23rd May 2023, 12:59
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| Newbie Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Pune
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| Long Drive East - Pune to Sikkim road trip As you can see from the title of the post, we just completed a long-awaited road trip to the east. The trip to Sikkim was planned as a birding tour from Gangtok. On a whim, we just added the driving bits at either end of the tour. So, this post is going to cover 1. Stats of the trip, 2. My key takeaways from a tour of this magnitude 3. Day -by -day route descriptions. At the outset, I must acknowledge the great source of knowledge that teambhp has become. The entire driving section of the tour was planned based on the information from various posts on teambhhp. This forum is hands down one of the best sources of knowledge on anything regarding Indian roads that is out there. 1. THE VITAL STATS Total Days- 17Driving days- 11 Distance covered- 5282KM Total Toll- Rs. 7230 Avg Mileage- 19.7 km/L Car- Suzuki S-Cross 2017 No: of challans- 0 No: of police stops/car checks- 1 (Interesting story. Keep Reading) Longest Drive without a break- 3 hours  My Partner in Crime 2. MY LEARNINGS AND TAKEAWAYS FROM THE TRIP I have always been an intense driver with a heavy right foot. Anyone on the wrong side of the road, cutting into lanes, trucks moving in and out irritate me to my wits’ end. I usually respond to these stimuli by being hard on the horn or my lights. I even get agitated when I see anyone driving with their high beam. I think this trip changed me to my core. Across the 5K kms that I drove, I have now seen so much randomness on the roads that I have learnt to peacefully co-exist. From the cattle on the roads in MP, the wrong side drivers in UP to the incessantly blaring horns on the streets of Patna, the chaos on the roads pushes you to rise to the top of the Maslow’s pyramid of wants and needs. When Schopenhauer said “happiness is no more than just the absence of pain and suffering”, he might have describing my drive across India. Driving Nirvana. Achieved. The Ganges should only be called “Ganga-ji” I crossed Ganga-ji a total of 6 times at various points during my journey. A lot of the travel was on the well-known Gangetic plains. This was not even the first time that I was seeing the river. But this trip definitely made me realize what a massive impact the river on everything in its wake. Never again will I ever call it any other than Ganga-ji! The river, the life it sustains and the culture it has cradled is just mind-blowing. I am not a spiritual minded person, so the religious significance evades me. But the scale of the river just blows my mind. MH highways are the worst This is a belief that I have had based on my earlier trips mainly through KA, KL and some in GJ. This time I covered a significant number of kilometers in all six states that I travelled through- MH, MP, UP, BH, WB, SK. It is just unbelievable how badly maintained the highways in MH are. This is despite what is the priciest toll cost across the states that I have been to. The random potholes, patchwork of bumps, disappearing medians, unmarked speed breakers are painful as *%#&. On the other hand, the NH27/NH31 through UP and BH was a pleasant experience throughout. Same with highways in MP. Unanswered question- if the so-called ‘under-developed’ states can have excellent highways, then why can’t a ‘developed/rich’ state of MH? Is road building and maintenance too lowly for the great state of MH? Diversity in the weirdest places We have always read about India being a diverse country. But travel makes you see this diversity in the weirdest places. For me, it all came down to ordering coffee without sugar for my wife. Depending on the state/region we were in, this is a list of orders that I got: 1. Ek coffee Sugarless 2. Ek coffee without sugar 3. Coffee bina shakkar 4. Coffee bagair chini 5. Pheeki coffee 6. Sugar free coffee Hairpins and Engine Braking Hairpins are the ultimate joy and delight for any driver worth their salt. I experienced some of the best hairpin driving conditions in the world. I have driven a lot in the European Alps including through the Stelvio Pass (Top Gear fame) but driving up through tea gardens on short sharp hairpins from Jorethang to Darjeeling is an experience to rival that road any day. The Rongli-Zuluk-Gangtok road can rival anything that the Alps have to offer. And it is on these beautiful roads that I discovered the true meaning of engine braking. When you are descending continuously for 2 hours or sometimes even more, engine braking is a life saver. It is such a relaxing feeling to know that you do not have to ride the brake pedal all the down while descending. My brake pads say thanks!  