[Mile_Breaker]

Once again ABHI_1512, a visual treat from a seasoned traveller and Baahon gets a well deserved cap added to its wheels ! It surely has powerful light the way it has lit up the highway in one of the photos. Helps a lot for such night journey. I wish my Hexa had the strong light too, the stock bulbs and headlight setup is detrimental to long highway journey at night. Although I have got used to it by now. The permit fiasco was real unfortunate but glad the person at the checkpost was reasonable and allowed to pass through. Dzongu seems to be an interesting place to be. My wish remains to visit Gurudongmar again someday to see the reflection of the mountains on its clear blue water.

[NPV]

Abhi da, wonderful travelogue with breathtaking pictures as well, thanks for sharing

I've been following your earlier travelogues as well, keep traveling and sharing your experiences. Your Ford Ecosport "Baahon" is a star too posing wonderfully at amazingly scenic spots

[k2j2]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Hahaha...this is what I was not doing in my trips and always had that little feeling of sadness at the end of each trip, feeling of missing out of all the good times one had in the concluding trip. I will try this trick from next time onwards!!

Finally, the day to get back to the humdrum of cacophony, back to the race of city life. It's often the last day of any trip that the also happens to be the germination ground of the future trips and we did have some plans going in our head. A way of pacifying the sad feeling mind which is about to get back to home at the end of a holiday.

Same question I had in my mind as well!! Its difficult to manage cleaning when you are into mountain demography accompanied by rains.

[Yogi..Reeturaj]

Wow, bought back so many memories. You keep adding to my already overflowing bucket list of places to visit man. Loved the flowing narrative. Takdah was a cherry on top and a must do list, thanks to you.
Looking forward for more.

[jithin23]

Abhi, you're giving me serious travel goals buddy! Plus your proximity to Himalayas coupled with your style of writing and pics make it more irresistible.

Yours and Samba da's threads(Others like Papabravo and other Calcutta bhpians too are no less) are my reference to the North East, which I'd like to drive in my Red Dragon sometime this year or next year.

Amazing Travelogue as always!

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

It was around 9 when we left home and soon we were on the old Delhi road, the default route for Siliguri these days and details of which can be found at the NH 34 thread.

Assuming that you reached Bahrampur town sometime around midnight, did you get any traffic jam there? I wished to know it because I went to north Bengal on 29th April and have returned a week later. Both the times I crossed Baharampur at night and had to waste quite sometime there for traffic holdups. Did you have any such issue?

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by Ikran

Amazing clicks!!

This one makes me long for my trip to the mountains.

Thanks Ikran, I hope your hill trip materialises soon.

Originally Posted by abhi3284

Amazing Travelogue and Droolworthy Pics Abhi_1512. Was able to rekindle my memories of my Sikkim Trip from last Dec. North Sikkim was the only part of Sikkim i did not cover due to unfavorable climate in Dec., and your Travelogue just makes my desire stronger to visit this heavenly part of Sikkim sometime soon.

Many thanks abhi3284, you should make the North Sikkim tour during the month of April. This month is the optimum time to visit those lovely vistas. Glad that I could rekindle your memories.

Originally Posted by BhaskarG

I am living this monotonous humdrum without a break for more than one year now. I am currently going through a vacationless phase in life (I do not know if that word even exists, maybe I invented it).

I have to admit, I look forward to your travelogues eagerly. Not because of my predicament, but because your travelogues are always a good read.

Edit: Also, it helps if the costs of travel is mentioned. (cost of stay, fuel, passes, fees

First thing first, I hope your vacationless phase finishes itself out Bhaskar, nothing is permanent you know. It’s only a matter of time before you hit the open roads again.

Also, thanks for the good words. It’s words like your’s that carry an incentive to write down the travel experiences. Regarding the costs involved, I usually don’t share those since they are always relative.

Anyone wishing to know about the costs can always PM and that is where I can share those details. Besides, fuel and hotel costs are always dynamic in nature. But still since you asked, I can say that Fuel costs came to around 16k and hotel costs came to around 18k.

Originally Posted by kousikjana

Nice travelogue. Read it at one go. Just curious, how did you manage to keep your car so clean after driving through rain late night.

