[AnishRanjan]

Introduction & Planning of the Entire Trip

I have been wanting to share and write down my thoughts of taking my 2002 Honda city vtec to Bhutan since I drove and came back from there towards the end of Dec 2019 and in Jan 2020. This is my first ever travelogue on Team Bhp, so apologies if there are any shortcomings.

Time has been a constraint and my laziness as well. So coming to this trip, I have always wanted to drive very long distances and had experience of doing so prior to this trip. I had ridden to Rajasthan in my Duke 390 in 2017 and the longest drive that I had done in my Honda was Bangalore to Aurangabad to see Ajantha and Ellora Caves. It was around 1,200 odd kms one way from Bengaluru and the total trip distance came up to around 3,000 kms.

Cutting the story short, after seeing a lot of Bhutan travelogues on team BHP I was bitten by the bug of an international drive. Also I'm a huge fan of the 2002 Honda city vtec that I drive and wanted to prove to myself and the people around as to how reliable and fun machines that they are to drive, in spite of its age. I started planning the whole thing in September Last year. Thanks to team bhp I learnt a lot about Bhutan and the processes to be followed and went about my booking and trip itinerary accordingly. Once all bookings were done, it was time to pay attention to my car, it was about getting it ready for the biggest trip in its life.

So in November, I prepared a checklist of all the things I planned on getting done on my car and went about it one by one. One of the things I did was I got all the cooling hoses replaced as quite a few had given up in the previous drives, due to its age. I got the entire cooling system cleaned, refreshed and since it was winter and temperatures would go below zero, I got the regular coolant replaced with antifreeze coolant in the car. Got the car serviced as well with new synthetic oil, air filter, oil filter and changed the brake pads on all four wheels are a precautionary measure as I knew the brakes would take a lot of beating on such long drives and didn’t want to take any chances. I also carried lots of extra coolant, engine oil, spare belts, power steering fluid and brake fluid.

After all this it was anticipation for D day to pack our bags and leave. But fate had other things and the anti CAA protests started and it was getting violent in the northern states and it was a big worry. I was left in a catch 22 situation and a lot of family and friends advised me and my wife not to go. I didn’t know what to do as all my bookings were done and if I missed this opportunity, I didn’t know if I could have another opportunity to go there with the hectic lives that we live in today’s world. I had a decision to make and my biggest worry was West Bengal. As I had to pass through Kolkata and Malda stretch to reach Siliguri and lots of violence in those parts, I really didn’t want to get stuck in riots in an unknown place, far from home. Then I realised I can have a detour in Odisha towards Jharkhand, Bihar and Siliguri and bypass West Bengal all together. At that time there was no news about violence or protests in these places and I decided to risk it. It was a huge gamble and an unknown situation and decided to take it day by day. So with excitement in heart and also fear of the unknown we finally left on December 19th 2019.

No of Days : 14
Total Distance Covered: 6,567 kms
Mileage : It was never my criteria so never bothered to check. My car averages around 14 to 15 with spirited driving.

Table of Contents:

Day 1: Bengaluru to Visakhapatnam
Day 2: Visakhapatnam to Cuttack
Day 3: Cuttack to Ranchi
Day 4: Ranchi to Siliguri
Day 5: Siliguri to Phuentsholing
Day 6: Phuentsholing to Thimphu
Day 7: Exploring Thimphu City
Day 8: Thimphu to Punakha to Phobjikha Valley
Day 9: Gangtey Monastery and Spent our day in Phobjikha Valley
Day 10: Rest day in Phobjikha Valley
Day 11: Phobjikha Valley to Dochula Pass to Paro
Day 12: Paro to Siliguri
Day 13: Explored Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary & Gorumara National Park
Day 14: Siliguri ( Rest Day )
Day 15: Siliguri to Kharagpur
Day 16: Kharagpur toVishakapatnamDay 17
Day 17: Visakhapatnam to Chennai to Bangalore ( Back Home )

Teaser Picture of Bhutan




Getting my car ready for the mammoth trip

[AnishRanjan]

Day 1

Bengaluru to Visakhapatnam, Distance covered 1,011 kms in 21 hours


We left home exactly at around 11.30 in the night. The emotions were mixed with excitement and uncertainty as well.



We would reach Visakhapatnam the next night and had a long drive ahead of us. We took the Tirupati route as that was the shortest route available to us. The roads till Tirupati were fairly good and nearing Tirupati, a lot of road expansion work was happening but still it was fairly decent and we reached there early in the morning by around 6 am. I was feeling sleepy and took a two hours nap in the car. Resuming our journey we found a APTDC Haritha hotel which we have visited before and stopped here for a coffee.



The road from Tirupati to Nellore was bad. Covered with too many potholes and huge speed breakers, I regretted coming on this route. After reaching Nellore, the roads till Vijayawada was a dream.

The famous N5 food plaza toll booth




Driving on this amazing piece of tarmac, we just breezed past into Vijayawada like in no time. It was afternoon by then and had a lunch break. We being vegetarians knew that options in the north and Bhutan might be a problem, so we had carried enough food and a portable stove to cook food on the way by parking on the side of the highways. So food cooked and with a full stomach next stop was Visakhapatnam.





