[lovecars21]

“Life before and after having a child is completely different”-Is it true? Sudeshna and I after getting married back in 2011 have been into Road trips. 2013-Dooars and Darjeeling, 2014-Uttarakhand, 2015-Ladakh, Sandhakphu, Rajasthan, 2016-Ladakh Reloaded, Frozen Sikkim, 2017-Spiti and then life changed as our Son landed on the earth in 2018 but did it really change! No, Ishaan rather boosted the spirit in us.

A travel bug and car lover since inception, our road trips began after a short break and we drove to Bhutan when Ishaan was only 3 months old. But planning was different, preparation was altogether different, priorities were different but the moto of exploring places by road was same.

We made a good team and he also enjoyed each and every road trip since then. Now Ishaan is 3+ years old and has already started his schooling. Our holiday timing now had to match with his school holidays.

This year Summer acted harsh and since Mid-April temperatures started rising to 40. The heat increased the urge in us to go to the hills. Ishaan’s school declared Summer Vacation from 13th May and our plan was to start the trip on the same day evening.

Short listed few hill stations and then decided to go to for Arunachal Pradesh. I had never been to Arunachal Pradesh so a new place added to the excitement.

The plan was drafted and shared with family members. They agreed to the plan and the itinerary was drafted.

Contacted my friend Reeturaj Yogi from Guwahati and discussed my plan with him. He shared Albert Sangma’s number who helped me all through with the bookings.

Albert and I had a few long conversations and he understood my interest and requested me to make some changes in the plan and add stays in Shergaon and Sangti instead of Bomdila and Dirang. Shergaon is a small hamlet amid the beautiful mountains on the way to Bomdila from Balemu. While Sangti is a Valley very close to Dirang, thus our stays were to be away from the hustle bustle of the towns.

The final Itinerary was set:

Day 1: 13th May, 2022: Kolkata to Murti (overnight)
Day 2: 14th May, 2022: Murti Stay
Day 3: 15th May, 2022: Murti to Guwahati
Day 4: 16th May, 2022: Guwahati to Shergaon
Day 5: 17th May, 2022: Shergaon to Tawang
Day 6: 18th May, 2022: Tawang local siteseeing
Day 7: 19th May, 2022: Tawang to Bumla and Sangetsar Lake
Day 8: 20th May, 2022: Tawang to Sangti Valley
Day 9: 21st May, 2022: Sangti to Mangaldoi
Day 10: 22nd May, 2022: Mangaldoi to Chilapata Forest
Day 11: 23rd May, 2022: Chilapata to Asansol

Went through few travelogues and gathered as much information as possible about the road conditions and procedure of applying for permits.

Sharing some links to such travelogues:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...s-bhpians.html (Sailed through the Northeast in hatchbacks & crossovers with BHPians)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...l-pradesh.html (Road-trip to Sangti Valley, Arunachal Pradesh)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...arunachal.html (The hidden paradise with splendid beauty and sparkling lakes – Western Arunachal)

Once the itinerary was finalized it was time to finalize the car we wish to travel in. Before we could decide Ishaan demanded that the trip be done in our ever trusted XUV 500 aka McQueen.

Shared the plan with my mom and she readily agreed as she had been longing to offer puja in Kamakhya Mandir, Guwahati. Ishaan’s Baby sitter also agreed to go so we had to make a seat available in the last row. A roof carrier was ordered through Amazon. The link is shared below:

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B082F2PC1K?...4NHKNNMPDY1BVS

Sunil da called me after hearing about my plan and expressed his interest in tagging along with his family in the drive. Told him the detailed itinerary and he agreed to take his Ssangyong Rexton AWD for the drive.

So now the teams were set and group was ready. Team XUV was to drive from Kolkata to Murti while Team Rexton was to drive from Asansol to Murti. From Murti onwards the drive was to be together.

A day before the trip got McQueen’s 1,10,000 kms service done at Rudra Mahindra, Asansol while Rexton also got its due service done.

List of essential medicines were made along with Portable Oxygen Cylinder and Oxymeter.

List of tools were made for cars and loaded along with Mi portable Jump Starter, tow rope and d-shackle shared by Bhpian Arindam Chakraborty(travelchax).

