[PapaBravo]

It was around April when my childhood friend, Nitesh, called me after seeing our Sandakphu travelogue on TeamBHP and expressed his interest in doing a road trip together to the hills with us. He lives in Sweden & was planning to come to India in October with his wife, Jeanna.

Several calls & whatsapp messages later, the dates were locked & hotels booked. The plan was for Nitesh & Jeanna to catch a flight to Bagdogra whereas Meghna (my wife) & I would drive down from Kolkata to regroup at the airport. We had a lot of places to cover in this trip since this was Nitesh & Jeanna's first trip to North East. So we finally made a plan covering Dooars, N Bengal hills, Darjeeling & Gangtok (Sikkim). Since it was Durga Puja time in Kolkata, we had 3 leaves before the start of our trip. Meghna & I decided to leave 2 days early & relax somewhere in the hills before catching up with our friends.

The Team

[PapaBravo]

Day 1: Kolkata-Siliguri

We started from our place at 5 pm. The road to Siliguri had nothing different to offer except a jam free Farakka barrage. Stopped at Moregram to meet bhpian Mythsx who was on his return from himalayas. Reached Siliguri in around 11 hrs and to Kalimpong in another 3. Our regular stay in Kalimpong is Yuru Resort. This time due to holiday rush, there was no room available on our dates. We tried an AirBNB in Kalimpong that goes by the name of 'Tulip Suite'. Leon the host was very welcoming. He is a petrolhead as well & has an impulse with Karizma engine. Missed clicking picture of his bike. He even helped me wash my car the next morning. Our lunch was maggi since we were a bit tired for going out. After a good afternoon siesta, we went to a pub nearby called 'Roxberry Pub & Cafe'. It had live music and good food. The music is a bit loud but the ambiance and food is great.

Waiting for bhpian Mythsx at Moregram



All set for an evening in a Himalayan Pub.

The next morning we got up at leisure. I went down to wash my car and asked Leon about good but non touristy places to go since we had already visited most places in our previous visits to Kalimpong. He suggested a monastery & a road with beautiful views. Our plan was to finish the sightseeing in first, have lunch at Yuru resort & return to BnB by evening to spend a quite evening in the balcony.

A beautiful morning at our BnB

Parked outside Monastery



Few pictures in the Monastery

We proceeded for Yuru through the road that Leon had suggested. We reached Yuru by 1400 hrs. We had already ordered our lunch over phone in order to avoid any delay.

The beautiful road

At our favorite place in Yuru











View from Yuru

We returned to our place by 1530 hrs and soaked into a beautiful Himalayan evening. Next day we were to receive our friends from Sweden. I had tied up with a cab to drop them at Teesta bazar where we would meet & continue the rest of trip.

[PapaBravo]

Day 3 : Kalimpong-Teesta Bazar-Lava

We picked up Nitesh & Jeanna from Teesta Bazar. We had some time in hand so thought of getting Sikkim permits done for Jeanna. All foreign nationals need to report to Foreigners Registry Office (FRO) and provide documents (Passport with valid visa & photographs) in order to obtain the permit. It was a smooth process and we were done in 15 mins. Even though we were on a vacation, Nitesh's work was not ready to leave him. He attend a call with his laptop infront and good connectivity. After a lot of thought we thought of going back to Yuru again for brunch where Nitesh could finish his job.

This time we took Bhalu Marg to Delo. In one of our previous visits, we had explored this route. The route hardly has any traffic and passes thorugh some beautiful villages. We reached Yuru by noon. Nitesh got internet connectivity and started his work while the rest of us indulged in some more photography & food.

Meghna & Jeanna waiting for the food



The food arrives



While Nitesh looks busy in his work



Some photography before the food arrives

Post lunch we proceeded towards Lava. Our destination was a little ahead of Lava on the river Chel. The roads were in shambles after Algarah for around 30 kms. We took a long time reached our destination by 1530 hrs. This is the same property where we had stayed with bhpian Blackpearl & Teesta on our way to Meghalaya. It is a small cottage on the river Chel. The rover flows inside the property. We soaked ourselves into the greenery & the evening was spent relaxing & catching up with our friends.

The Room



Nitesh finishing his last leg of work

We did not have any firm plan for the next day. We went down to the river and relaxed there till lunch. Post lunch we thought of going for a drive to Dooars. The plan was to go to Chalsa-Samsing belt traversing through tea gardens.

The trail to Chel river



At Chel river which flowed through property





The beautiful setting

On the way to Samsing



Tea Gardens



Murti River at Samsing

We were back from sightseeing by late evening & our very capable cook had very yummy biryani ready for all of us. Over-ate and went to sleep early.

[PapaBravo]

Day 5 : Lava-Gangtok

As mentioned above, the route that we had taken while coming to Lava was in shambles. In order to avoid it, we decided to take the alternate route through Dooars & Coronation bridge. This route was longer but the roads were better. We had left early in order to reach Gangtok by lunch. After a long journey through Sevoke, we reached our hotel in Gangtok by lunch time. Ordered for the food before checking in & the food was ready by the time we settled in the rooms. A small post lunch rest later, we on the streets of Gangtok for shopping. Since it was Dasain (Dussera) time in Gangtok, a lot of our favourite eateries were closed. Everyone working in the restaurants goes to their hometown this time of the year. It had started raining, which halted the shopping activities and we were in a cafe for our dinner. Walked back to hotel late at night & retired for the day.

View of Gangtok town





Panaromic view from balcony



At MG Marg



Ladies enjoying the ice cream in cold weather



The only lit up part of Gangtok late at night

Day 6 : Gangtok-Darjeeling

We started the next day for Darjeeling. We were booked in Sterling Resorts, Ghoom (approx 8 kms before Darjeeling). Took the usual Peshoke route. There was a particular point on Peshoke road where we always stopped for a momo break. There was one small shop & tea gardens all around. This time when we reached that place, we were shocked to see that the place has become so commercialized that finding a parking place was an issue. Atleast 7-8 other shops have come up. The serenity of the place has been lost. Anyway, we were hungry and had our share of momos before starting for Ghoom.