After a couple of hours of driving in the evening we found a good food court and decided to stop for a coffee, which would be our final stop for the day.

Beautiful rice fields around the food court.









The roads din't last too long after this stop and we encountered a stretch of 25 kms of really bad road. Thankfully after this the roads were good, but a lot of construction and expansion is happening on the GQ National Highway here. We reached Visakhapatnam without a hitch at around 9 pm and had covered one of the longest stretches to be covered in a single day for the entire trip. Thankfully the hotel was good and we had a good night of sleep.

[AnishRanjan]

Day 2

Visakhapatnam to Cuttack, Distance covered 467 kms in 11 hours

We had a good night of sleep and left by 8 in the morning as the distance was not too much and I was confident of covering it up fast. We met up with a friend of ours as I wanted to have a glimpse of the Submarine museum.



After spending some time here our friend suggested after coming all the way here that there was no way we can go without seeing the beach. He took us to a good secluded beach which is not well known but really beautiful and less crowded. Coincidentally it happened to be on our route to Odisha. We spent some time on the beach soaking the early morning sun and then bid farewell to our friend.















It was around 9 am and we were on our way to Odisha. Its place that I had always wanted to visit but had never been there. So I was very excited to explore Odisha. The constant road widening and expansion was routine now all the way till the Odisha border. We reached the Odisha border by mid noon.

First pictures of Odisha





To my surprise the roads in Odisha were really good and it was the first visit of mine to this beautiful state. I really didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. The scenery is really beautiful. Hardly any people and settlements once you reach the eastern ghats and it continues almost till you reach the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.







I really enjoyed driving on this stretch of road. I had planned on seeing the Konark Sun temple in the evening, but when we reached the diversion before Bhubaneswar towards Konark and after driving a few kilometers on the rural roads.The sun was setting and I didn’t feel comfortable proceeding and driving through those roads in the night towards Cuttack. My gut feeling said no and I always go by my gut feeling. I decided to head back and go to Konark some other time. So I drove through Bhubaneshwar and reached our hotel in Cuttack by around 9pm. With this ended our second day of travel successfully without any untoward incidents.

[AnishRanjan]

Day 3

Cuttack to Ranchi, Distance covered 440 kms in 11 hours

Again started the day early and filled up the tank full at the nearest petrol pump. This day was a big unknown as we were heading into rural Odisha towards Keonjhar and from there on into rural Jharkhand to reach Ranchi.

First pictures of the day, a foggy morning and stopped for a quick breakfast en route.





In the back of my mind I was a little worried about Jharkhand as we had to travel through forested territory and it was a naxal prone area. I decided not to think about anything negative and just enjoy the journey. The road towards keonjhar is fantastic with lots of greenery and really good to drive.









Had never heard about Keonjhar before, but I'll tell you its a jewel in Odisha. A beautiful place and one must visit this place, it's got dense forests, hills and everything for a nature lover like me.







Stopped frequently on the way to soak the beauty around and took some photographs as well. The roads are fantastic in this part of Odisha as well and finally by noon reached the Jharkhand border town.





The road into Jharkhand was dreadful, narrow and covered with craters literally. This was the road I was dreading when I started the trip as you know the 2002 City has very little ground clearance and I really somehow wanted to make it through. Luckily I managed to get through without any worry and I thanked my stars. But to my luck things were to get even worse. This stretch of roads had monstrous humps and I had to drive very carefully to avoid scraping the bottom of my car. We reached a train crossing and the gate was closed and luckily there was no traffic and there was this huge hump and a crater on the other side. One look at the hump, I knew I would not make it and looking at the foot path there was a small shop like structure and the gap was very narrow to cross. I was really in a catch 22 situation as heading back was not an option and to get a detour it was 40 kilometres away. I decided to take on the hump but it was the worst decision that I took. My car got stuck on the hump and was beached. Right away my nightmare of bad roads ending my trip came true and I was very angry at myself for getting the car stuck. I put the car in reverse and somehow managed to get it out. I was devastated with the feeling that my underside is completely scrapped and felt horrible. Got down and bent over to access the damage and to my luck the underside was clean with a tiny scratch of the 3M coating. I couldn't believe my luck and wondered how that was possible. I went on to investigate further and on closer inspection I discovered it was the oil pan that had scraped the hump. I was overjoyed as my car means the world to me and could thank god enough.

Here is the picture of the hump and condition of the road I was talking about





Trust me pictures don't do justice to how bad that pothole and hump was. It was a car killer for sure and definitely not for a car like mine. To continue further my only option was to use the narrow footpath and I decided to test my luck again and asked my wife to get out and help me navigate through it. It was absolutely hair raising and with millimetres of clearance of not having my doors or bumper scratched. I had to completely rely on her instructions as I could not see a thing on the passenger side as it is a blind spot and I literally scraped through the impossible. This one hump could have ended my trip and luckily nothing happened.

From here on for another 50 kilometres I got my first glimpse of the notorious truck traffic and luckily I had read on some Team BHP accounts that the best way to get out of this mess is to drive on the wrong side of the roads and I exactly did that praying the mud foot paths be even and not to encounter any dreaded craters in between. If you get stuck here with nowhere to go, you are in real trouble. With vehicles behind you honking and oncoming traffic to your right, it's a perfect recipe for trouble and luckily nothing like that happened. But it was nerve wracking and an experience which I will never forget as it was thrilling and fun at times.









