[gmhossain]

"Will you write a travelogue this time, papa?", our daughter asked me when I was packing our camera. The question was very innocuous but got me unsettled for a while. Indeed, I had not written any travelogue in the past year and half nor I had done few other stuffs that I enjoyed doing. We had, however, made multiple road trips during the period. I guess, I had been quite busy with my works. However, deep down the heart, I knew that it was an easy excuse.

We often get too busy with professional works and then we promise ourselves to get back to normal routine once the pressing works in hand are completed. However, even before the current ones are over, the new ones come into the platter. Then the promises are repeated and the vicious cycles continue. The so called life-work balance goes through the window for a toss. I knew that I am entrapped in this cycle and I needed to break out from it.

Break me free!


The view from the balcony at Kalimpong


Kalimpong Town


The Queen of Hills, Darjeeling





This time ... let's drive to live

[gmhossain]

The preparation:

On May 22, we booked a service apartment at Kalimpong for 3 nights. The reason we booked this property was its availability in the next week! It had decent reviews too and the parking was within the property. Our road trip was to begin a week later. We planned to reach our family home at Malda by June 4, the day before the festival of Eid. At that time, we were not sure what to do for the 2 nights in between. Couple of days later, we booked a homestay at Darjeeling. The property was located between Ghum station and Batasia loop. Both these places were within walking distances from the homestay. A day later, we booked another homestay at Siliguri for the overnight stay on the first day of the journey.

Our steed for the trip - 8 years old Zen Estilo



Companion for the trip - our daughter, Reeha



My better half



Yours truly



The road we drove... near Bethuadahari


Through Mahananda WLS



... and the food we ate

[gmhossain]

Day 1: Kalyani to Siliguri

I was hearing some strange music in my dream. After a while, when my senses were back in actions, I looked at the clock. It was 3:30 am and the alarm clock in my mobile phone was ringing. It appeared that I slept too well in last few hours. Usually I have only a light sleep before a road trip.

It was little before half past four when we drove off from our parking lot. It was still dark outside. However, one could sense a faint pre-dawn glow in the eastern sky. We had a long journey ahead and that too through the infamous Kolkata - Siliguri stretch. Only those who have taken this route would appreciate the arduous nature of this journey.

About to begin ... a selfie at the parking lot


We made a decent progress in the first forty minutes until we entered Ranaghat town. There we saw a truck queue ahead of us. Being a regular along this route, I could guess what might have happened. I drove through the right edges of the road to reach the spot within few minutes. Two loaded trucks had collided head on, possibly only fifteen minutes ago. A passerby told us, that both truck drivers were still within the badly mangled cabins of the respective trucks. A police van had just arrived. Few minutes later, an ambulance arrived at the scene. However, nothing much could be done until the breakdown recovery van could arrive there ten minutes later. It was around half past six when we finally managed to get out of the resultant traffic mess at Ranaghat.

Possibly two families lost their loved ones ... forever


We took a small break after we reached at the beginning of 4-laned stretch at Krishnanagar. By then we had covered just 65 km in 3 hours. As we progressed further from there morning traffic became heavier. We reached Morgram BP pump at around 10 am. We stopped there to refuel our car and also to have our breakfast that we were carrying with us. When we resumed from there, we were running behind an hour and half from our planned schedule. I was hoping that if we could cross Malda town by 1 pm then we would still be able to reach Siliguri before the evening.

However, we faced another hiccup at the Ballalpur bailey bridge. A south bound state transport bus was trying to come out of the bailey bridge whereas a north bound state bus was waiting just outside. Given the narrow width of bailey bridge, the south bound bus could come out only straight. However, approach to the bridge also being narrow, the outside bus had very little space to move. By then, a size-able number of vehicles had queued up behind both the buses. The result was neither bus could move back. After a while, few good samaritans got out from their vehicles and guided the outside vehicles to move back little by little. Finally, the outside bus could move back by few feet allowing the other bus to come out from the bailey bridge. It allowed to break the deadlock but not before we lost another twenty minutes.