Reached by noon & decided to park our car & hire an Innova for Darjeeling local travel. Parking is a big problem in Darjeeling so taking a chauffeur driver car makes more sense. Hopped into Glenarys for a late lunch & then explored the mall road. Nitesh & Jeanna bought some Darjeeling tea for friends back home. Dinner was planned in our hotel so were back by late evening.

Glenarys



Enjoying the weather & ambiance

We were not able to catch the glimpse of Mt. K till now & the next day was our last chance since we were going to descend from the hills to plains. Woke up early morning to get a glimpse and Mt. K did not disappoint. After some mountain watching we got ready to go back to Siliguri. We never stop at Siliguri on the way to or from the hills. We prefer staying in the hills the last day as well. But this time we had asked the ladies to catch a flight back while Nitesh & I would drive back.

Mt. Kanchenjunga from hotel view point



Our last stop at Cochrane place for some snack & tea

Reached Siliguri by lunch & after a small siesta left for Kolkata. 12 hours of drive with a childhood friend went in a flash discussing old school tales. The indulged in a spa treatment that evening & got the next morning flight to Kolkata. The trip had come to an end. Nitesh & Jeanna stayed with us for another 2 days in Kolkata before leaving for Sweden.

Hope you enjoyed travelling with through this log !!

Till next time

Cheers,

Pawan

[BlackPearl]

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

[sayakc]

Wow! is the word with some crisp narration and crisper photography.

The Chel resort looks great - I remember the photos from your Shillong trip. Must stay there some day. As far as the other places go, you are now the official team bhp tour guide for North Bengal & Sikkim (along with BP & Samba ..hope I havent missed anyone else )

BR,
Sayak

[Samba]

Our Duster man & Hulk is back with yet another beautiful travelogue.
I was scrolling down your travelogue and my dad was sitting beside me, seeing the pics, his comment was-
Who clicked these pics? They are really nice.

No matter how many times we visit North Bengal & Sikkim, they never fail to bring a smile on our face. Every visit feels refreshing.

[BlackPearl]

Someone is clicking really nice pictures after someone suggested, rather forced him to buy a proper camera. Please don't come back and say that the pictures were taken with a mobile phone!

Jokes apart, crisp travelogue and lovely snaps!

Originally Posted by Samba

Who clicked these pics? They are really nice.

Competition is getting hot, eh!

Originally Posted by sayakc

along with BP & Samba ..hope I havent missed anyone else

I am hardly able to visit Sikkim and North Bengal. Only 2 trips in last two years! You should place your name in the new top 3 list and remove mine

[siddarthab]

Crisp narrative and beautiful photographs PapaBravo

Was that the Lailaguras View Point near Samsing? Had been there during an office trip a couple of years back.... although we reached when it was almost dark. The place has a lovely view across the river.

Thanks for sharing.

Warm regards,

Siddhartha

[PapaBravo]

Originally Posted by sayakc

Wow! is the word with some crisp narration and crisper photography.

The Chel resort looks great - I remember the photos from your Shillong trip. Must stay there some day. As far as the other places go, you are now the official team bhp tour guide for North Bengal & Sikkim (along with BP & Samba ..hope I havent missed anyone else )

Thank you so much Sayak. You are being modest. Your travels to North Bengal & Sikkim guide us a lot.

Originally Posted by Samba

I was scrolling down your travelogue and my dad was sitting beside me, seeing the pics, his comment was-
Who clicked these pics? They are really nice.

Thanks a lot Samba !! Say thanks to uncle as well. Still a long way to go as far as photography goes.

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Someone is clicking really nice pictures after someone suggested, rather forced him to buy a proper camera. Please don't come back and say that the pictures were taken with a mobile phone!

Yes. Thank you for being that someone who forced me to buy the camera. This was infact the first trip to the hills with the new camera & the pictures came out really nice.

Originally Posted by siddarthab

Crisp narrative and beautiful photographs PapaBravo

Thanks a lot Siddratha da !!

Was that the Lailaguras View Point near Samsing? Had been there during an office trip a couple of years back.... although we reached when it was almost dark. The place has a lovely view across the river.

Yes. It was the same view point. We sat there for a long time looking at the views.

Cheers,

Pawan

[kousikjana]

Excellent travelogue PapaBravo with stunning photographs! Thanks for sharing. Sikkim and North Bengal have been in my bucket list since long. These logs will help us in planing for the trip.

[Thermodynamics]

Another classic travelogue. Very refreshing to see north Bengal and Sikkim through your lens.

Traveling leisurely is an art only a few master. And with a beautiful theme of hosting a good old friend makes this story warm and cheerful. Wish you many more amazing travels ahead.

[AJ-got-BHP]

Gangtok, Kalimpong and Darjeeling are all good contents to happiness and cheerfulness. A good drive, happy faces and some mastered photography in this Travelogue ensures a deserving 5* rating ! After your series of Travelogues in 2019, waiting for your next one already

[gautam109]

Thanks for the crisp travelogue & stunning pictures. Your Duster looks super handsome and pristine, like it just rolled out of the showroom.

Two questions please :
a. Which camera?
b. Name of the property (The cottage by the Chel)

[feluda86]

Wonderful write up. Thanks for sharing.
Yuru is me and my wife's "comfort place" if you can have any. We keep going back once in a while. Was there this December to cool off after a hectic year. These pictures are taken during that brief stay.


Yes! This is our favourite spot as well


How can this not be ones favourite place?