We embarked on a mega road trip starting on 19th March from our Mumbai residence in Chembur and reached back Mumbai on 12th May after clocking more than 11000 km on the road. But before I start telling the tales from this trip I would like to reply some queries we have often faced. So here are some pointers about our trips in the format of question and answers:
Do we make advance booking for accommodations: Not always. When we know the place as well as the date we are going stay there and if it's a touristy place where finding an accommodation might be difficult, we book in advance. Or if we want to stay at a particular accommodation then we book in advance. But many a times we don't surely know the place where we are going to stay on a particular date as we like to keep our trip flexible. Besides, sometimes we make a night halt as per convenience and then we just check into a roadside hotel which seems good. At times we were pleasantly surprised to find very good hotels at places we expected least and at times we had to stay in hotels we would have rather not. We have learnt to adapt as a road trip cannot be planned ahead in details without losing the spontaneity which is the fun part. As a precaution we keep a set of bed linen with us in case we find the ones provided too offensive.
Our Vehicle: It's a Honda BRV - a seven seater automatic transmission vehicle - 2016 model. 1497 cc, 119 bhp with a ground clearance of 210 mm. It's a petrol car with a mileage of around 14 km/l on highways. It is not 4 wheel drive but that has not caused us much problem even though it faced off-roading quite a bit, maybe due to it's ground clearance. We keep a jump start cable, air compressor and a puncture repair kit in the vehicle. Learning to keep ourselves equipped drawing lesson from each trip.
How long do we travel in a day: Depends on the distance between the two consecutive places we want to visit. Generally we try not to travel for more than eight hours in a day and take breaks to straighten our limbs and break the monotony. But at times we have travelled up to ten hours or even more, especially if we did not find a suitable accommodation. And Sanjay alone drives, I don't drive.
What about food: We always try to taste the local cuisine and famous street food. Many people ask whether that does not create health issues. We try to maintain a balance by taking very simple food for at least one meal, having fruits and fresh juices. Besides, when having street food, we always choose the popular joints ensuring we get freshly prepared food. So far we have not faced major problem.
How do we manage laundry: As we travel in our own vehicle, we can be quite generous with packing reducing the need for frequent laundry job. Whenever we stay at a place for more than a day, we take care of our laundry. And we do try to take a break for two nights after a gap of few days.
The expenditure part: We are not very good at tracking expenditure. But in this trip I religiously recorded the rental expenditure along with the facilities provided to make it more informative. We try to not spend big rent for just an overnight halt and love to indulge on longer stays. I try to write reviews for all accommodations and eateries in Google with pictures which can be referred to if interested. I also tried to include major sightseeing expenditure if there is any.
We left Assam in October 2022 after taking early retirement from ONGC. It was almost one and half years and we wanted to celebrate Bohag Bihu / Assamese new year in Guwahati. There was a marriage in Jorhat during that time which we wanted to attend too. So we planned for this road trip to Assam covering few places in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. After reaching Assam we planned to visit Mizoram and Meghalaya.
For previous episodes from this trip may please visit the posts :
On 31.03.2024 started for Patna from Varanasi at around 10 am. Reached Arrah - famous for Battle of Buxar and as one of the centres of revolt in 1857 - at around 1 pm. We had lunch at Purana Champaran Meat House - a very basic restaurant without any frill. They just serve few items and serve immediately. We had handi mutton and roti. Food was cheap and delicious.
Reached Patna at around 3:30 pm and checked into Mayfair hotel. It is located near the railway station making it convenient for people travelling by train but the area is congested. There is no parking space in the hotel premises and we had to park our car on the roadside. The hotel is reasonably clean and okay for an overnight stay. The rent was 2500 INR. We could do mothing much on that day as the museum and Kumhrar Park closes at 5 pm. We did not venture for the riverfront as we were told it was very crowded on Sundays. There is a famous Mahaveer Hanuman temple near the hotel. We went to visit it but did not enter looking at the long queue. Just had a stroll in the nearby area and had dinner in Rajasthan Hotel - a place with old world charm.
Next morning we checked out of hotel at around 7 am for Bhagalpur. On the way we stopped at Kumhrar Park to see the evidence of a great empire.
Kumhrar Park: It is an excavation site at the heart of the Patna city. It is easily accessible being on the main road and there is parking space. Excavations around Patna have uncovered remains of the ancient city of Pataliputra - and the most significant findings were in Kumhrar where an 80-pillared Buddhist assembly hall with a wooden platform and a monastery-cum-hospital was discovered. The monastery-cum-hospital known as Arogya Vihar, dates to the 4th-5th century CE. A park was later developed around the heritage site. The park is beautiful and well maintained. There were lots of morning walkers. There is a small museum but we couldn't enter as it was closed during our visit prior to 8 am.
Next we stopped at Mamta Food Plaza in Salimpur at around 8:30 am for breakfast. It was a big place with huge seating areas. The staff was very friendly and warm. We had Kachori - sabji and Imarti.