Hairpin Heaven in Zuluk 3. DAY WISE ROUTE DESCRIPTION Driving Day 1 Pune to Shirdi- 190 KMs/5 hours Lunch break- Bhujbal Bandhu at Narayangaon/ 4* Overnight- Sai Ashram Bhakt Niwas This was planned as a day 0 to get us to the start of the Samruddhi Expressway nice and early. An afternoon start meant easy traffic getting out of Pune. The road conditions are OK throughout. After Sangamner, where we leave the Nashik Highway, the road passes through some village roads which are in decent condition for the most part. The road skirts the boundary of the Shirdi airport before getting you into Shirdi. The Bhakt Niwas accommodation is functional- probably my first and last time staying there. Driving Day 2 Shirdi to Rewa- 1043KMs/14 hours Lunch Break- MHKS Highway Plaza on NH44 just after the Nagpur Ring Road/ 4* Coffee break- Rudrash Dhaba after Jabalpur Bypass/ 3* Overnight- Enrise by Sayaji, Rewa The longest day of driving. But the Samruddhi Expressway made it easy. We hit the start of the expressway just before 6 and cruised all the way to the end by 11 including a couple of bio breaks. As mentioned by a lot of people on this forum, the road surface is not very smooth. But other than that, the highway has been designed to absolute international standards. It is a great pleasure to be able to cruise for such long distances on well-planned roads. The exits, signages etc. are absolutely world-class. The facilities, though, need a major uplift. There were some toilets at petrol stations which I could not even enter. May be there is no water supply to these places yet? The toilets at the last toll plaza before Nagpur were decent. The second half of the day was on the silky highways in MP. Other than the cattle which keep testing your concentration, it was an absolute pleasure driving on those roads. Speeding traffic+Dumb Cattle= Tragedy on the roads.  Unfortunate Outcomes for Gomata However, if you keep your eyes open for the cattle, it is easy to maintain 100kph through these roads. The highlights include the well-documented section through the Pench National Park, and some of the sparsely populated parts after Katni. The Katni bypass is under construction and the roads through the construction sites were really bad for around 10KMs. This is the only patch of bad roads that I encountered across the 1000KMs for today. The overnight stay was planned on the way and Enrise by Sayaji showed on the Google search. It is a new property- 6 months old- I think. Great hotel with all the necessary modcons. The restaurant seemed very popular with a lot of local crowd. We just ordered room service and crashed early. We saw an Auto rickshaw parked in the hotel parking who were doing the Adventurists Rickshaw Run. I was not able to meet them but it goes straight onto a bucket list : ).  The Rickshaw Run across India. Driving Day 3 Rewa to Patna – 490Kms / 11hrs Lunch Break- Samrat Dhaba, Ghazipur /3* Sightseeing- Sarnath Overnight- The Panache, Gandhi Maidan, Patna The road from Rewa to Varanasi is very scenic. It starts with wheat fields stretching out on either sides. Then a beautiful ghat section as you leave MP behind and enter UP and the Gangetic plains. These will be the last hills that I saw until I reached the Himalayas. Google maps and highway signs had a major disconnect as I was passing the Mirzapur bypass. I chose to follow the highway signs- and avoid entering the Mirzapur city- Kaleen bhaiyya can wait. We ended up driving through most of Varanasi city and then onwards to Sarnath including some wrong turns, dug up roads, railway crossing etc. Sarnath to Ghazipur stretch follows the NH-31 for the most part and the road is great condition. The toll plaza however, was a major bottleneck as the Fastag sensors were taking forever to read the tags. There were not many family-friendly places to eat on this stretch, so we entered Ghazipur town to stop at the Samrat Dhaba. It seemed a popular place with a lot of regular travelers stopping there. The food was great but hygiene was non-existent. If you are OK swatting flies for the entire time you are eating, it is a great place to have simple, fresh food. Ghazipur to Buxar NH-31 section reminds one of the old national highways. It curves gently through small towns and villages and is covered with tree canopies for the most part. It is a slow-moving road but sometimes the slow travel is more enjoyable. The road crosses over the Gangaji at Buxar and leads to the biggest surprise of my entire trip- Buxar/Koilwar 4 lane highway. Great planning with bypasses