[Oreen]

Am joining you on my bike this year. Am hoping you are going again in 2 months or so?

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by Altocumulus

Great pics and travelogue as usual

I will be in Siliguri from May 31 to June 4 visiting in-laws. Planning to go for night to Darjeeling hiring a zoomcar from Siliguri. Would have loved to drive from Bangalore, but it will be too much. However the benefits of having in-laws in Siliguri are I will have umpteen opportunities to drive to the hills.

Thanks Altocumulus. Travelling by road all the way from Bangalore will surely be an overkill. It is better to use the self-drive option.

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

Another great travelogue from the only distinguished Bhpain in town I never knew this place existed until now and this TL will surely help popularize Baiguney and the tourism there in the long run.

Thanks Samfromindia. You may be right that I am the only D-'Bhpain' in town, but not the only D-Bhpian

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

I wonder why didn't you stay in Darjeeling for two days as you spent better part of those days shuttling to & fro from hotel.

Because staying in Baiguney was free while I would have to pay for staying in Darjeeling!

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

Just curious how expensive were the club sandwiches at cmh resort ? Also i am surprised that Darjeeling - Baiguney route which google maps suggested seems longer and narrower than the one you took (don't they show the shortest route possible?) and that's not even considering the splendid view of Kanchenjungha en-route.

Two sandwiches cost us 900 bucks with tax! Not sure about the google maps, maybe it will start showing once a lot of people start taking the route. However this route gets tricky if it rains, specially the first 4 or 5 kilometers.

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

The Sikip riverbed trail looks 4x4 territory and an exciting place for a short camping expedition. Amazing pics & narration like always ! Rated *****

In January water was less and 4WD was not needed. I think it will take a lot of preparation of the vehicle to cross this stretch in June/July. Thanks once again for the appreciation.

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

Another dose of the mountains from blackpearl and sherpa ! Awesome. Added bonus for us is that you are a real good photographer. The river shots of the jeep are amazing.

Thanks a lot pyrodrive. The river shots of the Thar were taken by my wife and bhpian Teesta. I cannot take the risk of getting credit for them

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

I am just back from a drive around those places in my thar, and it is indeed a pleasure to be in a vehicle like the thar in these roads. (my drive last week was from guwahati-dooars-darjeeling-mirik- maneybhanjan - namchi - ravangla- pelling - dentam-rinchenpong and back)

How was your drive and when can we expect the travelogue?

Originally Posted by Oreen

Am joining you on my bike this year. Am hoping you are going again in 2 months or so?

Even I hope to go back in 2 months unless my boss is reading this.

[pyrodrive]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Thanks a lot pyrodrive. The river shots of the Thar were taken by my wife and bhpian Teesta. I cannot take the risk of getting credit for them
How was your drive and when can we expect the travelogue?

.

The drive was great. I am no camera guy though , and have only mobile phone pics. Still will try to pen a travelogue.
Next time you consider going back to your favourite haunts( Sandakphu and thereabouts) , give me a ping.
Some of us, Northeast bhpians are considering the drive there after seeing d kolkata bhpian gang's adventures there.

[gmhossain]

Thank you BlackPearl for putting up another sweet, little travelogue on your trip to Himalyas. As Samba said it already, you have literally turned Kolkata-Siliguri drive to appear like "a drive next door"!

Cheers,

[desertfox]

Hey blackpearl what is the base map from a garmin etrex unit ? Is it a garmin supplied or inbuilt map and how did you get the display ? i.e. which software was it ? Mapsource or Basecamp or some other.

Does view in google earth work with your software ?

Best regards,
Shahid

[AJ-got-BHP]

Rated the travelogue a Well Deserved 5* for the crispness of it

I envy you visiting Baiguney time and again whereas I have never been able to find a reservation in that particular property whenever we have desired. I guess we will have to plan a trip with you guys soon to make our wish come true.

I am eager to know more about the route marked by you (which is not there on G-Maps) from Baiguney to Darjeeling !!

