[vshankarhere]

Originally Posted by DAART

The Dream

My wife & I were planning to do a mega long drive this year and we were browsing through many travelogues in Team BHP. Some of the routes which impressed me were Golden Quadrilateral, North East drives and Bhutan.

Yet to complete reading your travelogue but it is turning out to be a beautiful and a very detailed one.Driving up to Bhutan has been in my wishlist for a long time now. Hope to do it some day soon. It ain't a travel if it ain't a road trip and what more beautiful than travelling with your family. My parents are very similar to yours; they never mind travelling in the car anywhere and find it supremely comfortable. And hey, they are excellent company too!

We too had driven down to Kolkata from Bangalore and your thread reminds me of the horror of entering into Kolkata after midnight. Oceans and oceans of trucks everywhere, all lanes filled with them; like straight out of Transformers movie. Will never forget that experience in my life.

[baskar]

Wonderful narration , Excellent details , Best of all - you managed it without any health issues to any of your family and no incidents. Felt like I was travelling along with you.

Glad to know that your parents agreed for this road trip and doing it in style.

Wishing you many more happy miles with your family.

[Flyer]

Wonderful travelogue. I really felt like I travelled with you guys to Bhutan. Thanks for all the informations and tips you have provided. Bhutan is one of my dream destination for a road trip from Kerala. All these TBhp travelogues are gonna be my guide during my trip.

[speedkrish]

Great travelogue and nice trip. Kudos.

[DAART]

Thank you for taking time and going through the travelogue. I am thrilled by all your comments and feedback. It means a lot as this is my first travelogue!!

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

How did you feel the comfort was? Was it tiresome after a day's drive?
And looking at your statistics, it is amazing that you have actually spent less than 3rs per km for fuel. Excellent fuel economy from the ciaZ.

The drive was quite comfortable for both me behind the wheel and the co-passengers. Almost all long drives including this one, fuel efficiency and performance has been excellent although we drove on some challenging terrain after crossing Kolkata on our onward and return journey.

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

I made a hurricane trip last year there for Honda Drive to Discover - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post4285937 (In the land of the thunder dragon - Driving Hondas from West Bengal to Bhutan!)

I read your travelogue and got some tips when planning for this trip. I can now relate your surprise or shock when the RTO official first declined to allow cars with stickers inside Bhutan. In our case, the immigration office being closed for local elections gave the same effect.

Originally Posted by GTO

Fascinating travelogue! Many thanks for sharing. It's on our homepage .
This is beautiful. Memories for a lifetime, I tell you. I've done hundreds of road-trips with my parents. Now, Dad is no more while Mom is too old for long-duration road-trips, but just viewing pictures of the ones we've done earlier and talking about them makes us smile.
Your folks look so happy in the pics! Really touched as for me, it's always been Parents = no.1, God = no.2.

Thank you for sharing our post on the homepage. It is quite thrilling to see the travelogue on the carousel. Cannot agree more with your thoughts on this being our trip of a lifetime. My parents were thrilled on completing this trip and relived each moment when reading this travelogue. This trip would not have been possible without their support throughout our journey.

Originally Posted by PearlJam

Nicely written, rated 5 stars! This surely looked like an amazing trip!
Did you have any issues with the Ciaz scraping anywhere? Did you run on the stock oils, since you mention sub-zero temperatures? It also looks like you had R15 sized tyres, so that would have helped too?

Thank you for the rating. Except for a couple of minor stone hits while driving on the stretch from Kuli to Burwan, Ciaz did not face any scraping issues. Yes, it ran on the stock oils and R15 tyres. We encountered sub zero temperatures all 4 nights in Bhutan. Luckily did not have any starting troubles in the mornings except for some challenge with frozen windshield.

Originally Posted by KK_HakunaMatata

Just want to know whether you made stay bookings prior to start of the trip or booked it as and when you were approaching destinations.

Except for rooms in Bhutan and Malda, all other bookings were made on the go through OYO.

Originally Posted by KK_HakunaMatata

Also I see you have mostly taken OYO ones, how are they generally for the family, WRT hygene, food and location.

In this aspect one has to be lucky to chose the right OYO property with all facilities mentioned above. Though we managed to get most of the rooms right in terms of quality, service and price, we did have a couple of bad experiences in Siliguri and Kolkata( on our return leg).

