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-   -   Honeymoon Ride: Kolkata to Lava on a CBR250R (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/195392-honeymoon-ride-kolkata-lava-cbr250r.html)

Yes guys you read it right it’s our HONEYMOON but it not trip its RIDE



Well to be honest I am not very fond of writing and do not have the patience for the same also. However after almost a year of completing the trip thought of writing down the travelogue for the same.
Since this is my first travelogue so please excuse me for the mistakes I do or for the lack of information if there is any. I apologise for the same. Also pardon me if I make this a bit lengthy as I wanted to share my experiences for having a Honeymoon Ride

Going back to 2016 -

Well my fiancé Taniya and me always wanted to have our honeymoon in our motorcycle only; apart from conventional way which most of the people do. But for that there were lot of hurdles we had to overcome starting from family oppose till making my wife habituated in long distance motorcycle rides. She is not from any riding or car enthusiast background however do have immense love for cars and bikes which grown into larger version after we started dating and this is going to be her first big motorcycle ride.

It is really a tough job to go for a ride just after the marriage ceremony as normally what happens there are lot of rules and regulations which we need to follow being in a joint family and also after the whole affair people normally gets stressed out a lot for a ride! Still we were very confident and eager for the ride.

The preparation –
Coming to the Points directly if anyone plans for a pillion ride more than 1000 kms few things are to be checked before planning for a ride only.
1. Your health condition and body fitness – Riding solo is a different part but when you are with a pillion, you have to take special precautions; there is no room for mistake also. So the physical fitness is very much required for both of us for riding more than 14 hrs. Also once you are going to higher altitude with your motorcycle and with pillion after such an exhaustive ride the day before you have to have good fitness. Foods needs to be chosen very wisely before and during the ride also. We started doing some cardio and regular fitness exercises beforehand only.
2. Riding Gears and Safety measures – We rode from Kolkata to Lava and surroundings thus the riding gears are necessary. I had my riding gears since
I started riding long back and currently I use Nerve Riding jacket


Locally Sourced Knee Guards, Zeus Highway rider Gloves, Locally sourced riding boots, Via Terra Saddle bag, LS 2 Duality Helmet.

Had to get a new set of few for Taniya also for the safety and winter. Contacted Deep Baba (Owner of Gear Up store in Kolkata) and we got exactly what we needed.
Jacket from Rynox, MT Blade Helmet and Scoco Gloves for her.


The problem we faced is purchasing shoes for her s the size was not available and also we didn’t like the boots which were available for girls. We then decided not to go with riding shoes as we have to walk a fait bit also which is extremely uncomfortable wearing the riding shoes, instead we went to high ankle woodland shoes which will suffice both the purpose partially.
3. The Ride – we already had our trusted loving Renesseme 2.5 years old CBR25R which has been my companion in past many rides I did, took her for the service in specific workshop only and did all the necessary mods along with accessories required for the ride.
I had to do some modification in the rear section to accommodate the saddle bag which I borrowed from my rider buddy as I had Via terra claw which is not for pillion carrying. Also I fitted auxiliary LED 10W lights for better visibility after dark again sourced from Gear Up store.
4. Route mapping and booking – Since we two were only one who will be going thus I chose to play it safe and also I told the stories of my first ride in Himalayas and it was lava and I knew the place and route also thus it was the best choice for both of us. We booked the WBFDC Cottages in Lava, Old British bungalow in Fagu and left the Siliguri for instant booking as we reach. I had chosen the route which I will share next.

The Ride Starting

After the whole ceremony the next day morning we went for some Puja in my in-laws place and after that with a final check u for the ride in the workshop and then finally packed our luggage and mounted the same and parked the bike in my garage and went off to sleep. Idea is to start by 5am in the morning and reach Siliguri within 7 in the evening.

We started around 5.35 in the morning next day and headed towards Dankuni Toll Plaza

The route map we selected is as follows
Kolkata - Burdwan via NH2
Burdwan – Moregram Via SH7
Moregram – Dalkhola via NH34
Dalkhola – Siliguri



Night Halt at Siliguri

Just crossing Dankuni Toll we faced tremendous fog which made the ride more thrilling. Visibility was really low and I had to keep the needle below 60 to avoid any unwanted circumstances, Couldn’t even take out the phone for a first selfi or pic also. It was chilling cold and somehow we were clinging on with our riding gears on. We reached Satkigargh around 7.45 am and had a cup of tea. It felt like heaven after that cilly ride. We didn’t wait for long and proceeded for our next planned halt which is in Moregram

After getting into SH7 we again faced dense fog and this time at 9 am the weather was absolute chilling and almost zero visibility. Again had to slow down due to this weather conditions. However we reached Moregram around 12.30 and had our Brunch (Breakfast cum lunch] as we were already late .

The first selfi at BP Moregram


Renesseme waiting to howl the roads again.


We started around 1 from Moregram and continued the way till Dalkhola within minimal stops which were necessary.
People here are already acquainted with the route so am not elaborating about the same again.

Reaching Siliguri we took a hotel from Oyo rooms which were decent enough and had all the basic amenities required for a short night halt along with bike parking inside their own garage which was again important for us.

Day 2 – Siliguri to Fagu via Dooars

We Satrted from Siliguri around 7.30 am and headed towards Fagu through Sevoke road. The real journey began then as now the landscape changed from paddy fields and 4 lane highways to enticing Dooars roads and Himalayas in the view.





Reached Fagu around 12.00 with some good photoshoots of us and our beloved CBR.


Reaching Fagu we were again surprised to know that we are the only ones who will be living in the total bungalow.