Thanks for the good words koushikjana, glad that you found the log worthy of reading at one go.

Regarding the clean part, I always find a water source at places where I stay and rest you can decipher

Originally Posted by GwD

Splendid storytelling accompanied with perfect pics. You took your readers with you all the way. You are a champion indeed. Hope to listen to your story in person sometime.

Already looking forward to your next travelogue.

Many thanks GwD, not sure about the champion part but glad that you like the read. Please join us in our next Calcutta chapter meet and I will be only too happy to meet you as well. I suppose, a Monsoon Meet is in the offing soon. Please keep an eye on the Meet section.

Originally Posted by Mile_Breaker

Once again ABHI_1512, a visual treat from a seasoned traveller and Baahon gets a well deserved cap added to its wheels ! It surely has powerful light the way it has lit up the highway in one of the photos. Helps a lot for such night journey. I wish my Hexa had the strong light too, the stock bulbs and headlight setup is detrimental to long highway journey at night. Although I have got used to it by now. The permit fiasco was real unfortunate but glad the person at the checkpost was reasonable and allowed to pass through. Dzongu seems to be an interesting place to be. My wish remains to visit Gurudongmar again someday to see the reflection of the mountains on its clear blue water.

Thanks Mile_Beeaker, thanks for the good words as always. On the contrary to what you felt for the lights, Ecosport stock lights are not that great as well. However, along with the fog lights, the set up has served me well till now.

Dzongu is a hidden paradise in North Sikkim and should be experienced for sure. Knowing you, I am sure the visit is not far and so should be the reflection of the hills on the water. Your whirlwind trip to Gurudongmar is still fresh in my mind.

Originally Posted by NPV

Abhi da, wonderful travelogue with breathtaking pictures as well, thanks for sharing

I've been following your earlier travelogues as well, keep traveling and sharing your experiences. Your Ford Ecosport "Baahon" is a star too posing wonderfully at amazingly scenic spots

Thanks NPV, glad that you found my logs worth following. I hope we also get to see the North East from your eyes and I hope you share the experience with us. Happy travelling.

Originally Posted by k2j2

Same question I had in my mind as well!! Its difficult to manage cleaning when you are into mountain demography accompanied by rains.

Cleaning is not that clumsy in the hills if the roads are good k2j2. It’s only when the roads are not good that I refrain from cleaning and would give the car a proper wash. Anyways, keeping the car clean is a chore that I love doing. Also, thanks for the good words.

Originally Posted by Yogi..Reeturaj

Wow, bought back so many memories. You keep adding to my already overflowing bucket list of places to visit man. Loved the flowing narrative. Takdah was a cherry on top and a must do list, thanks to you.
Looking forward for more.

Thanks Man, we both know how much we love travelling. Your earlier Dzongu trip is what drove me to that lovely piece of heaven. And yes, you should make the trip to Takdah, I would be happy to join.

Originally Posted by jithin23

Abhi, you're giving me serious travel goals buddy! Plus your proximity to Himalayas coupled with your style of writing and pics make it more irresistible.

Yours and Samba da's threads(Others like Papabravo and other Calcutta bhpians too are no less) are my reference to the North East, which I'd like to drive in my Red Dragon sometime this year or next year.

Thanks Jithin23, I sincerely hope your red dragon makes the trip as soon as possible. Samba and all are champions in their own right, I can only marvel at their travels. Do Ping me when you are this side, will be glad to meet.

Originally Posted by rahul4640

Assuming that you reached Bahrampur town sometime around midnight, did you get any traffic jam there? I wished to know it because I went to north Bengal on 29th April and have returned a week later. Both the times I crossed Baharampur at night and had to waste quite sometime there for traffic holdups. Did you have any such issue?

Indeed Rahul Da, you are right about the jam part. I too faced the same on Sargachi bypass since the main road was closed and the police had made the Sargachi bypass one way towards Bahrampur. I had to deploy the age old theory of driving on the opposite lane to cross the stretch of lorries. Found out that the Police were barricading the lorries and letting the small cars go.

Not sure about the return leg since I travelled during the day and found the road relatively free.

