[GTO]

Superb travelogue man! The two of you make a great couple and are seriously having a lot of fun .

Upon seeing this, I couldn't resist asking...

Originally Posted by gearhead_mait

And the supreme of them all - The Tulip Garden

Did you guys do this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0XMLvlmHvc

[saket77]

Absolutely stunning Soumyajit!

When I read the title, I said to myself that it won't be the Eon this time but still for some reason, I was 'prepared' to be shocked!! And you did exactly that!!

What a zeal to travel and wonderfully written travelogue as well. All praises for you, just a gentle advice to avoid such 22 hour long stints at a stretch esp if you are the only driver. Tiredness often rules over the skills.

Overall a journey to remember and thanks for sharing the log with us.

Regards
Saket.

[1100D]

An awesome adventure, beautiful narration, breathtaking photographs, but more than all that, what is priceless is the bonding you two share. Wishing you many more memories like this.

The kind of pressure that was built on you to reach Calcutta on the last day, and I know what sort of havoc it plays on the mind, a good question to ask ourselves would be, are our jobs pushing us a little beyond too much, to even take risks that would have the potential of even wiping us out. Anyways, everything being fine, we will look forward to more from you!

[gearhead_mait]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Excellent travelogue with great narration and pictures. Has all the right information in place for others to plan a travel.

Thanks a lot, sdp1975!

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Hope those people realize their folly and something is done about it.

We, the tourists, were so frustrated that we told the guides that if they continue like this, no one would be coming to Gulmarg. They replied saying that "Hum bhi yehi chahte hai ke yeh bandh ho jaye" ("We also want this rope way to shut down")

Originally Posted by sdp1975

PS - I remember seeing your messages on the CHD whatsapp group - being stuck at Agra , etc. I was on my MP trip that time.

Oh! Then we were traveling together Will reach out to you via PM.

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer

the closeup picture of that Glacier is just so brilliant. Nature at its best....Thank you for sharing a detailed write-up.

Thanks! Dieselritzer

Originally Posted by mustang_shelby

...Hope things change for the better.

Thanks, mustang_shelby! I sincerely hope so.

Originally Posted by rselva

Your travalogue in an Eon is an inspiration for me to do a smilar trip in near future. Thank you.

Thanks a lot rselva! Grand i10 is a very capable car.

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

This brought back memories of my 2012 trip to J&K. I feel like visiting J&K again.

Thanks, hemanth.anand!

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Couple of questions:
1. Were you the only driver? (Expecting an answer in negative)
2. Which camera have you used?

Ans 1 : Yes, I was the lone driver. My wife was playing the role of the navigator and she stayed awake all the way as I drove .
Ans 2 : It's Canon Sx150.

Originally Posted by alfaromeo1984

Excellent travelogue.....Hats off to your wife as well for supporting you through out your journey.

Thanks, alfaromeo1984. Without her support nothing would have been possible.

Originally Posted by XetaGLGRocks

Excellent trip! Brilliant photographs!...Curious to know how the car handled the entire stretch.

Thanks, Sir! EON performed flawlessly. I have driven it to extreme levels but it had never let me down. Although, its a fact that the terrain of Kashmir we visited was a cakewalk compared to our earlier tour of Sikkim (East and West).

Originally Posted by Red Panda

Outstanding travelogue...Even though we stay in close proximity, I haven't got the chance to meet you personally. Lets catch up some day.

We will meet for sure. We missed meeting each other by a whisker during our Gadiara meet, where probably you left from Azad Hind before I arrived?

Originally Posted by prabuddhadg

By the way, your selfies etc do not reveal any hint of tiredness in spite of your extensive driving. You obviously enjoyed the trip.

Thanks prabuddhadg! The travels we did each day were indeed very long, but we enjoyed every moment.

Originally Posted by bhp_maniac

Amazingly detailed and equally good photographs..

Thanks, bhp_maniac

Originally Posted by Sommos

Excellent travelogue and equally beautiful pictures...I think you missed thanking your "Sher Dil" at the end. He deserves one for carrying you both safely home.

Thanks, Sommos! The framing of the name "Sher-Dil" was itself a gesture to thank his superb performance.

Originally Posted by itinerant

But I am really interested in your last day of 22 hours drive.... Were you the only one driving? Or did your better half chip in every once in a while?

I am also curious to know why did you chose not to take the Mughal Road.

