[Dhar's]

The flight, keeping up with traditions, was late. Adding to the grief of returning from a vacation, the delay hijacked my plans of shooting Dubai skyline under golden light. Maybe that was too much to as for. As the flight touched down on the tarmac, mobile phone touchpads came alive, and I, officially, was on mundane routine mode. Weather in late March was still pleasant thanks to the rains from cloud seeding.

Weather in Pune the day before however, was hot and unbearable. March, two decades ago seemed a lot cooler. The city had grown exponentially and once again I felt like a foreigner.

The heat was even more severe in Shani Shignapur.


Wheat ready for harvest

But more than the heat, the ride back to Rahuri from the temple in a Force Traveller is what left me perspiring. I happened to be lucky as the last person to board and occupy the front seat which saved my lumbar. Driven by a superman, the vehicle disposed all the craters and speed breakers aplomb at unrealistic speeds shown in the speedometer.

The other leg of this short journey was even more entertaining in the local red bus (not the app). Every single part of the vehicle vibrated at maximum frequency and the aural engagement tested the limits of human perception. Once out of the bus, even the noise of peak evening was tranquility to ears.

Exhausted, I head straight to the lodge room, which fortunately had an A/C. A bit of cooling down and rehydration, I took a stroll to try the newfound love of the fowl in the town and satiated with oily fries, retired early. Thoughtful packing ensured an extra bedspread, which went on top of otherwise stale bed.

The day had been of very humble existence. A simple breakfast of Pohai, vegetarian Punjabi thali for lunch and sinful street food to wind up the day.


The simple, humble, healthier breakfast

As the night thickened, the struggle to tuck my six-foot figure under a bathroom towel was in stark contrast to the heated blanket and duvet in an impeccably clean and luxurious English Cottage in Darjeeling two nights before. Waking up to the sumptuous breakfast spread of toast, bacons, meatballs, omelets, all served by ever so loving Mrs. Plant, that saw us through the late afternoons and to end the day with a late lunch at Glenary’s.

English Cottage in Darjeeling is a destination itself especially for someone who wants to unwind and spend time away from the madness of the town. The property has a charm not found anywhere else in a commercial place. As more and more daily data evades the memory, only Kanchenjunga and English Cottage stays.


Flowers from English Cottage's garden


The living room of our cottage

Beautiful bonsai in the living room

Sunrise from the deck of English Cottage

Sunrise from the deck of English Cottage

A bit of birding

Birding

The last day at Darjeeling was a kind gift from the airline just before it went to bite the dust. Knowing our interests, our host proposed the idea of Lloyd Botanical Garden and it did not disappoint.


The Lloyds Botanical Garden

A walk through the market was an unique experience.


Streets of Darjeeling


The loads we carry


The lifeline at the mercy of politicians which even God's cannot help


An old library


A dry fish seller


Flags at the Monastery


Life line and joy train line


Streets of Darjeeling


The Municipal Building


Mother's love


Japanese Pagoda
Never been to Shanti Stupa in Leh? Fret not.


Japanese temple


Japanese temple

For a change, we had our late lunch at Kunga’s. Absolutely loved the food at Kunga’s and would highly recommend them. But do mind the space constraints and specifically as them to turn down on the spice levels. And also order only what you can eat as the portions are quite large.

[Dhar's]

The day before that, we had ridden the heritage toy train. A nice ride except for the amplified vocals of members in a fellow group.


Monks in conversation.


The smoke eater


View of Darjeeling from Batasia loop


A kid waving with joy at the joy train


Life in the city


Life in the city


Life in the city


A part of history

As usual Glenary’s was the place to rest our legs and call it a day.


View of Darjeeling city from Glenary's

So did it happen the previous day too, the next day of our arrival in Darjeeling. It was the customary visit to the Zoo, Mountaineering institute, museum and the Tibetian Refugee Self Help Center and Glenary’s.

Cage | Protection | Freedom
Ironies of life

Visited some of the caged ones destined to be specimens for entertainment of pesky tourists.


Looking back


A little rest from the pests...