Originally Posted by drpavan

The problem starts at gollapudi where one needs to enter the bypass road and continue in the small lanes till you enter eluru road

We had tough time crossing Vijayawada on both onward and return leg. It took close to 3 hours to exit the city with lot of chaotic traffic due to the ongoing road works.

Originally Posted by SJM1214

An amazing travelogue with excellent photographs. Rated Five stars. Thanks for Sharing.
Fuel cost 16930!!
Was it because of cheap fuel in Bhutan? If we consider 60/- (November 2017) Per litre for fuel, you got an FE of 25 per litre. That's an amazing figure. Or am I missing something?

Thank you for the rating. We got 2 full tanks in Bhutan at the rate 50/-. Even I was thrilled when we calculated the fuel efficiency at the end of the trip.

Originally Posted by ike

Great trip and equally nice write up. I'm just curious, any additional insurance policy required in Bhutan? I'm asking since I think the normal insurance policies are valid only in India

I did not take any additional insurance as I had read about this in other travelogues. The RTO in Bhutan accepted my existing Indian insurance to give the permit.

Originally Posted by vshankarhere

My parents are very similar to yours; they never mind travelling in the car anywhere and find it supremely comfortable. And hey, they are excellent company too! We too had driven down to Kolkata from Bangalore and your thread reminds me of the horror of entering into Kolkata after midnight. Oceans and oceans of trucks everywhere, all lanes filled with them; like straight out of Transformers movie. Will never forget that experience in my life.

Glad to know your parents too are great travel partners. I think this is by far the best narrative of the Bhelgoria toll situation at midnight.

Originally Posted by arvind71181

Great trip and nice pictures. And ~90000 for 4 people for 15 days, wow man that's fantastic. I definitely thought it would cost more.

While ~90K was the official expense of the trip, the unofficial pre-trip shopping by my mom and wife was a big hole in the pocket!!

[iVento]

Amazing travelog DAART. Well narrated & inspirational too.
Enjoyed reading every bit of it.
Nice pictures too. But wondering why did not carry a normal camera fully knowing the scenic nature of this trip.

[Gannu_1]

Dude what a travelogue! Loved the snaps and your narration. And the fact that your parents accompanied you on the drive and enjoyed it. A drive to Bhutan remains a dream and I hope to do it some time. Your travelogue will certainly come in handy. Thank you for painstakingly compiling all the info here.

Lastly, if you haven't watched this TED talk by the Bhutan PM, please do:

https://youtu.be/7Lc_dlVrg5M

[Ferrari1976]

Originally Posted by DAART

However, kindly note if you are visiting Bhutan by flight you need to have the passport

Is this correct? I am traveling to Bhutan by flight in November and my passport is expiring in December. We went ahead with the booking after reading here (http://www.visitbhutan.com/ind_terms_conditions.html) and talking to the travel agents that I will be able to travel on my voter ID card.

Please do confirm.

[dhanushmenon]

Wonderful travelogue brother. I myself did Bhutan trip in April and had managed to scrape in a travelogue last week. Travelling in April and then penning in September, I thought I was late.
Now, I know I have company

The Taksang Trail is quite the experience of Bhutan.
Great log and great details. Wishing you many more happy miles.

[DAART]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Dude what a travelogue! Loved the snaps and your narration. And the fact that your parents accompanied you on the drive and enjoyed it. A drive to Bhutan remains a dream and I hope to do it some time. Your travelogue will certainly come in handy. Thank you for painstakingly compiling all the info here.

Lastly, if you haven't watched this TED talk by the Bhutan PM

Thank you for your comments and sharing the Ted talk. I felt Bhutan is a great country with very unique culture. I wish your dream trip to Bhutan goes live soon.

Originally Posted by Ferrari1976

Is this correct? I am traveling to Bhutan by flight in November and my passport is expiring in December. We went ahead with the booking after reading here (http://www.visitbhutan.com/ind_terms_conditions.html) and talking to the travel agents that I will be able to travel on my voter ID card.

Please do confirm.

All the best for your trip. I was told about needing a passport when traveling to Bhutan by flight, by one of the agents at immigration office. However since these laws might change with effect to time, I recommend you to go with what your agent and the immigration site of Bhutan government says final.

