......Continuation of Part 1. Stop here if you do not wish to read further. As already mentioned this is meant to re live our memories of the trip......
Day 3 – March 3 (A day which we never thought would be the way it was.......)
Departure from Asansol 7 A.M
As
usual, got done with the routine of settling bills and bidding goodbye to the
staff. Had to tank up fuel to go till the destination for the day. I was
recommended the Jubilee gas station, an IOCL coco-bunk very close to the hotel
and right beside the highway. The staff at the bunk were still in the "holi"day
hangover and were still resetting the fuel meter with the latest price change.
Apparently this bunk was closed the previous night when we entered Asansol. Had
to wait a full 30 minutes for the end to end process to complete, including
negotiating hard to use my credit card instead of cash for payment.
Followed the
route-o to branch off the highway and head towards Chittaranjan – yes the
famous loco shed. We were advised to have breakfast @ Asansol as there were not
too many eateries en route. We stopped at a trucker’s dhaba and had piping hot
aloo parathas with omlette and tea. We finally got back to driving mode around
8:30 A.M.
Entered Jharkand – the home state of one of many idols – MSD, can’t take
the quintessential Chennai guy out of me!! Had to cross the railway tracks a
couple of times before heading off to open roads. We crossed the entire state
of Jharkand on 2 lane roads passing one village after another, innumerable
speed breakers, driving thru reserve forests, rivulets , seeing people carrying
coal in their bicycles, lorries engulfed in the black soil from the mines and
loads of 2 wheelers which were challenging to overtake. We also passed through
Devgarh, one of the 12 Jyotirling's. Couldn’t stop at the temple as we had
to cover a lot of miles and the apparent safety concern of leaving everything
behind in a vehicle whose rear door cannot be locked – atleast not in the stock
version made us skip it.
After the not so good roads we entered Bihar to some
astonishing 2 way road with clear lane markings and reflectors which were
shining in the mid-day sun. We thought we’d left the worst behind but reality
struck us in less than 20 kms. My patience began to wear out mile by mile. Even
the brilliant topography couldn’t control my temper much. I was lamenting why
we didn’t take the NH. Radhika tried to talk some sense into me but it turned
futile. I vowed to do some research on the NH and I decided not to take this
route while heading back. It didn’t dawn on me at the time that HVK had given
this route after exploring all the options. Finally we came to Bhagalpur around
2 P.M, tired and hungry after 5.5 hours of grueling drive to cover 260 kms
The route-O suggested Vaibhav Inn and it
turned out to be a good choice. We had piping hot sizzlers which somewhat
calmed me and made me prepare for the road ahead.
Radhika was quite fascinated
by the ‘buggy’ in Bihar. It was cute in a way and easier to navigate thru
traffic especially in congested areas as compared to the regular Bajaj
autorickshaws
We
were about to cross the mother of all rivers, the holiest river of India – the
mighty Ganga. We entered the bridge not realizing how long it actually is. It
is a 2 lane bridge with constant movement of vehicles on both sides especially
commercial vehicles of all sizes and motorized cycle rickshaws. I was in awe of
the river and the bridge, which was slightly run down in parts. You could feel
the bumps in your bum at times, but the beauty of the breathtaking river below
is worth of it.
The road was starting to get wider once we crossed the bridge
and we were back on NH again. The Thar purred onto 5th gear after 6
hours and we were back on cruise mode. We were heading towards Purnea -> Bagdogra. We had to be alert at all times to ensure we don’t crash
head on with a vehicle coming on the wrong side of the road and that too on the
extreme right lane – considered to be the fastest. Sometime Radhika was
wondering if the vehicle was going forward or coming head on towards us. We
crossed Purnea and were heading towards Kishanganj, the border town of Bihar
and Bengal and a very important railway station. From here on we were
travelling parallel to the railway line and were having fun with train’s criss
crossing us. There are quite a few markets on this highway infact we saw this
right after from Purnea onwards. Kindly exercise caution while driving thru
these stretches especially after sunset when people try crossing the road. As
Siliguri is the entry point for all trucks proceeding to the northeast and vice
versa, the density of truck traffic is also high.
30 kms before Bagdogra the
road abruptly becomes a 2 lane road. We got stuck briefly on the last toll gate
before Bagdogra, thankfully it wasn’t all that bad and we able to pass it
without too much delay. We reached Bagdogra around 8:30 P.M, checked into our
hotel. Radhika had invited a business partner, Mr.Shantanu Bannerjee for dinner.
Shantanu owns a bike rental and holiday company in Siliguri and is an avid
biker himself. He has extensively covered all the 7 NE states and Bhutan and he
was offering insights on different places in Sikkim which is a must visit.
Thanks to him, we also got our permits arranged for North Sikkim. One more night
of peaceful sleep beckoned me!!
Route: Asansol - Jharkand - Deogarh - Banka - Dhaka More - Bhagalpur - Purnea - Krishnaganj - Islampur - Bagdogra - Siliguri
Total Distance:
Toll Charges: Rs 170 💁
"More pics to be added soon"
Thenthuk - Vegetables in broth
We
visited the lal bazaar which is right adjacent. Here you find more shops and it
has a local flavor to it. Price wise while some sites might tell you its
cheaper to shop here than in M.G.Marg, to me prices of souvenirs/gifts were
almost the same. We headed to a tea bar post our shopping and ordered for
‘white’ and ‘temi’ tea while looking around at the plethora of varieties
available. The crockery for sale were also very attractive. We decided to call
it a day and headed back to our hotel where we soaked in the scenery, had a
simple dinner and slept peacefully.