and superb road surfaces throughout. The only sorry part was the local traffic coming head-on down the wrong side. After Arrah, there was a huge roadblock with hundreds of trucks headed towards Chhapra. I believe the bridge to Chhapra is under construction and the heavy traffic is regulated from Arrah itself. It was easy enough to head straight onto the Koilwar bridge and towards Patna. But as soon as I passed Bihita, the pain started. Driving into any big city in the evenings is a pain and Patna was no different. The traffic is one thing but what really gets you after a long day is the incessant honking. I think Patna drivers believe their cars run on the horn rather than the accelerator. The other thing I noticed was every third or fourth car had a gold plated nameplate announcing some “VIP” type person. This varied from “Party zila adhyaksh” to “Chairman Mandi Committee”. All of them in White Mahindras. The other thing I noticed is the number of Ambulances. Excessive number of Ambulances during peak hours in the Patna traffic. Anyone in Patna knows if this is just a local transport jugaad for beating the Patna traffic? We stayed the night in Hotel The Panache. Centrally located and comfortable. It does not have covered parking but the open parking right in front of the hotel seemed secure enough.  Open Parking at The Panache, Patna Driving Day 4 Patna to Siliguri – 465Kms / 11hrs Coffee Break- BP Ghar, Dalkhola/ 4* Overnight- Mainak Tourist Lodge, Siliguri The day started with a short trip on the Patna Marine Drive before heading on to the JP Setu. Crossing Muzzafarpur was a complete nightmare with traffic backed up due to a truck broken down on a single lane bridge in the middle of the city. But as soon as we got on to the NH27, it was smooth sailing. And I mean-real smooth sailing. Minimal traffic, great tarmac, very few towns. It’s a great patch of road to eat up the miles in a relaxed way all the way to Purnea. There is a alternative NH 327 route from Araria to Siliguri which looked shorter but I had read reports of construction work happening on those roads and avoided it. The road surface becomes a bit bumpy after the turn off at Purnea. The BP Dalkhola deserves a special mention for having the cleanest toilets that we encountered anywhere on the trip. Siliguri from there was relatively event-free other than one big diversion with work happening on the Kishenganj flyover. I guess one of the downsides of being in the “Chicken Neck” is that no bypass can be constructed? The Mainak Lodge is WBTDC property located at a great location. It has an old school design but is perfectly functional with great air-conditioning. Excellent dinner at Epare Bangla just next door to the hotel. Driving Day 5 Siliguri to Gangtok- 111KMs/3.5 hours Overnight- The Fern Denzong, Gangtok We had a late start to the day after we slept in. The inclusive breakfast was OK. The drive to Gangtok started out getting out of Siliguri traffic. With innumerable Xylos and Innovas for company the first part of the drive passes through some forested patches. It is a relaxing drive until you reach Sevoke. This is where the Himalayas start and so do the roadworks. The amount of roadwork happening on the road to Gangtok is just staggering. Add to all this the chaos of trucks moving in and out of the building sites of the new train line being laid to Rangpo in Sikkim. The heavy truck traffic easies out slightly after Rangpo and the road quality improves as the NH 10 follows the river valley closely. It is a pleasant drive all the way to Ranipool where you are hit in the face with the Gangtok traffic. Bumper-to-bumper traffic and steep roads are not a good combination. By the time I reached the hotel in Gangtok, I was exhausted from the drive. Maybe it was all the previous driving catching up, but the last hour of navigating the Gangtok traffic was absolutely exhausting. Luckily, The Fern Denzong is a great hotel. They have an underground parking. Getting into the parking down a STEEP ramp is a tricky exercise. And I had to roll down the slope and the REVERSE UP the slope to get into the parking. I have never been prouder of my clutch control. The hotel staff where pleasant and very welcoming. We had a birding tour planned for the next few days, so we requested them to park our car in their parking. They kindly agreed to keep it there. Otherwise, it is a nightmare trying to find a secure public parking in Gangtok. MG Road is a short walk from the hotel so great food is very accessible. I will skip the birding tour description as I was travelling with a guide and driver and not focusing on the travel but much more on the nature around us. Sikkim is a magical place which gets more beautiful the further you get away from Gangtok. The only regret on this part of the tour was that I could not drive myself in Hairpin Heaven- the road to Zuluk. The road is well-maintained for the most part as it is very heavily militarized. I believe there are some additional permits required to drive to Zuluk and beyond to Nathu la and these can be easily arranged in Gangtok. But the spectacular birding more than made up for the lost opportunity. In hindsight, the decision not to drive was good as I would not have been able to enjoy the birding as much as I did.  