So after that nightmare stretch, I finally found calm and good roads again. Drove for a couple of kilometres until I spotted a quiet and good place outside a village that we had just passed to park and cook lunch for the day. We had this cute little dog as company for our lunch break and it really made my day after a dreadful couple of hours of intense driving.





After this break the settlements and people started to disappear and we started to head into the forests and hilly areas of the easter ghats towards Ranchi. The traffic also started to become negligible and there were hardly any vehicles on the road. When I reached the first ghat road it was just us and an alto ahead of us for company. I thanked god for the company and I just decided to follow him and stay with him as much as possible as I didn’t want to be alone in the evening and the sun setting. But after several more kilometres he took a deviation and we were alone in this deserted but beautiful road. The roads were pretty good and the scenery around was breathtaking. Everything was good until I came across a hairpin bend, the scene ahead of me made me freeze in disbelief. I saw four men with AK 47’s dressed in army clothes standing next to the road. There was not a single soul on the road in the middle of the forest on the hills.I chose not to have eye contact with them and luckily they didn’t stop us. I passed through and didn’t know if they were Naxals or the STF and I didn’t want to look back or speak about it. All I wanted to do is to reach Ranchi as fast as possible.









Thankfully after a few kilometres we were out of this forested area onto flat lands and areas of human habitation. I was so relieved and it was about to get dark and I was lucky that I didn’t have to drive through those forests in the night.









From here on it was a peaceful drive to Ranchi and we reached there by 7.30 in the night.

[AnishRanjan]

Day 4

Ranchi to Siliguri, Distance covered 632 kms in 18 hours

This was one of the most dreaded stretches on our journey and I knew I had to start early. We started at 5 in the morning fully knowing we had another difficult day ahead of us. Luckily the roads in Jharkhand are really nice. It was freshly laid piece of tarmac and I really didn’t expect to find these good roads in this place.

Early morning scenes with dense fog and first signs of truck traffic







We crossed into Bihar by around 8 in the morning and surprisingly the good roads continued in Bihar. Anxiety also started to build as we started getting news that there were isolated incidents of violence in Bihar on the route we were taking to Siliguri. Bihar is a place which is strange as even though everything was quiet and normal, in the back of your mind the picture of Bihar portrayed by the media and people is always lurking. You are always weary, conscious of things around and on your guard at all times. I guess it happens instinctively because of the portrayal of this place. But Bihar is just like any other place and has developed tremendously. The roads are a good indicator for this and I hardly found a few patches of bad roads and I was pleasantly surprised as I didn't expect it at all. So coming back to the point it was all peaceful and good till you near the roads that lead to the notorious Makhajan bridge.





The truck traffic starts here and my god I have never seen anything like that and experienced traffic like that. We had 10 kms to cross the Ganga bridge, it was 12pm and an endless line of trucks parked on the road. It is a two lane road and again I had to take the wrong side route to navigate out through this maze. The muddy foot path was not smooth sailing and I was always worried about deep craters and undulations of the surface. There were a huge line of cars, jeeps and auto rickshaws behind me and that added to the stress even more.





Two hours and a few kms later at snail's pace we hit an embankment road that led to the toll booth 1 km away, things got even more serious. The sides of the roads were steep and leading onto the fields on both sides and were seriously uneven and I had no other option to take it or else I knew I would be stuck here forever. Halfway though I encountered a deep rut and I knew I could not proceed further. I had to think fast as it was clear behind me for the moment to reverse but I could see vehicles coming towards me at a distance. I quickly reversed hoping to find a space between the trucks and find my way through the other side of the embankment. I did manage to find a spot while reversing to squeeze through a few trucks and got stuck diagonally as there was a truck blocking me on the other embankment. I waited a few minutes and got out of the car to find a truck driver to casually ask him why there is so much of traffic and what was the issue. What he told me got me even more worried as he told me something was seriously wrong and he was stuck in the same stretch for two days and still not been able to cross this bridge. I was no way going to spend a night on Bihar roads with my wife and I was desperate to get through. I managed to cross this section somehow and found an ambulance which was making its way through and I decided to follow it and somehow quickly managed to pass through the toll gates which were jam packed. There was a flyover ahead of us leading to the road that goes onto to join the Ganga bridge and it was jam packed with parked trucks. Google maps was red all through till the end of the bridge and further. The ambulance driver deviated onto the service road and I just followed him hoping to somehow get onto the bridge and It was the right decision to make.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcEclx7fr6A

I did manage to get stuck at the entrance of the flyover and took another hour and half to pass through this whole mess. The bridge is a two lane road and a truck had broken down in the middle and the entire thing was a big mess. Took us four hours to cross 10 kms. Will never forget my ordeal of driving through this stretch and I was already tired.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ULa-R79Rg0

Google was telling us we will be reaching our hotel by 11 and I was really tense. I really did not anticipate this level of disruption in our travel plan all thanks to the situation on the Ganga bridge. I had no other option to keep driving and prayed to god to take us safely to Siliguri. By 5.30 sunset happened and there was thick fog and visibility was really poor and this added to the stress and anxiety.



