[DriveTrain]

Originally Posted by Sheel

I hope and request you to come up with your t'log as well for your Sikkim trip

Have been guilty (read plain lazy) of not covering last several of these , I intend to this time , only question is when

[adutta2k]

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Our stay for the first day was not in Bhutan (yes, even after entering Bhutan & getting necessary permits). The organisation that I work for has a Tea Estate near the border & we were invited by the manager to stay at their place. We crossed the border again back into India & headed for the Tea Estate.

A beautiful tree enroute Tea Estate

Attachment 1811463

Entry to Tea Estate
Attachment 1811063

Our pilot was waiting for us to guide us to the residences, Following him inside the gardens.

Attachment 1811066

By 1600 hrs we were at the tea garden and Hulk was parked for the day

Attachment 1811064

Hulk was given a proper bath thanks to gardener at the tea estate. Since we were completely jaded we decided to have dinner early and retire for the day.

contd..

Wow! brought back childhood memories. I stayed in Chuapara Tea Estate for 5 years in the early nineties since by uncle used to work for McLeod Russel. Can you please share some more pictures of the tea estate. The bungalow looks familiar.

[siddarthab]

Lovely travelogue with fabulous pictures Pawan !!!

We also were thinking of doing Bhutan but ultimately backed off due to perceived lack of time as I couldn't get 15th October off from office .

Did Silk Route instead.

Next time Bhutan for sure

This is my ride somewhere along the Silk Route....

[sayakc]

We know what to expect from you
Yet again a crisp narration and superb photos packed travelogue. In awe of your mind boggling distance (Paro - Kolkata) coverages yet again!

We went to the Kalimpong/Darj. area during the same period and the Farakka barrage news was unsettling for us. While going it took us a cool 25 mins to cross the bridge. But during return it took around >1 hr as we were stuck for flat 45 mins. Call it Uncertainty defined.

Keep drivin'

Cheers,
Sayak

[haldar_siliguri]

Originally Posted by redeye10

Hey Pawan,
Another beautiful travelogue with equally nice images from your stable!
Btw, one opinion - do you think this Paro Thimpu circuit can be done in Baleno CVT? Primarily around steep inclines, if any?

Cheers,
Roy

You can do it in virtually any vehicle as long as you have good set of tires. Most major roads of Bhutan do not have any significant inclines, and even the roads to Chele la pass are much better incline-wise than many roads in Sikkim, Darjeeling, etc where we ply CVTs and other AT vehicles on a regular basis.

[kskthere]

A very crisp and nice travelogue, magnified doubly with beautiful pics @PapaBravo. To explore those sub-alpine Himalayan mountain ranges is a long-lasting wish. It definitely finds a place in my travel wish-list. Btw, when is the best time to visit Bhutan?

[PapaBravo]

Originally Posted by Samba

So now we share the same wrist watch and same car!

Yes. So the pictures in the travelogues will be similar

Excellent travelogue. Rated all the stars available!

Hulk is looking beautiful, specially in the first pic of this travelogue.

Thank you so much !!

This travelogue made me nostalgic about our Bhutan trip in 2016! Thanks for updating the new procedure to obtain the permit. Things have changed since 2016.

Let me take the opportunity to photo-bomb few pics from our Bhutan trip.

Beautiful clicks as expected from you Samba.

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Lovely travelogue and beautiful pictures. You posted it quite fast as well. The timing of the trip was not perfect as there is a huge rush during the Durga Puja. Next time please plan for a quieter time and you will love it even more. If you liked Western Bhutan so much you should definitely plan to visit Eastern Bhutan in future. Both you and Hulk will love it

Thanks BP. The trip & TL both were short so didn't take much time. Durgapuja rush did spoil our immigration experience but overall we didn't find rush in other places. This was probably due to early starts everyday. We'll do West Bhutan together !!

Originally Posted by ssambyal1980

Another impeccable travel narrative of the north-east from none other than the veterans of the Eastern Front. Good one Pawan. Cheers.

Thank you for the appreciation ssambyal1980 !!

Originally Posted by gmhossain

Many of us are yet to get out of the so called "Puja mode" and here you go. A road trip to Bhutan is Dusted and the travelogue is posted! I enjoyed reading your fast-paced travelogue. Keep traveling and keep posting.

Thank you Hossain Sa'ab. With last couple of years spent in Kolkata during Puja's, this year it had to be a trip.

Originally Posted by DriveTrain

Wow , that was fast ! Congrats on another great drive and a beautifully crafted and visually adorned travelogue. I am sure you will back to the land of the Thunder Dragon for more..

Thanks Angshuman Da. We will definitely be back and this time covering more of parts of the country.

Originally Posted by Aniruddha_Ch

Just back from 16 day long trip to Sikkim and Bhutan from Pune in my Swift D. Happened to hike Paro Taktsang on 19th Oct. I must say trail is very beautiful along with that view of monastery. Well written travelogue.

Thanks Aniruddha_Ch !! The trail is indeed beautiful.

Originally Posted by SJM1214

One more excellent travelogue with amazing photographs. Thanks for Sharing, Pavan.

Thanks for the appreciation SJM1214 !!

Originally Posted by Sheel

Thanks for sharing this t'log Pawan. Everytime, this route is a hit or miss and requires a lot of planning as to which route to take to travel to North Bengal & beyond.

Thanks Sheel !! Even after discussing the whole Bihar route through an international call we finally ended up taking the Bengal one. Yes, this route is the most unpredictable one no doubt.

