[pbaruah]

In December-January 2019 I drove to Guwahati from Delhi with Sultan, my dog. He has made several trips to Uttarakhand and Himachal with the family, but this was our first solo trip. Once in Assam, I also went to Kaziranga, which is an annual affair for the family. But this time we took our three dogs too. Some of us later went to Dibrugarh and Arunachal Pradesh. This travelogue includes these areas.


Sultan




Pluto and Prabhu

Vehicle

From Delhi to Guwahati I drove my Duster AWD (2016). Its been trouble free ownership for four years now with 95000 KM on the odometer. It was bought to accommodate Sultan, who was outgrowing our Vento. The car was flawless throughout the trip. Till now it has never put us in a spot. There is ample room for Sultan and even three dogs together when the seats are put down. Driving it for 2000 Kms over two and a half days was not tiring at all. Good seats, easy to drive, great ride quality and cruise control, all contribute to driving comfort. Wind noise at higher speeds is an issue.

Routes and Road Condition:

Day 1: Delhi-Yamuna Expressway-Taj Expressway-Lucknow-Gorakhpur (12 hours)

Very good road conditions all the way to Gorakhpur. After Lucknow it was NH27. It was a dual carriageway. The only confusion was at Lucknow, on whether to go through the city or take the bypass. I took the bypass. A policeman stopped me on the way. He wanted a lift. I told him my route and he said that he will get down after Lucknow to get a bus. Once in the car he asked me to go through Allahabad/Prayagraj. I of course refused and having a lawyer’s background toned him down. He was going to negotiate his son’s marks at some college! He got down somewhere I can’t remember but as he left, a UP road transport bus reversed into me! I got down, but he sped away. The right hand side bumper and headlamp was damaged, but everything was working. I went to the nearest police station and lodged an FIR. The police were helpful but I had to write the FIR in Hindi. I am an Assamese who can write and speak Hindi and that got me through. I told them to give me a letter describing what had happened so that I could show it to the police if they stopped me later. They obliged.

I started off towards Faizabad and stopped for lunch at a Dhaba. Unlike urban areas, Sultan was welcomed and he was given roti and dahi. We then crossed Basti, and Sant Kabir Nagar to reach Gorakhpur around 6.30pm. My plan was to go to Kushinagar and stay at the Lotus Nikko Hotel that had lawns and had promised to accommodate Sultan. But it was dark and there was the mist rising. I decided to stay in Gorakhpur. Tried several hotels, but they would not let Sultan in. Finally, OYO helped me find a pet-friendly guest house. They loved Sultan. When I brought him in, they said ‘Yeh asli GSD hai’ (this is a real German Shepherd Dog). I asked them ‘nakli kaunsa hai’, (which ones are fake) and they said ‘humare do hain’ (we have two). We all laughed, and I knew I was nearing Bihar. The sense of humour, including self-deprecation, is abundant in Bihari culture. Difficult to find in several other communities nowadays!

Evening was spent taking photographs of the waiters with Sultan. They brought tailored low-salt, low-oil, chicken fried rice for him. Lot of chicken and less rice! It was tastier than my dinner, and Sultan is always happy to share.

Day 2: Gorakhpur-Kushinagar-Motihari-Forbesganj-Araria-Siliguri (12hrs)

We started early, only to be caught in the rising mist we avoided the night before. We drove through the air force area of Gorakphur and the beautiful forest that followed, but at very low speed. Slowly an organic convoy developed, which had an errant bus, but everyone cooperated and we were taking turns being in front. After an hour or so we reached Kushinagar and decided to have breakfast at the Lotus Nikko hotel. It is large and old school. The food was government hotel style, which was nostalgic. Sultan was welcomed again and he was allowed to play on the lawns with Japanese tourists watching. I saw several processions of different Buddhist groups. The Sri Lankan ones were very ornamental and musical, but it reminded me of how the most peaceful of beliefs can be misinterpreted.

Kushinagar was pleasant and we left once the mist had settled.

It was NH 27 all the way and at Araria googlemaps gave me a choice. Always a dangerous proposition. As expected I walked into the trap and regretted. I chose the shorter route through Bahadurganj to Siliguri. The road was broken at parts and very crowded in places where there were bazaars. Sultan and I stopped by a river and the AWD allowed me to take the duster down the road into the fields. Three children, barely clothed, ran up to us. They spoke a Bengali dialect I didn’t understand well. But the fields and the railway track far away made me feel like I was on the sets of Pather Panchali. Further away there was a funeral pyre alight.