I applied for the ILP online and it was approved and issued within 5 days. I have shared the link for applying for the ILP below:

https://arunachalilp.com/index.jsp

The procedure for filling up the form is well explained in the below mentioned youtube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeZKMJrPeI8

Day 1 and 2: Kolkata to Murti 658 kms:


The Road Map from Kolkata to Murti which we took

Loading of luggage was done by afternoon and then I took a quick power nap before starting our journey. We started from Kolkata at 6:00 pm and filled Diesel upto the brim before taking the Old Delhi-Kalna route.



McQueen with the new roof top luggage carrier

By the time we reached our planned Dinner halt at Kitchen Sutra Restaurant it was 8:30 pm. It started raining heavily and the temperature dropped from 34 to 27 within an hour. Had a sumptuous dinner. The food and ambience was good. Rated 5*


Dinner was ordered at Kitchen Sutra

We departed from the restaurant at 9:40 pm and had to drive cautiously as it kept on raining heavily.

By the time we reached Dalkhola it was early morning. The road all through was very good. Took the Dalkhola flyover which has been newly made. Due to overnight rains the down traffic from Kishanganj side could not take the flyover due to slush at the unfinished portion so our drive was made easy. We took a short tea break at Ghar Restaurant attached to BP Petrol Pump. Rated 1*

Then we drove straight towards our next stop which was planned for Breakfast. Took the Fulbari-Gajoldoba Road and reached Boroli Resort and Restaurant. While our breakfast was being prepared we took a quick tour of the resort and its campus. The food was really good. Rated 5*.


Ishaan enjoying at Boroli Resort Campus

After having breakfast we headed towards Murti Tourist Lodge under WB Tourism where I had booked our stay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HUQ33fLcdw

On way way we took a photo stop at a Tea Garden

We reached the resort at 11:30 am but the check in time was 12 pm so had to wait for some time before getting our cottages ready. The hotel Management was quick in arranging the rooms and by 12 pm our luggages were send to the rooms and our order for lunch was taken.


At Murti Tourist Lodge Campus


McQueen parked at Murti Tourist Lodge

After getting fresh we had our lunch served at the dining room. Then we recharged ourselves with a power nap till 4 pm and woke up to the call from Sunil da. He informed that they have reached Murti. Told him that after the overnight drive from Kolkata all our members were tired and are resting. Bought an hour’s time to get my team ready for a small meet over tea at their stay which was just beside our WB Tourism property.

Evening was well spent with Sunil da and his family and Ishaan made friendship with Nandini, Sunil da’s daughter. We discussed about the next day’s plan and retired back to our hotel rooms.

Day 3: Murti to Guwahati 404 kms:

We woke up at 6 am and went for a walk along the Murti river. The place was nice and we enjoyed the solitude. The sound of the river flowing and light morning breeze made us feel like staying back and enjoy but we had time constraint as today our drive was upto Guwahati.


Morning view outside the Tourist Lodge


Sunil da enjoying at Murti River


We Love Murti for sure


Guess the tree just outside the reception of the Tourist Lodge




Photos of the Tourist Lodge Campus

After breakfast got the kids ready and we were back on the road by 10:30 am.


Road Map from Murti to Guwahati

We drove along Birpara, Hasimara then connected to NH 27 near Salsalabari and reached Hotel Sankosh Valley at 1:00 pm were we halted for Lunch. Food was ordered and served in no time. Food was excellent and the ambience was perfect for family. Rated 5*.

Crossed into Assam and drove along NH 27 to reach Ambari by 5:20 pm. Took a short tea break at Jokai Dhaba and Restaurant. The Restaurant had a Kids play area were Ishaan enjoyed and recharged himself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0fUuiAR20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T04RJHxtjJU

Reached Guwahati at 7:30 pm and checked into Prashaanti Tourist Lodge near Kamakhya Mandir. The property is owned by Assam Tourism and contradictory to WB Tourism properties it was badly maintained and they did not have a working kitchen. Thanks to Zomato and Swiggy that we got food delivered to our hotel rooms.

The Property is on top of the Hill and a good view of the whole city could be enjoyed from its balconies. Albert and Reeturaj had advised me to book some private resort instead of Government Lodge but having good experiences of WB Tourism properties I was rather adamant in booking this property. Prashaanti Tourist Lodge can only be booked over the counter and Albert had helped me book it as he had close contacts in Assam Tourism Department.

Our experience at the stay was bad and the rooms were infested with insects of all kinds and there were numerous power cuts. The only plus point was that location was good and it was very close to the Mandir.