We took a route via Bhagalpur as we wanted to visit the Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphins Sanctuary. There was very little information available and the route shown by Google maps turned out to be very bad as the road was under construction. So we asked people and took a different route which was longer. We skipped lunch that day and had some protein bar and snacks we carried with us. After reaching Bhagalpur it took us a while to locate and reach the place for Dolphin sighting. There we came to know that a cruise is operated in case there were sufficient people. We went to the cruise site but there was no one else for the cruise. The cruise operators welcomed us aboard the ship and we had a good view of the Ganga. Dolphins are easily sighted during cruise as they come out if there is activity in the water. Sometimes dolphins can be sighted even in still water but we had no such luck.
After some time we resumed our journey and headed to Purnia planning to halt for the night there. Reached Purnia at around 8 pm and checked into hotel Golden Tulip on the highway. The hotel was quite nice. The rent was 1800 INR. The restaurant was under renovation and we ordered dinner through Zomato.
Jaldapara National Park: On the morning of 02.04.2024 we left Purnia at 7:30 am and after about an hour entered West Bengal. At around 9:10 am stopped at Hotel Punjab Darbar in Balichuka for breakfast. Then drove on nonstop to reach Jaldapara National Park near Alipurduar at around 1:30 pm. We tried some homestays but did not like those. So we went to Jaldapara Tourist Lodge. This Govt lodge is in a very beautiful location and has pretty gardens. There are rooms as well as cottages, restaurant, cafe and other facilities. We opted for a room with a balcony facing the forest. Room was very spacious and well furnished though looked a bit old. The rent was 3000 INR. We could not get seat in afternoon safari slot and hence booked for 5:30 am slot for 280 INR per head which we could book online in the lodge itself. Afterwards we had lunch in the the restaurant of the lodge. Food is simple and good. Then we took rest in the room. Enjoyed the beautiful surrounding over a cup of tea in the pretty balcony. In the evening went to Forest Office for allotment of vehicle for car safari. A six seater vehicle was allotted to us for 2070 INR. Later another family of four from Kolkata joined us and the rental got split.
Next morning on 03.04.2024 got up at 4:30 am and went to morning safari. Jaldapara National Park holds the largest rhino population in India after Kaziranga National Park in Assam. There are other animals like Indian leopard, Indian elephant, sambar, barking deer, chital, hog deer, wild boar and gaur. There are many varieties of birds - the Bengal florican, the crested eagle, Pallas's fish eagle, Shikra, Finn's weaver, jungle fowl, peafowl (peacock), partridge, and lesser pied hornbill. We saw lots of animals and birds.
Coming back to lodge after safari had breakfast and checked out. I have passed through Cooch Behar many times while travelling by train. But never visited it. This time since we were nearby, availed the opportunity to visit the city, especially the Madhupur Satra which I wanted to see since long.
Madhupur Satra: The great Vaishnavite saint and social-religious reformer Srimanta Sankardev is the most revered figure in Assam. He was a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, dancer, actor, musician, artist and left invaluable contribution to Assamese literature and culture. He and his principal disciple Srimanta Madhavdev are refered to as Mahapurusha. Madhupur Satra was established by Srimanta Sankardev in the erstwhile Koch kingdom of Narnarayan and was patronized by the king. Both of Srimanta Sankardev and Madhavdev expired in Madhupur Satra making it a very special place for people of Assam. I felt so happy to be in this historic place. Paid our obeisance and got prasad. Met an Assamese family there. The Gentleman works in Alipurduar and his wife and daughter have come to visit him. He told us that Cooch Behar palace is nearby.
Cooch Behar Palace: Built in 1887, during the reign of Maharaja Nripendra Narayan of Koch dynasty it is regarded as one of the most beautiful royal palaces of India. Was impressed by the elegance and grandeur of the brick-built double-story structure in the Classical Italian architecture. It is the paternal home of Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur. It is currently a museum and well maintained with a landscaped lawn.
It was almost 12 o'clock by the time we came out of Cooch Behar Palace and started for Guwahati. Around 1 pm we reached Barobisha near West Bengal Assam border and started looking for a place to have lunch. Entered Hotel Sankosh Valley and was delighted. Did not expect such a place in a small border township. The restaurant of the hotel was neat and clean with ample seating place and clean toilets. They serve buffet lunch which is basically a thali. Food was simple yet delicious and very reasonably priced.
Reached Bhawanipur, my native place, at around 4 pm. It is a village on NH 27 (earlier NH 31) at a distance of about 100 km from Guwahati in the direction of West Bengal. Gopaldev, a renowned disciple of Mahapurush Shrimanta Sankardev established a Satra there. His daughter Padmapriya was said to be the first female Assamese poet belonging to the 16th century. I along with my siblings grew up in Bhawanipur studying till class 12 in local schools. Now no one from my immediate family live there. We stopped at a small cafe near Bhawanipur Anchalik College. None of us siblings studied in that college. But my father was actively involved with the college after his retirement. I went inside the college after many years and felt happy to see very good infrastructure. Afterwards we had tea in the cafe chitchatting with the owner.
After the tea break we started again at around 4:30 pm and reached my sister's place in Guwahati at around 7 pm which was to be our base camp for next fortnight.
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