At BP Morgram


We were about a kilometer away from the end of Malda bypass when we encountered another stationary truck queue. It looked bad and I decided to drive over the earthen shoulder. By doing such off-roading we could reach within two hundred meters from the end of the bypass. Unfortunately, there onward every inch of the available road spaces were taken by some vehicles or others. The traffic was fully stationary on the bypass as well as on the main highway. I went out of the car to see what had happen. However, I could not stay out longer as the outside felt like a hot furnace. It was a peak of summer noon in May. The car engine was idling and the AC was barely managing to keep the cabin comfortable. Around 1:30 pm, we decided to have our lunch that we were carrying with us in the car as there were no sign of any movement. Unfortunately, it simply was not our day. It turned out that the food had gone sour and was not eatable anymore. The summer heat had played the spoilsport. We managed to get out from the traffic jam by around 2 pm. By then we had lost an additional hour. On top of it, we also needed to stop somewhere to have our lunch! It was around 4:15 pm when we reached at the Botolbari junction. In between, we had a hurried lunch at Raiganj as I didn't want to drive in Botolbari-Dhantola stretch after daylight. In fact, while waiting at traffic jam in Malda, I was thinking whether to continue our drive till Siliguri or break for the night somewhere before.

Anyway, we reached Dhantola market just around 6 pm. The evening was setting in by then. I decided to have a small break before continuing with the drive with headlights being turned on. I had a cup of tea and also bought some mangoes from the Dhantola market. In the meantime, my better half got in touch with the owner of the homestay which we had booked for the night, to settle the menu for the dinner. We reached at our homestay near the city center in Siliguri at around 8:15 pm. We had our dinner and crashed to the bed soon after.

Somewhere after Islampur


Odometer reading for the day


At the homestay

[gmhossain]

Day 2: Siliguri to Kalimpong

I woke up early after a sound sleep in the night. After freshening up, we decided to go for a small morning walk in the beautiful compound outside. It had rained last night and the ground was still wet. The sky was cloudy and it was drizzling occasionally. We began our drive after having our breakfast at the homestay. A little later, we got our car refuelled to the brim at a BP pump. The sky had decided to open up by then. We passed through Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary without stopping as it was raining. We made a slow but steady progress through the winding road of the Himalayas.

View from the homestay


In the driver's seat


Teesta River


It was around eleven in the morning. The sky had become cloudy again and it was drizzling. I was driving rather slowly. There was a blind curved ahead of us. The curve was going slightly downhill and the mountain was on our left and the valley was on the right. I honked instinctively. Little later, a Maruti Alto emerged from the curved and passed by us slowly. I turned into the curve and was almost frozen to see what was coming in front us. A pick-up van was overtaking a Tata sumo right on the blind curve and it was heading straight towards our car. I braked a little and steered to the left in a sudden manoeuvre. I heard two sets of noises: the sound of shrubs brushing aside the metal panels from the left and the plastic body of ORVM getting caressed by the pickup van from the right. Unlike the day before, it was our day. We three and our Zen Estilo escaped unscathed!

After a tea break at Rhambi and a brief halt at Teesta bridge, we reached Chitrey junction just around noon. The straight road along the banks of the Teesta river was heading towards Gangtok. We took the road on the right which was going uphill towards Kalimpong. The sky was getting darker again and a rainfall looked imminent. From Chitrey, the climb became significantly steeper. I was forced to drive either in the first or second gear. In the meantime, the rain got heavier. We reached Kalimpong at half past twelve in the noon. The caretaker of the service apartment which we had booked for our stay, soon handed over the keys to us. I parked our car in an area within the property which was located three floors downhill from the road level.

Tea break at Rhambi


Photo break at Teesta bazar




At Kalimpong


After dumping our stuffs in the apartment, we walked straight to the downtown area of Kalimpong to have our lunch. We settled for the King Thai Restaurant after roaming around a bit. An hour later, with a bird in our tummy and a bagful of fruits in our hands, we headed back to the apartment. The evening was spent by sitting at the balcony and enjoying the mountain view. The temperature was just right for my taste. A little chill that I was feeling after wearing a full sleeve t-shirt, was compensated by the sips from a cup of hot tea.