Thankfully roads were good and we had hit a four lane road with lots of traffic and company. By 7.30 in the night had brought down the distance to around 120 kms to Siliguri. The roads ahead were single lane poorly lit rural roads and again I was jittery and worried.I just prayed for good roads and decided to drive as fast as possible to reach my destination. To my surprise brand new roads and I could maintain good speed. Midway there was construction around a river bed and encountered quite a few diversion roads which were pathetic, full of undulations, trucks, mud kicking into the air and poor visibility. I just wanted to make it out of here alive and it looked like my tests were never ending. After all this the roads were good again and I literally zoomed towards the border with West Bengal. It was 9pm we were exhausted and the border close by, I reached an under construction flyover. The mud roads were horrible and another huge line of parked trucks. I was so over this truck traffic and jams I resigned to my fate and though I will never make it out of here because it seemed never ending. It was then I saw a few vehicles taking a kaccha road below and I thought of it but was sceptical of taking it not knowing where it leads to and was also worried for me and wife’s safety. Ours was the only car there and the place was filled with truckers and a few local vehicles. Then suddenly I saw an auto guy waving at me and I asked him what. He told me to follow him on the kaccha road and he will show me a way out of this place. He also said if I don’t do so i will be waiting here all night. At that point I really didn’t know what to do and whether this person was genuine or did he have any other intentions. On google maps this road basically didn’t exist. I took a chance and went for it and followed him and the other side I was finally relieved to find an empty piece of road that led me to the main highway. I thanked the auto driver and drove ahead. Sometimes you have to take instinctive decisions and it pays off. All my miseries ended here and I was able to cross the border peacefully and the roads were also good to Siliguri.

Found a few bikers from Kolkata for company who rode with us till Siliguri



Reached our Hotel at 10 at night and we literally crashed as we had no energy left. In the back of my mind I was also relieved that all the hard bits were over now and tomorrow I will be heading into Bhutan which I have been dreaming of for so long.

[AnishRanjan]

Day 5

Siliguri to Phuentsholing , Distance covered 160 kms in 3.5 hours


Finally D day had arrived or so we had assumed, we were really excited and looking forward to crossing into Bhutan. We left early in the morning at 5 as we had read in team bhp blogs about getting to the immigration office in phuentsholing before 9 to get the papers cleared as fast as possible.

Excitement was in the air was were so close to Bhutan now







Customary cleaning of the car in the mornings



We enjoyed every minute of the drive as the scenery at every corner was mind blowing. Mid way in the surroundings of Siliguri we stopped to prepare breakfast and click some pictures. The roads were empty and the tea estates all around were really beautiful. I also had a customary look into the engine bay and checked if everything was fine. I did this everyday on the trip just to be sure everything is ok and drive peacefully.









After breakfast we drove non stop to Jaigaon and when we reached Jaigaon our excitement levels went up, I was eagerly waiting to see the Bhutan Border Arch that I had seen so much and read about. I was finally getting to see it through my own eyes and couldn’t wait to make my way through the traffic and chaos of early morning scenes there. We then finally made it to the Bhutan Border gate and there was heavy traffic but I wouldn’t cross the border without a picture of my car in front of it and somehow managed to find a spot to park in front of the border gate for a quick picture.



First leg of our mission was accomplished at this point and we had made it in one piece. My car drove down till here without a hitch and we had covered around 2,500 odd kilometres in 4 days. We crossed the border and it felt like a completely different place and it took me some time to get adjusted to the rules and regulations which I had familiarized all thanks to team BHP again. There was a mad rush as It was a day prior to Christmas and finding a parking spot to go to the immigration center was a challenge. I had to make several rounds before I found a spot to park and headed to the Immigration center for my paper work, it was around 8.45 in the morning. To my horror the rush was not like anything that I had imagined and It was complete chaos. I figured out immediately that getting the paperwork on my own would be a challenge and had contacted two agents prior to the trip whom my friends had recommended. They charged me Rs.1,500 for paper work of both us and the car RTO clearance certificate as well. The immigration office there works at a very slow pace and simply cannot keep up if the number of people are more and it’s a nightmare.





It all works on a token system and they had only 120 tokens for the day. Getting the agent was the best thing I did as I didn’t have to run around for the papers in that Que and chaos. We had no idea how long it would take and we had already waited till noon and we were told the office will be closed for lunch from 1 pm to 2.30 pm. Mean while the Que got longer and flow of people continued, most of them had no clue on what needs to be done. We were also clueless and lost on how long it will take to complete all the procedures.

This is how a token looks



After lunch our agent came and gave us a shocker saying the car papers might not be possible today as the rush is too much and the RTO closed by 4.30 and we may not be able to make it. It all depended on how fast we could make it through immigration. Ultimately the agent’s word came through as it was 4.15 in the noon by the time we cleared immigration and the whole day was lost. Another day another twist as this was totally unexpected. Now we had to wait till the next morning to get our RTO clearance to head towards Thimphu. I was in two minds whether to find accommodation in Jaigaon or stay in Phuentsholing. I decided on the latter and started searching for accommodations online. Due to the mad rush that day most of the hotels were full and I started getting worried. Thankfully at last I found a decent hotel near the immigration office itself and It was expensive but money was not the criteria at that moment. I wanted to check the hotel before I booked, so I called them and headed straight to the hotel. My miseries didn’t end there as the road that goes into the entrance of the hotel parking area was blocked due to construction of a new ring road and google map showed no other alternative route. I was tired and now getting really frustrated as It was Bhutan and you can’t just park your car on the side of the road as well and rules are really strict. Being used to India, in such situations it makes you feel our country is so much better in spite of everything that we go through. The hotel guys tried to guide us, but I was just going in circles for half an hour in the traffic and I sternly told them to send someone to come with us and show us the way. After 45 minutes of trying I finally found the hotel guy who apologized and took us on the correct route through some broken roads to the hotel.