Regards.

[turboNath]

Take a bow ABHI_1512 for sharing yet another travelogue from one of my favourite regions of Sikkim ! The opening shot is amazing and it looks like Baahon had a brilliant drive from sea level to all the way upto 17.8k feet. In some shots Baahon has managed to gel in perfectly with all the white snow around (never knew cars were this good at camouflage!). The lake looks heavenly as usual and it simply keeps on calling me back time after time.

Dzongu looks like a wonderful place to visit in the future. The close up shots of those delicious dishes and the fantastic view from the porch are more than enough to convince me for a quick visit ! I will definitely message you for more details before heading towards Dzongu.

Thanks a ton for sharing this wonderful travelogue. Wanted to rate 10 but had to stick with 5 stars ! Keep on revving and exploring the great outdoors on your trusted Baahon !

[ron82x3]

Great post. Loved the pictures. Rated 5 stars.
Having seen your travel pictures even before the Travelogue was written, I was so excited to read this.

Having similar machines, I now feel confident to plan a trip to the sacred Gurudongmar lake soon.

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Now, there is no particular road to take and various vehicles have made their own way in making upto the lake and one just needs to follow anyone of those. I did the same but soon got stuck mid way since Baahon suffered total power loss at those heights while on the ascend and while negotiating the sharp stones. Stayed put, regained some thrust and with one swift movement, finally was on the top

Will get in touch, on how to manage such sticky situations. After all, you are one of the best persons, who knows the full capabilities of the EcoSport.

[Neversaygbye]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

I somehow was reluctant to even write this travelogue up since it's been raining logs on Gurudongmar since the last month or so. But then, every travel is different and so is the perspective. In addition to North Sikkim, I also found a lovely heritage British Bungalow near Darjeeling and thought of spending few days there as well.

I am so glad that you wrote this travelogue. While it is true that there have been quite a few TLs on Gurudongmar in recent times, your TL is fresh and unique since the weather conditions and situations you faced were quite different from that of the others. Also, the other places you visited on this trip were incredible in their own way as well, and I actually learnt of some of them for the first time from your TL. Needless to say, the photos, the food and the entire TL, are awesome!

Your trips always inspire me, ABHI_1512 - apart from a keen eye for detail and a knack for choosing amazing destinations and stays, you also have huge reserves of courage and energy and have truly shown how to leverage the capability of great car like Baahon. Did you not sleep at all till you reached Mangan at 3 pm on Day 1? That requires serious tenacity and stamina. I doubt I will ever be able to do that - seriously, hats off to you!

Thanks once again for sharing this awesome TL. Don't know when I'll be able to make this trip, but it is surely on my bucket list.

[edunata]

Oh, what a wonderful TL, dotted with nice pictures. Thanks for the information about the Takdah Bungalow. Added to my bucket list.

People who are familiar with Peshok road will understand what I mean by the word adventure, that too in the night amidst the rains !! The blinding rain was making sure that visibility was extremely poor and I had to rely on the white marking on the outer section to move forward. After 11th Mile, one has to take a left turn to go uphill

-- I can recall very well, last year October, in my North Sikkim trip. The road after Teesta bridge was washed away. So, starting from Lachen we reached Teesta Bridge and again rerouted towards Jorbunglow, to reach Siliguri. I still have goosebumps recalling the Peshok Road drive around 8 pm. There was dense fog, and I can only see the painted stones at the roadside. Not a soul in the vicinity. Reached Jorbunglow aroung 10 pm and Siliguri about 12:30am

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by turboNath

The opening shot is amazing and it looks like Baahon had a brilliant drive from sea level to all the way upto 17.8k feet. In some shots Baahon has managed to gel in perfectly with all the white snow around (never knew cars were this good at camouflage!). The lake looks heavenly as usual and it simply keeps on calling me back time after time.

Thanks for the good words turboNath, you are veteran of the circuit and I couldn’t be more jealous about that. Jokes apart, thanks for contact regarding the permit, helped much.