Birding and the scenery in Sikkim is spectacular Driving Day 6 Gangtok to Darap- 117KMs/ 4.5 hours Sightseeing- At every turn in the road Lunch- Crassula Kitchen, Pelling/ 3* Overnight – Darap Eco Homestay – Sukhim After a few non-driving days, today finally I got into the Sikkim roads with full steam. We chose to drive via Ravangla instead of a longer but possibly quicker detour via Jorethang. As soon as you leave the NH10 at Singtam, the route immediately gets very scenic. Some roadworks are in progress on this route but the lighter traffic makes it a quiet road. There are a couple of patches where you are second-guessing if a road has ever existed here. The road to Ravangla is quiet and lots of places to stop and take in the scenery. After Ravangla- where a major tunnel is being built to bypass the town- the road gets a bit busier. Especially between Kewzing and Legship, we saw a lot of landslides clearing happening causing backed up lines of vehicles. From Legship to Pelling you rise fast and high on decent roads passing a couple of smaller towns. We ended up in Darap early afternoon and checked into our home for the next few days. The Sukhim homestay is a spectacularly beautiful place. Snow capped peaks in view from your room. The internet connection was strong enough for me to work from here for the next few days. The owner and his team will take very good care of you. They even sorted a tarp on their own to cover my car just in time before a deadly hailstorm hit us in the evening. The car got a well-deserved wash at the car wash just across the road from the homestay. The car wash guy had the ultimate observation: “For the first time, I am using SK water for washing MH car”.  Washing MH car with SK water. The next few days were working days for me. So, exploring was limited to early morning birding walks and the short trip up and down from Yuksom. West Sikkim is a beautiful place and the Goecha La Trek from Yuksom immediately got added to the to-do list.  Reached Yuksom- end of the road. Driving Day 7 Darap to Darjeeling- 80KMs/3 hours Overnight- Villa Everest, Darjeeling On a whim, we decided to move on to Darjeeling and savor the delights of the city for a few days. The drive to Darjeeling is spectacular especially the final 20 KMs from the Jamuni bridge to Darjeeling where you rise steeply through tea gardens and test your mettle on some hairy turns a series of hairpin bends. Navigating the Darjeeilng traffic was once again a nightmare. But, we got to our hotel the Villa Everest chosen because it was relatively close to the city center with a parking place. This was our base for the next few days as I put in some solid days of work while the wife took off and did some sight-seeing in Darjeeling.  Parked up at Darjeeling -Hotel Villa Everest. Highly Recommended Driving Day 8 Darjeeling to Patna—500KMs/ 11 hours Lunch- On the way, packed from bakeries in Darjeeling since there are very few good places on this section Overnight- Ginger Patna We started of planning to take the NH 327 along the Nepal border in spite of reports of road works. Till Kurseong, we followed the Hill Cart Road which is the main route from Darjeeling to Siliguri which was busy even with 0630 start time. After Kurseong, we followed the route to Naxalbari which was another highlight descending through tea estates on steep slopes with minimum traffic.  