Our hotel room for the night

[AnishRanjan]

Day 6

Phuentsholing to Thimphu , Distance covered 160 kms

This was the day we knew for sure we will be getting into Bhutan and on our way towards Thimphu no matter what even though we lost a day. Got up early, had our complimentary breakfast and we were at the RTO sharp at 10 in the morning. Our agent was there and thankfully there was no que and we got our paperwork done in 45 minutes. On the way back we met a few people on the previous day who were still waiting for their immigration papers and the rush there was equally bad as the previous day. We wished them luck and rushed to the hotel to load our packed bags into our car and head towards Thimphu.

Picture of Phuentsholing town from our hotel and the surrounding mountains





A few kilometres out of Phuentsholing we found the first check post. Again a long que and 30 minutes later we were on our way finally. I just stopped a few kilometres from the check post to savor that moment and take a few pictures of my car which had finally made its first international trip with us.







The drive from here on was beautiful and the weather was perfect for a mountain drive. We had planned our next pit stop Dantak Canteen, where we planned to stop for lunch. The weather was pleasant with lots of clouds around, perfect weather to drive on the mountains and it was a dream come true to drive on those mountain roads with the perfect car. The 2002 Honda City is made for roads like this with lots of twisties and I had a blast.























Reached Dantak Canteen by noon. The views from this place are amazing and breathtaking. The food in the place is also really good and we had a peaceful lunch savoring the views around.





Next stop now was Thimphu and we hit the road again, finished paperwork in the next check post and now we were free of paperwork duties. There were landslides on the way, amazing views on every corner and all of this made us feel all the effort we put to reach here well worth it.















At around 6 pm we reached the entrance of Thimphu city and we had made it safe to our first destination of our Bhutan road trip. Stopped to click a few pictures there and we entered Thimphu.







I must say what a beautiful city Thimphu is, nested among the mountains all around it’s a treat to your eyes. We drove straight to our hotel and it was getting really cold outside and we just decided to settle for the night. First day in Bhutan was coming to an end.

[AnishRanjan]

Day 7

Exploring Thimphu City


This was our first day off or rest day on our trip. We didn’t have to worry about getting up early, packing our bags and leaving. We got up late and the previous night was really cold, I have never experienced such a cold in my life as temperatures had dropped to -2 degree Celsius. Getting out of bed in the morning was difficult in such cold weather. Got ready and the first thing I wanted to do is to see my car. I was worried, will it start and how has it fared the previous night in such a cold was in the back of my head. We never see these kinds of temperatures back in the south so how the car would behave in such temperatures was a big question mark to me. I rushed down and went straight to the parking area and saw my car. It was covered in a thin layer of ice and I was kind of nervous and excited at the same time to see if it would start and hoped everything would be ok. Took pictures of it and just went inside to have breakfast. I wanted to start it once we head out and didn’t want to experiment.













Quickly had breakfast and decided to head out to get out paperwork extended to go towards Punkaha and Phobjikha Valley the next day. It was time to see if the car was ok. I cranked and in one crank the car started, it was such a big relief. One more worry of mine was cleared. We headed out to get our paper work done first and it took me an hour and half’s time.



Our first stop for the day was the Buddha statue in Thimphu.















Spent the rest of the day exploring Thimphu and I feel in love with the city more. Its extremely clean, very friendly people. They follow rules to the T and their love and passion for their country is immense. By the evening again we had to go to the immigration office at Thimphu to collect our extended immigration papers and we got it successfully. We also got to explore some local shops, art and got a chance to taste some local cuisine. All in all we had a very satisfying day and we thoroughly enjoyed our time.









The customary flags that people get when they travel on the Himalayas which brings you good luck and protects you on the mountains



All in all we had a very satisfying day and we thoroughly enjoyed our first proper day in Bhutan.

[AnishRanjan]

Day 8

Thimphu to Punakha to Phobjikha Valley , Distance covered 165 kms in 12 hours


We had planned on leaving early as we had places to see and distance to cover and accordingly had packed up everything previous night. We were ready by 6am and I waited for the first sunlight to start and leave. By 6.30am the sun was up and everything was packed up in the car. We were ready to leave and It was so damn cold outside and I just wanted to get inside the car and put on the heater. As usual the car was frozen last night and tried starting it. Touch wood the car started in one crank and we were on our way to the first destination of the day, Punakha.









The road to Punakha is beautiful and full of curves. For people who love the twisties, it’s an amazing road to drive and from Thimpu the road is almost downhill till you reach the plains before Punkha. We passed through Dochula Pass and didn’t stop there as it was very cold and not a soul was there. There was fog all around and the visibility was poor, so we decided to check this place on our return journey to Paro.