Originally Posted by redeye10

Hey Pawan,
Another beautiful travelogue with equally nice images from your stable!
Btw, one opinion - do you think this Paro Thimpu circuit can be done in Baleno CVT? Primarily around steep inclines, if any?

Cheers,
Roy

Thanks a lot Roy !! Paro Thimpu circuit doesn't have any steep inclines, so a Baleno CVT shouldn't have any problem doing the whole circuit. The roads conditions are good and most of them are wide. So it will be fun with your Baleno CVT.

Originally Posted by adutta2k

Wow! brought back childhood memories. I stayed in Chuapara Tea Estate for 5 years in the early nineties since by uncle used to work for McLeod Russel. Can you please share some more pictures of the tea estate. The bungalow looks familiar.

Great to know that you were associated with Chuapara at sometime. Since we were very tired we didn't click many pictures but here are some for you.

Originally Posted by siddarthab

Lovely travelogue with fabulous pictures Pawan !!!

Thanks Siddartha Da !! Glad that you like it.

We also were thinking of doing Bhutan but ultimately backed off due to perceived lack of time as I couldn't get 15th October off from office .
Did Silk Route instead.
Next time Bhutan for sure

Silk route is very beautiful. Hulk has been then many times.

This is my ride somewhere along the Silk Route.

Beautiful click !! Do write a log when you get time.

Originally Posted by sayakc

We know what to expect from you
Yet again a crisp narration and superb photos packed travelogue.

Glad that you like it. Thank you !!

In awe of your mind boggling distance (Paro - Kolkata) coverages yet again!

Haha. This the return leg was easy on us since we didn't encounter any major traffic jams. These distances are covered only to get that on extra day in the mountains.

We went to the Kalimpong/Darj. area during the same period and the Farakka barrage news was unsettling for us. While going it took us a cool 25 mins to cross the bridge. But during return it took around >1 hr as we were stuck for flat 45 mins. Call it Uncertainty defined.

Oh great. When are we seeing the travelogue for the same. I am a fan of your writing style. Regarding Farakka, you have aptly named it.

Originally Posted by kskthere

A very crisp and nice travelogue, magnified doubly with beautiful pics @PapaBravo. To explore those sub-alpine Himalayan mountain ranges is a long-lasting wish. It definitely finds a place in my travel wish-list. Btw, when is the best time to visit Bhutan?

Thanks a lot kskthere !! The best time to visit Bhutan is considered to be October to March. Do let me know if you are planning a trip & if we can be of any help.

Cheers,

Pawan

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by Samba

The beautiful Thimpu city.

Attachment 1812118

Interesting to see those roof structures above those buildings. Is that a common theme on all buildings there?

[Samba]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Interesting to see those roof structures above those buildings. Is that a common theme on all buildings there?

Great observation. Majority buildings are like this at Thimpu. The slanted roofs are because it snows in winter and more or less every house has an attic on the roof. Its mainly used as a store room, gym, servants quarter or in many apartments they keep the water tanks over there.
I asked Bhpian avrendu to clarify this as he is frequent to Bhutan.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by Samba

Great observation. Majority buildings are like this at Thimpu. The slanted roofs are because it snows in winter and more or less every house has an attic on the roof. Its mainly used as a store room, gym, servants quarter or in many apartments they keep the water tanks over there.
I asked Bhpian avrendu to clarify this as he is frequent to Bhutan.

Thanks Samba. It's always interesting to get to know these, which is exactly what travel is all about.

[Aniruddha_Ch]

Originally Posted by amit_i

Can you pl let me know which route you took from Pune. I am from Ahmedabad and planning to do sometime early next year so would appreciate a day wise route map

Hi Amit,

Firstly apology for delay to respond. Following is actual itinerary which I was able to execute and covered 6477 kms:-

I think from Ahmedabad you can drive till jhansi and for other days this itinerary should be fine.

[PointZero]

Beautiful travelogue and snaps PapaBravo Da. I guess the Buddha Dordenma was under construction during my visit. However, it is looking great.

Please confirm-
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attac...n-tkd_3487.jpg

[PapaBravo]

Originally Posted by PointZero

Beautiful travelogue and snaps PapaBravo Da. I guess the Buddha Dordenma was under construction during my visit. However, it is looking great.

Thanks PZ. Waiting for your Ladakh TL. The photos I have seen on social media have come out superb.

Yes this is Buddha Dordenma. I believe you visited Bhutan early 2015. As per wiki, it got completed and opened for public on September 2015.

Cheers,

Pawan

[ARAY]

Beautiful Blog PapaDa, drool worthy scenic pictures of the landscape. I came 1600 kms to do Bhutan from Hyderabad the week before Durga Puja but didn't proceed assuming too many tourists + cloudy overcast sky, I guess I was very wrong and should have done the Bhutan circuit from Hyderabad. Will try again in Jan 2019. As BlackPerl said, I too would love to cover bit more into Eastern Bhutan because I would need to travel 1600kms again otherwise. .
I would be bugging You, Blackperl,Samba very soon along with Danush who has already helped me with lot of info.

Keep travelling and sharing such beautiful blogs.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Interesting to see those roof structures above those buildings. Is that a common theme on all buildings there?

Bhutan used to have (and I guess it still does) a rule/ law regarding the look of buildings:- these had to look 'local'. (Incidentally the department which oversaw this was headed by an American settled in Bhutan!)

Regards
Sutripta

PS - Same with their national dress.
Incidentally I always thought that the Gho (the mens' dress) would look good on a leggy lass. Never seen a women in one, though quite a few tourists buy the Kira (the womens' dress) as a souvenir, and try it out locally. Wonder whether there is a rule/ law against 'crossdressing'!