A few quick questions :

1. Is this road in good condition or not ?
2. Can two wheel (front wheel) drive vehicles do this section ?
3. Is this road more scenic than the conventional route ?

Keep travelling, keep inspiring and keep writing such crisp travelogues

[A.G.The Rambler]

Another superb travelogue Sumitro. Short and crisp with all the details. Mount K looks majestic. Do you have any more pictures on the route you took for the first time to Darjeeling which does not figure in the google maps?
Btw, what time did you leave Baiguney, that you reached kolkata by 6.30 in the evening? Pretty fast i must say .

As always you deserve a 5*

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

Next time you consider going back to your favourite haunts( Sandakphu and thereabouts) , give me a ping.
Some of us, Northeast bhpians are considering the drive there after seeing d kolkata bhpian gang's adventures there.

Will surely let you know

Originally Posted by gmhossain

Thank you BlackPearl for putting up another sweet, little travelogue on your trip to Himalyas. As Samba said it already, you have literally turned Kolkata-Siliguri drive to appear like "a drive next door"!

Cheers,

Thanks a lot gmhossain!

Originally Posted by desertfox

Hey blackpearl what is the base map from a garmin etrex unit ? Is it a garmin supplied or inbuilt map and how did you get the display ? i.e. which software was it ? Mapsource or Basecamp or some other.

Does view in google earth work with your software ?

Best regards,
Shahid

There is no inbuilt map in the eTrex, however you can load maps in it. I am not using any map currently. I am using the device just as a data logger. It saves the data in .GPX format and the map I have given is rendered by a freeware called GPSPrune. Yes google earth will also render the .GPX file generated by the eTrex. Hope I have been able to answer your question. If you have any query please let me know. Even if I am not able to answer it, I am sure Sutripta will be able to.

Originally Posted by AJ-got-BHP

Rated the travelogue a Well Deserved 5* for the crispness of it

I envy you visiting Baiguney time and again whereas I have never been able to find a reservation in that particular property whenever we have desired. I guess we will have to plan a trip with you guys soon to make our wish come true.

I am eager to know more about the route marked by you (which is not there on G-Maps) from Baiguney to Darjeeling !!

A few quick questions :

1. Is this road in good condition or not ?
2. Can two wheel (front wheel) drive vehicles do this section ?
3. Is this road more scenic than the conventional route ?

Keep travelling, keep inspiring and keep writing such crisp travelogues

Thanks a lot Arav! Surely we will plan to visit Baiguney again. Regarding the route from Baiguney to Darjeeling via Jorethang-Nayabazar-Zamuney-Lebong, I am posting a video taken in the dash cam.

https://youtu.be/Fcf4eBsi4Uc

The road condition cannot be termed as good, but it can be done in hatchback/sedan during winter. I found out this route to be more scenic than the other one only if the weather is good and one is able to see Kanchenjungha. Otherwise the other route through the tea gardens of Singla is beautiful as well.

Originally Posted by A.G.The Rambler

Another superb travelogue Sumitro. Short and crisp with all the details. Mount K looks majestic. Do you have any more pictures on the route you took for the first time to Darjeeling which does not figure in the google maps?
Btw, what time did you leave Baiguney, that you reached kolkata by 6.30 in the evening? Pretty fast i must say .

As always you deserve a 5*

Thanks a lot Anish. I do not have more pics of the route, but I have uploaded a video of it above. We left Baiguney at 4:30 in the morning and reached Kolkata at 6:30 p.m.

[sbanerjee]

Great TL Sutripto and nice choice of music for the video. Nice meeting with you in person today. Always wondered about the routes from Sikkim to Darjeeling. Thanks for enlightening.

Originally Posted by sbanerjee

Great TL Sutripto and nice choice of music for the video. Nice meeting with you in person today. Always wondered about the routes from Sikkim to Darjeeling. Thanks for enlightening.

Sorry for the typo on your name Sumitro.