon]

Originally Posted by ampere

Wonderful ! Really great to see so many colours.
And not mention all these colours are by and large unexplored!

True that. I wish more people visit these un explored gems. These deserves a larger viewership.

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Lucky kids, lucky car. Lucky us. In the midst of nature's bounty, it would have been a travesty for Mr D's XUV not to speak. Wish I could be the XUV's dashcam .

Thanks dailydriver.

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

Like a typical Chennaiite I know nothing in Hindi and that really stops me from venturing into the north of India. One of the important aspects that I enjoy in any of my travels is the interaction with the locals and experiencing their warmth and hospitality. Unfortunately the lack of Hindi knowledge completely eliminates that part and I fear my travel will just be visiting places and clicking pictures, which really doesn't motivate me to pack my bags. In this case, what is your view?

Thanks CliffHanger.
If you are travelling to any of the states in North East, you can easily survive with English. At places, I have found that people were not fluent in hindi, but in English they were. North East for that matter is, pretty much advanced.

Originally Posted by abirnale

I have been asking Mr.D to let you once meet my cheetah as well.

Sure, I am actually looking forward to meet the Orange beast in August. Let's see how the wishful planning figures out. You know what I am talking of.

Originally Posted by abirnale

It was so thoughtful for Mr.D to get you a custom designed sticker for this expedition and special mention of fundagenie of course!

Yes, Mr D definitely troubled fundagenie a lot. Thankfully, he always politely obliged. Hope he obliges for the Ladakh sticker design too.

Originally Posted by abirnale

By the way, do you have any picture of yours with this custom expedition sticker

Originally Posted by fundagenie

Pls ask the lazy Mr.D to post your pic with the sticker.
FundaG

Sure abirnale and FundaG. Will post that within a couple of days and tag you both here. The car is dirty now and knowing the lazy bone that he is, you can assume how sooner that can get.

Originally Posted by sub.g84

It is a Friday morning, almost the start of a weekend. And reading this blog by Mr.D's XUV has simply made me nostalgic of my ML05 roots. God I so wanna go home. Thank you for sharing this lovely travelogue with the beautiful pictures of N.E. India. Truly 'Paradise Unexplored'.

Thank you for your very kind words sub.g84. ML05 is definitely a shining stone in the crown. Really enjoyed the few days we spent there.

Originally Posted by nishsingh

Truly magnificent write-up!
Am truly inspired, and am pretty sure that this travelogue will be the first in my list of things to check while planning a trip to the North-East.

Thanks a lot nishsingh.

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Ahh, so finally the long awaited travelogue. Definitely worth the wait though.
Superb pics, need to have a crash course from you on how to get these sharp and vivid pics.
I was thinking of not visiting Assam and Meghalaya when ever my NE trip finalizes since I had visited couple of times earlier. However, seeing the locations mentioned by you I can understand that there are still more places left out to be seen.
Kaziranga is another place which is very much on my to do list. Hopefully next year.

Thanks mpksuhas. Definitely there are more places in the North East than what I have just mangled up here. I don't think that you can cover the majesty of the North East sisters in just one trip. You may need more than four or five for that. Let's hope that happens soon. Even I am not content yet.

Originally Posted by krishnakarthik1

Beautiful travelogue sir! The pics are fantastic and the narration was even better. Thanks XUV for letting us know that low gc cars also can make the trip. Now my verna has also started speaking to me

Thanks Karthik. Listen to your Verna. She may soon starting singing.

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Awesome Travelogue and wonderful snaps, Mr. D

Thanks so much for sharing with us, now the fire to re-visit NE is burning even high inside me.

Thanks Ace F355 for your very kind words.

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

And as per the popular demand, the promised travelogue appears
Wonderfully written - Mr. D's car has really upped the entertainment quotient there. Brilliant snaps too.

Thanks mallumowgli. Yes, I did put in quite some effort to get this travelogue in shape. With the thousands of snaps I had, it was a task in itself to sort out what to choose and what to delete. And with passing age, my creativity isn't keeping pace too. So, framing the thread also took some time. At the end, I am but glad that the outcome is being liked by the readers; and I am satisfied to be frank.

Thanks again brother.

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Just a few questions:
1. Which range of Kaziranga did you venture into? After 4 years and many safaris we are yet to catch a Tigers tail. You were incredibly lucky.

I went to the Western Range. The plan was to visit the Central Range in Elephant Safari. However, after the tiger sighting, we were more than content and skipped the Elephant Safari in the morning. Instead, we started early and gained an extra day at Siliguri; which we utilised on a circuit drive to Darjeeling and back.

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

2. Can you please give some more details of your Balasore-Siliguiri and Siliguri - Kolkatta legs. I intend to drive down to Chilka in Mid March and looking for updates and in sights on this stretch.

The best route in my opinion, to travel the Siliguri- Kolkata stretch is to follow the default google maps suggestion. It will take you through some 35 kms of internal roads of WB. The roads are good, traffic is less and the views are astounding. Bhagalpur- Purnea route is also available, but in my experience, I spent more time in that route and also faced more distances of broken roads.

Originally Posted by Keynote

Excellent pictures matched with excellent write-up and emotions. Read it in one go Mr.D, thank you so much for sharing!

Thanks a lot Keynote. Really humbled.

Originally Posted by RajeshK

Excellent pictures and write-up. So much tempting.....!!!

Thank you very much RajeshK.

Originally Posted by procrj

Thank you Mr.D for finaly posting this wonderful Travelogue! Super pics and engaging content Where next?

Where next is a good question. My heart says Ladakh; while my purse shouts: "Man, are you kidding me?"

Originally Posted by bhp_maniac

Excellent write-up! Enjoyed reading every word of it. Can't forget to mention the stunning photographs!

Thanks a lot bhp_maniac. Very kind words indeed.

[dhanushmenon]

Originally Posted by NPV

Mr. D - simply Awesome with breathtaking pictures, S-P-E-L-L-B-O-U-N-D!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience . Rating much deserved 5*

Curious about the homework done - How long did it take to plan such a lovely trip ?

Thanks for the rating NPV. It took around two weeks I guess. I don't exactly remember. There were so many variables in between; alternate plans and alternate to alternate plans etc. At the end, only one clicked, and that too was dependent on how fast I reached Siliguri.
Senior bhpian and renowned traveler, hvkumar was a great help to finalise the itinerary. I can't thank him enough. The accommodations were coordinated by me at all places