Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

@ Anirban.

Sorry to hear about your grandfather. May his soul rest in peace.

Take your time.

We will wait eagerly for your trip log. In the meantime let us drool over your photographs.

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

Absolutely stunning. Well done buddy!

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

Delightful ...

^_^

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

Amazing pics
Awaiting the trip log. The last one (Ladakh) was a treat to read. Hence waiting even more anxiously.


Sad to hear about your grandpa though. But such is life. May he rest in peace.

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

Anirban, Sorry to know about your Grand father. I lost my Grandpa last month.

The shots are breathtaking to a point that i thought was Computer Graphics :P

hooked and waiting for the Log!

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

No pics , waiting.....

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

Fantastic photos Anirban, great job.
Hey, can you tell us where you got the
saddle-bags from and what camera you used to
capture those stunning pictures ?

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

Lovely pics & log

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

I am sorry to hear about your grand father. May his soul rest in peace!

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

(Warning: Long Post. Contains images, may take time to load)

I. Reaching Paro

Time Taken: 3 days. Least scenic part of the whole trip, I was in the rider mode, not the photographer mode, given the distance that had to be ridden.

Route details: Calcutta-Burdwan-Guskara-Suri-Massanjore-Dumka-Bhagalpur-Purnia-Dalkhola-Siliguri-Sevoke-Madarihat-Phuntselling-Chukha-Chuzom-Paro. I chose the Dumkha-Bhagalpur route because NH34 is not in a good condition as of now.


Puja and dewali vacations were getting over fast. The weather remained overcast for most of October around Calcutta. Finally it cleared up around 27th, and 30th was set as the D-day. Sudip Karar of KTM Service, my mechanic for past 6 years, did an excellent job in prepping the Bike. Packing finally ended at 2.00am odd. Tried getting some shut eye, failed. Too excited. Around 4.00am, I said the goodbyes to my parents and left. It was still dark out.


Darkness started to fade as I started cruising on NH2. And it was foggy.

Well fog isn't a bad thing. It makes everything look more dramatic. I like that.

But it isn't a biker's friend. More so, if you wear glasses, like I do. This is what the fog does to them. I had 500+kms to ride, couldn't afford to lose my average that early. So I tailgated a black diesel duck for some time.

Fog started clearing up with time. But it had already claimed a victim. Overturned truck on the highway made me stop, and I took this photo. Reached Shaktigar, had langchas. Now it was time to take the state highway through Guskara.

Slicing through Bengal by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr
My home, ship, friend, horse, companion etc for next couple of weeks.

NH2B cuts through Burdwan, the most productive region of Bengal. Views were nice. What's not nice was the goats, cows, dogs and children who treat the highway as their own personal playground. And after staying up all night, I was darn sleepy. Around 9am and somewhere before Suri, I discovered that my rear had a nail. For the first 5 minutes, I couldn't figure out why the bike was handling in such a funny way, I thought I was hallucinating due to lack of sleep. Fixed the puncture. It further drained my energy.

Massanjore dam came up soon I didn't bother to stop. Just after Massanjore, there is a 10-12km long ghat section with nice bends. It woke me up and reached Dumka sooner than expected. Roads till that point had been good, except Dumka bypass which was shattered. I gulped down 2 cups of tea at Dumka, trying to fight off the fatigue caused by lack of sleep.


Dumka-Bhagalpur stretch was filled with Jihadis, as seen above. Don't go by that innocent face, they have been born and raised all this while for one single purpose only; to test the muscle memory of Indian drivers. They undergo rigorous training, which is evident from the ninja like reflexes of their young ones. As soon as one succeeds in committing holy jihad, you'll be levied a fine for having poor skills. Thankfully, I passed the test somehow. For example, this one right here made me go from 92kmph to 10kmph in a matter of seconds. I wanted to shoot it then and there, but didn't have a gun. So used the camera instead.

Sunset Day 1 - Near Purnia by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr
I can't remember much of Day 1. I was really sleepy. Bhagalpur was a rude shock which woke me up again. No roads in that town of Bihar, at all. And a fully geared up lonely rider was a circus act that no guy wanted to miss out on. It was hot, humid and painful. Managed to find the way to Vikramshila Setu using my Lumia GPS, which took me to NH31. I stopped for this sunset shot. Rode another couple of hours after that, and called it a day just before Kishanganj after 560 odd kms. And got some much needed shut eye, after 32 odd hours.


Mr. KTM Express by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr

Couldn't hit the highways before 8am on day 2, due to fog. NH31 was pretty darn empty. A train line ran parallelly. So I raced a train for 15-20 minutes. Kanchanjungha Express I'd guess. And we were winning, let me tell you that. It was doing 110-115kmph. But a town appeared and I had to slow down. Darn. Then I got the bike onto the tracks and this was the first photo of the day. You've probably seen the final composition in the teaser pics.


Morning Tea by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr

All that racing made the Duke thirsty and he wanted to have some fine North Bengal tea.


Tea Garden Worker's Kid by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr

These kids came running to check what was going on. They were collecting "tea flowers". I don't know what that is.


In. Green. by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr

Business as usual in the Tea Gardens.