Sultan and I too bid farewell, and went back on to the road. It was a single carriageway all through with lot of segments under-construction. Finally, after some beautiful roads through tea gardens, we joined NH 27 before Bagdogra. My advice on this route is to stick to NH 27. I took it on the way back and it was a breeze.

We spent the night in a lovely pet friendly homestay --‘private 2 bed studio with terrace hosted by Nikha’. It was a lovely family. I spent some time chatting with them and then spent the evening on their lovely terrace. Sultan was also happy to be in the greenery of the area. I was feeling closer to home already.

Day 3: Siliguri-Sevoke-Nagrakata-Hasimara-Srirampur-Bongaigaon-Guwahati (7 hours)


Duster on Coronation Bridge




The enchanting Teesta

The roads taking you out of Siliguri were beautiful. I had read on several travelogues that there were speed cameras between Siliguri and Sevoke/coronation bridge. I was careful, but didn’t find any. I did find one later near Hasimara. But they were standing on the road with a tripod and so being from Delhi helped me spot it early, especially because the speed limit was 40km/h.

Most of the route till Srirampur was through forests, tea estates and fields. We stopped at Buxa wildlife sanctuary for breakfast. There was a resort with a lot of open space and Sultan had a good time chasing langoors. For the first time in his life he also tasted a poori!

Roads were fine till Bongaigaon, after which we stopped at a Dhaba. It had sang ghars—sort of look outs you could climb up to and eat. It was refreshing to hear 'local or broiler' when I asked for chicken. This happens in very few places. The food was good. They gave some duck to Sultan!

After this was the infamous Bodo Territorial Council Area (BTC), which is safe now. Several Bhutanese cars with red number plates are on the road here. The roads are terrible. Dual carriageway but with craters everywhere. Some parts were not constructed, and even on a duster I had to be careful. It was such a contrast to the roads in UP, Bihar, and West Bengal, which were surprisingly butter smooth. The road condition simproved near Barpeta Road, and it was a smooth drive to Guwahati.

Sultan enjoyed the trip as we had many stops for him to get down and run around on river beds, forest trails and tea gardens. Only once did he run off after goats in a tea garden before Bongaigaon. The only other incident was when in eastern Bihar there was a religious procession with loud speakers so loud that the car was shaking. He go panicky and tried coming to me and in the process pulled down the indigenously designed soft barrier I had gotten stitched behind Khan Market.

Guwahati-Kaziranga

It’s a concrete dual carriageway till Nagaon. After that the road is broken in parts till you reach Kaziranga. The drive is beautiful. We drove down in the Duster (one dog and 4 people) and an Ertiga (2 dogs and 2 people).

Once inside the national park zone, there are speed cameras. These are the ones that should operate but are rarely enforced. Sometimes the cameras are in Tata Magics employed by the police.

We stayed as usual at the Wild Grass Lodge with its wonderful ambience, simple tasty food and lovely company of the owners. Went on several safaris for birdwatching. Here are some pictures.


Scarlet Minivet


Blue throated Barbet


Green Malkhoa




Black-headed crane






Racquet-tailed drongo (Bhringoraj).


Golden-fronted leaf-bird








Greater Adjutant Stork not in a garbage dump.

Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Namsai-Wakro

We went to Dibrugarh to meet some friends. The road after Kaziranga is a single carriageway but with good surface conditions most of the way. The drive brought back memories of our annual Shillong-Dibrugarh drives in the 80’s in a Premier Padmini. From Dibrugarh our friends took us to Arunachal in their Terrano. Upper Assam and Arunachal are serene: green, sparsely populated, with rivers and excellent cuisine.
Once you enter Arunachal, you realise how raw and untouched it still is. Trees are tall and ancient, and rivers are pristine. We drove up to Wakro and later went to Parasuram Kundo, where the river was emerald green. Our two year old daughter was finding the journey tiring and so we decided to head back. On the way we plucked juicy oranges from orchards at very reasonable prices and discovered a fig tree laden with fruits. You could also get glimpses of the eastern Himalayas. The narrow windy roads were well handled by the Terrano, but I was yearning for my Royal Enfield that I had just sold after 15 years. It had the distinction of crossing Kunzum la in 2006 when the pass was officially blocked with snow.
On the way back we stopped at a riverside eatery. It was traditional to the core even if it did have usual dhaba fare. The owner let us into the backyard where rice, and pork with herbs were being cooked inside bamboos. It was the most delicious and exotic meal we had in the trip.