[lovecars21]

Day 4: Guwahati to Shergaon 225 kms:

Woke up at 4:30 am and got ready to go to Kamakhya Mandir to offer Puja. Sunil da had contacted his Panda and by 5:15 am we all were at the VIP Booking counter. There are two separate queues. One is VIP and the other is general. VIP queue is charged Rs 500/- each while general line is free. As we were short of time we booked the VIP queue and got a place in the waiting hall. Within an hour we were in the main Mandir and by the next 30 minutes we had offered our Pujas.




At the Kamakhya Mandir

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adClSaD66gU

We headed back to our hotel and had our breakfast which we had ordered online. After having a heavy breakfast, we were back on road by 10 am.


Guwahati to Shergaon

We were advised to take the road via Udalgiri-Balemu. Took Lunch break at Dhwnsri Valley Restaurant near Bhairabkunda.


Both cars parked at Dhwnsri Valley Restaurant

Due to heavy rains the road was not in good shape after Bhairabkunda. We reached Balemu Check Post and showed our ILPs. The entries were done in no time and we were back on road. We had taken the Amatulla Kalaktang Road to connect to the main road as guided by Gmaps. The road had become offroading track due to the continuous rains and we enjoyed the drive with our AWDs. In some patches, the AWD was engaged to overcome the sweet combination of slush and steep climb.

The road condition improved drastically as we connected to the main road which connects Balemu to Bomdila. On one hand the continuous drizzle had made us apprehensive about the trip on the other hand it made the journey scenic and cool. The mountains looked as if they were freshly painted green while the road was pitch black with painted white borders. Awesome was the view and drive.








McQueen taking a shower


Rexton followed




We reached Shergaon by 7 pm and checked into Ano Pemchom's Homestay which Albert had booked for us and we all liked it.

The owner was proactive in providing warm food and tea as we were all cold and slightly drenched. Drenched in the car you might think! Rains couldn’t stop us from taking photo stops as the scenic beauty seemed out of the world. The day ended with some beautiful stories shared by the owner about the place.

[lovecars21]

Day 5: Shergaon to Tawang 218 kms:

I woke up at 6 am and decided to go for a walk while the others rested. It was cold outside, temperature was around 10 deg C, weather was somewhat clear but the sky was heavy. Walked along the steam which was flowing just beside the main road. The solitary stream and singing of birds made me romantic. “Romance with hills rather than romance in the hills” many would agree to that I hope.






By 7 am I was back in the homestay. Owner decided to take us for a drive into the village and showed us Apple Orchards and Horticulture Farms. The stay was lovely, thanks to the owner and Albert. Rated 5*.



















Route map from Shergaon to Tawang

We checked out from the homestay by 9:30 am and headed towards Sela Pass. On the way had our lunch at Padma Café. The food was ok but washroom and café seemed unhygienic. Rated 1*.






Reached Sela Pass by 4 pm and enjoyed hot coffee. The temperature was around 6 deg C with light drizzle.


Sela Lake

From Nuranang to Jang the road widening work in going on due to which one side of the road is blocked while the other was full of slush. We drove cautiously and by 6 pm we were at Jang. Re-fuelled our cars and drove straight to Tawang. Albert had booked Pal Mo Homestay which was also away from the hustle bustle of the main city yet was close to the city. A perfect combo.

Pal Mo Homestay is run by a lady named Neema and the homestay is named after her daughter. Ishaan was quick in making friends with Pal Mo. Our rooms were ready and we had a quick dinner and retired for the day.

[lovecars21]

Day 6: Tawang Local Sightseeing:



We woke up to the view of Giant Buddha Statue from the window of our rooms. The entire city of Tawang looked beautiful with clouds floating along the twisty winding roads.


View from the Homestay Window

It was day to relax and enjoy local site seeing around Tawang. We first drove to the Giant Buddha Park and then to Tawang Monastery.

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

At Giant Buddha Park

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E7a62LRugI

At Tawang Monastery

Weather God seemed to be on our side, as today the weather cleared after 2 days of continuous rains.

After Tawang Monastery we drove to Chagzam Bridge, it’s a hanging bridge about 600 years old and is just 25 kms from the main city. The roads were 80% good while last stretch was slushy. McQueen’s sump guard clip got damaged and had to be fixed at a nearby workshop while returning to Tawang.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv1sZ2xMHGs

At Chagzam Bridge

Took numerous photos and headed back to the city for lunch. We reached Old Market at 3 pm and had lunch at Maa Kali Restaurant as it was the only one open at the odd hours of the day. The food was somewhat ok and can be rated 2*.