Two hours into our drive, we found a good restaurant and decided to check it out if breakfast was available. The views from this hotel were amazing and the food was also good. With our tummy full, we were ready to go and explore Punkha now.







The drive hereafter was amazing. The sun had come out and finally it was warm and the weather was just perfect. The roads were like a driver's wet dream, full of curves, good tarmac and breathtaking scenery all around. These roads are a perfect match for my car, it’s built to take on these kinds of roads with ease and puts a grin on your face with every corner you successfully navigate. We enjoyed the twisties and reached the plains where the road merges and goes along the river and this road leads you all the way to Punakha. Until here the roads were all good and smooth sailing.















From here on the roads started to get narrower and had quite a few potholes, but it was definitely driveable and nothing to worry about. You just have to be a little more attentive and drive carefully. This was the scene all the way until we reached the famous hanging bridge of Punakha.











I struggled to find the parking place for this place and finally decided to park in a quiet little spot next to the river on the side of the road. There were hardly any people here and it was not like the big cities where rules were very strict. It was a risk I was taking, but I decided to take it as none of the locals were giving me proper directions to park and google was taking me in circles.



The views from the bridge are amazing and the small trek to reach the Punakha monastery from there is well worth it as it offers some beautiful views of the river and the hills around. There is a road as well to the monastery but I would definitely suggest the trek. It's not difficult or hard and anyone can do it.

[AnishRanjan]

We got a free guide to take us on the tour of the Monastery. A local guided us about this facility as we were not aware of it and the guide made a huge difference. He took us in a group of 25 tourists and gave us a proper tour of this place. We learned so much of Buddhist culture and traditions that the Bhutanese follow. It was a really good experience.











By the time we finished the tour of Punakha Monastry it was lunch time. We quickly headed back to our car trekking our way back through the path on the hills which lead us onto the hanging bridge, this time the bridge was empty with no one. Quickly rushed back to the car. I was worried if I had gotten into trouble, but thankfully no one was around and we set our map to our next destination of the day Phobjikha Valley. We wanted to reach there before sunset.

This road was the highlight of the entire trip. What an amazing road it was, hardly any civilization and towering mountains with amazing views everywhere. The roads were also decent and me and my car were loving it. This is the reason I bought my car all the way till here to really test it out on these amazing twisties in the foothills of the mighty Himalayas and boy of boy both of us were having so much of fun.















The final 20 to 25 kms towards Gangety and then Phobjikha is even more remote and beautiful. You will be off the main highway and it’s quite a narrow road and extremely steep at some points.I mean you can’t explain how steep it is in words, you will have to drive there to experience it first hand. There was also little snow on the sides of the roads and I had to concentrate hard to drive in the fading light. One mistake here and that too with ice and snow on the road, it could be your end.



After the steep ascent, you will descend to Phobjikha valley and roads are pretty decent until you start nearing the valley. I was just hoping to make it to our hotel and hoped the roads would be decent. The road was muddy and full of potholes at places and I had to drive extremely carefully and slow, thankfully there was no traffic and I could choose my lines and use the entire road to avoid obstacles.























The road to the hotel was a steep mud trail and again was worried will my car be able to go down this road. Somehow managed the courage and drove carefully and reached the parking spot without any damage to the car.





The entire landscape and views out here makes you forget everything and we had finally made it to Phobjikha valley. The sun was setting and we called it a day. It was getting really cold and all that I wanted to do was go freshen up, have a quick dinner and hit the bed.

[AnishRanjan]

Day 9

Gangtey Monastery and spent our time relaxing at our Hotel


We had two days to spend leisurely at this place and this would be the longest break or rest period that we had planned on the entire trip. Got up late, had breakfast and it was a beautiful winter morning. Our hotel was right on the valley and the views were amazing. We spent some time spotting black neck cranes and it was a fun activity.





It was really cold the previous night as temperatures had it -5 degree celsius. Went outside to see the valley and it was covered by a thin layer of snow. As we went towards my car, it was covered in a thin layer of snow and ice which were melting due to the morning sun. Noticed some coolant had dripped below as well and I was just hoping everything was OK and the car would start. This is a remote part of Bhutan and there are no service stations nearby. Even the nearest petrol bunk was far far away and If you get stuck here with a breakdown you are really alone. Hardly any people as well to help. There are not that many tourists in this part of Bhutan, at least when I was there I didn’t find many.

















Anyways I waited for the sun to melt all the snow and when it was warm outside, I got inside and fired my boy up to head towards the famous Gangtey Monastery. The cold had no problems at all, the car started in a single crank. I slowly drove in a sedate manner and enjoyed the scenery around and took our time to reach the Monastery.





It’s a beautiful place and there were hardly any people around. We spent a good amount of time exploring and learning about the place. We had it all for ourselves and it was different to Thimphu or Punakha which were filled with tourists.