Originally Posted by dhanushmenon

Wonderful travelogue brother. I myself did Bhutan trip in April and had managed to scrape in a travelogue last week. Travelling in April and then penning in September, I thought I was late.
Now, I know I have company

The Taksang Trail is quite the experience of Bhutan.
Great log and great details. Wishing you many more happy miles.

I am glad I was able to keep up with my pace on the travelogue. I congratulate you on completing the drive from Kochi to Bhutan. I completed reading your travelogue. Excellently penned by your car.

[Payaniga]

Originally Posted by DAART

The Dream


The Plan

Number of Days - 16 days
Dates Planned - 11th Nov 2017 to 26th Nov 2017
My Co-travelers - My Parents & Wife
Drivers - Mostly Me. My wife will support wherever I am tired
Car- Ciaz VDI+

Wonderful narration! Kudos to your parents accompanying this long road trip and enjoying every bit of the trip.

I'm also thinking of driving to Bhutan from Bangalore. But one question keeps coming in my mind and let me ask you here. Are the places in Bhutan worth to visit considering we will be driving for almost 10 days and visiting the places for only 5 days (considering 15-16 days trip)? What is your opinion after completing this trip?

[DAART]

Originally Posted by Payaniga

Are the places in Bhutan worth to visit considering we will be driving for almost 10 days and visiting the places for only 5 days (considering 15-16 days trip)? What is your opinion after completing this trip?

Thankyou for your kind words. Regarding the worth factor, while we were planning this trip we asked ourselves how drive hungry are we? For all of us, the purpose of this trip was to enjoy the drive throughout more than the end destination. We had never driven to the eastern part and all of us wanted to experience the east Indian highways. Bhutan is definitely a beautiful country to visit. I confess that we were able to explore just 20% of Bhutan with losing a day & a destination due to unexpected immigration holiday but the experience of driving across India to reach this magical land is truly a dream come true. If you want to see more of Bhutan I suggest you plan this drive for 20 days with sufficient breaks. I could do it for just 16 days because of leaves constraint for both me and my wife.

Good luck for your trip!

[ARAY]

Originally Posted by DAART

Thankyou for your kind words.

First of all, simply Epic !
Loved your simple easy going narration with a oodles of details enroute.
This does not look to be a first time blog because you have produced one of the most quality 'go to blogs' in team bhp for Bhutan.

Electronics which include all chargers and all important medicines
- So we need to carry original bills of electronic items ?

As always, the trip excitement kicked in and I absolutely couldn’t sleep – this happens to me always before a trip.
- Tell me about it, I was supposed to do Hyderabad- WB and I didnt sleep for 40+ hrs , 23 hrs for driving and the rest spent restlessly trying to sleep.

He gave us few crucial tips for our onward journey. Blackpearl had just returned from a trip to Bhutan so he knew the current road conditions better. My parents were really happy to meet him in person. We cannot thank him enough for all the guidance.
-Sumitroda is a gem of a person, very helpful.

On the Niveditha Bridge
-Its mostly Nivedita here in WB

We quickly hit the Durgapur Expressway which is a four-laned highway with beautiful laid roads and safe dividers with no chance for cattle-hopping.
- Could have entered from Kharagpur side and saved some time, unless you specifically wanted to visit Kolkata.

The guy inquired if we passed Farraka barrage or not.
- yaah Farakka, thats pretty much what goofs up all trips to North East for me .

We finally reached our Hotel Golden Park, Malda at 9.30pm.
-They have a kaju + mushroom preparation , mindblowing.

This is when I saw a West Bengal state transport bus, overtake us and continued to drive on the wrong side as there was no traffic from opposite side. Based on votes of my co-passengers, I decided to follow the bus and take my chances.
-This is a common sight in WB and OR, in Farakka its best to tailgate a Volvo they often save us a lot of time.

They informed me that we had come 20 KM ahead of that route and best option would be to continue to Dhalkola and join Siliguri – Puneria highway.
- in WB please dont go by the numbers locals say. Botolbari is a narrow but very fast and scenic stretch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYweZZAfG_4&t=1s

Extremely traffic friendly and of course environment friendly!
- But not at all friendly to private 4 wheelers, also known as TikTuk.

I was already tired and exhausted with all the shocks and surprises that bombarded us that day.
-Very sorry to hear that but uncertainty is what makes a Road trip to Himalayas so much fun.

