[akroy]

Originally Posted by thebagchi

Darjeeling More to Illambazar is almost a lunar Surface. Very bad.

It is not that bad sir. I just did it (to and fro to Suri). NH34 is horrible in all respect.
Yes, there are some small stretches with bad patch that has cropped up but the bad patches are in small small stretches. Also I saw road work in full swing (tarmacing the surface) near Dubrajpur, PDCL.

Compared to NH34 this stretch is always better to take in such a long journey.

Abhi

[btirthankar]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Driving is definitely not for the squeamish.

Thumbs Up!

You deserve to be an IAS Officer, with your knowledge of the Indian Geography.

Please Post this thread as a separate blog in the name: Scorpoblog(r)

[rajeshchand]

Originally Posted by thebagchi

Avoid NH60 to reach Kharagpur from Moregram.
You wouldn't save any time.

Better direction would be
Siliguri - Dalkhola (NH31) - Maldah - Farraka - Behrampur - Krishnanagar - Barasaat - Birati - (NH34) (Right Turn) (Take Belghoria Expressway) - Reach Nivedita Setu - Left Turn - Nibra More - Uluberia - Kolaghat - Pashkura - Kharagpur (NH6)

NH60 from Ranigang to Mednipur is in bad state, there are broken bridges, huge potholes.

totally confused

Originally Posted by akroy

It is not that bad sir. I just did it (to and fro to Suri). NH34 is horrible in all respect.
Yes, there are some small stretches with bad patch that has cropped up but the bad patches are in small small stretches. Also I saw road work in full swing (tarmacing the surface) near Dubrajpur, PDCL.

Compared to NH34 this stretch is always better to take in such a long journey.

Abhi

If you ask me the guwahati siliguri stretch is a nightmare, but there are no alternate routes except through Bangladesh

So if i can do this bad stretch in comparison NH 34 was far better, i think with all the feedbacks it looks like it is better to take NH 34 and stop over at Kolkata, looks like the roads are all in same condition in that part of the country

I will wait for more feedbacks as i had to delay the journey by a day because vehicle needs some pampering, taking it to the garage for some final check ups and getting over with some of my misgivings ( u know i am getting a feeling that the pick up has gone down-it can be the drivers hallucinations before the long journey, nevertheless will help in getting back the confidence)

Waiting for more feedbacks

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Rajesh
Here is my entire trip log for Kolkata-Phuntsholling-Darjeeling-Kolkata done in 07 (Bagchi has done it much more recently). There are three sections in my document. Look at the third section (Darjeeling to Kolkata) from Row 78 downwards. I went up via NH 34 and came down via Moregram-Panagarh.
Even long distance state buses are now taking this second route for North-Bengal because conditions of the road is relatively better than NH 34. Plus once you hit Panagarh you are on GQ and Kharagpur should be a matter of 3 hours or so (Kolaghat jam excluded). This stretch is doable even in the night as truck lights don't hit you in the eyes.

There are lots of holes in the route document that you posted. To start with there is no Mill Cart Road in Siliguri. It's Hill Cart Road. I wouldn't even dream of taking Panagarh to Medinipur via Bishnupur and spend an entire day perhaps when I have the GQ waiting for me and where the distance is just 3 hours.

Is this route that you posted from an old AAEI route guide? They used to be brilliant during their time but in the last 40 years or so new roads have come up and AAEI has not updated its routes at all and is still stuck in the 60s.

All the best.

[thebagchi]

My information is based on last weekend.
I went to Murshidabad via NH34, came back via NH60

i found NH34 stretch between behrampur to contain few potholes.
but they are nothing compared wht i saw at NH60.

(if NH60 is taken into account for saving time, then i think its better to stick to NH34)

[hvkumar]

Taking the Morgram-Siuri-Panagarh-Calcutta0-Kharagpur is the best option

[rajeshchand]

From Sudipto's account, he took 1 and half hour extra through the NH60 route when the roads were better in 07, and also from bagchi's account NH60 route is not all that good and also the fact that i have already experienced NH34, i would bet with that option and go ahead and drive on NH34. My trip starts on 17 Jan morning as guwahati service centers are having Bihu holidays and can get the vehicle repaired only on 16th, i will be updating the drive back on daily basis if i can get a wifi connection in the hotels that i am due to stay

[rajeshchand]

The road condition that you find throughout till Bhubaneswar is good, rather excellent from Hyderabad, after Bhubaneswar it starts deteriorating, but my snaps are only till Kolkata, we broke our camera at Kol and could only get it replaced at guwahati

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Originally Posted by rajeshchand

From Sudipto's account, he took 1 and half hour extra through the NH60 route when the roads were better in 07

Rajesh
Sorry about the unintended confusion created above. A. I never took NH 60. Panagarh to Kolkata is NH 2 - GQ.
B. The return journey took me more time because I had to drive through a torrential and completely blinding thunderstorm at night from Panagarh onwards. I couldn't see beyond my bonnet and blindly followed a very slow but steady truck. I am lucky that I reached home safe that night. (I drove non-stop from Kaliachak to home.)
Therefore please don't form an opinion about the road surface from my timings. The log is useful in terms of knowing the small towns' names and the distances. Nothing else. As it is I drive very slow.
You should ultimately take the road you feel most comfortable about. If it's NH 34 then so be it.
Keep us posted about the journey. Your pics look very nice and love the greenery but I would have loved to see more of the Assam jungles. Better luck with the camera this time.

Could you please take the picture of a place called Samthaibari just outside Bongaigaon town for me? This is the junction from where a road goes to the north towards Bhutan's Gaylegphug. I have very fond memories of the place from 1989 and have never visited it in the last 20 years.

