[Saurabh M]

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

Awesome Travelogue Saurabh. Beautiful pictures.

I hope Black Hawk received the mud bath ONLY, when it got stuck - i guess the under body protection (sump guard, tank guard) are ok??

Rated 5 stars

Thanks Planet. Black Hawk did not suffer any damage. I was very confident with BH on the rough roads, because of the sump and tank guards and the overall suspension setup. In the entire trip, I got hit only once in the sump guard, that too while coming down from Ravangla. All credit goes to Joydeb-da for preparing and tuning my car.

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Great photography, particularly the night ones. What's that white light on top in the last photograph? Moon? But you would have been there before full moon !! Whatever it is, the photographs look really nice and captivating.
Tastes differ, but I would suggest break the 2/3 rule once in a while. It looks too obvious in the verandah shots.
Rated 5 star, by the way.

Thanks Sudipto-da. Its the moon. You are right. Full moon was on 3rd Oct and this pic was taken on 29th Sep. I should have written near-full moon.

I understand what you mean by breaking the rule. I sub-consciously get into that frame. In the last balcony shot, I also wanted to highlight the reflection of the light, off the stool, coming from the other balcony.

[Saurabh M]

Day 6 - A Divine morning

As usual, the cellphone alarm went off at 4:30am. Without any delay, I left the bed. Today we are leaving this beautiful place and I am not going to miss any moment of this, lying in the bed.

I step out of the cottage. Its a bit chilly outside. The sky has started to become greyish. The flowers are still sleeping. The lawn heavy with overnight dew. The grass is very wet. It seemed as if it had rained last night, but it hasn't. I look up.



The sky is crystal clear, with very faint strands of clouds hovering around the peaks. Far away, some one has fired her chullah.

I go back, collect my gears and take up my vantage position against the benches. As I had mentioned earlier, from Ravangla, you cannot see the Kanchanjunga peak, but, Mt. Simvo, Mt. Pandim, Mt. Narsing and Mt. Siniolchu are almost right in your courtyard.

The sky has started brightening up. The clouds above the peaks have started taking up a reddish hue.





What followed next was something that took me completely off guard. It was simply divine. It was as if I was standing in heaven. With not a single soul around, I was standing there in the middle of the resort, clicking relentlessly.



By the time the first rays of the sun hit the Mt. Pandim peak, the higher peaks behind have already started becoming golden.







The reddish hue started to deepen and as if I am watching an active volcano, the snow and the clouds threw me a challenge. It was as if they were saying, "show us how far you can capture our play with colours".















Gradually, the peaks turned golden and then silver.



As the first rays of the sun started to reveal the valley below, I just happen to glance to my right. Oh my god!! What a sight!!



The monastary on the hill below me, have just received the first rays. Did I hear a prayer coming up from there and thanking god for giving us this beautiful day?





I spent almost 1 hr watching and clicking this spectacle. The morning tea has arrived.





Before returning to the cottage for the first cup of tea, I thought of checking out Black Hawk. She was asleep, cold, completely drenched in overnight dew. Was she asleep? or was she pretending? Is she not willing to leave this place? Atleast I am not.



As I walked back to the cottage, the garden was slowly coming to life.



Suddenly the garden has become a very interesting place to explore.

[Saurabh M]

Day 6 - Before we leave Ravangla

Today we have to leave Ravangla for Geyzing. The plan is to have an early lunch and then leave by 12 noon. Since we still had the morning with us to explore the surroundings, here are a few more pics of Ravangla.

The entrance to the main area from the parking lot.


The overall perspective.


The cottages once more. Can't get enough of it.


The red roofed hut is the restaurant


My favourite vantage point


Its breakfast time for everybody






Last shot from the kitchen


Its time to leave Ravangla now. In the next installment, we'll drive from Ravangla to Geyzing, but first, we'll have to drive down the dreaded path from the resort to the main road.

[BlackPearl]

Oh I am feeling nostalgic seeing the pics of Ravangla.. the dining room was awesome with fireplace in the middle.. did you have Chhang?

[Saurabh M]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Oh I am feeling nostalgic seeing the pics of Ravangla.. the dining room was awesome with fireplace in the middle.. did you have Chhang?

Yes, the dining room is indeed awesome. Ideal to have a big group around and simply gossip away.

No, I did not have chhang But will definitely have it, if our plans to revisit in peak winter (Dec - 2010) materializes.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Even at the risk of repeating myself I must say the quality of photography is simply superb, especially the last one from the kitchen. Keep going please.

[blackasta]

Great pics and awesome storytelling to go with it!

[sj_koova]

'My favorite vantage point' - This one was beautiful.
I have just finished looking at the pics. Have to start reading your narration from first page.
What camera do you use? I assume it will be a super zoom P&S

[Saurabh M]

Originally Posted by Sudipto-S-Team

Even at the risk of repeating myself I must say the quality of photography is simply superb, especially the last one from the kitchen. Keep going please.

Sudipto-da, its these encouragements that motivates to carry on.

Originally Posted by blackasta

Great pics and awesome storytelling to go with it!

Thanks blackasta

Originally Posted by sj_koova

'My favorite vantage point' - This one was beautiful.
I have just finished looking at the pics. Have to start reading your narration from first page.
What camera do you use? I assume it will be a super zoom P&S

Hope you would like the narration as well.

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by Saurabh M

No, I did not have chhang But will definitely have it, if our plans to revisit in peak winter (Dec - 2010) materializes.

aahh, december 2010!!! , great. Count me in for this trip

[Rudra Sen]

Very nice coverage Saurabh and I hope you're going to do those tests soon. It's more prominent on your Mt Pandim shots.

[AyAn!]

Beautiful,lurid and stunning travelogue Saurabh da!
Mindblowing pics.I envy you! Driving to such isolated exotic locations!

btw what about that sticker job on the BH?!

[Saurabh M]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

aahh, december 2010!!! , great. Count me in for this trip

Of course, you are most welcome. However, I dare not drive up there in winter. With snow all around, I wont be able to go up even 100m. I am planning to cover Ravangla and Yuksom during that trip.

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Very nice coverage Saurabh and I hope you're going to do those tests soon. It's more prominent on your Mt Pandim shots.

Yes Rudra-da. I will do the tests by the end of this week. Tied up too much with office work. I never knew, an "apparently" harmless UV filter can do so much damage to image quality.

Originally Posted by AyAn!

Beautiful,lurid and stunning travelogue Saurabh da!
Mindblowing pics.I envy you! Driving to such isolated exotic locations!

btw what about that sticker job on the BH?!

The sticker job is in the pipeline. Like the trend in our industry, the pipe is quite big and nothing much comes out easily , but I definitely have it in mind.

[laluks]

Amazing pictures and location. Am enjoying every bit of it.

BTW, which camera? I know the person taking it makes all the difference. The images are stunning.

[Saurabh M]

Originally Posted by laluks

Amazing pictures and location. Am enjoying every bit of it.

BTW, which camera? I know the person taking it makes all the difference. The images are stunning.

I have used a Nikon D80 primarily. I have also used an Olympus FE340 in some of the shots.