Re: Wanderlust Diary- The North Eastern sojourn || Sikkim and Bhutan || 7000 kilometers

Superb!
Waiting for the next part!

Re: Wanderlust Diary- The North Eastern sojourn || Sikkim and Bhutan || 7000 kilometers

Awesome buddy

Re: Wanderlust Diary- The North Eastern sojourn || Sikkim and Bhutan || 7000 kilometers

You guys have lived your lifes amazing log... keep it flowing..

Re: Wanderlust Diary- The North Eastern sojourn || Sikkim and Bhutan || 7000 kilometers

Wheres the next part. Waiting to see the rest of the story pan out.

Re: Wanderlust Diary- The North Eastern sojourn || Sikkim and Bhutan || 7000 kilometers

Next part would be put out by this weekend[emoji4]

Re: Wanderlust Diary- The North Eastern sojourn || Sikkim and Bhutan || 7000 kilometers

Ayega ayega.. bahut jaldi ayega [emoji12][emoji12][emoji12]

Re: Wanderlust Diary- The North Eastern sojourn || Sikkim and Bhutan || 7000 kilometers



Day 14(12^th october):

It was quite a lazy start to the day for us the next day. We got ready, packed and got on the road ASAP. There is always a feeling of pride and sense of belongingness when you meet someone who could speak the same tongue as you somewhere up North. When Kevin zoomed up in front, I stopped at a V-junction to ask directions to two army personnel who gladly helped me, when I was about to leave they noticed my TN number plate and started speaking in Tamil to me. It was such an awesome feeling. After speaking sometime to them I came to know that the regiment of Madras Sappers has its base on the way. As I bid goodbye to them, whoosh went another group of bikers bearing WB plates. I reached the Lachung checkpoint where Kevin and I submitted our documents. Meanwhile the other group of bikers halted behind us and were having an argument over something. Little did I know, that I would end up with that group the next day

We enjoyed the climate and the roads all the way until Yumthang, stopped for some breakfast, exchanged my riding boots for the uncomfortable yet useful snow boots and off we left to Zero point. On the way uphill, Kevin’s bike started to choke so he stopped to remove his air filter and asked me to keep going while he caught up to me. On the way up, the mountains started to show snow and in no time there was just Snow everywhere! It was such a beautiful sight to see so much of Snow, I kept riding and reached Zero point.


It was filled with snow, I stood there in awe! For around 5 minutes before the place got infested with so many bikers So much so that in every direction there were bikers clicking pictures, revving the **** out of their bikes , doing burnouts and what not !

Then came Kevin, he joined me for a few pictures. We were just talking when the next amazing thing happened It Started snowing! So many firsts for me and I was so lucky to be at these places at the right time When everyone ran to find a shelter, I bugged Kevin to take some pictures of me By this time, the bikers I had noticed earlier that day had reached and one of them was motovlogging! This chap named Kovid came upto me and asked me about the ride. He had already met Sagar the day before as he had done Gurudongmar lake with him. After a chai break and some pictures with the big group of bikers we started back to Gangtok, we knew it was a long journey and stepped it up to reach Gangtok as early as possible.

Back at Yumthang, we stopped for some noodles where we exchanged our boots back, Kevin told that he would go up in front as he thought I’d catch upto him soon I caught up with him only at Gangtok While he left, I sat back for some more noodles when Kovid and his group came, Leander’s RTR had some issues with his chain sprocket. As we tried to fix it I got acquainted to his group. It was Kovid, Sounak with his mother riding as pillion and Leander. We left back to Lachung and from there I tried to catch up with Kevin whereas Kovid and group fell behind.

I reached the Mangan petrol pump at around 5 PM, filled up my tank as well as my tummy and got back to the rather dreadful roads to Gangtok. It was a pretty hard task riding Solo. To add on to that it started raining and roads were filled with slush, gravel, water crossings and so much more. After a hard time at around 7 PM I got a call from Kovid telling that they had reached the Mangan checkpoint just then and asked me if I could reserve a room back at Gangtok. I caught upto Kevin some 2 kilometers from the place we stayed, we had a quick chat and he told that he would not be riding with me to Nathula and Zuluk the day after as he wanted to fix his bike. So I bid goodbye to him and came back to the room, drenched with water, smeared with slush I got in all tired. It was such a relief to meet Karthik again.