"More pics to be added soon"
Day 4 – March 4
Dep from Bagdogra – 10 A.M
Decided to take it a little light today as we had to cover only 120 kms
to Gangtok. Woke up at 7, got dressed and headed to the restaurant for
breakfast. The options were only a choice between poori and toast with omlette. I opted for
the former. I go quite heavy on my breakfast and today was no exception.
Started with canned mango juice followed by 4 king sized poori’s with sabzi, a
masala omlette and a full cup of Darjeeling tea. Burrpppp!!😎
I’am a big sucker for trains. So much so that I wanted to become an
engine driver during my childhood. In hindsight I should’ve pursued it a little
seriously. Anyways, In the pretext of wanting to show the famous
Himalayan Darjeeling mountain railway, I told Radhika that we’ll go to the
train shed in Siliguri. We were able to drive parallel to the narrow gauge
railway line on hill country road and entered the shed thru one of the lanes on
main road. I became a kid upon entering the loco and carriage shed. 2 steam
beauties were being attended to. Coal
was being loaded in the furnace and the white smoke emanating from the
chimneys. The pistons were being oiled and cleaned by the master craftsmen aka
technicians. This was a work of art being preserved. I wish the children of
this generation share the same passion for trains that people of my generation
do. Boarded one of the carriages to check the seating pattern, Radhika and I
have done a couple of hill train journeys across India – NMR (Nilgiri Mountain
Railway to Ooty), Shimla (Himalayan Railway), Khangra Valley Railway to name a
few but this was a first visit to the DHR – also certified by Unesco as a
heritage railway line.
After tanking up we proceeded towards the
road heading to Gangtok via Rangpo. The road was two laned and had the
beautiful Teesta river for company right from Sevoke all the way to Gangtok and
north Sikkim. We started experiencing traffic on this stretch and when we were
about 10 kms before Rangpo – the border of Bengal and Sikkim – the vehicle came
to a standstill. As far as the eye could see there was a line of vehicles, one
behind another. This is the discipline of the people driving in the hills, they
simply follow road rules. Wish the entire country could do that. As it turned
out, the chief minister of the state (Sikkim) was addressing a rally in Rangpo.
People had come from all parts of the state and gathered at Rangpo. It was a
nightmare to cross those 20 kms all the way till Singtam as the traffic was
moving at a snail’s pace. It took 3
hours to cross this stretch.
We finally reached Gangtok around 3 P.M and
had to travel 15 more kms to our resort. Now there is a lot of difference in
travelling 15 kms on plains vis-à-vis hills. Made it to Club Mahindra Gangtok
at 3:45 P.M and were courteously received by the staff. Had a mind-blowing herbal
tea, Sikkimese style and were guided towards our room post the check in
formalities.
After freshening up, we ordered for a
Chinese combo, not surprising given that the China border was only 50 kms away.
Had a piping hot lunch, unpacked and settled in the balcony to admire the view
<< pic of view from CM
balcony>>
I
just wanted to laze for the rest of the evening, cozily tucking up in my side
of the bed with the heater turned on. March is winter in Sikkim which I came to
know later!!!
Route: Siliguri - Sevoke - Teesta - Rangpo - Singtam - Gangtok
Total Kms: 130
Day 5 – Mar 5 – Gangtok
Sikkim wakes up early but surely I didn’t. Woke up at 7 and was admiring
the scenery all around me. Snow called mountains on one side and green foliage
on the other.
<< pic of view from balcony>>
We decided to take it easy today. Very
little driving, some walking, some shopping and some good food. So we decided to head to M.G. Marg, a famous
landmark in Gangtok, almost in the centre of it. It’s a 30 minute drive from
the resort. Parking is a bit challenging near the market, so we were directed
to the Paljor stadium parking from where we took a cab to the starting of
M.G.Marg. One section of the marg is only for pedestrians, I think this is a
great initiative. We first roamed around the market from one end to another –
shops were just opening as it was a Monday morning around 9:30 A.M. We had a roadside
breakfast and were simple roaming around the market.
We heard of the Gangtok ropeway and decided
to try it. It was a short walk from M.G.Marg. I was going on a cable car after
a long time so was naturally excited. Radhika is more adventurous than me when
it comes to these rides. Seeing Gangtok from above is an amazing sight. Will
let some pics do the talking now.
Post
that we headed to a restaurant named ‘Taste of Tibet’. Its rated #1 in terms of
reviews so decided we’d stop by. It’s a small place but the food was very good.
The options are slightly on the lesser side for the vegetarians but it is tasty
nevertheless. The only dish I was familiar with was chowmein while Radhika
ordered thenthuk – a soupy dish with lots of vegetables. A very healthy and
tasty option. We noticed that people in the restaurant were having their soup
and momos towards the end of their meal, like a dessert. Very interesting to
see because I thought it was different. I respect every culture when it comes
to food habits. I was looking at the science behind it, anything hot post a
meal aids in digestion and soup was definitely a healthy way to round up a
meal.
A note for the vegetarians – the smell
while entering this restaurant might be slightly overwhelming, both me and
Radhika did not have any issues though.
Darjeeling "White Tea", it was "Yucky to me"
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