Native of Singalila. Now a city dweller.

We took a stroll after the Zoo.


Beautiful flowers a garden


Streets of Darjeeling - Balcony of flowers


Streets of Darjeeling - Balcony of flowers

Tibetan Refugee Centre provides a brief on the struggle of Tibetan people.


Architecture


Untiring souls that toil.
An old Tibetan lady weaving a piece of cloth for making bags.


Untiring souls that toil.
A loom where Tibetan women of all age works on carpets.


Untiring souls that toil.
An old Tibetan man who stitches traditional coats for sale at the retail unit.

The tea estate stop is lacklustre and better be avoided.


Landscape of tea estate


Landscape of tea estate

We had skipped the cable car ride and the Rock Garden because we of a late start.

We were drop dead tired when we checked into English Cottage the evening before and all we wanted was a warm bed. Pulling ourselves out of the comfort of a warm cozy bed was next to impossible unlike the previous morning where all three of us were praying for the sun to rise.

[Dhar's]

More than the prospects of seeing mighty Kanchenjunga, it was the hope of getting warm that mattered most. The storm previous evening dumped loads of ice and the chilly wind, stubborn all night, made through the tightly shut windows of our room in Sherpa Chalet.


Ice blanket in the evening

Lying under multiple layers of blankets did not help at all and we were counting time….literally.

And when it did rise, all the hardships endured were forgotten and immersed in the magical beauty of Kanchenjunga. The storm had calmed down and fog had cleared up… thankfully.

White Sandakphu and the Kanchenjunga range was an unexpected gift.


White Sandakphu


Kanchenjunga


Every 4x4's dream


Mesmerising mountains


No. its not Christmas yet


The much awaited sunrise


Kanchenjunga framed


A pano of white Sandakphu


The sleeping Buddha

As the euphoria went into the waning phase, realisation set in that the way back is covered with snow.


The way back

I was apprehensive whether the vehicles would ply back. Its business as usual and a vehicle from the valley brought the drivers and the vehicles parked overnight were sun bathed, warmed up and fired to life.


The standoff

[Dhar's]

By around 11am we started our descent.



The ‘slick’ rear tyres were my concern then. But it rolled over gutters, bounced over boulders size of a football, cut, slid and waded through slush like no one's business and reached Manebhanjan by afternoon and dropped us at Kesavji’s Home Stay.


The 'slick mode'


The 'slick mode'


Near Meghma


Near Meghma


Rhododendrons in bloom


Vandas and Orchids

A short while later, Yogesh, in his Innova picked us up from KesavJi's place and drove us to English Cottage.

Kesavji’s homestay is a cozy place for a short stay to explore in and around Manebhanjan or as a stop over to Sandankphu. We received a very warm welcome from Kesavji and his family members and they were extremely helpful in assisting with our needs from booking a LR to guidance to coordinating with the pickup to Darjeeling.


Winding steps to bedrooms


From the homestay

Our ascent to Sandakphu had started with a breakfast of yummy parathas and omlettes at Kesavji’s place. Ganga's Land Rover had a transplant from MM. The fuel tank under the driver seat had an inbuilt funnel, a very thoughtful mechanism for easy fueling from jerry cans. Front tyres had enough thread whereas rear tyres were bald. Someone in the road works department had an idea and the concrete road was stone pitched. Kind of passive traction perhaps…


Stone pitched road surface


When meeting a namesake in a faraway land...


Trees along the way


Blooms of Singalila


Blooms of Singalila


When the climb gets tougher


Cloudier it gets


At Meghma


At Meghma


Ganga's LR


Last of the concrete surface


Concrete surface on hairpin bends only


No concrete surface


kalipokhri

Ride till Gharibas was choppy but bearable. Gharibas to Bhikey Manjyang tested the integrity of lumbars and seated on the rear, I was literally hanging on to the roof.


At Bhikey Manjyang


At Bhikey Manjyang

Last few kms from Bhikey Manjyang to Sandakphu had the potential to turn internal organs upside down.