Slicing Through North Bengal by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr

Crossed Siliguri, sevoke. Didn't stop. Apart from the butt breaks. Chaffed bum is a nasty, nasty thing. This was somewhere after Malbazar?


Autumnal North Bengal by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr

Ride through North Bengal was beautiful though. Good roads, dense forests, yellow fields, elephants crossing warning signs. Enjoyable indeed. Got lucky with this shot. I had already found the composition when this train suddenly appeared and ran through my frame.






Phuntselling by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr



Loved riding through the gardens.


Afternoon Tea by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr

And reached Jaigaon.

I was about to cross the border on my motorcycle! Was very stoked and happy. As I was taking this important photograph, the guard told me they have a national holiday the day after so I should hurry as it was a thursday. It was 3.30pm already and failing to act promptly would have meant wasting 3 days at Phuntselling doing nothing! ran to the RSTA first and spoke to the officer. Got the information that they will issue permits the next day although office will remain closed. So ran to the immigration. Again had to speak at lengths about the expedition with the Director of Immigration. Filled up the form, gave them copies of documents and photos that is required. As I was traveling alone, I had to write a few letters addressing the director. And my permit for 7days was in my hand at 5.00pm. Happy moment. Chose a hotel near the RSTA. Spent the night with druk beer, which is delicious. Woke up early, entered India again. Got Duke a bath. Went to the ATM. Forgot to pick up cigarettes. Stupid, stupid mistake. The officer said 11am, so there I was at 10.30am. Noone showed up. Nothing. All the offices were closed. So hung around the RSTA till 12.30 when the officer finally came and I started riding the twisties by 1.30pm. Lots of checkposts and what not.



Roads were okay. Few broken sections here and there. It wasn't sunny, but I was hoping it wouldn't rain. It being early November and all.

Gonglakha by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr
The climb was pretty steep with deep drop offs. Which coupled with the weather, resulted in photos like this.

It suddenly got foggy again. This was 2.30-3pm, I'd guess.

Really, really foggy. Then it started raining. Before I could find the empty hut where I'd spend the next 30 minutes, my Cramster k2k got wet. Rain resistant, my arse. Riding pants did well though. It got cold. Really cold. I had no food in my stomach, so stopped at gedu. Had maggi. The women at the restaurant were welcoming, they even used their heater to warm my jacket and gloves. That helped. It kept drizzling through out. Rain gear was on, that early in the ride. And it remained foggy. I reached Chukha shivering, around 7 in the evening and could not ride any further. It's amazing how weather conditions can turn an easy ride into a tough one. November rains in the himalayas will definitely make your life difficult.


Chukha by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr

Woke up and made this photograph from my room's window. I was on the road by 6.30am.

And the valleys started showing up. And blue skies. It felt amazing to ride, after the tough endurance experience the day before.



Twisties in the morning with weather like that is bliss.

Ridingf the Fall 3.0 by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr

It was colorful all around. Looked and felt surreal. A group of bull riders crossed from the opposite direction here. I'd come across another group after a few days at Wangdue. All foreigners.

Riding the Fall 2.0 by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr
Feelin good.

The road suddenly got much much wider. Baby butt smooth tarmac as well. Thimpu GP was on!

The road on the left takes you to Paro whereas you'll have to continue straight for Thimpu. It was a weekend and I definitely wanted to hit up and explore Western Bhutan first.

The light was getting flatter as I rode towards Paro.

Paro valley came up fast.

Bodney

Paro Dzong by Anirban Banerjee Photography, on Flickr
This structure was fascinating. First thing you'll see when you enter paro. I ended up shooting it couple other times.

Checked into this nice room for Rs.1200 a night. It even had a bathtub! And was promptly put to good use. Had maggi, and left to trek Tiger's Nest.

The real exploration of Bhutan started from here. I was finally looking forward to making some good images.



Next Up: Trekking Tiger's Nest, Chele la/Ha and reaching Thimpu!

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

Anirban!! Your pics are just simply amazing! I am just running out of words how beautiful the whole ride looks!

Thanks to you one thing is for sure, I'll be making it a point to ride to Bhutan once in my life!

Your pictures of the picturesque ride, just made my day man!

Cheers to that!


Keep your bike close, and the helmet closer.

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

Amazing photos Anirban. It must have been one hell-of-a-ride to Bhutan. Everything out there is just so beautiful!

Loved the jihadi that made u go from 92kmph to 10kmph in seconds. :P

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

Hey there
Another set of beautiful pictures. Really crisp.
Bhutan sure looks really beautiful through your pics..

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

Superb pics bro!!
Even I did bhutan-Arunachal ride in this diwali!!

Re: KTM Duke 200. Bhutan. Solo.

Glad you like!
Thank you.

Thanks guys!
Thank you.

Thank you. Sorry for your loss.

Sorry. Had to dive head first into work. I'll try to complete the logs as soon as I can.

Thanks. D5100. Cramster colt.

Thank you!

Thank you.

Thanks for your kind words, mate
I'm really glad you like!
Thank you.
I'm trying to post the next set as soon as possible.

Thanks. Nice to hear that, hope you had fun!