At King Thai Restaurant






Downtown Kalimpong

[gmhossain]

Day 3: Durpin, Delo and some cactus

The service apartment had a functional kitchen and we were given a complementary basket of assorted items: noodles, milk, tea bags, biscuits etc. Besides, we had bought few kg of mangoes. So after having a leisurely breakfast, we drove towards the Durpin monastery which was located on a hilltop. The road to the monastery from the downtown Kalimpong winds up through a military area. The road surface was good and it was moderately steep. After parking our car inside the compound, we climbed up through the stairs to reach at the top most viewing spot in the monastery. The sky, unlike the day before, was crystal blue as the Sun was shinning brightly. The white cloud was breaking the monotony of the blue sky. The views of the surrounding areas from of the top of the Durpin monastery was simply breathtaking, to say the least.

Let's roll the wheels


Durpin monastery






After spending some time there, we decided to drive towards the second hilltop of Kalimpong, the Delo hill. While going up I had taken a different route as I had missed one turn from what was suggested by the Google Maps. So while going down we followed the suggested route. The roads near downtown areas of Kalimpong town had circuitous one-way rules. The traffic cops at every corner were directing the vehicles to follow the appropriate directions. It took us a while to drive past the downtown area. We followed the state highway which was heading towards Labha. After sometime we took a right turn to a road which was going sharply uphill. Through a series of hairpin turns we gained heights rapidly to reach at the Delo park. The park at the Delo hill was crowded, not unexpected though. We had to struggle to find some sitting place. Nevertheless, the views from the topmost location of Kalimpong was serene. On the way down, we had our lunch at a road side eatery. The food was homely.

On the way to Delo hill


At Delo Park


Reeha trying out some shots







Paragliding at the Delo hill




Lunch on the way back


In the afternoon, we decided to pay a visit to the Pine View Nursery. The distance was less than a kilometer from our apartment. So we thought of walking to the Nursery. Surely, we had underestimated the efforts required to walk on a hill. Nevertheless, after several breaks we managed to reach at the nursery. The collection of cactus there was simply mind-blowing. Besides, one could get an amazing view of the Kalimpong town from the backside of the nursery. We spent a quite bit of time there. The downhill walk was much easier and we reached our apartment sooner.

The darkness was setting in as we sat in the balcony of the apartment. The mighty Himalayas was getting shrouded into a silhouette. The Wai Wai noodles along with the hot tea made by my better half in the kitchenette, made the evening heavenly. Had I the power to freeze the flow of time, I would have done so in that evening.

At Pine View Nursery


The cactus


Height me out!








Nectar of cactus?

[gmhossain]

Day 4: Ramdhura, Jalsa and aimless drive to Pedong valley

It was a dramatic change of surrounding as soon as we crossed over to the northern side of the mountain. Since we started from Kalimpong, we had been driving mainly through the southern side of the mountain. There was a lone tea shop near the Ramdhura view point and we happened to be the only travelers there at the time. We parked our car beside the road and ordered for two cups of tea. While the tea leaves were being boiled, we sat on the makeshift stools of the shop surrounded by beautiful pine trees. The valley ahead was deep below the mountainous road. The weather had been charming since morning. It was mostly bright and sunny. However, the Mt. Kanchenjungha was not to be seen although the Ramdhura view point, apparently, was known to offer unhindered views of the mountain peak.

A beautiful house


Lord Buddha


On the way to Ramdhura


Tea break at Ramdhura view point


A selfie at Ramdhura view point


An interesting temple -- look closely



We had a generous photo break at the Ramdhura view point. A short drive from the tea shop, led us to the village of Ramdhura. There were couple of homestays just beside the road. I must say that the roads had been amazingly good so far. We again stopped there for a while to enjoy the surrounding views.

Road to the village of Ramdhura


During the drive, I had noticed a signboard saying ``Jalsa Bungalow'' which was located few kilometers ahead along the winding road. We thought of extending our drive up to Jalsa Bungalow before beginning our return drive. The Jalsa Bungalow was a small government bungalow which itself had nothing much to write about. However, it was located on a hilltop which offered a stunning view of the river Teesta which meandered through the valley below. There were couple of garden benches which were facing the valley. The towering Himalayas and the meandering Teesta river moving through the deep valley had a heavenly effect on us while we sat on a bench. It forced me to ponder over the insignificance of the issues which often keep us distracted from enjoying the beauties in life. Deep down the heart I knew, the visit to the Jalsa Bungalow had made my day or may be even the trip.

Jalsa Bungalow


Sprawling lawn ... on a hilltop


Teesta ... where do you go?


