[Sukanta73]

Nice journey with toddler. Hat's of to you and and your wife.

By the way I am staying near Asansol. Hope to meet you in future.

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by lovecars21

Here is the list of Medicines that we took for the baby.
1. Neopeptine for digestion
2. Rantac syrup for acidity
3. Calpol drops for fever and body/headache
4. Maxtra for cough
5. Coriminic for runny and stuffy nose
6. Enterogermina for indigestion/stomach upset
7. Domstal for vomiting
8. Oximeter for monitoring the oxygen levels.
9. Oxygen cylinders of 100 litres

That's a good list.

I also carry the following for kids.

1. Ondem 5mg for vomiting.
2. Meftal for very high fever (if the fever does not go down by Calpol and remains above 102).
3. Levocet for cold.
4. Colicaid for mold stomach ache.
5. Renifol Z for stomach infection.
6. Nor - Metronidizol for dysentery.
7. Nazoclear for nose congestion.
8. Mama earth stomach roll on for upset stomach and gas (from Amazon).
9. Lactocalamine for children for bites, skin rash etc.
10. Sudocream for nappy rash, mild cuts etc.
11. Azee (antibiotic). Some remote places where you may not get it and your doctor recommends it.
12. Kofarest for cough.
13. ORSL tetrapack 200 ml each, for kids above 2 years.

All above are tried and tested, and you can also confirm them from your paediatrician.

[lovecars21]

Originally Posted by arindam_xeta

One thing that worries me is that car looting part on Botolbari route.

Thanks for liking the TL. Yes, I was also shocked after hearing the news of the incident. It's best to be careful while driving on that route. Considering the lose cattle and villagers on the narrow winding roads, the aftermath of a small kiss can be deadly.

Originally Posted by soumiksett

Got tensed while you started to move beyond Lachen, and Ishaan's oxygen level drops at 80%.

Thanks for liking the Travelogue. We were tensed too but we were well prepared for such situations and recommend fellow travellers to take adequate precautions while travelling with toddlers.

Originally Posted by Fordlover88

It's really challenging to go such far with a young baby on board but you managed it perfectly.

Thanks Sourav. Surely it was a challenge for us.

Originally Posted by ohaak

Why was this a disadvantage? Did you get stuck somewhere or scrape the parts?

No, we were not stuck but what I meant was that with XUV AWD it is best driven on the road(with tar or without tar) rather than driving it off the road.

Originally Posted by Samba

Good to see the Ameo keeping pace with your AWD.
Cant resist myself from sharing a couple of pics of my Etios from North Sikkim!

Thanks Samba. Yes, surely the Ameo did keep up with XUV.
Loved the pictures you shared of your trip to North Sikkim in your Etios.

Originally Posted by anirbanz

You guys keep setting your own standards of madness and keep making me jealous

Thanks Anirban KIL! Most of my family members and friends say we are mad. Mad as they hear our plans and say it is not possible to execute without hiccups. After we complete the trip they go silent.

Originally Posted by Sukanta73

By the way I am staying near Asansol. Hope to meet you in future.

Hey, Sukanta would love to meet you in person. We feel lucky to be a part of Team bhp family and we have a strong bond between each members.

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

All above are tried and tested, and you can also confirm them from your paediatrician.

Thanks for the added information. Noted down the medicines. Will be carrying them during our next trip.
Hope other readers also kept a note of the same.

[PAkshay]

Thanks for this beautiful write up and awesome clicks!

Ishaan looks adorable.

Your detailed guide on medicines to carry is very welcome and a big thumps up for the same.

By any chance are you chipping in team bhp meet on 19th ? Would love to meet you.

Regards.

[siddarthab]

Lovely detailed travelogue with awesome pictures lovecars21

Glad to know that you had taken adequate precautions with your bundle of joy. We too had ordered for an Oxygen Cylinder while going but unfortunately it wasn't delivered on time. However, Diamox worked fine and we were OK for most of the journey barring Gurudongmar Lake where my daughter (13Years) was feeling a bit down and we didn't stay there for more than 30 minutes.

Yumthang dressed in white looks fabulous in your photos. We, on the other hand, got to see this


Warm regards,

Siddhartha

[SS-Traveller]

Excellent travelogue, Arun.

Originally Posted by lovecars21

People say that travelling with babies can be so daunting.

Not really. We had been travelling with our daughter since she was 3 months old. Packing her essentials correctly is pretty much all that is required. Back in the last century, there weren't much of facilities one could depend on, but then we never really needed anything we were not already carrying.

We forbade the idea of covering long distances at one go as this might be tiring as well as boring for little Ishaan.
...
Kolkata to Siliguri, a distance of 560 kms to be covered in the night

Our strategy had been to cover distances overnight, so the baby sleeps while I drive. We still do that!

...carry enough warm clothes.

Can't stress this enough. And quite a few blankets.

It is very important to feed your baby water to tackle AMS...

More water tends in a moving car tends to make babies throw up.

...I modified the LED bar in my XUV to tackle extreme fog situation. Dismantled the LED bar, cleaned the front glass thoroughly and applied yellow film.

Yellow or white, the colour of the light makes very little difference to beam penetration in fog. What makes a difference is the positioning of the light (correct as in your case, set low to the ground), and the beam pattern (spread-out beam). It is no surprise that yellow fog lamps are hardly ever seen on modern cars.

...Subhayan in Ameo and myself in XUV.

Subhayan must have had the driving experience of a lifetime on this trip!