Who has coffee at a Darjeeling tea estate? At Naxalbari (after which the insurgent movement is named), we connected with NH327 (also called (Asian Highway-02, apparently). However, just 10KMs further there was a political protest happening on the road. When we checked, the protestors said that it is best we turn around as a lot of villages along the road were protesting. So, we turned around and picked up our old friend NH 27 from Bagdogara. On the way back, my only police check happened just outside Naxalbari. Cops pulled me over and asked me to step out of the car. I was asked to open the boot. A senior-looking official walks over to me. His junior punters line up behind my car. He comes over and asks me to open one bag. I am confused with the line up behind me. I ask him what’s wrong. Then he clarified, it was a photo session of car checks that they are doing. My role was to not look at the camera. The big guy posed like a pro with his arm pointing into my bag. Photos done, pleasantries exchanged, hands shaken. I was on my way. The WB police have their record of checking an out of state car. The NH27 all the way back to Patna was same as on our way to Siliguri. Easy and relaxed drive. Once again got into Patna at evening peak hour traffic from the Gandhi Setu. Night stay was planned at Ginger Patna because of its central location. We reached there with enough time to spare, freshen up and be ready to relish some special litti chokha and other street food delights in Patna. My first time staying in a Ginger hotel- it is perfectly functional. Comfortable beds and clean sheets. What else do you need for an overnight stop?  Signing off the day with Litti Chokha in Patna Patna to Lucknow- 506KMs/ 7 hours Stops- None Overnight- Clarks Awadh, Lucknow Purvanchal Expressway beckons today. Early start from Patna, coffee at Danapur station, Tank up somewhere after Buxar and we hit the expressway start near Ghazipur. The road is deserted at 9 in the morning. It is a matter of engaging cruise control and munching up the miles all the way to Lucknow. Compared to the Samruddhi Expressway in MH, this has a better surface because of the tarmac. So, it is a bigger delight to drive on. This road has been open for much longer than the Samruddhi highway but the lack of traffic on it is a bit unnerving. Even the section connecting Azamgarh and Lucknow which I would expect to be busy is completely desolate. Was this highway even needed in the first place? Or maybe it is just a case of “build it and they will come”. Either way I thoroughly enjoyed the drive and got to Dastarkhwan in Lucknow right in time for lunch. Clarks Awadh was our night stay, and it is a nice hotel. A bit ostentatious, over-the-top in decor but not refined enough in the smaller details. We went on an evening walkabout to the MG Road for some great chaat at Royal café and retail therapy for the wife. Dinner was the amazing Tunday Kebabi which was supposed to be a quick tick in the box. But we ordered too much and stuffed ourselves to the brim. Had to give some other food stops a miss. Next time.  Food P*rn in Lucknow Driving Day 10 Lucknow to Indore- 788KMm/ 12 hours Breakfast- Hariyali Rasoi, Unnao Bypass/ 4* Lunch- Ann Jal Dhaba, before Shivpuri(MP)/ Avoid* Overnight- Fairfield Marriott Indore The Lucknow-Kanpur-Jhansi section of the route has great road surface but the number of trucks is just mind-boggling. In the morning hours, we easily passed a thousand dumpers transporting sand on this road. All these dumpers seem to originate somewhere around Kanpur, pulling sand out of Ganga-ji. The volume of sand-mining in this area is just mind-boggling. I have serious doubts whether an operation of this size is in any way legal. I am sure locals will have a view. The chaotic driving having to duck in and out of trucks continued all the way to Jhansi. After Jhansi, the roads became a lot quieter all the way to Shivpuri.  Ann Jal Dhaba before Shivpuri- Avoid at all costs. The Ann is bad and the Jal is worse. This section of NH 27 is isolated. I would think twice about travelling this late at night. But the road surface is great, minimal traffic, no cattle. Cruise control all the way to Padora where I have to say goodbye to my friend NH 27, which has been a constant since Siliguri.  NH27- "Here's Looking At You, Kid." Here, we take a left towards Indore on to the Indore-Gwalior highway. This is again a smooth, fast ride all the way into Indore passing Guna and Dewas. There is a MP Tourism highway treat at Biaora which looks like a good stopover. But we avoided stopping and gunned it all the way to Indore. Fairfield by Marriott is a good stay choice, easily accessible from the ring road. The restaurant of the hotel is OK with a massive dinner buffet. But we ordered some light a-la-carte and called it a night. Breakfast buffet was great. All-in-all worth staying here if you are planning a stopover in Indore. Driving Day 11 Indore to Pune- 630KMs/ 12 hours Lunch- Veg Aroma, Shirpur/4* Dinner- Bhujbal Bandhu at Narayangaon/ 4* Overnight- Home Last day. I had done a Pune -Indore-Pune trip recently so the roads were familiar and relatively painless. We decided to start late to avoid reaching Pune and getting stuck in the traffic in Pune. Easy drive getting to the MP-MH border. Had a quick lunch break at Veg Aroma in Shirpur. It is a decent