Amidst the tree


The peaches


The peach seller


Parents on a thought ... a shot by a daughter


The trail ... back to the road



During the return drive, we took a detour to drive through the famous Silk Road towards Pedong. We didn't have any concrete plan. So for a while we drove around aimlessly in the Pedong valley. We were feeling hungry by then. However, we failed to find a decent place to have our lunch there. So we decided to have a late lunch after reaching Kalimpong. From Algara we took the SH-12 route for returning to Kalimpong and after having another delicious lunch at the King Thai Restaurant, we called it a day.

At Pedong


A football match on a high ground of the Himalayas


SH-12 to Kalimpong from Algara




Lunch at King Thai Restaurant

[gmhossain]

Day 5: Darjeeling, here we come

We took a short break at the Teesta Bazar. Since we started from Kalimpong at around half past nine in the morning, it had been a steep downhill drive. I had been relying on the engine braking for the most. Nevertheless, occasionally I had to engage the brake to slow down our Estilo as it was gaining speed even on the first gear. The photo break at the Teesta river bridge also helped to cool down the brake pads a bit.

At Teesta Bazar


From Teesta Bazar, the road that went towards Darjeeling, was a very steep uphill road with several sharp twisties. Besides, it also had an atrocious double-layered helical twisty. During this drive, I shifted the lever up into the second gear after climbing over one such sharp twisty. Few moments later, the car started loosing momentum rapidly as another sharp uphill twisty laid ahead of us. I floored the accelerator but the car kept loosing the speed. The car was about to stall and I feared that given the slope holding the car there with the handbrake was not possible. In this very moment of confusion, I suddenly managed to downshift to the first gear just in time. It was an error in judgment which could have been a costly one, specially when we had only a 998cc petrol engine to back us up!

In the meantime, the sky had opened up. In fact, it was raining so heavily that the visibility had become near zero. So once we reached near the Peshok tea garden we decided to stop at a tea shop there. Since the up-shift fiasco, I had kept the lever slotted right into the first till we reached Peshok. Later, I saw a board that warned the driver to `drive only on the first gear' in that stretch!

The rain was about to start ... along the Peshok road


The rain became heavier


It had been close to an hour that we were sitting at the tea shop. We enjoyed some home made cookies along with the tea. However, it did not look like that rain was going to stop anytime soon. So we resumed our drive amidst the rain with very low visibility. In the meantime, we had a chat over the phone with the owner of our homestay at Darjeeling. We told him about our current location and mentioned our choices for the menu in the lunch. The rain had reduced by the time we reached at Darjeeling. However a thick blanket of fog had engulfed it. After a short while, we had our lunch at the homestay. The home made lunch was simply delightful, may be the best of the trip!

Rain drops at the tea shop


Back in the driver's seat


Parked our car at the homestay


Inside our room


On the lunch table


We took a rest for half an hour before we walked down towards the famed Batasia loop. The fog was still dense and we could see only a few feet ahead of us. Nevertheless, it ensured that there weren't many tourists when we reached there, lucky us! While we were taking the pictures of the fog, the queen of the hills decided to show us her mesmerizing beauty as the weather started to clear up rather rapidly. From there we walked to the Ghum monastery and the railway museum.

The war memorial


The fog on the Darjeeling hill


... fog started clearing up


... almost all clear


Yes, here we are




A little later


At the Batasia loop





Near Ghum station


At the DHR museum

[gmhossain]

Day 6: A day in the traffic jam of Darjeeling

The traffic was terrible on the plains along the Kolkata - Siliguri route. However, the hill traffic between Ghum and Darjeeling downtown would beat that hands down anytime. It took us more than 2 hours to cover the distance of mere 12 kilometers! Luckily, I was not driving. Following an invaluable suggestion by our homestay owner, we had hopped on a state transport mini bus that was heading towards the downtown. Our car was left at the homestay to have a peaceful day!

Stuck in a traffic jam


The famous fry .. near Batasia


Near Darjeeling downtown


At Chowrasta


Shopping!


After ticking off some of the bucket list tourist spots and a charming lunch at the Glenary's we headed towards Llyod Botanical Garden. Our daughter insisted that we visit it. The key downtown areas of Darjeeling are pedestrian-only zones. So it meant that we needed to walk down towards Botanical garden from Chowrasta. However, if one thought that walking down there would be like `walking on a park' then one couldn't be more wrong than possible. Two years ago, I did a high altitude trek in Uttarakhand and the visit to Lloyd Botanical Garden reminded me of my trekking experiences, as my questionable fitness was put to test once again!

