A bit too late to the party, but nevertheless, an awesome compilation of pics and narrative there, Chandra! Well done, right from drafting the itinerary to writing this stuff. Just relived the entire trip in reading through this travelogue.
My preparation started right after we ended the Spiti trip. And that was to convince the ladies at home to do this trip within next 5 months. They agreed, albeit reluctantly and with few caveats. Lot of eyebrows was raised in my close circles at the idea driving all the way to Sikkim. My reply (like a typical Bhpian) – The journey is as much or even more enjoyable than the destination itself and that too in the company of seasoned road trippers/travelers like Chandra, Bhushan and RK bhai. Turned out to be an E-P-I-C journey in the end.
Travlogue has a lot of details, so I am just adding some of my observations/pics below
On day 1, we could have gone further ahead of Jhansi, had we not chosen the Indore-Ujjain-Jhalawad-Shivpuri route. Ujjain-Jhalawad section was painful with two lane potholed roads passing through some crowded places.
NH27 was fantastic throughout UP and Bihar with well thought out bypass roads for large cities like Kanpur and Lucknow.
Visit to Gurudongmar lake on day 6 was easily the best day of trip which offered varying views including snow-capped mountains, barren mountains, arid land, frozen waterfalls, frozen streams and frozen lake. We had the Gurudongmar lake all for ourselves as we were the only one to visit it that day. The lake was semi-frozen much to our delight as it offered both the summer view (blue water) and the winter view (wearing thick ice cover). All the cameras we had went into overdrive mode and photos were clicked like there was no tomorrow. On the way back, Endy had an unfortunate incident with a military truck, but given the spirited guy he is, Chandra was unperturbed and trip went on.
Another highlight of the trip was day 9 when we drove on the old silk route which was covered in clouds in many patches post Nathula. It was a surreal experience with huge sea of clouds below your eye level.
Traffic discipline in both Sikkim and especially Bhutan was commendable with people strictly following the no-honking, no-overtaking and proper lane driving. We realized this the moment we entered Pheuntsoling, when sound of loud horns from Jaigaon (border town in WB) was suddenly replaced by complete silence on the road.
Bhutan was just a kind of tick-in-the-box for us and we didn't explore it much. But Bhutan did leave us impressed with its good roads, traffic discipline, emphasis on cleanliness and in general high happiness quotient.
One word on both the trucks, just flawless. These kind of vehicles are just perfect for cross country trips. I enjoyed driving both of them. Now some pics
At hotel in Jhansi. Endy was an attention magnet everywhere we went. Guys in the background took selfies with Endy
Foggy drive from Jhansi on day 2
Would recommend this hotel in Kanpur. Delicious parathas they serve
Hotel bang opposite Muzaffarpur station
SRK pose in a "Sarso ka khet" in Bihar
View from our hotel in Kalimpong
Sood's International in Kalimpong. Highly recommended
Teesta river. Gave us company almost throughout the Sikkim trip
Rangpo is the first town in Sikkim
Welcome to Sikkim
Breakfast in Mangan DC office canteen. This was to become the staple breakfast/lunch in Sikkim and Bhutan
Teesta again
Teesta from atop the mountain
On Mangan-Lachen route
Desert on the way to Gurudongmar lake
The Gurudongmar lake
Couldn't resist posting this again
Somewhere in Yumthang valley
Zero Point
Do I have anything left to conquer?
The million dollar question (look below the rear wiper)
![A Dinosaur and a Snail take the Silk Route to Sikkim and Bhutan!-26.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/1740316d1689976955t-dinosaur-snail-take-silk-route-sikkim-bhutan-26.jpg)
P.S. This was from Spiti trip