After Lunch Sunil da took the other team members back to the homestay while Ishaan and Sudeshna went with me to the DC Office.

Submitted the documents required for applying for Bum La Pass Permit.

2 copies of ILP issued by Arunachal Government
2 copies of Driving Licence of the person driving the vehicle
2 copies of Photo ID Proof of each member
2 copies of RC of the Vehicle (no need to any other document)
(Please note for self-drive vehicles the Owner of the Vehicle has to be present as a member of the team)

Once the application was done it had to be submitted at the Army Office at Tawang War Memorial. The office closes at 6 pm so we headed straight to the War Memorial and submitted the Permit issued by DC office, here the Army checks the second copy of the documents and then does the endorsement.

The Army official asked us to collect the Permits tomorrow after 6 am. We then decided to see the light and sound show at the War Memorial.

It had started drizzling again, weather was getting cold. After the show, we headed back to the homestay were the other team members were waiting anxiously.

Had early dinner and retired for the day. Asked everyone to be ready while I would go and collect the permit from War Memorial at 6 am.

[lovecars21]

Day 7: Tawang to Bum La and Sangetsar Lake 100 kms round trip:

As planned I woke up and drove straight to War Memorial and collected the Permits. Called Sunil da and asked him to tell everyone to get ready as we need to reach early to avoid crowd.




At Tawang War Memorial

Today’s drive was going to get interesting as we were to drive to Bum La and Sangetsar Lake popularly known as Madhuri Lake.

After having breakfast, we headed straight to Y Junction and showed our Permits. The roads were in good shape with some bad patches.

















We reached Bum La at around 12 pm and submitted our permits for applying for “Walk to the Border”. While we all queued for the walk it started to snow. Ishaan was monitored closely for any symptoms of AMS. He was fine but as it was snowing outside so asked the Babysitter to stay with Ishaan inside the cafeteria.






The Army Official took us to the Border and showed us the Line of Control, some China Army Officials in White PPE Kits were standing and monitoring our movement from the other side.

We walked back to the cafeteria and after some shopping drove back to Y Junction from there took the right to Sangetsar Lake.

Reached Sangetsar Lake at 2:30 pm, weather had cleared and it was sunny now. We took some good photos. The weather changed and the surroundings got engulfed by clouds while we walked back to our car, visibility was down to few feet.










The road condition from Y Junction to Sangetsar is 60% good but due to low visibility drove carefully. Reached Tawang at 4:45 pm, it had started to drizzle by then.

Got numerous messages and calls from fellow bhpians asking me to check on the road conditions through Assam before planning our return journey as Assam was badly affected by floods and it was all around the news.

Checked the news and found Haflong was the worst affected and trains were shown being washed away. I immediately contacted Reeturaj and Albert and asked them to check on the road conditions in Assam. They confirmed that roads are open and advised us to take the Highway route via Mazbat and Orang instead of the shortcut that we took while driving up.

We had still a day to decide on the route and analyse the situation before driving through Assam.

[lovecars21]

Day 8: Tawang to Sangti via Nuranang Waterfall 146 kms:


Tawang to Sangti Valley Route

Today our drive was upto Sangti Valley. We started off from Tawang early so that we can visit Nuranang falls on the way.


Ishaan with his new friend

The road till Nuranang Falls was good and we reach the location in no time. The waterfall was beautiful and weather was clear. Took some photos and headed towards Sela Pass.










The road after Jang was in bad shape due to the rains, slush had increased but both the AWDs managed it well.

Had our lunch at Baisakhi Cafeteria run by Indian Army at Sela Pass then drove through Dirang to reach Sangti Valley.

Albert had booked Lanjom Homestay for us. It was a nice property surrounded by Apple and Grape Orchards. The owner of the property Mrs Lanjom was there to welcome us. Sunil da had the tree house booked for himself but after checking the tree house he decided to go for a room in the main homestay as the tree house was very small and could not fit in three adults. Mrs Lanjom assigned the entire dormitory consisting of 10 beds to Sunil da. The dormitory is also very beautiful and perfect for people travelling in groups. As we had two rooms assigned to us already so Mrs Lanjom discounted the Dormitory and offered it to Sunil da’s family for 3,000/- instead of 7,000/-.



Lanjom Homestay is a must visit for anyone planning to stay in Sangti Valley. We took a walk around campus and the evening was well spent with Mr Lanjom. Dinner was served by 9 pm and we retired for the day. Ishaan did not look tired and enjoyed dancing to the tunes of his favourite songs played in the DJ Mixer provided by the owner.