The rooms are literally huge with fireplace inside the room.
The windows are also huge and does have British culture embedded into it everywhere.
The view from the balcony is also very romantic and the stay is peaceful also. The food was excellent and homely.

The link for Fagu Bungalow - http://heritagebungalows.com/fagu-tea-bungalow/

Few snaps from Fagu












The food was also awesome at the end of the day in Fagu

Day 3 – Fagu to Lava

After a really memorable stay in Fagu Tea Bungalow next morning around 9am we started for Lava.



The road conditions were from average to good with few bad patches in between.


Taniya was super excited to see the mighty Himalayas for the 1st time and that too in a motorcycle.

The ride itself was thrilling as this is the first time I went to the Himalayas with a pillion and that too my life partner.

We reached Lava around 2.30 pm and unpacked and settled in the room.

The view from our room


After freshen up we went on for some local expedition near the market and the local monastery, which was already closed and we could only roam around in the bazar area and had some fun time on the corners of the road nearby.
Ordered some chineese for the night and the ended there only.

Few snaps from around Lava



Day 4 – Lava and around

We started for Rishap but however I found that I am having a bend in the rim and puncture in my rear tyre.
Had to fix that but the rim bend couldn’t be addressed there. We had to slash the plans for Rishap as the road conditions were really bad for a pillion ride.
Instead we went to Kalimpong and then proceeded towards Lamahata and then to Darjeeling

Few snaps on the way










At Darjeeling

At Keventers

The mighty Kanchandzongha

Sunset from Lamahata

We were so lost in the beauty of the place that we realized we have to ride through the neora valley forest road to lava after sunset only.
Again it was the most memorable experience we had from Lamahata to Lava after dark and it can not be described in words here.

Few Snaps from the day

Day 5 – Lava site-seeing decent back to Siliguri

Next morning we started for the monastery early and spend some good time hovering around the same.
The monastery

Peaceful

Some snaps of the day






After this it was time to say goodbye to Lava and go back to siliguri as we both didn’t had enough amount of approved leaves.


With a real sad heart and a promise to come back again we packed our luggage and started our journey for Siliguri.
The route taken was Lava-Algargh-Kalimpong-Sevoke-Siliguri
The road conditions from Kalimpong to Siliguri was superb in that time and we reached Siliguri before time only.

We stayed in another hotel just near the hill cart road and the rooms were decent for the stay.

In the evening did some necessary shopping from the Hongkong market Siliguri and after having some light dinner decided to call off the day.

Day 6 – Siliguri to Kolkata

We started around 6 am in the morning and the day was pretty much uneventful and monotonous, however we faced tremendous fog while returning also.
The only snap I could manage in the fog!


With a heavy heart of leaving the mountains and going back to the regular life. But there was the spark of light that we were starting the new journey of our life and it already started with a great memory and superb way one can have.

Parting snap


The Description for WBFDC Lava is below
https://www.wbfdc.com/lava.html

And after everything I thank my Wife Taniya for all the support I needed to complete the trip.

Some figures and facts

Total Distance Covered – 1890 kms
Fuel Consumed – 51 liters
Highway Cruising – very comfortable in cruising in triple digit speed with pillion without any stress but most of the time we were doing around 90 kmph only.

Last but not the least… our love Renesseme

Excellent travelogue Souvik. You are an excellent rider ,most of us from kolkata chapter know, but you are also a good writer that was realy unknown to me. Wish you and Tania, plenty of such happy miles ahead, keep rolling and keep us enchanting with your picturesque writing.

Excellent travelogue!! Very detailed and informative. Real enthusiastic couple. Stay blessed and keep riding

Thank you very much, your wishes will really motivate us for more.
:)

Thank you very much. :)

Lovely travelogue! Rated 5 stars!

Penning a travelogue ensures that one can revisit the article at later times and relive the experiences. I do dig out my own travelogues from time to time to rejuvenate myself after going through the daily chores.

Keep traveling and keep sharing!

Hi SVK Rider,

Congratulation for your first travelogue. The pictures are really awesome. When I see any bike trip of North-Bengal and Sikkim on the TBHP page i feel very nostalgia.

Thanks for sharing -
PointZero

Lovely travelogue. Hats off to both of your enthusiasm. :thumbs up

Personally knowing both of you, i must say you guys rock as a couple or should i say 'MADe for each other'!


Keep travelling & keep enjoying. All the best to both of you for your future travels. :)

Congratulations on your first travelogue! Keep riding and writing. We had stayed at the same place in Lava long time back in 2012. And, I love the CBR 250, one of the most reliable, smooth and comfortable bikes around and quite fast in the right hands :D

Its wrong to say that you are not good at writing. Congrats on your honeymoon trip. Nice writeup coupled with very good snaps. A well deserved 5*.

Hi SVK Rider,

Loved to read your travelogue. Hope you read more about your future ventures.

Cheers.

You guys never fail to amaze us! I believe that's a first: A honeymoon ride! Beautifully crafted travelogue to a wonderful place. Regions of Dooaṛs, north Bengal and sikkim coupled with other northeast regions are truly a blessing for us with wonderlust. Loved the selection of your places.
Wish you guys a very happy and blissful married life.

Regards,
Saket.

Great Travelogue Souvik !! What a great way to make honeymoon memorable. The pictures are awesome but I missed seeing more pics of Renesseme. Your CBR looks gorgeous on that red & black shade.

Many more trips to go !!

Regards,

Pawan

Thanks SVK for this brilliant travelogue. Your honeymoon ride justifies your handle “SVK Rider”. All the pictures are beautiful and refreshing. You managed to click and post all the beautiful moments, that too with crisp write up and details.