Thanks, Itinerant! I was the lone driver and wife was the navigator. Mughal road was in our priority list, but we heard Pir Ki Gali pass was closed.

Originally Posted by catchjyoti

Amazing pictures and great narration

Thanks, catchjyoti!

Originally Posted by Utopian

Excellent and very detailed snaps...BTW, how did Eon behave on the hillies and twisties, overall?

Thanks, Utopian. EON performed like a champion. No issues or breakdowns. Regarding hillies and twisties, it is already adapted to much steeper gradient in Sikkim.

Originally Posted by Samba

Stunning! Absolutely stunning!

Magnificent pictures with awesome detailed narration. Rated 5*

Thanks a lot, Samba!

Originally Posted by Samba

I know a person who hire Sumo/Scorpio for going to Digha/Mandermani from Kolkata resting his Alto in the garrage as he think bigger cars are more safe on highways! I will forward him this travelogue!

Haha! It's a common perception of people. But, personally, I would not suggest/force anyone taking up a road trip. After all, road trips are not easy but it is very easy (and dangerous) to get carried away.

Originally Posted by Samba

Same person?

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Looks to be the same person.

Isn't the guy in my picture a bit older?

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Superb will be an understatement for the travelogue, rated 5 stars. I have always loved your travelogues and was waiting for this one. In fact just after I posted yesterday in one of the threads that I was waiting for your Kashmir travelogue, I refreshed the new posts and found this one. Took me quite a bit of time time to go through the log, specially to grasp the pictures.
As somebody has mentioned, you don't need an SUV to enjoy. You are an inspiration to other hatchback owners. Wish you travel a lot more and put up such awesome logs.

Thanks, BlackPearl! Your travels inspires us a lot.

Originally Posted by vdm295

Just loved reading through the travelogue.

Thanks, vdm295!

Originally Posted by GTO

Superb travelogue man! The two of you make a great couple and are seriously having a lot of fun .

Upon seeing this, I couldn't resist asking...

Did you guys do this

Thanks a lot, GTO.
No, we couldn't. There was a restriction imposed on walking among the Tulips and singing was limited to inside our cars during the long travels.
But, if sitting on a bench together among the Tulips and having a nice and hot cup of Kashmiri "Kahwah" relates to the song in any way, we are in!

Originally Posted by saket77

What a zeal to travel and wonderfully written travelogue as well. All praises for you, just a gentle advice to avoid such 22 hour long stints at a stretch esp if you are the only driver. Tiredness often rules over the skills.

Thanks a lot Saket! The 22 hour drive was not a planned one. The urge to travel, to see new places is always equally matched by the urge to return home after a good 11 days away from it. Who wants to stay in a hotel barely 3 hours away from home?
But I do agree the risk factor involved in such extensive duration of driving, specially when one is driving on an average of 500 kms for the last 10 days.

Originally Posted by 1100D

An awesome adventure, beautiful narration, breathtaking photographs, but more than all that, what is priceless is the bonding you two share. Wishing you many more memories like this.

Thanks a lot, 1100D!

Originally Posted by 1100D

The kind of pressure that was built on you to reach Calcutta on the last day, and I know what sort of havoc it plays on the mind, a good question to ask ourselves would be, are our jobs pushing us a little beyond too much, to even take risks that would have the potential of even wiping us out. Anyways, everything being fine, we will look forward to more from you!

Absolutely agree to this! We are being tied in such a way that day by day it is getting impossible to maintain work-life balance.

[gmhossain]

Originally Posted by gearhead_mait

Yes! Our EON took us to the Paradise on Earth and how beautifully it performed. No breakdowns, no hiccups, long (distance and duration) travels made every single day and still it performed like a champion every time.

Indeed, your mighty EON is a champion machine! However, I guess, the real champions are two of you; the persons behind the plan and the execution. A machine is just an enabler. You two make a wonderful couple and have been munching miles after miles like toffees through a vast nation of ours! Keep it up

It was an awe-inspiring travelogue, beautifully composed with stunning pictures!

Cheers,

[sayakc]

Mind blowing and Humongous!
Taking the Eon to those places from as far as Calcutta is setting a new example. Take a bow brother. And great photography too.

One more (general) observation - Did we notice how the format of travelogues have changed over the past couple of years? I remember ADC's and TSK's travelogue threads begin with a "trailer" and some "intro" posts; members used to subscribe to those threads because they used to continue for some significant time. But of late, the travelogues are fast paced and written almost at one go.

