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**Noor** · 12-31-2011, 03:11 PM

Discussion thread approved

**nelson_sanjoy1** · 12-31-2011, 04:30 PM

Wow that's quite some research - must say very god start. April would be a good month to visit specially with cloudless skies Kanchenjunga should be clear . Keep a check on the road conditions since its no NH1 but good. In remote places people may not be good in Hindi but manageable. The locale would be a bit different from Leh/Ladakh in many ways. I stayed both in Sikkim & Siliguri.

Your 1st ,2nd , 3rd and 15th day are quite doable but tediously planned. I suggest you not to exert so much initially before landing in hills.

**The Monk** · 12-31-2011, 07:04 PM

Originally posted by nelson_sanjoy1 View Post

Wow that's quite some research - must say very god start. April would be a good month to visit specially with cloudless skies Kanchenjunga should be clear . Keep a check on the road conditions since its no NH1 but good. In remote places people may not be good in Hindi but manageable. The locale would be a bit different from Leh/Ladakh in many ways. I stayed both in Sikkim & Siliguri.

Your 1st ,2nd , 3rd and 15th day are quite doable but tediously planned. I suggest you not to exert so much initially before landing in hills.

Language is never a problem with me. I am good at communicating without knowing a single word of the local language.

Yes road conditions is something I have no way of keeping tabs on. Will just hope for the best and improvise and change as and when required.

Day 3 we might not go to darjeeling, depends on how tired we feel. But riding for long hours in the plains is no biggie for both the riders. Used to stretching it. In the hills we will be going slow and steady

Questions - What I needed to know was for which places do I require to take a permit for in Sikkim? And to get into Bhutan is a DL good enough for ID proof?

@ Noor Thanks for the approval

**shashi_m8** · 01-07-2012, 10:23 PM

wow!!! you seem to have planned it quite a bit in detail.

The only problem I see is that there is no gap between the rides, everyday you plan to ride.
- You wont get quality time at any place
- I am not sure how much your butt can handle it; I struggled to sit any longer after covering 1800km over two days on GQ in a P220
- No buffer days to coverup any delays

All the best & ride safe!!!

**The Monk** · 01-08-2012, 09:39 PM

Originally posted by shashi_m8 View Post

wow!!! you seem to have planned it quite a bit in detail.

The only problem I see is that there is no gap between the rides, everyday you plan to ride.
- You wont get quality time at any place
- I am not sure how much your butt can handle it; I struggled to sit any longer after covering 1800km over two days on GQ in a P220
- No buffer days to coverup any delays

All the best & ride safe!!!

Thanks man!

Hope that it goes to plan. Not mentioned any buffer days as we are not transporting our bikes, riding it back and forth. So even if we do get delayed anywhere, we will just end up finishing our trip a day or two late. Also the plan is flexible, decide along the ride.

Yeah thats one way of looking at it. But we spend quality time on the road. Not really into staying at places for long. More of a gypsy/ rolling stone mentality

Well in 2010 I did a Kanpur-Kanyakumari 7000kms ride on my p220, without too many day halts. And spiti in 2011 without a single days halt. So hopefully will be able to carry this off as well

PS- Hey xbhpians some advice and guidance from all the been there done that guys will be greatly appreciated.

**n_sandy** · 01-10-2012, 11:23 PM

Originally posted by The Monk View Post

Language is never a problem with me. I am good at communicating without knowing a single word of the local language.

Yes road conditions is something I have no way of keeping tabs on. Will just hope for the best and improvise and change as and when required.

Day 3 we might not go to darjeeling, depends on how tired we feel. But riding for long hours in the plains is no biggie for both the riders. Used to stretching it. In the hills we will be going slow and steady

Questions - What I needed to know was for which places do I require to take a permit for in Sikkim? And to get into Bhutan is a DL good enough for ID proof?

@ Noor Thanks for the approval

hey buudy!! really nice plan... even i'm planning for Nepal & Bhutan in 2013...
With ref to ur question, u only need to carry any ID card to get into Bhutan eq. DL/Voter card etc..

**The Monk** · 01-11-2012, 12:04 AM

Originally posted by n_sandy View Post

hey buudy!! really nice plan... even i'm planning for Nepal & Bhutan in 2013...
With ref to ur question, u only need to carry any ID card to get into Bhutan eq. DL/Voter card etc..

Thanks bro! Really helpful because I don't have a passport.

**hrishi_from_pune** · 01-11-2012, 12:26 PM

Now that is some research! It would be better if you add some buffer time for getting permits for North Sikkim in Gangtok. Overall the plan seems quite tight. I think you may consider skipping east Bhutan and utilize your time in Sikkim, esp, North Sikkim. There aren't any high altitude roads in Bhutan unlike in Sikkim.
Thimpu, Paro, Tiger's nest and Punakha pretty much gives you overview of Bhutan. Again, you can tweak your plan on the fly.