Cooling down before the final show down


Final treacherous patch ahead

Seated at the restaurant after checking in, the sight of noodles being prepared in the kitchen spurred hunger and we instantly knew our internal machinery was working as it was intended to. By the time we finished our lunch, it was cloudy and we decided to retire for a much needed sleep.

[Dhar's]

Thunderstorm dumped ice later in the evening and it was too cold. The harsh cold wind made it even worse.


For the love of Land rovers


LR's cool about the storm

Prospects of viewing sunset and Kanchenjunga were washed away. Only thing we could do was to gather around the fireplace after a decent dinner and then shiver under layers of blanket hoping for the sun to rise.

Surprise like snow in end of March wasn’t the only one in this trip. Surprises began even before we flew. The cheapskate in me was delighted to find extremely low fares for the sector and splurged the savings on stay in Darjeeling instead. A couple of days before flying, they announced that the bird wouldn’t fly. In fact the entire flock wouldn’t fly. Frantic searches and the national carrier came in as the next best option at double the cost but saved the vacation. So much was I inspired from fellow tbhpians Samba (thanks for the valuable inputs), blackpearl, 1100 and others.

Thankfully the Maharaja, albeit a bit late, flew it did. And the chauffeur was waiting for us with his Innova at Bagdogra and drove us to Manebhanjan. Since he was recommended by the homestay in Darjeeling, we hired him for the entire trip.


Somewhere towards Mirik


Tea estates of Mirik


Mirik

It was already dark when we reached Kesavji's place. All we wanted was a bed and sleep we did without waiting for the dinner. I had already started to miss my Scorpio. How much I wish I could do a roadtrip from Kerala to Sandakphu....

The call of the mountains is so irresistible……

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[haisaikat]

Excellent travelogue and some stunning pictures of the region, you sir do have a tasteful hand for the shutter. The gray-scale photos were amazing. I recall an earlier trip this year for sandakphu on a Duster by another BHPian and this is the second for this year. Did you happen to see the sun near kalipokhri? That is also a stunning view of another world. The range rovers they employ, looks to be in a falling apart condition at least from exteriors, the looks are not that reassuring, hope they do the jobs fine.

[Thermodynamics]

Stunning pictures and amazing write up. Rating well deserved 5 stars! I loved the way you expressed scenes. For example the following phrases are very artistic.

Driven by a superman, the vehicle disposed all the craters and speed breakers aplomb at unrealistic speeds shown in the speedometer.

As more and more daily data evades the memory, only Kanchenjunga and English Cottage stays.

Lying under multiple layers of blankets did not help at all and we were counting time….literally. And when it did rise, all the hardships endured were forgotten and immersed in the magical beauty of Kanchenjunga.

As the euphoria went into the waning phase, realisation set in that the way back is covered with snow.

it rolled over gutters, bounced over boulders size of a football, cut, slid and waded through slush like no one's business

At the same time, I had difficulties in deciphering your travelling sequence. The chronology of narration is quite juggled or was it intentional.

I believe, the start is from Dubai, landed in Pune, explored Shani Shignapur and Rahuri. Then flew to Darjeeling, took Joy train, stayed at English cottage, explored Darjeeling, stayed at Meghma, took a LR to Sandakphu, stayed at Sherpa chalet, came back to Meghma but didn't stay, went back to English cottage. But the travelogue has mashed up events, for example the Rahuri hotel stay appears two days later than Darjeeling. Sherpa chalet stay appears before Kesavji's homestay and all ends abruptly at Mirik. It is difficult to connect with.

But you have a great knack of writing. The captions are crisp and lucid. Very keen observations. When we appreciate little things around us there is so much to see. Keep travelling and keep writing, will be certainly looking forward to read your words.

[Dhar's]

Originally Posted by haisaikat

Excellent travelogue and some stunning pictures of the region, you sir do have a tasteful hand for the shutter. The gray-scale photos were amazing. I recall an earlier trip this year for sandakphu on a Duster by another BHPian and this is the second for this year. Did you happen to see the sun near kalipokhri? That is also a stunning view of another world. The range rovers they employ, looks to be in a falling apart condition at least from exteriors, the looks are not that reassuring, hope they do the jobs fine.