Just an observation! Not sure which one is better though.

[gearhead_mait]

Originally Posted by gmhossain

....It was an awe-inspiring travelogue, beautifully composed with stunning pictures!

Thanks, gmhossain! EON did perform brilliantly. At times, even I was amazed at the capability of the car. Now, at 47K+ kms, it is running even smoother than before (touchwood!)

Originally Posted by sayakc

Mind blowing and Humongous!

Thanks a lot Sir!

Originally Posted by sayakc

Did we notice how the format of travelogues have changed over the past couple of years? I remember ADC's and TSK's travelogue threads begin with a "trailer" and some "intro" posts; members used to subscribe to those threads because they used to continue for some significant time. But of late, the travelogues are fast paced and written almost at one go.

Nice observation! I wrote my Kaluk, West Sikkim travelogue in a similar way as stated above by going LIVE with a few posts and continuing later.
But, for readers who are not subscribed initially to the thread, the intermediate comments from other users causes a bit of hindrance to the flow of the travelogue. That's why I switched to this style from my East Sikkim travelogue, making use of Assembly Line section.
Just my personal opinion though.

[sayakc]

Oh, forgot to add. Rated the 5 stars it deserves.

Warm Regards,
Sayak

[adutta2k]

Originally Posted by Samba

I know a person who hire Sumo/Scorpio for going to Digha/Mandermani from Kolkata resting his Alto in the garrage as he think bigger cars are more safe on highways! I will forward him this travelogue!

That's a very common perception among people who own small cars. I have been questioned innumerable times when I took my 2007 Alto (800cc) to Ooty and elsewhere on the hills and highways. Having driven the Alto for over 5 years I can vouch that small cars like Eon and Alto perform flawlessly on the highways and hilly sections

[divyankar]

Hey Guys,
First of all many congratulations for completing such a mammoth journey without any major hiccups.
Awesome travelogue superb pictures and you two make a great couple.
Me and my wife also travels a lot and I know the risk involved. Thank god nothing happened in that Baramulla chapter.
I also owned eon for 3 years and 30k KMS and I know it can do wonders, we have traveled a lot without a single breakdown.

And I must say, driving continuously for 20 hours shows that what a super driver you are.
Regarding Delhi odd even rule, I think it only applies to Delhi registration numbers.
i will keep a close eye on your future ventures.

[gearhead_mait]

Originally Posted by divyankar

Awesome travelogue superb pictures and you two make a great couple.
Me and my wife also travels a lot and I know the risk involved. Thank god nothing happened in that Baramulla chapter.
I also owned eon for 3 years and 30k KMS and I know it can do wonders, we have traveled a lot without a single breakdown.
And I must say, driving continuously for 20 hours shows that what a super driver you are.

Thanks a lot, Divyankar! Do you still have the EON with you?

Originally Posted by divyankar

Regarding Delhi odd even rule, I think it only applies to Delhi registration numbers.

No. The Delhi odd-even rule applies to any vehicle passing through Delhi, including out of state cars as well. And an out of state car is prone to more harassment, if caught.

[divyankar]

Originally Posted by gearhead_mait

Thanks a lot, Divyankar! Do you still have the EON with you?



No. The Delhi odd-even rule applies to any vehicle passing through Delhi, including out of state cars as well. And an out of state car is prone to more harassment, if caught.

I sold it last year. Now driving Duster.

[BODHI25]

One of the most wonderful travelogue I've ever come across.
Congratulations for completing this great and adventurous journey without any major problem. Hats-off to you and your wife for this kind of enthusiasm, really appreciate it!

[arun_josie]

Awesome pics and a very nice write-up . I loved it!

[ARAY]

Originally Posted by gearhead_mait

As I bring the travelogue to a close, I would like to thank my wife for her continuous support. Without her, it would never have been possible.
Many thanks to HV Kumar, CHD team and Allen Singh for all the help. Also, I would like to thank our Kolkata TeamBHP team for their support.

Thanks for reading!

Lovely blog and lovelier pictures there. Kashmir valley is a great place to drive .Kashmir has lot to offer. We just get to visit a fraction of its beauty.
Of course great narration, reminds me of the Kashmir trip we did a few years back.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...r-scorpio.html

Thanks for sharing, keep such great travel experiences coming.