[rajeshchand]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Rajesh
Sorry about the unintended confusion created above. A. I never took NH 60. Panagarh to Kolkata is NH 2 - GQ.

Could you please take the picture of a place called Samthaibari just outside Bongaigaon town for me? This is the junction from where a road goes to the north towards Bhutan's Gaylegphug. I have very fond memories of the place from 1989 and have never visited it in the last 20 years.

Thanks for clearing the doubt

I intend to stick to NH34 as of now

I am posting some pics of Assam roads from the mobile cam, regret about the pic quality

[TrueDreamer]

Originally Posted by rajeshchand

yeah i got that timing wrong, we reached vijayawada around 12 and reached vizag around 7 in the evening

Rajesh, great trip and photos. I still wonder if you have it right. Hyd - VZA is just 4 and half to 5 hours and you seem to have taken 6 and half hours or more. Just wondering if you took your time by halting any where in the middle for breakfast / brunch.

You may have reached VZA around 11 AM, assuming you had break of 30 to 45 minutes and reached Vizag by 7 PM.

Can you give your average speed on NH5 up to Vizag. Thanks.

OT : I had just been to VZA and up to Dwaraka Tirumala (left from NH5 after ~30Km from Eluru) on 14 Jan, 09 and came back this morning and on both ways, it never took more than 4 and half hours non-stop - thanks to 4 lane road for the first 50 kms near Hyd and VZA. I wished it 4/6 laning of NH9 would complete by 2010 as announced earlier but not any more as that's halted again by SC.

[rajeshchand]

Originally Posted by TrueDreamer

Rajesh, great trip and photos. I still wonder if you have it right. Hyd - VZA is just 4 and half to 5 hours and you seem to have taken 6 and half hours or more. Just wondering if you took your time by halting any where in the middle for breakfast / brunch.

You may have reached VZA around 11 AM, assuming you had break of 30 to 45 minutes and reached Vizag by 7 PM.

Can you give your average speed on NH5 up to Vizag. Thanks.

OT : I had just been to VZA and up to Dwaraka Tirumala (left from NH5 after ~30Km from Eluru) on 14 Jan, 09 and came back this morning and on both ways, it never took more than 4 and half hours non-stop - thanks to 4 lane road for the first 50 kms near Hyd and VZA. I wished it 4/6 laning of NH9 would complete by 2010 as announced earlier but not any more as that's halted again by SC.

Yes, we had a break of 1 hour plus at an A1 Plaza for brunch and the average speed was around 90kmph. I am not a speed junkie, so generally try to keep a min speed of 80 km and max of 100-110, with a principle of never exceeding 110. Also highways which are single lane at high speeds we dont get enough time to maneuver a pothole or avoid a cattle or just a stray dog, those may not end you up in hospital but can scare the hell out of you and can put off your mood to such an extent that you start wishing the journey to end, that is not the way i want road journeys, so i drive fast but not too slow, keeps the speed at which you are confident

[rajeshchand]

Wow, that was an exhilarating and for some reason exhausting trip back!

Started from Guwahati on Day one at around 0700h and crossed Assam border quite early at around 1400h and planned to hit Siliguri by 5.30 and i had the speed with roads being far better this time from what was it 4 months ago, but fate had to play its part. We reached Hashimara around 3.15 and the distance from Hashimara to Siliguri is approx 150 which means i could have done it in 2 hours with my Scorpio, guess what there was an ongoing roadblock by tea garden tribals at Hashimara, advise by them was to desist from driving further and stop there till the block clears off. I drove in to the nearest military base and stayed there for next 2 hours, the roadblock was taken off at around 5.30 and we started onward to siliguri and reached at around 9.00. Stayed for the night and had a good sleep till 10 next day morning.

Now we had a crazy idea of driving towards Puri from Siliguri directly. So we started off at around 11 in the morning from Siliguri and took the NH 34 to Kolkata. To our surprise we found the road pretty OK from what was there 4 months back. We reached Kolkata around 12 in the night and continued towards Bhubaneswar highway after loosing our way inside kol for around d 15 km. On Bhubaneswar highway at around 0400 hrs i took a break for 3 hours and caught up on some sleep till 7 in the morning. Woke up at 7 got fresh and continued driving towards Bhubaneswar. Had lunch at Balasore and reached Puri at around 5. Checked into a good hotel and slept off after a heavy dinner. Next day morning hired a taxi and started going around Puri visiting all temples in and around Puri ending with the evening Aarti darshan at Puri Jagannath.

Next day we started off our drive to Vizag at around 10 in the morning and reached vizag without much hassle and saved a lot of time by cutting down on our breaks. We reached Vizag around 7. Checked into the hotel and for some reason found the whole drive of three days tiring and stayed back at vizag for 3 whole days visiting various places and spending time on the sea shore. Somehow my wife was is no mood to go home.

After 3 days and with lot of coercing we started off to Hyderabad from Vizag on 3 rd day of our stay at Vizag. Commenced our journey at 11 in the morning and reached Hyderabad at around 12 in the night.

Will be posting the pics of the drive in my next post

[gajadonga]

Hi Rajesh I have done from Hyderabad to Gangtok in 2007.As you said the bad stretches are After Cuttack about 150kms is ok from there to Balasore was bad.Driving from Kolkatta to Silguri took about 15hrs real bad roads.

[fatboyslim]

@abk

Hey abk, I think you can make the trip from Delhi-Dhurbi quite easily. I did the trip from Raipur-Dhubri & back in September 09 in Ford Fiesta-so with an OHC it should be fine.

I did the the trip through Raipur-Sambhalpur-Cuttuck-Kharagpur-Bankura-Panagarh-Malda-siliguri-Dhubri

Cheers!
Fatboyslim