By this time, Karthik had visited Seven sister waterfall and got back to the room to click some pictures with Manish sir, he also got the passes for East Sikkim from the home department. Sagar and Sonali had left back to Siliguri by the time I reached Gangtok.

From Karthik's POV:

Kovid and his group reached the hotel weary and tired as well and they had plans of dropping out of East Sikkim. So I thought it was going to be just me for the next day. We hit the bed for a much needed time of sleep.

Some pictures from the day:

Embedding Kovid's vlog of Lachung-Zero point, 10 points to those who spot me and while you're at it enjoy the roads as we did!


Day 15(13^th october):

I woke up the next day as early as 6.30 AM and dragged Karthik along with me to get the bike permits for East Sikkim. Karthik was not joining me as well as he was planning on transporting his bike Via. Train from Siliguri the same night and taking a flight back to Chennai the next day. After getting the permits we got back to the room and I planned on leaving by 9 AM. By this time somehow Kovid, Sounak and Leander changed their minds and wanted to join me too. They had the permits ready already. So by the time they got ready, Karthik got ready to leave back to Siliguri. We had to pass the first checkpost to Nathula by 10 AM max. Did we ? Nope! When we were just about to leave we noticed the R3 running a flat rear tyre. So I asked Kovid to move up towards the checkpost while I go along with Karthik to fix the puncture. We rode for around 7 kilometers, found a puncture shop, got the puncture done, bid goodbye to Karthik and I rushed to the checkpost. I caught up with Kovid and we were permitted at 10.30AM to pass the checkpost thankfully !

It was butter smooth roads all the way until Nathula pass, we had to get another Army permit from a base which was some 5 kilometers from Nathula, we missed it and had to come back to get the Army permits.

Nathula being the border between India and China we were not supposed to take our phones or take any pictures there. Kovid and I already went under the radar because we somehow went all the way until the trade gate But, what could we do! The place was so foggy that it was so hard to see the tail light of the person in front of me! We came back after a tour of Nathula and its heritage, next in line was Zuluk. Yes ! the all famous Old Silk route which showed us the worst part of the trip.

Right when we moved some distance from Nathula, the heaven broke loose. It rained continuously from noon all the way until evening making it so hard for us to ride and maintain a good speed. We faced landslides which swallowed lorries, large water crossing with a stream of water which just pushed our bikes. Sounak had a slight crash as there was nearly a foot of slush on the road which had come down because of the rain. This was the worst road conditions I had faced and all this we had to do in rain as well as darkness. After so many breaks on the way we reached Siliguri right around 11 PM in the night. Man, what a ride it was back all the way down to Siliguri through the Old Silk route. My only sadness is that I could not even take one picture throughout this day as we were either trying to catch up on time or were stuck in very bad weather conditions. Anyhow I bid goodbye to my new found friends and got back to Sagar’s house for a scrumptious dinner by his mom again before I got to bed.

The only digital memory i have,
Embedding Kovid's vlog to Nathula and Zuluk,
And Hence, Sikkim comes to an end. So many new friends, so many new experiences. Sikkim gave me its best and i enjoyed it to the core. Stay tuned for Part 4..

Re: Wanderlust Diary- The North Eastern sojourn || Sikkim and Bhutan || 7000 kilometers


Day 16(14^th october):