North Sikkim is indeed a slice of heaven perched on those heights. I am sure it won’t take you long to revisit your favourite place. More so now since you have got something that will surely take you places. And yes, Dzongu is one of them for sure. The chirping birds are just waiting to be clicked by you,

Originally Posted by ron82x3

Having similar machines, I now feel confident to plan a trip to the sacred Gurudongmar lake soon.

Will get in touch, on how to manage such sticky situations. After all, you are one of the best persons, who knows the full capabilities of the EcoSport.

Thanks ron82x3, you have an improved version of Ecosport and I am sure your trip is going to happen soon. The car is great when dealt to it’s proper capabilities and I am sure you know that too. Not sure about the best person but will help in whatever way possible. Your Red Beauty will look great on those terrains

Originally Posted by Neversaygbye

I am so glad that you wrote this travelogue. While it is true that there have been quite a few TLs on Gurudongmar in recent times, your TL is fresh and unique since the weather conditions and situations you faced were quite different from that of the others.

Much appreciated Neversaygbye, you have always encouraging words to say and I can’t be more thankful for the good words. As you rightly said, perspectives differ and hence the account.

There are places that needs to be experienced and Dzongu is one of them for sure. The people of the Lepcha community are so much full of warmth and compassion that we need to imbibe some values from them. The place is worth visiting only to experience the vibes of the place. Being the avid traveller that you are, I am sure North Sikkim will happen soon, surely after the football sojourn.

Originally Posted by edunata

Oh, what a wonderful TL, dotted with nice pictures. Thanks for the information about the Takdah Bungalow. Added to my bucket list.

Thanks edunata, Takdah Club should be experienced for the regal heritage that it offers. I have been through Peshok road many a times but never in adverse weather conditions. The road is steep but well paved throughout and is not a problem at any other time. But yes, first timers to the hills should avoid this route.

Will eagerly wait to hear from your just concluded trip to one of my favourite places on earth.

Regards.

[archbishopofbhp]

Abhi Sir, will our Honda Brio be able to tackle the final climb to Gurudonmarg Lake and will we be able to get the permits for same?

We have been making plans for North Sikkim and I believe Zero Point isn't much of a challenge to reach but will it be advisable to attempt Gurudonmarg or will booking a taxi be a more sensible approach?

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by archbishopofbhp

Abhi Sir, will our Honda Brio be able to tackle the final climb to Gurudonmarg Lake and will we be able to get the permits for same?

We have been making plans for North Sikkim and I believe Zero Point isn't much of a challenge to reach but will it be advisable to attempt Gurudonmarg or will booking a taxi be a more sensible approach?

Hi, sorry for being late to your query. It’s not about the car but the lack of oxygen which becomes a hindrance during the final climb. The road becomes non existent and boulder ridden and that becomes an impediment.

I am not too sure about the permit part though. On a good day, you will perhaps get the permits but on a bad day, you might not be that lucky. The road situation is also partly responsible for the issuance of permits. The road is real bad after Thangu check post till Gaigaon post. You will have to steer your car very carefully through the stretch other wise the chances of underbody hits are very much likely.

In all fairness, from what I have seen, I will suggest you to take a hired taxi for Gurudongmar and do the Lachung stretch on your Honda Brio. Will be a peace of mind for both- you as well as your Brio.

Regards.

P.S- Please don’t address me as Sir, makes me feel old !!

[haisaikat]

Travelling to North East always carries its own uncertainties that no matter how prepared someone is there are always surprises. Yet reading your TL gives the impression as if things went rock smooth. Take an instance the permit or the rains or even the final climb to the Gurudongmar, you handled each in their own way and that is what makes you the North East travel google among us.

Coming to the journey, marvelous breathtaking views. The carefully chosen stays like the
Munlom wood house or the one at Lachung which I liked more than the Takdah British Bungalow or the picturesque views at Gurudongmar, Lachung and Yumthang are such treat to the eyes. I have never been to any of these places, hope to go some day. But that kilometre long traffic on your return day towards Takdah reminded me of the Jammu - Srinagar highway traffic, its entirely disgusting, more so in hilly areas with no shops / rest stops around.

If somebody has not told you already, that duo click of your with your better half at Zero point is the ideal one to frame. Take care and keep traveling and sharing. Rated 5 stars.