place to stop on the section between Dhule and Indore which has dearth of good places to eat. There were lot of other cars parked up with the place nearly full with families at lunch time. The food was not disappointing. We could have stretched for some more time to get to our favorite ‘Sai Car Family Dhaba’ in Malegaon. But, it would have been quite late in the day. On our last Indore trip we stuck to the highway all the way to Nashik and then onwards to Pune. This time we decided to go with Google and took the diversion to Lasalgaon-Sinnar route. This is a decent option unless you get stuck at the Lasalgaon railway crossing at exactly the peak time with 5 trains crossing back-to-back. We spent a solid half an hour stationary trainspotting. From Sinnar, it is a straightforward run back into Pune. The flyover work at Sinnar seems progressing and will probably finish before the end of this century. People who frequent this route know what I am talking about. The last 30KMs after Chakan really tested my patience as is the case with the last part of any long journey. Finally, after 5282 KMs, I backed up into my parking spot just after 10PM. At 10:39PM, we were googling our next trip to Rajasthan. But more about that later.  Ready for the Next One Last edited by suniltheone : 1st June 2023 at 08:08. Reason: Updated Photos |
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2nd June 2023, 05:19
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2nd June 2023, 05:47
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| BHPian  Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Pune
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| Re: Long Drive East - Pune to Sikkim road trip Quote:
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MH infrastructure is worse than 3rd world and it doesn't help with Nitin Gadkari being from this state. All in all, I must say that you have created FOMO (fear of missing out) in my mind with your nice travelogue and I need to plan a road-trip soon! | ||
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2nd June 2023, 15:00
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| BHPian  | Re: Long Drive East - Pune to Sikkim road trip That's some road-tripping Sunil! Very well narrated too! Quote:
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2nd June 2023, 16:55
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| BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Hyderabad
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3rd June 2023, 22:56
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| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: BR32-BR01-KA53
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| Re: Long Drive East - Pune to Sikkim road trip Quote:
 - saw weirder plates in Hyderabad though.I don't think ambulance siren is a traffic hack, genuine patients trying to get to Patna - the biggest medical hub. And I hope you got a Gandhi Maidan facing room in Panache, with the acres of Gandhi Maidan in front & Ganga in the far, it's a beautiful sight.. | |
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4th June 2023, 02:51
| #7 | |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2022 Location: Pune
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| Re: Long Drive East - Pune to Sikkim road trip Nice travelogue! I just visited Sikkim last year (by air) from Pune last November and felt that next time I'll be coming on my Interceptor 650. Quote:
https://qr.ae/pyY5qx Maharashtra roads are worst for a large state which happens to be a cash cow for the country. It really pains me to pay such a hefty toll on MH highways after having broken back and squeaking noises from my car. The main issue is the sheer absence of elevated sections on highways to separate rural and industrial areas from highway traffic and the fact that highways are simply narrow for the amount of traffic they carry. In northern states, you have ample of 6-8 lane elevated roads bypassing entire villages and towns on the way, something that's hard to find in Maharashtra. Even if I talk about Pune, when I came here from Delhi 5 years back it took me a while to adapt my driving style to keep an eye not just on traffic but also on potholes, speed breakers and 2 wheelers that can appear out of thin air. | |
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4th June 2023, 12:44
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| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: BR32-BR01-KA53
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| Re: Long Drive East - Pune to Sikkim road trip Quote:
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