Woke up so damn tired to yet again a scrumptious breakfast from Sagar’s mom. This day was dedicated to fixing our bikes for the long run back home. Went to the KTM service center at Siliguri, drained my oil and filled up new oil. Besides that there was not much of an issue on Rex, just some loose bolts here and there By this time Karthik had bid adieu to us back to Chennai, we received his bike in Chennai via train service after around a week or so. The day was then dedicated to just meeting friends and family in and around Siliguri. Bidding adieu I was already homesick and wanted to reach Chennai as soon as possible! I wanted to taste an Idly so badly My craving was satisfied within the next two days anyhow
Day 17(15^th October):
Woke up around 4 AM in the morning and after getting blessings from Sagar’s mother we got back on the road, a long journey of 2300 kilometres awaited us. Our only agenda was to cover as many kilometers as possible and reach Chennai within 3 days. Right after we started, our journey was slowed down by thick fog at Dalkohola, so thick of a fog and we had oncoming traffic in our lane as well which made it tough to maintain proper speeds. Somehow got out of the thick fog and got back to maintaining proper speeds. The day was not so good to us as we got back on the dreaded Siliguri-Kolkata highway which was nowhere close to what a highway meant, potholes, traffic and whatnot. We stopped for food at Malda, parked our bikes and got in to hear a loud thud. Sagar’s bike had fell down as he had parked on loose soil and yet again the left mirror broke down which he had fixed a day before. After sulking for sometime, hunger kicked in so Sagar joined me for breakfast and we planned on fixing the mirror at Malda. We met one of Sagar’s friend at Malda and after many tries we were unable to find a solution for the broken mirror, so we planned on just riding ahead with me leading and being connected to Sagar over the intercom. Summing up the day, I went to become a crazy rider, Sagar got lost, the ride to Kolkata was total haywire, we reached Kolkata like rag pickers because that was the amount of dust that was on us after the so called highway run to Kolkata The hotel guys could not recognize me after I had taken a shower in fact Anyhow we called it a day looking forward to better roads the next day.
Day 18(16^th October):

It was beautiful highway roads beyond this point but the roads were dry! It was sunny and I have this bad habit of feeling sleepy when the roads are dry anyhow we covered around 800 odd kilometers all the way until Vizag. The roads were just good beautiful highways and we maintained good speeds and by around 10 in the night we had reached our destination, one more day to Chennai and my Idly craving was not satisfied yet

Day 19(17^th October):

Woke up hungry and got back on the road, some kilometers out of Vizag I stopped for breakfast at a dhaba which did not serve breakfast, so I told Sagar to go slow and stop at the next hotel for breakfast as I was very hungry, for some reason Sagar’s slow was a 100 Kmph and he raced past me in no time I tried to catch him for the next 10 kilometers but food was important-er I stopped at a shop and to my surprise, Andhra Idly and spicy Chutney I was in for a treat, I called up Sagar and told him that I’d catch up to him. Eventually Sagar caught up to me by 6.30 in the evening only as somehow I missed him in the next stop he made and went some 100 kms before him in that time span After enjoying 5-7 Idlies I got back on the road and this fiasco took place fast forward until evening where I rode solo, Sagar caught up to me some 300 kilometres before Chennai where I waited for him. Pleasantries and abuses later got back on the road. We were welcomed back to Chennai with crackers and lights everywhere, It was such a sight and an awesome feeling to come back home after such a long time. I was joyous and excited as I entered Chennai limits Sagar on the other hand became a poet and was talking nonsense until his intercom malfunctioned and I was let at peace We met Karthik and Jon at a tea shop. I was tired but back in Chennai and the whole city was awake and celebrating already boosted up my spirits. Got back home, freshened up and off to bed I went! Followed by a sleepy and dark Diwali for me because I did not come out of my bed the whole day and my bum somehow seemed to like the bed more than my saddle

This trip was my first experience of the North East and my oh my! This was once in a lifetime opportunity, I made so many friends along the way, explored many new cultures and places and overall I had a heck of a time doing what I love the most, Riding! Here’s to an awesome 7000 kilometers on the road, exploring the tougher part of India on sport bikes. This touring bug is signing off this travelogue for now, but expect more similar travelogues from me as I’m hooked up with the North now and I want to ride more in the North Until next time Ciao! Do feel free to comment on the travelogue and where I could improve, pros, cons, suggestions are welcome!

Re: Wanderlust Diary- The North Eastern sojourn || Sikkim and Bhutan || 7000 kilometers

Lovely travelogue and great pictures Christopher. Congratulations to all you 3 guys on this epic ride.
I am planning to do Bangalore - Sikkim - Bhutan - Bangalore end of this year, I would love to get in touch with you to know finer details on the route and so on.

Re: Wanderlust Diary- The North Eastern sojourn || Sikkim and Bhutan || 7000 kilometers

You're most welcomed to, do shoot me a PM.