On our way back we spotted a helicopter which had landed and was about to take off. After talking to the locals, we found out that they were a family of foreigners who had taken the helicopter tour to eastern Bhutan and had landed here to have a look at Phobjikha Valley. It is such an isolated place with hardly any human population, it was the last place where you would expect a helicopter to be and that made it interesting to us and also all the locals had come to have a look at this helicopter. We all waited for it to take off, parked on the side of the road and it was just next to us. It was the closest I had ever been to a helicopter and seeing it take off was an experience to remember.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUlKVw21ZJ8

The rest of the day we went had a quiet lunch and had an afternoon nap and spent the day at our hotel itself. It was a much needed break as we travelling no stop till now and what better place to take break.

[AnishRanjan]

Day 10

Rest day in Phobjikha Valley

It was another leisurely day. Got up with no hurry and had a quiet breakfast. The plan was to visit the black neck crane centre which was right opposite our hotel.













Came out to see the car and again it was frozen the previous night. We visited the black neck crane center by foot as it was just opposite our hotel and I must say it’s a well maintained place with lots of information about Phobjikha Valley, the black neck crane and the protected black neck crane sanctuary. There is also a black neck crane at the centre which was not captured but reduced as it was badly injured by dogs and It has lost its wings and ability to fly. There is also an AV room where you can watch a 2 minute video about the black neck crane and the importance of Phobjikha Valley and finally there is a viewing gallery as well with high powered binoculars which you can use to spot these birds on the plains in front of you.

















After visiting the black neck crane center, we came back to the hotel and had lunch. We wanted to explore the area around the hotel. On the horizon I could spot a road that went through the valley cutting it into two halves and we decided to head there into the valley to explore the place. My only concern was the condition of the roads and it was a big question mark. The roads are so narrow and the condition was unknown. I just went ahead, the roads were broken and you have to drive carefully but we could make it into the valley. It is a beautiful place surrounded by mountains on all sides and we stopped and clicked some pictures and spent some time there savoring the fresh mountain air.











Post this we spent a quiet evening around the hotel enjoying the scenery all around and clicking photographs. This place will make you want to forget everything and you can spend a whole day doing nothing but looking at the scenery on offer.












We got bad news about ice formation on the road that evening


A bangladeshi family who were staying in the hotel with us had tried to leave at 5 in the evening and 15 kilometres from our hotel on the road to Thimpu and Paro, they found the roads were completely covered by ice and they had to return because it was too risky to drive on those narrow and steep roads. I didn’t have snow tires and street tires don’t offer much grip on such tricky conditions. I was worried about braking and aquaplaning on the icy slippery roads which were narrow, very steep and they had no side retaining walls as well.

It was 6 pm by then it started getting really cold and staying outside was not an option. We went inside and packed up for tomorrow as we were bidding this place a goodbye.



I just hoped conditions would be better tomorrow and we should somehow make it safely to Paro. I was not ready to face another twist in our trip as our schedules were very tight from now on.

[AnishRanjan]

Day 11

Phobjikha Valley to Dochula Pass to Paro, Distance covered 295 kms in 9 hours

We got up early by 6.30 and got ready, but we were told to wait till around 9 for the sun to have properly risen on the horizon. Leaving early in those temperatures is very dangerous and risky as there is every chance of the roads being covered in ice. The thing is ice will not form evenly and it usually forms in places which have shade and less sunlight. It is an extremely thin layer and spotting them is very difficult and under certain situations it is next to impossible. At 9 it was much warmer and we could see the glowing sun in the sky and decided to leave for Paro.













While inspecting the car I found a small patch of coolant below and I could not find a leak anywhere. I had no option but to hope everything was ok and left our hotel. We had to first ascend before finding the steep downward slopes. You could see thin layers of snow on the hills next to the road and I drove extremely slow and cautiously. The next 25 kms was nerve wracking and I had to concentrate extremely hard. We saw ice on some corners of the road and it added to the tension in the air. Thankfully somehow managed to navigate through all of this and we reached the main road that goes all the way to Paro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmml1ihpV0k

The roads were broder here compared to the road which we just travelled through and these roads are exposed to more sunlight and therefore less snow and ice formation on them.



The drive all the way to Dochula Pass was peaceful and there was hardly any traffic. We were also very sad as we would definitely miss the stunning views and the beautiful place that Phobjikha Valley and its surroundings has to offer. At the same time we were relieved we made it out safe and we didn’t have to worry anymore about snow and ice on the remainder of our trip.





This time when we reached Dochula in the afternoon, it was filled with people and thankfully there was no fog and the views from this place were spectacular.















After spending some time at Docula, we drove non stop to Paro and reached there by 5 pm. The first thing I wanted to do before going to our hotel was to head out to the Paro Airport view point. We went there and thankfully it was not very crowded and the view again is beautiful. It's the highest table top airport in the world and it’s absolutely beautiful. It's also one of the most dangerous airports to land and takeoff an aircraft. Seeing an aircraft taking off and landing here is something special and a lot of people dream of and one more tick on the wishlist was completed.

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

It was 6pm by then it started getting really cold and staying outside was not an option. We went inside and packed up for tomorrow as we were bidding this place a goodbye. I just hoped conditions would be better tomorrow and we should somehow make it safely yo Paro. I was not ready to face another twist in our trip which already had so many twists in them by now.