**The Monk** · 01-11-2012, 05:29 PM

Originally posted by hrishi_from_pune View Post

Now that is some research! It would be better if you add some buffer time for getting permits for North Sikkim in Gangtok. Overall the plan seems quite tight. I think you may consider skipping east Bhutan and utilize your time in Sikkim, esp, North Sikkim. There aren't any high altitude roads in Bhutan unlike in Sikkim.
Thimpu, Paro, Tiger's nest and Punakha pretty much gives you overview of Bhutan. Again, you can tweak your plan on the fly.

The plan is made assuming everything goes perfect. Their are Plans B, C, D .... Z, incase anything goes wrong. No point posting all those minor plans, because most are not going to be used. Similarly I have not added any buffer days during the ride, if required dates can be adjusted on the go. Like you said, plans can and will be tweaked on the fly.

And I must thank you, your blog and thread have been most helpful.

Could you also please comment on the assumed costs. I know this ride is tight, but is it possible?

**hrishi_from_pune** · 01-11-2012, 07:58 PM

Originally posted by The Monk View Post

The plan is made assuming everything goes perfect. Their are Plans B, C, D .... Z, incase anything goes wrong. No point posting all those minor plans, because most are not going to be used. Similarly I have not added any buffer days during the ride, if required dates can be adjusted on the go. Like you said, plans can and will be tweaked on the fly.

And I must thank you, your blog and thread have been most helpful.

Could you also please comment on the assumed costs. I know this ride is tight, but is it possible?

About the cost, Well, it depends on what you plan to eat and where to sleep!
Assuming 15 days,
15 X 300(daily fooding) = 4500
15 X 800(stay) = 12000
This is average cost IMO. Fuel costs you can calculate.

**The Monk** · 01-12-2012, 12:18 AM

Originally posted by hrishi_from_pune View Post

About the cost, Well, it depends on what you plan to eat and where to sleep!
Assuming 15 days,
15 X 300(daily fooding) = 4500
15 X 800(stay) = 12000
This is average cost IMO. Fuel costs you can calculate.

Well we eat in the cheapest dhabas and board at the cheapest clean lodges

Another thing I needed to ask. My riding partner needed this info actually. How easily is old monk and cigarettes available in sikkim and bhutan, and at what costs

**hrishi_from_pune** · 01-12-2012, 11:01 AM

Originally posted by The Monk View Post

Well we eat in the cheapest dhabas and board at the cheapest clean lodges

Another thing I needed to ask. My riding partner needed this info actually. How easily is old monk and cigarettes available in sikkim and bhutan, and at what costs

Great!
Old monk was easily available at most of the places. We got old monk/dark rum at places we couldn't imagine. Sikkim is a state which is liberal and alcohol is all easily available. I don't smoke so not sure about the cigg. costs!
But alcohol is quite cheaper for sure than Maharashtra!

**hensil** · 01-12-2012, 01:59 PM

Originally posted by The Monk View Post

Well we eat in the cheapest dhabas and board at the cheapest clean lodges

Another thing I needed to ask. My riding partner needed this info actually. How easily is old monk and cigarettes available in sikkim and bhutan, and at what costs

Smoking is strictly prohibited in whole of Bhutan and there is no sale of cigarettes any where. Be careful of that. Foreigners are allowed to carry some quota but I don't know how much. You can only smoke in the confines of your room.
Henry

**phaedrusarcher** · 01-12-2012, 04:36 PM

hi
i have seen ur plan n well..the bhutan leg looks good.
i dont know if u r aware of sept 18 calamity at sikkim...right now north sikkim is closed.period.
theoretically u can reach yumthang but count lachen lachung chungthang and gurudongmar out ...for next year and a half..
practically dont even think yumthang seriously
instead focus on west and east sikkim they have some really nice places there...and u will love goin to those places..

bhutan ur plan looks pretty good

old monk is more available than water in sikkim so with usual cig brands..
in bhutan its a diff ballgame..smoking in view of police in public places is punishable to one and all by imprisonment..once away from thimphu u can stop anywhere and smoke
u can smoke in ur room..
dont even try to buy cig in bhutan...ppl will shoo u away
one person can carry 200 sticks of cig..so u will be good for a week..

oh n by way of introductions im based in sikkim and dont know one part of sikkim i have not been to on a car/bike/MTB n trekkin
n been to bhutan twice the latest being last year may/june
all the best

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