[travelchax]

Beautifully written travelogue about a truly wonderful adventure. The detailed descriptions of things you had taken for the trip will surely be helpful for anyone who plans to travel with small kids. The pictures are also awesome, and clearly shows the look of awe and excitement in young Ishaan's eyes. Cant wait to go on a trip with him soon

[turboNath]

Amazing travelogue Arunashish da ! This beautiful write up and the equally stunning pictures brought back memories from my Gurudongmar Drive ! More miles and more horsepower to Ishan !

[SaurabhB]

Extremely well written with exceedingly good quality pictures as well. Rated a full 5 star.

Coincidentally i booked my hotels in Mangan (1 night @ The Planter's Home), Lachen (2 nights @ Hotel Eco Nest) and Lachung (2 nights @ The Lachung Regency) just yesterday. I have planned to visit Gurudongmar and Yumthang valley with my family in 3rd week of May 2020. I had not seen or read about your travel till today otherwise i would have definitely taken some inputs from your travellogue.

I have planned as below ... kindly let me know if ok ...

Day 1 : Kolkata - Siliguri,
Day 2 : Siliguri - Mangan, local sight seeing in Mangan,
Day 3 : Mangan - Lachen, local sight seeing in Lachen,
Day 4 : Lachen - Gurudongmar Lake - Thangu Valley - Chopta Valley - Kalapathar - Lachen,
Day 5 : Lachen - Chungthang - Lachung - Katao - Lachung, local sight seeing in Lachung,
Day 6 : Lachung - Yumthang Valley - Zero Point - Lachung,
Day 7 : Lachung - Gangtok,
Day 8 : Gangtok - Siliguri / Malda,
Day 9 : Siliguri / Malda - Kolkata.

Vehicle : Mahindra XUV 500 W11 (O) MT 4x2.
No of members : 5.

I plan to get the permits from the Mangan Police check post. Hope there will be no problem in that.

I would like to talk to you personally sometimes to get some more inputs if you are OK with the same. I will pm you if you confirm.

[GhostRider28]

Setting the highest standards in adventure as always, and documenting them in style - you have been quite an inspiration! Thanks for sharing the details on kiddo stuff. My hyperactive kid refuses to sit in the car seat for more than 10 mins! Please do advise on how you manage to get Ishaan on the seat for so long!

[haisaikat]

@Lovecars21 what a magnificent and inspiring thread and a bold attempt to do this during the winter, that is the AWD leverage.

The pictures are very nice indeed.

I have a question, the 11 hour road time for Kolkata to Siliguri, how many breaks does it include? I plan to travel in May but will have aged mom too, who relies on sedative at night, so was thinking of avoiding nights. But then again days are full of traffic delays.

On a different note I saw the helpful tips on travelling with infants and I think it is high time we consolidate infant and children travelling guide of TBHP into one place. Thank you once again, very informative and useful thread.

[Highway_Nation]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Subhayan must have had the driving experience of a lifetime on this trip!

Indeed it was a great learning experience for me. Arunasish da is one of the best drivers out there. In 1500kms he didn't miss a single bumper or pothole. I have become a fan of his driving. Luckily our paces matched too, so we were very comfortable in driving together and the coordination between the two cars was excellent.

[lovecars21]

Originally Posted by SaurabhB

I have planned as below ... kindly let me know if ok ...

Day 1 : Kolkata - Siliguri,
Day 2 : Siliguri - Mangan, local sight seeing in Mangan,
Day 3 : Mangan - Lachen, local sight seeing in Lachen,
Day 4 : Lachen - Gurudongmar Lake - Thangu Valley - Chopta Valley - Kalapathar - Lachen,
Day 5 : Lachen - Chungthang - Lachung - Katao - Lachung, local sight seeing in Lachung,
Day 6 : Lachung - Yumthang Valley - Zero Point - Lachung,
Day 7 : Lachung - Gangtok,
Day 8 : Gangtok - Siliguri / Malda,
Day 9 : Siliguri / Malda - Kolkata.

I plan to get the permits from the Mangan Police check post. Hope there will be no problem in that.

I would like to talk to you personally sometimes to get some more inputs if you are OK with the same. I will pm you if you confirm.

My kinda plan so no worries. Permit can be arranged from Mangan Police Check post. You can surely call me and discuss about your travel plans.

Originally Posted by GhostRider28

My hyperactive kid refuses to sit in the car seat for more than 10 mins! Please do advise on how you manage to get Ishaan on the seat for so long!

Since 3 months of age Ishaan has been made to seat in his car seat and that has made him understand that travelling in car means he has to have the king's throne.

Originally Posted by haisaikat

I have a question, the 11 hour road time for Kolkata to Siliguri, how many breaks does it include? I plan to travel in May but will have aged mom too, who relies on sedative at night, so was thinking of avoiding nights. But then again days are full of traffic delays.

On a different note I saw the helpful tips on travelling with infants and I think it is high time we consolidate infant and children travelling guide of TBHP into one place. Thank you once again, very informative and useful thread.

Best travel time to Siliguri is leave from Kolkata at 6 to 7 pm and reach Siliguri comfortably by 9 am with 1 dinner break, n number of loo breaks and 1 breakfast break. Incase you wish to travel during the day best time to leave from Kolkata would be 6 am so that by noon you cross Malda and Farraka.

Surely a separate thread can surely be started on travelling tips with infants.

Originally Posted by Highway_Nation

Indeed it was a great learning experience for me. Arunasish da is one of the best drivers out there. In 1500kms he didn't miss a single bumper or pothole. I have become a fan of his driving. Luckily our paces matched too, so we were very comfortable in driving together and the coordination between the two cars was excellent.

A steady pace for long distance travel is the key to have a comfortable journey for yourself and your travel buddies. Subhayan you were also good as you maintained good pace along with me and never did I find you rush through corners or make unnecessary overtakes.