Guwahati to Delhi:

I just stuck to NH 27 and then the expressways from Lucknow. Night halts were in Siliguri and Lucknow. NH 27 was a breeze as I did not get stuck in truck traffic at Srirampur or Alipurduar.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[gulerianeeraj]

Lovely write up. Have heard a lot of notorious stories about Police in UP and Bihar belt. Good to read that they’re becoming helpful. Your travelogue have given me my next travel destination and route.
Regards

[vishwasvr]

Wow! Lucky dawg! I'm so itching to take my Great Dane on a kickass road trip. But sadly my Duster is not comfy enough for her for long drives. Hope I'm able to do the same soon!

[pritanshchandra]

Amazing write-up. My hometown is near Kushinagar and Gorakhpur.. Deoria City (kind of in the middle) and i live in Lucknow city. I am myself a dog lover and have a very active and naughty 3 year old Pug. I'm pretty sure Sultan enjoyed the trip more than you. Cheers to more trips and everlasting memories.

[SS80]

Amazing thread, that picture of snow walls on both sides of the road is nothing short of heaven.

Lovely thread, cute dogs. This thread will surely motivate others to go for trips with their lovely pets.

[vredesbyrd]

Very nice thread and pictures. The Duster sure is a proper jack-of-all-trades. Oh and very very nice doggos, indeed. I wish I could pet them.

[Pynummoottil]

Hello,

Really enjoyed reading your post. I am a dog lover and own three dogs myself, a Chocolate Lab, a Black Lab and a Golden Retriever, who looks like your Golden's twin. Haven't taken them on long drives myself.

[Biker Ram]

Thanks for sharing! Traveling together can improve bonds - dogs and people alike. Sounds like you had good interactions with the people you met on the journey. That's becoming a rarity in present day travels where one could drive very long distances on highways and often checking into hotels booked online, with least interactions or conversations with anybody.

On traveling with dogs - overall the pet population and people traveling with pets has increased. I often drive with my Lab. I always make use of the chairs & tables placed in open air at hotels and dhabas, and the owners/staff don't even give a second look at the dog.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by pbaruah

Very good road conditions all the way to Gorakhpur. After Lucknow it was NH27. It was a dual carriageway. The only confusion was at Lucknow, on whether to go through the city or take the bypass. I took the bypass. A policeman stopped me on the way. He wanted a lift. I told him my route and he said that he will get down after Lucknow to get a bus. Once in the car he asked me to go through Allahabad/Prayagraj. I of course refused and having a lawyer’s background toned him down. He was going to negotiate his son’s marks at some college! He got down somewhere I can’t remember but as he left, a UP road transport bus reversed into me! I got down, but he sped away. The right hand side bumper and headlamp was damaged, but everything was working. I went to the nearest police station and lodged an FIR. The police were helpful but I had to write the FIR in Hindi. I am an Assamese who can write and speak Hindi and that got me through. I told them to give me a letter describing what had happened so that I could show it to the police if they stopped me later. They obliged.

Once I too had given lift to a policemen, from the Mathura toll on Yamuna Expressway to Firozabad. I was driving alone from Delhi to Lucknow. This was before the ALE came into operation. This was also before Fastag came into universal use. Whatever two tolls came in between, the policeman just waived to them and I could sail through without making any payment! When the police is there, you can be fast and at ease But, conversely, there are also instances where people came as impostor police and attacked the people in the car.

By the way, interesting travelogue! Beautiful route. I had planned a trip in the last year and did start too, but had to return from Gopalganj.

[WhiteSierra]

Excellent write up! Loved the pictures of your pets, bird watching, and different wildlife animals. It takes lot of patience to travel with pets, especially for their bio breaks. And with not many hotels allowing pets it is also difficult while travelling.

I too traveled with my dog from Hyderabad to Tirupati, 1100 kms round trip, (had to leave him in Tirupati with my driver in guest house and had to take an other vehicle to climb up the hill to Tirumala for Lord Balaji darshan) and to Godavari Pushkar in AP (800 km round trip). He took a bath in the holy river of Godavari during pushkar too. His name is Harry, a Black Labrador and I'll soon be posting more pictures of him in BHPians and their Pets thread here .

He loves car journeys and he never gets car sick or get tired of car journeys. He sleeps in the 3rd row of our Innova and enjoys to see what's going on around.

In our parking lot, if a car door is open, he directly hops into a seat and doesn't get down until we take him out for a small ride. He truly is a car guy.