[lovecars21]

Day 9: Sangti to Mangaldoi 270 kms:





The Tree House of Lanjom Homestay

We all woke up early and drove to the river side, enjoyed camping and Maggi - a rather perfect way to celebrate my birthday! We all enjoyed a lot and at 10 am drove back to the homestay for some breakfast.






Notice the Tree House on the left top corner of the photo











By 10:30 am we were back on road. Had our lunch at Food Hut at Shergaon owned by Sonali Rai. We had ordered non veg thali for us and to our surprise the thali was accompanied by Payesh (It is a birthday special common sweet-dish or dessert of every bengali household. It is considered as auspicious. This is mainly prepared with rice and milk and use to celebrate any happy moments like birthday, rice ceremony, upanayana) The quality of food was too good and can be rated as 5*.

Took the road via Mazbat and Orang and reached Mangaldoi by 6:20 pm. The road condition was excellent all through.

In the evening, my wife had arranged a surprise birthday party and a creamy cake to add to the celebration.




Day 10: Mangaldoi to Chilapata 323 kms:



We checked out from Hotel Madhuban early as we wished to enjoy at the Forest Camp that we had booked for our last day. Mendabari Forest Camp is located at Chilapata Forest in Dooars. A drive of 323 kms which took us around 7 hours.




We reached the camp at 2 pm and our lunch was already ready and after having our lunch we enjoyed in the campus. The Lodge is not well maintained but one should not expect anything better in a jungle.

Next day Jungle Safari was booked for 5 am so we took early dinner and retired for the day.

Day 11: Chilapata to Asansol 610 kms:



We woke up at 4:30 am and all of us were ready for the Jungle Safari. At 5 am the open hood Gypsy arrived at the lodge and Ishaan was super excited seeing the Gypsy.

The Jungle Safari took 1 hour 30 minutes and we enjoyed the flora and fauna of the jungle.

After Breakfast we checked out from the Lodge and headed straight towards Dalkhola via Gajoldoba. On the way, co-ordinated with Soumyajit Maitra who was driving back from Darjeeling to Malda with his family. An impromptu lunch meet was planned and we stopped at Hotel Rajdarbar for Lunch.



After Lunch we took the road via Purnia, Bhagalpur, Hansdiha, Dumka to reach Asansol by 10 pm. The road condition is 90% good but was very busy all through so its best advised to cover it during the afterhours. The road condition deteriorated after we crossed into West Bengal till we touched NH 2.

Hotel reviews-

Murti Tourist Lodge under the Govt of West Bengal:

Booking Link: https://wbtdcl.wbtourismgov.in/
Location- 4.5/5
Room- 5/5
Food- 5/5
Parking- Yes
Room Tariff - 2,900 INR for a double bed room per night with breakfast.
Overall- 4/5

Prashaanti Tourist Lodge, Kamakhya under the Govt of Assam:

Booked through Albert (contact no: 6001335875)
Location- 5/5 Close to Kamakhya Mandir
Room- 2/5
Food- 0/5
Parking- Yes
Room Tariff - 2,000 INR for a double bed room per night without breakfast.
Overall- 2/5

Shergaon – Ano Pemchom Homestay

Booked through Albert
Location- 5/5
Room- 5/5
Food- 5/5
Parking- Yes
Room Tariff - 2,000 INR for a double bed room per night with breakfast.
Overall- 5/5

Tawang – Pal Mo Homestay

Booked through Albert
Location- 3/5
Room- 5/5
Food- 4/5
Parking- Yes
Room Tariff - 2,000 INR for a double bed room per night with breakfast.
Overall- 4/5

Sangti Valley – Lanjom Homestay

Booked through Albert
Location- 4/5
Room- 4/5
Food- 4/5
Parking- Yes
Room Tariff - 2,500 INR for a double bed room per night with breakfast.
Overall- 4/5

Mangaldoi-Hotel Madhuban

Booked by Contacting Owner Mr. Mriganga Saharia (Contact No: 8638778580)
Location- 3/5
Room- 2/5
Food- 3/5
Parking- Yes
Room Tariff – 1,792 INR for a double bed room per night with breakfast.
Overall- 2/5

Chilapata- Mendabari Tourist Lodge under WB Forest Department

Booking Link: https://wbfdc.net/booking
Contact No: 97349 62409
Location- 3/5
Room- 2/5
Food- 3/5
Parking- Yes
Room Tariff – 2,500 INR for a double bed room per night with breakfast.
Overall- 3/5

Vehicle Performance: XUV 500 AWD performed flawlessly and gave an average of 12.9 kmpl while Rexton faced some initial hiccups with EGR error which was cleared by using Torque Pro app.