Anyway, after the mini trek in the Botanical garden, we headed back towards Ghum in the late afternoon. The journey back to Ghum was an adventure itself on which I would write a full-size novel after I retire from my job. So I won't comment on it any further!

Through the downtown


At Glenary's




At LLoyd Botanical Garden

[gmhossain]

Day 7: The drive to Malda

We bade goodbye to the homestay owner around half past six in the morning. The plan for the day was to reach our Malda home and enjoy the festival of Eid on the next day. We took the road through the Rohini tea garden. After having been through the treacherous Peshok road, the hairpin bends of the Rohini road appeared to be rather tamed ones!

The return journey did not offer us anymore adventure. After a breakfast break at Sukna, a refuelling break at Ghoshpukur BP pump and an elaborate lunch at a dhaba at Gazole, we reached our Malda home by afternoon.

A parting selfie


Along the Hill Cart road




Along the Rohini road


Not so yummi breakfast ... at Sukna

[gmhossain]

Day 11: The drive to Kalyani

We spent next three days by living on the feasts of the festivity. Besides, if you were in Malda in summer then ignoring the famed mangoes of Malda would have been a shame! So after adding couple of inches around the waistline in three days, we began the final leg of our journey.

The car was already packed with our luggage considering the week-long road trip that we had. However, my parents felt that there were enough space available to load couple of cartons of freshly plucked mangoes from our own orchard. A carton had to be put also at the foot-well of the front passenger seat, as it was unoccupied. Being a parent myself, now I know that to the parents their child never grows even if the child was heading to be forty years old!

Freshly plucked mangoes


We stopped at Krishnanagar after cruising through the freshly laid 4-laned tarmac of the Krishnanagar - Baharampur section of NH-34. We had seen a billboard advertising a newly opened dhaba cum food court at Krishnanagar, called Mother's Hut. It turned out to be a sprawling one. It had swanky toilets, a rarity, and it could become a landmark dhaba along this route. Interestingly, it was operated by mothers only, yes you read it right! We enjoyed an elaborate brunch there. After resuming our drive from Krishnanagar, we parked our Estilo in our parking lot an hour and half later.

At Mother's Hut

[Aditya]

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

[PapaBravo]

Another short & crisp one from you Hossain Saab. We had covered almost the same circuit excluding Darjeeling once. It has a TL here on the forum as well. Peshoke road is indeed steep when negotiated in a hatchback. I had done the same in my Brio with 4 people & full luggage.

Is that 'Tulip Homestay' in Kalimpong ? If yes, do let me know the feedback since we are booked there for our next trip as well since we did not get our usual place /Yuru Resort' on the travel dates.

Also, your post on the Ballapur bailey bridge on the other thread has been very helpful.

Cheers,

Pawan

[gmhossain]

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Another short & crisp one from you Hossain Saab. We had covered almost the same circuit excluding Darjeeling once. It has a TL here on the forum as well. Peshoke road is indeed steep when negotiated in a hatchback. I had done the same in my Brio with 4 people & full luggage.

Thank you Pawan! I must have read your TL, generally I don't miss yours!

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Is that 'Tulip Homestay' in Kalimpong ? If yes, do let me know the feedback since we are booked there for our next trip as well since we did not get our usual place /Yuru Resort' on the travel dates.

You are spot on! It was decent with secured parking, nice views! The caretaker was very helpful and he stays in the same compound. Overall, we enjoyed it although we would have liked to have a bit better bathroom.

[mi2n]

Lovely account as always Golam da! To be up north during Monsoons is a feeling like no other. Yes, the snow peaks might remain illusive, but i could spend days just gazing at the clouds and mists floating around, the gushing waterfalls and the droplets of water on the flora.


The photo of the highway at Bethuadahari is unbelievable! Is that a flyover over the railroad crossing? Who could have thought?


Thanks for sharing dada! Next season, do invite us for the home-grown mangoes.

[ARAY]

Hossainda, first of all thanks a lot for bringing back such great memories of our trip to the region. The Zen looks ravishing in the mountainous backdrop. Loved the pictures and your storytelling.

Keep traveling and Sharing such wonderful experiences with us.