[AnishRanjan]

Day 12

Paro to Siliguri, Distance covered 310 kms in 11 hours


The surprise that I was talking about in the previous day's article was that we had to leave Bhutan today. A lot of you might ask a question at this point as to how we could leave without seeing Tiger’s nest monastery and the beautiful Haa Valley? The answer is technically we could stay two more days in bhutan and we had our bookings in place. We had planned to use the two days to visit Tiger’s Monastery on one day and visit Haa the next day as early as possible and exit Bhutan the same day. The issue was the RTO permit for my car. Although I had immigration permit for the entire trip itinerary, I was only given permission to drive for 6 days in Bhutan. When I asked in Phuentsholing about it, I was told I had to extend it in Thimphu. When I was getting my immigration papers extended for Punakha and Phobjikha Valley in Thimphu, I made a trip to the RTO as well to find out about the extension of my papers. I was told it was not immediately possible and I had to go on the last day of expiry and they would do so. I was also told it would require a half days time and wouldn’t happen immediately. So thinking about it made no sense to travel for one and a half hours from Paro to Thimphu and then wait for half a day and then again come back to Paro as we would almost waste an entire day. I was starting to get tired of the formalities and was missing my country, just wanted to be free and I could always come back to see these places next time.

One last photo of my car in Bhutan



The entire purpose of coming to Bhutan was to drive my Vtec on the mountains and my mission was accomplished. The car had proven itself till now and I had achieved what I had dreamt off for so long. Now it was time to head back home. With amazing memories and a contented mind we started our way to phuentsholing driving one last time in Bhutan and enjoyed every last moment in this beautiful country. Passed through both the checkposts and finally handed our papers in the second one signalling the end of our magnificent trip of Bhutan.

























Passed through Phuentsholing and got into India. Although there was a lot of chaos, I felt like a free bird and got my freedom back. Felt so good to be back in my motherland. Unfortunately the happiness was short lived. The road I took to come to Jaigoan the first time, we missed it and we hit an under construction NH which was horrible. Lots of construction activity was going on with lot of diversions, broken roads full of traffic and it extremely dusty. The visibility was poor due to the setting sun and the winter fog setting in. The 60 kms took us three hours and it was such a painful and horrible end to the day.

[AnishRanjan]

Day 13

Explored Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary & Gorumara National Park

We had to stay back and not leave immediately as my wife had her flight to bengaluru the next day and we had two days in hand to explore around Siliguri. Checked google and saw these national parks around and was not really that far as well, so decided to go and check them out. My morning ritual as usual, I inspected my car as always and found a small patch of coolant on the ground.



It was starting to become a daily affair and I called up my trusted mechanic and sent him these pictures. He reassured me saying the radiator drain clog might be faulty and asked me to keep an eye on the coolant levels everyday. I was relieved but also a little concerned as I was still a long way from home.
Anyways it was time to head out and getting out of town was really difficult as the traffic on the roads was moving at a snail's pace. Once we headed out of the city, the roads were much more clamer and it was green everywhere. The road to Chapramari Wildlife sanctuary was in good condition and we reached there in no time. It's a fantastic place with a dense jungle all around. We couldn't get into the safari area as we had to have a prior booking, anyways I was not too bothered and I was enjoying my drive on these beautiful country roads.









Next stop was Gorumara National Park and the road leading to it was through thick forested roads and they were pretty deserted. Made it in quick time to Gorumara as well and here we didn't bother to check if we could go inside. Spend a few minutes checking the place from outside and we decided to head back. I didn’t want to drive back on the same road and looked for an alternative root. This was a good and bad decision as well. For a couple of kilometres it was all good and we went through some beautiful tea estates and forests.











After this point things started to change. The road started taking us through some remote interior villages with very very bad broken roads. It was scary at times as we felt totally isolated and kept wondering if we were on the right road. Finally after driving through a lot of bad roads I decided to ask a local and he told us we would be reaching the canal road ahead and from there on the roads were good. We reached the canal road with fresh tarmac on it and we were so much relieved. We had another 40 kms to Siliguri and we were relieved that our ordeal had ended as google maps was showing this road goes all the way to Siliguri and the road from here was dam good.













But again fate had other plans. 15 kms to Siliguri the road was a dead end. Construction work was going on and the entire road was blocked. It was a remote place as well and there was not a single person around to ask for directions. There were no alternate roads from here according to google. After waiting for 5 minutes, we spotted a cyclist and stopped him to ask for directions. He pointed at a narrow bridge behind that connected to the other bank and showed us a mud road leading into a small village and told us that it would lead us to Siliguri. We took his word and crossed the road. Once we reached there, I was appalled at the condition of the road.





It looked like it would lead us nowhere and I was stressed. I didn’t want to drive back 25 kms to find alternate routes and again found a villager on the road. Asked him if this road leads to Siliguri and he said yeah go ahead and it's the only way out from this place. We decided to take it anyway and it was the worst road we had encountered on the entire trip. Narrow mud roads with deep pits, basically a road not made for my car. It seemed never ending and finally we landed in a tea estate. I was starting to wonder if it was a bad idea on my part to have made this decision to drive an alternate route and the earlier one was perfect with none of these dramas we were facing at the moment. We then found a tractor parked on the side and I inquired again if we were on the right road and I was told 1 km ahead I'll be joining the main road to Siliguri.









This marked the end of adventures for the day, we went back happy after another eventful day and the next day was just a rest day for me and a flight to catch for my wife.