Call of the Himalaya: Kalimpong in Brio


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Day 1: The Beginning

Siliguri

09/06/19 - The initial vroom of my trusted Honda Brio kicked in at 9th June’0430 hrs. Destination Kalimpong! The plan was to reach Siliguri on 9th , take a power break and kiss the hills on 10th. My wife- Sudipta, cousins Saheb and Shouvik were all geared up for the much needed break from the mundane city life. Of course, our 2.5 year old daughter Samriddhi is now accustomed with such get-togethers and wanderlust!

The first halt for breakfast was at Morgram at 1030. To say it was a breeze will be the least. After much debates and deliberation, we tried our luck on much talked about and rather ill-famed NH-31 through Ranaghat-Krishnanagar- Baharampur. However to my surprise (and luck ofcourse) we didn't find much chaos at that time. The road surface was much better than previous experience.

**Please note that though G-Map was showing us to take the Ranaghat by-pass, we avoided it and remained on the main highway. I'll request people who are on that stretch, to avoid it too, since the by-pass may shorten the distance but it goes through small towns and villages were the local population and ricksaws may slow you down. Also that by-pass passes through 4 railway level-crossings L and ultimately meets NH31 just before Krishnanagar.

The breakfast and much needed break acted as a fuel and we cruised through Morgram towards Farakka. The speedometer was indicating 100kmph and above, though a statutory warning is a must- Control your car and emotions on such butter-smooth roads! J

Crossing Farakka in no-time, we had our lunch at 1.30 pm at Mayabon just before the Malda by-pass.

The entry and exit of the Malda by-pass was a real bad surface, otherwise the road was fantastic.

The rest of the journey towards Siliguri through Botolbari route was uneventful and we reached our hotel on Sevoke Road at 2030 hrs.

With the trailer capturing audience the real drive awaits tomorrow! Excited and enthralled, we hit the bed in no time!

Day 2: Soft on the Curves

Kalimpong

10/06/19 – The pleasure begun just after Sevoke. As mentioned in an earlier post, driving on the mighty Himalaya’s serpentine roads takes a toll on your nerves, endurance and patience. However, if someone loves driving, then nothing can match the pleasure of rolling the wheels through the curves.

The road was wide, the asphalt surface was smooth, the climate was awesome and the mind was wanderlust. What else do I want from life!

We always support local business and keeping with the philosophy, we had a sumptuous breakfast at a road side joint in Teesta Bazar. Just after that we crossed the mighty and beautiful Teesta. With the mountains increasing in size slowly, I started feeling the high as well, enjoying the beautiful and soft serpentine turns.

We checked in to Morgan House after 3 hours from departure from Siliguri. As soon as we entered our room, the first thing I noticed was an old edition (Nov’2014) of Kolkata on Wheels Magazine! We unpacked and headed straight to the Army Golf Course just opposite to the Morgan House. Having a wife from the army background came handy! We had our lunch at the Golf club and then we went to see the Durpin Monastery. We came back to the hotel, played with my daughter at the lawn, have a few drinks and called the day off.

Day 3: Sweat, Love and say Cheese!

Delo View Point

11/06/19 - We had our breakfast and went to see Delo. The great Kolkata summer didn't want to be left behind as I was SWEATING in Delo! However, beating the sweat we were mesmerized to see the gorgeous view around us. On the way back we visited the Pine View Nursery and saw the amazing collection of cacti. The late afternoon and evening went for shopping, the perils of having one's wife for a trip! L We went to Art Cafe, a famous cafe in Thana Dara, Kalimpong and were soaked in art and culture gelled with a vintage and rustic interior design. Kalimpong happens to be the place to serve you the best of cheese and LollypopsJ. Also the breathtaking view from the Art Cafe can make you sit there for hours.

Day 4: Pines and Gravels

Lava & Lolegaon

12/06/19 - After breakfast we checked out from the hotel to travel further to Lava. There we had booked the WB Forest Dept. Resort. The road was mostly okay-ish though some portions of the surface was a real torture and needed some good driving skills. The WB Forest Dept. Resort was a huge property within the pine forest and one can easily get exhausted just by roaming around the place, climbing up and down the steep steps. Having our cottage within the pine forest added the horror of leech, but we were cautious enough to stay away from them.

After checking in to the resort, we had our lunch and headed straight towards Lolegaon. Here, I went wrong!

The taxi syndicate at the Lava market place told me that though AWD or 4WD cars are preferred, FWD cars can go to Lolegaon though the road is in very bad shape. Also, I had over-dependence for G-Map. As I proceeded along the road I could feel that one needs really great driving skill on that kind of a surface. The surface started becoming worse after each 100 metres. Sudden upward and sudden downward slope added to the misery. The chassis was brushed more than a couple of times. But when we finally reached Lolegaon, I felt that I've conquered half of the world. I understood that I'm not that a bad driver at all. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

But I was wrong again! The Mission was half-accomplished. I had to return back to Lava and I didn't anticipate that darkness would come down so fast. By 6:00 pm head-lights were on! But without much worry, I came back to Lava by 8:00pm. That night we had a gala time at the resort with a bonfire on and the night became cold to about 12-14 degree centigrade.

Day 5: Done and Dusted!

Rishop

13/06/19 - With confidence comes a belief to go a step further and I decided to drive upwards to Rishop. Practically no roads! Only boulders and pebbles had carved the way to Rishop from Lava. Also the road was much narrower in comparison to the Lolegaon Road. As I crawled upwards, I had to come back in reverse sometimes, only to give way to the oncoming cars. But eventually I reached Rishop. On reaching Rishop, a taxi-driver came to my car, checked the car and said "Dada, aapne bahut badiya driving kya. Log darr te hain aisa gari yaha le aane ke liye!" I take this compliment as a certificate, coming from a person who has been driving in this region for 23 years. His name was Umesh.

From Rishop we eventually decided to go to some plain leveled road. So Umesh told us to visit Nordara Jheel. Nothing special about that jheel, just an artificial water-body and a park, where my daughter had a great time.

Day 6: To bid Adieu

Malda

14/06/19 - We had our breakfast, checked out by 9 am and started driving towards Maldah. We decided to have a night-halt at a known hotel in Maldah Town, just to avoid night driving.

Lava to Maldah Route - Lava - Gorubathan - Damdim - Gajoldoba - Ghoshpukur - Dalkhola - Raigange - Maldah.

The road was amazingly good. We had our lunch at Boroli Restaurant at Gajoldoba at 12:00 noon. We reached Dalkhola with added known tensions in our mind at around 3:30pm. But as luck would have been on our side, we had to “encounter” only about 50 trucks! May be its all about the time. I remember, the last time I had been in Dalkhola, there were more than 200 trucks!!





Day 7: Country Roads, Take Me Home

Kolkata

15/06/19 – The ending of any good tour is always sad.

We left Maldah at 9:30 am and came back to Kolkata by 6:00pm via Morgram - SH7 - Burdwan - Kolkata

This was the 1st time I've travelled through SH7, and I should admit that this road happens to be much better in comparison to NH31. Only, one has to look closely for the huge speed-breakers near the localities. We had our late lunch at 3:30pm in Burdwan.

On entering Kolkata, through the Nibedita Setu the mind went back to the nice days in the hills, as I drove through the crowded, busy, cacophonic lanes to my home.

redefining_wanderlust

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