Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Travelogues (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/)

-   -   Jungle Mahal : A drive through the west of West Bengal (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/184577-jungle-mahal-drive-through-west-west-bengal-2.html)

Thank you sbanerjee. Indeed, it was a surprising information even for me.


Thanks a lot BlackPearl for the appreciation. Indeed, Samba has been a key ambassador of West Bengal tourism in recent times.


Thank you very much livetodrive!


Thanks mi2n. I agree, WBFDC facility would be among the best location wise.


Thank you Siddhartha. I appreciate your comments.


Thanks a lot catchjyoti. Indeed, I couldn't agree more ;)

Nice Travelogue with useful information. It is really good to see the improvement of road condition in last few years.

Lovely travelogue and pictures, many thanks for letting me indulge in nostalgia for some time at least!

I am so glad to see such lovely SHs in West Bengal. I grew up in Kolkata and we extensively travelled up and down WB & Bihar in our various Ambassadors (Mark II, III, IV) followed by our the high-tech Maruti 800, and finally my beloved Ambassador 1800ISZ with the lovely petrol engine. :D

The SHs and even the NHs were highly variable though and we struggled through many stretches at the cost of lost time and vehicle wear-and-tear. Our constant acco was the very low-rent and ranged from WBSTDC lodges, Forest bungalows, Inspection bungalows etc, and we youngsters enhoyed it tremendously even though amenities were totally basic.

Again happy to see such pristine roads even though many parts of WB are 5-7 years behind MH, GJ, TN etc. :thumbs up

Thanks for the travelogue, nicely penned with serene pictures. You just gave me an opportunity to plan one for myself, post April 15 would it be a good time or it will get hotter?

Thank you DJR. It's my pleasure to hear your comments.


Thank you very much itwasntme for your lovely recollections of the past trips. In fact, the only visuals that I had in my mind before the trip were that of the Ambassadors moving though the thick forests of the regions which we had seen in the old movies.


Thank a lot MadTiger for your appreciation. I presume it would be hotter in mid-April although personally I have not been there in summer.

You write well. Your words have a tendency to bypass the brain and touch the heart. You can feel very delicate emotions and transfer the same to the reader. The didi/bon-ti episode, your passing reference to the naxal menace; the haunting face of the Chilkigarh palace and photos of the local market; the all pervasive yet subtle unsureness and tentativeness in your thought process - these are tiny points that go a long way in making a travelogue dear to heart. Hats off.

How well did your Estilo perform the journey? Can't seem to find your ownership report on the forum.

@gmhossain: Do you know the status of the WBFDC lodge at Duarsini?

Regards
Sutripta

Thank a lot dailydriver. I deeply appreciate your wonderful and insightful comments.

Our Estilo performed beautifully as it has been doing for last 6 years. It fits rather well with my sedate style of driving. Yes, you are right. I haven't written any ownership review for it yet.


I believe it's still not open to accommodate guests after it was closed down in 2010. In fact, I was thinking of driving there during a day trip but we didn't have enough time.

Thanks,

Wonderful travelogue, gmhossain! Nice to see a part of our "Beautiful Bengal" through your narration. Good condition of roads and ever improving Tourism sector, indeed points to a bright future for Bengal.
And the poem at the end of your travelogue with a sweet story behind it, was an icing on the cake from the "Sweetest part of India". :)

Great Travelogue Hossain Sa'ab. Your TL takes us to the beautiful & understated parts of West Bengal. I believe the roads in most stretches were good. Will plan this trip for a weekend & ask for assistance.

Thanks for sharing

Regards,

Pawan

Thanks Soumyajit for your sweet comments! :) I wholeheartedly agree with you that as far as tourism and roads are concerned, WB seems to be on the right track in recent past!


Thank you very much Pawan for your appreciation. Sure, please feel free to ping me in case you have a query.

Best,

Great travelogue sir.
It always feels great to make road trips through the roads less used! I have been to most of the places you mentioned here barring a few. Your travelogue again irked me to visit the places i have not been to. Thanks a lot for sharing. :)

Thank you very much Samba. In fact, without reading your travelogues, many of our road trips would not have seen the light of the day. :) I hope to read your next Rajashthan trip log soon.


In the same note, let me also share two videos that I took using my aging phone cum navigator. The first one is from a stretch of State Highway 5 (SH-5) between Belpahari and Jhilimili. On the other hand, the second one is taken on a stretch of State Highway 9 (SH-9) between Chilkigarh and Parihati.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJb4vhrZ9Sk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq-G4HnUzLo

It is amazing how you manage to share such small getaways so beautifully thereby making people aware of the beauty of nature; not very far away from where we live. Wonderful accommodation facility as well. Rated it 5* for the content in the travelogue.

I have myself frequented the West Midnapore District of West Bengal continuously for over 3 years when I had one of my branch offices in Midnapore. At that time the so called "Jungle Mahal" was not the best of places to venture around (though we had to for work) considering the fact that the Maoist Issues were at it's prime and the entire area was infested with Army Camps and reaching out to the interiors were restricted by them due to safety measures. Good to see a very different picture of the place now :thumbs up

Fantastic gmhossain

I always look forward to reading your travelogues as they are so crisp and full of information and pictures. Probably I won't be able to visit all the places that you have been to,but through your wonderful writings and pictures,those places are now 'seen' by us!

Keep writing