My mom cooked Upma and all of us were just thrilled to taste authentic south Indian dish in a foreign country.
- This is the most beautiful part.


“Kizom Cafe Pizzeria And Bakery”
- Noted

Also, based on our experience, we suggest you apply for permits online before landing in Bhutan as this can avoid unseen holidays and office closures.
- Is there an URL you can share for applying for the permits online.

- Do Not Overtake The Bhutan Royals Vehicle at any cost. Please watch out for the "BR" registration vehicles.
- Oh This is intense.

"Clouds came floating into our journey not to usher rain or storm but to add beauty to our drive"
- Your Ciaz looks beautiful in the backdrop.

Now I was free to overtake and honk as much as I wished.
- I understand the centiments, whatever it is, its OUR NATION.

Hyderabad- Asansol - Siliguri - is my usual circuit ( atleast 2 times in a year ) and I would suggest entering from Kharagpur - Bankura - Bishnupur - Durgapur ( lots of good hotels ) - Suri - malda - siliguri ... for your next NE trip, could have saved you a lot of time and distance unless visiting Kolkata was in the card.



Loved every bit of your narration and superb pictures. Rated 5*.
There are few blogs in TeamBhp that generations will refer for ages and this would definitely be one of them. I had a wonderful afternoon and was a hoot to go through. Keep travelling and sharing such experiences.

[DAART]

Originally Posted by ARAY

First of all, simply Epic !
Loved your simple easy going narration with a oodles of details enroute.
This does not look to be a first time blog because you have produced one of the most quality 'go to blogs' in team bhp for Bhutan.

Loved every bit of your narration and superb pictures. Rated 5*.
There are few blogs in TeamBhp that generations will refer for ages and this would definitely be one of them. I had a wonderful afternoon and was a hoot to go through. Keep travelling and sharing such experiences.

Thank you Aray for your kind words and feedback. This inspires me to travel more and share my travel stories more!

Originally Posted by ARAY

Electronics which include all chargers and all important medicines
- So we need to carry original bills of electronic items ?

No, this was just part of our checklist. No need to carry any bills

Originally Posted by ARAY

On the Niveditha Bridge
-Its mostly Nivedita here in WB
- They have a kaju + mushroom preparation , mindblowing.

Noted

Originally Posted by ARAY

-This is a common sight in WB and OR, in Farakka its best to tailgate a Volvo they often save us a lot of time.

I am glad I learnt to drive the locals way. It was fun just being part of the madness. This is one of the best experiences for me!

Originally Posted by ARAY

Botolbari is a narrow but very fast and scenic stretch.
https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=sYweZZAfG_4&t=1s

This is a beautiful video. Thanks for sharing. We had seen the pictures of this stretch in Shanksta's Chennai to Bhutan blog and we regretted for having missed this scenic route.

Originally Posted by ARAY

Very sorry to hear that but uncertainty is what makes a Road trip to Himalayas so much fun.

Absolutely!

Originally Posted by ARAY

- Is there an URL you can share for applying for the permits online.

This could be the website - https://www.tourism.gov.bt/announcem...-permit-system. I am not sure as I had not researched about applying for permits online before our trip. We realized after the Indian Army official told us we could have applied online permits. Request you to check if the website is current and updated

Originally Posted by ARAY

- Your Ciaz looks beautiful in the backdrop.

Thank you. The timing of the clouds was just perfect

Originally Posted by ARAY

Now I was free to overtake and honk as much as I wished.
- I understand the centiments, whatever it is, its OUR NATION.

Bhutan is definitely a beautiful country. But, the best part of our trip was driving through some of the most marvelous parts of India. We realized how huge and beautiful our country is!

Originally Posted by ARAY

Hyderabad- Asansol - Siliguri - is my usual circuit ( atleast 2 times in a year ) and I would suggest entering from Kharagpur - Bankura - Bishnupur - Durgapur ( lots of good hotels ) - Suri - malda - siliguri ... for your next NE trip

Thank you for this route info will definitely try this circuit on my next NE drive.

[BlackPearl]

What an epic travelogue, had been waiting for this for quite some time. It was great meeting you and your family in Kolkata. The number of times you have taken my name embarrasses me because I really did not help you so much as you have made it look like! Hope to meet you again someday, keep travelling and writing.