[atu2good]

An exciting account of a adventurous journey almost through the breadth of the country. Your account has also revealed that a lot of us car lovers are fond dog lovers as well
For the best interest & behalf of all looking to emulate your feat, I would request you to add on the details of the specific measures you adopted/catered for the comfort of your canine friend along the longish journey. TIA!

[katoom]

Thanks for a refreshing tale of your travel with Sultan! Am sure he enjoyed it thoroughly.

And yeah, a duster AWD is a befitting companion for such trips! Beautiful pictures too.

We have Sasha the lab and a 8 year old pug, monstrous Milo and we love taking them around although haven't done big distances yet.
But I would love to take the Sasha for a lot of trips and she loves looking at the beautiful world with a curious stare while enjoying the drive
Cheers

[pbaruah]

Originally Posted by vishwasvr

Wow! Lucky dawg! I'm so itching to take my Great Dane on a kickass road trip. But sadly my Duster is not comfy enough for her for long drives. Hope I'm able to do the same soon!

I can imagine. The Duster is not tall enough for a Great Dane. Can't imagine which car would suit. Deserves a cars for Great Danes thread.

Originally Posted by vredesbyrd

Very nice thread and pictures. The Duster sure is a proper jack-of-all-trades. Oh and very very nice doggos, indeed. I wish I could pet them.

Yes, the Duster did not build any strong bond like the enfield or a golf GT TDI I had owned. But over the years, as I have aged I guess, it has grown on me especially when it has got me out through snow snarls and landslides.

Originally Posted by Pynummoottil

Hello,

Really enjoyed reading your post. I am a dog lover and own three dogs myself, a Chocolate Lab, a Black Lab and a Golden Retriever, who looks like your Golden's twin. Haven't taken them on long drives myself.

You must! Take them to a lake and let them loose!

Originally Posted by Biker Ram

Thanks for sharing! Traveling together can improve bonds - dogs and people alike. Sounds like you had good interactions with the people you met on the journey. That's becoming a rarity in present day travels where one could drive very long distances on highways and often checking into hotels booked online, with least interactions or conversations with anybody.

On traveling with dogs - overall the pet population and people traveling with pets has increased. I often drive with my Lab. I always make use of the chairs & tables placed in open air at hotels and dhabas, and the owners/staff don't even give a second look at the dog.

True. Sultan was a conversation starter. I guess a new phenomenon always is. Highway joints have mostly been pet friendly and so are several cafes in some tourist spots like Bhimtal and Naukuchia Tal. Homestays too are increasingly pet friendly. I hope the trend grows and responsible pet ownership is likely to facilitate that cause.

Originally Posted by atu2good

An exciting account of a adventurous journey almost through the breadth of the country. Your account has also revealed that a lot of us car lovers are fond dog lovers as well
For the best interest & behalf of all looking to emulate your feat, I would request you to add on the details of the specific measures you adopted/catered for the comfort of your canine friend along the longish journey. TIA!

1. Kept enough food and water for him. Carried pet food and water.

2. Temperature: The duster does not have back AC vents, which keeps coming back to me and I think of cars with big boots and rear ac vents. I keep the car cooler than I would like as Sultan is at the back. I direct the middle vents in a way that is best for him. I have sun shades for the mirror areas of the boot. The police have objected sometimes. But they make exceptions for him. They even don't check the boot when they see him. For example, on this trip, at Srirampur the WB Police asked me what was in there, and I said dog. That was a conversation starter and they let me pass!

3. I keep the leash on. I do not tie him, as is required in some western countries. Here he might need to be free in emergencies.

4.I keep the back seats up so that he can find support on the seats. Too much free space might tumble him around.

5. Windows open when parked, or the ac on.

6. Easy on bends, easy on bumps, no hard braking, no sudden acceleration.

7. Arranging pet friendly accommodation in advance, or being prepared to sleep in the car.

8. I have a washable mat on which he travels, and I keep cleaning materials: newspaper, garbage bag, cotton, anti septic cleaner.

9. Regular stops, every two to three hours. Make him stretch his legs, sniff around.

10. No loud music. Talking to him and throwing in words he knows.

11. Keeping medicine for road sickness and diarrhea. Just in case.

12. Being careful when letting him out. He is very social, but protects the car. So I ask parking attendants to be away when I am bringing him out. If he is in the car and someone comes near, he does his thing.

13. Name and mobile number on collar.

Would love to hear of other useful measures. I have not had much trouble travelling with him.

[Rangy62]

Lucky you got the greater adjutant in natural surroundings. Been there a few times and all my sightings have been in the garbage dump. Still searching for the perfect shot.