[Aditya]

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

[Yogi..Reeturaj]

Wonderful and detailed narrative bro.
This gives me a boost to take my son Rudra on a longer roadtrip soon.

Glad I could help out a bit. Sorry could not meet as I was out of station, will definitely catch up sometime soon.

[EternalVoyager]

What a detailed and engaging narrative. I finished reading it from start to finish in one go. I liked your idea of having taken the short cut to reach Sela pass instead of taking the Bhalukpong route.

[bini10]

Fantastic trip and thanks for the detailed itinerary. Looks like your family had a blast. Inspires me to do the same someday with my family.

[anoopBH]

Enjoyed reading your detailed travelogue, lovely pictures too
Just curious to know what is your review of the rooftop luggage carrier. Did you place anything below the carrier to avoid the scratches?

[lovecars21]

Originally Posted by Yogi..Reeturaj

Wonderful and detailed narrative bro.
This gives me a boost to take my son Rudra on a longer roadtrip soon.

Glad I could help out a bit. Sorry could not meet as I was out of station, will definitely catch up sometime soon.

Thank you Reeturaj for the immense help that you provided. It was my bad luck that we couldn't meet this time but will surely meet next time.

Originally Posted by EternalVoyager

What a detailed and engaging narrative. I finished reading it from start to finish in one go. I liked your idea of having taken the short cut to reach Sela pass instead of taking the Bhalukpong route.

Thank you Eternal Voyager for liking the TL. The Balemu route was advised by many bhpians who travelled on that route recently. But there is a catch! There is an upper Balemu and lower Balemu Check post. We took the lower one while going up and it was an offroad track till it connected to the main road while upper Balemu Road is the one which is the main highway and is butter smooth but adds 30 minutes to your travel time.

Originally Posted by bini10

Fantastic trip and thanks for the detailed itinerary. Looks like your family had a blast. Inspires me to do the same someday with my family.

Thanks for liking the itinerary. Surely Arunachal is a must visit.

Originally Posted by anoopBH

Enjoyed reading your detailed travelogue, lovely pictures too
Just curious to know what is your review of the rooftop luggage carrier. Did you place anything below the carrier to avoid the scratches?

First of all I would like to thank you for liking my TL, the roof top carrier was actually an experiment as no other friend had used it before. It was a necessity this time and as we say "Necessity is the mother of invention", after the carrier was delivered by Amazon I bought anti slip mats and fixed it with Masking Tape on the roof before putting on the Carrier bag. I also used a yoga mat inside the bag before placing the trolley bags. Thus any damage that could be caused by the luggages were negated. I had no idea that the nylon tie straps could make marks on the sides so had not taken precautions but after the trip I used Rubbing Compound and polish to remove the marks, and it worked miracles.

Pros:
The Luggage carrier bag helped in freeing up space inside the car while not having to go for traditional Luggage Carrier which once fixed is hard to remove or might leave permanent marks.
Fitting the bag is a DIY so no need to take help from mechanics to fix it.
The carrier is water resistant and kept the luggages safe from getting wet even when it rained heavily.

Cons:
It has to be fitted with precautions as I took so that no marks are left on the roof.
During heavy rains the nylon straps which were clipped near the windows under the door rubber caused water to sip inside the cabin. (nothing major, a few drops)
The top straps made flapping sound at high speeds. This can be negated by using masking tape to tie them.

I hope this information will help fellow travellers who wish to use Luggage Carrier without going for traditional and bulky Carriers.

[Samba]

Great to read a travelogue from you after a short break. As-usual you made a hectic journey look easy and smooth with no unnecessary attention craving paragraphs. This is what I love the most reading your travelogues. There is no unnecessary boasting on how the 4wd saved the day which has become the current trend among most car enthusiasts!
A pretty straight forward and honest write-up with some great pics. Rated 5*

Technically this is Ishaan's first big road trip and from the pics am pretty sure, he must have enjoyed a lot.

[ambarish6]

It was amazing reading your travelogue. Thoroughly enjoyed. Wish you more such happy and joyous motoring.����