Thank you for the kind words.

On our ascent, it was cloudy at Kalipokhri and during descent, we didn't stop and it was noon when we passed through. Hardly a few LRs are maintained well. Other's especially the one we rode in was in pretty bad shape.

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

Stunning pictures and amazing write up. Rating well deserved 5 stars! I loved the way you expressed scenes. For example the following phrases are very artistic.


At the same time, I had difficulties in deciphering your travelling sequence. The chronology of narration is quite juggled or was it intentional.

I believe, the start is from Dubai, landed in Pune, explored Shani Shignapur and Rahuri. Then flew to Darjeeling, took Joy train, stayed at English cottage, explored Darjeeling, stayed at Meghma, took a LR to Sandakphu, stayed at Sherpa chalet, came back to Meghma but didn't stay, went back to English cottage. But the travelogue has mashed up events, for example the Rahuri hotel stay appears two days later than Darjeeling. Sherpa chalet stay appears before Kesavji's homestay and all ends abruptly at Mirik. It is difficult to connect with.

But you have a great knack of writing. The captions are crisp and lucid. Very keen observations. When we appreciate little things around us there is so much to see. Keep travelling and keep writing, will be certainly looking forward to read your words.

Thank you Sir for your appreciation and your feedback on the chronological order. I appreciate that.

The chronology is reversed actually and I was trying to breakaway from my usual pattern of day 1,2,3... I guess it didn't come out well.

[blackwasp]

Superb narration there Dhar's! Lovely pictures too.

One of the travel destinations on every BHPian's wish list - Sandakphu look more and more tempting every time someone posts their journey there.

The Land Rovers and the home stays and the cool weather must be a unique experience altogether.

[DreamsUnlimited]

Amazing write-up and fantastic pictures. I was initially lost and double checked the thread's title when I started reading about Shingnapur and Rahuri
Then I got your style and chronology, must admit you do have a poetic way of expressing things and I enjoyed it.
Can you probably share some of the home stay details and how you planned for the trip? Will be handy for someone willing to do the circuit.
Thanks for the write-up and pictures!

[Gildarts]

Great photographs and write up. Loved your chronologically reversed narration. The smooth transition from each day to previous day is brilliantly done.

[Samba]

White Sandakphu looks like a fairy-tale.
Your perspective in photography is just mind-blowing. Loved viewing every pictures. Each of them are well thought & have been crafted beautifully.

[Dhar's]

@blackwasp, @DreamsUnlimited, @Gildarts, @Samba
Thank you for reading.

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Superb narration there Dhar's! Lovely pictures too.

The Land Rovers and the home stays and the cool weather must be a unique experience altogether.

LRs in Sandakphu and English Cottage in Darjeeling was an unforgettable experience.

Originally Posted by DreamsUnlimited

Can you probably share some of the home stay details and how you planned for the trip? Will be handy for someone willing to do the circuit.
Thanks for the write-up and pictures!

Tbhpians helped a lot in planning. Travelogues were main source of information.

Contacts as given below

At Manebhanjan
Kesavji's Home Stay
Mobile No. 9232695120

At Sandakphu
Sherpa Chalet
Mobile No. 8309252318
I booked through airbnb

At Darjeeling
English Cottage
Booked through airbnb

Originally Posted by Gildarts

Great photographs and write up. Loved your chronologically reversed narration. The smooth transition from each day to previous day is brilliantly done.

Glad you liked it.

Originally Posted by Samba

White Sandakphu looks like a fairy-tale.
Your perspective in photography is just mind-blowing. Loved viewing every pictures. Each of them are well thought & have been crafted beautifully.

Thank you Samba.

[haldar_siliguri]

Originally Posted by Dhar's

Attachment 1897133
The smoke eater

Great pictures and travelogue.

LocoNerdData alert - This is the 802 DHR 49 B class steam locomotive built in 1927 by North British Loco Co, Glasgow, UK. A true blue steam & smoke workhorse indeed.