Suntalekhola

Lava

Lava

We are going towards Lava. From there we will go to Rishop. That is our destination for today. We have crossed Chalsa now. The road from Samsing to Chalsa was very scenic. The tea gardens on both sides of the road sitting on inclined ground surfaces under the clear blue sky have made our journey spectacular.

We have reached Mal (Malbazar). Here we are going to have some food. This is a town and seems busier than the other places we have visited in this trip. Hasanur has parked the car after finding a suitable spot. After a little walk we have found a restaurant and we have walked in. We have ordered Maggie (noodles) for all of us. 

 Road map from Samsing to Lava

( Have you found my scale? )

We are now moving towards Damdim. From there we will take a right turn and move towards Gorubathan. We have bought some snacks from Mal. 

We have crossed Gourbathan. The road is now going along a river. It looks like we are leaving the plain land and entering into the mountains. The beautiful landscape having mountain, river and forests making us happier.  

Now the road is continuously going uphill. After driving for some time Hasanur has stopped the car near a big black rock. This rock is called as "Bara Patthar". We are now climbing on the rock. A staircase is curved out from the rock to make the climbing easier. I am the first person among us to climb on the rock. The spirit is high. After spending the last few days in plain land, this day is going to be different in terms of altitude. Probably that is one of the reasons to be in such high spirits. Nevertheless we all are so far very energetic in this trip.

We are on "Bara Patthar"

In my country, I have seen people write their names wherever they can. In any place on any hard object you can find many writings and drawings are inscribed. Specially love signs and plus signs can be seen between names. Hmmm... a country full with love for love and mathematics. 

There is a stream flowing beside this rock. The stream passes under the road to the other side jumping downwards. We have spent few minutes on the rock and now we are climbing down. Soumendu is having a tough time to climb down. He is sitting on his back and going down slowly. I am the last person to climb down and I am doing it standing on my feet and keeping my both hands inside the pockets of my trouser and with smile. Thanks to the six hundred rupees Sree Leathers shoe that I am wearing and to my elated mind.

Now we have come near the stream behind the Bara Patthar. Here the water is flowing down in high speed. I am standing on a rock inside the stream and thinking to shift to other rocks which are difficult to reach.

 I am pointing to the rocks where I want to go

I am doing calculation to reach on the rocks that I want to stand on. I am now executing the plan with no fear. And I have made it. The boundary between bravery and stupidity is not crisp.  :)

I have made it

But another blunder has just happened. Soumendu's cell phone has fallen into the stream. He wanted to touch the water with his hand. He was leaning on the stream from a higher rock beside it. He kept his cell phone in the chest pocket of his shirt and it got dropped. We tried to find the cell phone with our hands at the place where it fell in the water. But probably it has already covered a lot of distance to nowhere. Its lost. He bought this phone only a month back. Now we are returning to our car with grim faces.

Youtube video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpeXV9ei93o

 

Rishop

Rishop

We are now going to Rishop. Our driver cum guide Hasanur is staying at Lava today. We can not go to Rishop by Hasanur's car as it is a Maruti Omni model and the road From Lava to Rishop is not that much motor-able. The road to Rishop is basically a trekking rout and only four wheel driven cars can reach there. The sun has gone down. We don't have time to trek to Rishop neither we had a plan for trekking. So we have hired a four wheel driven car. It is a Land Rover and its a quite old car. These cars were brought here probably during the British rule. Our luggages are kept on the backside of the car and we four are packed up in the rest of the passenger's seats. A small distance in the beginning is metalled and motor-able. Actually this part is on the road towards Lolegaon. Then We have taken a diversion towards our right side. This is the trekking path to Rishop. It is an earthy road and full of rocks. Our Land Rover is riding on them and we are rocking inside.

 Road map from Lava to Rishop

( Please return my scale )

Rishop is located at a relatively higher altitude than Lava. So the road from Lava to Rishop is a uphill one. Sitting inside a tough car on a rough uphill path is scary. It is nearly dark now. Our car is moving ahead finding the way using the headlights. Suddenly I have felt something (don't know why) and looking back I have found Argha's luggage is falling on the road. I am saying to stop the car and telling others that a bag has fallen on the road. Our car has stopped and Argha is going to bring back the luggage. 

We have reached Rishop now. We have booking in a resort. Our car has stopped in front of the resort. We have taken our individual luggages from the car and now going down by a staircase inside the resort.

The room is wooden. It is having one big sized bed and one single bed. Three of us need to share the big sized bed. So everybody wants to sleep on the single one.  :)

There is another room on top of this room.We can hear the footsteps on the wooden roof. We are discussing if our night is going to be peaceful or noisy. 

We are now going to take our dinner. Its a winter night and its very cold outside. The dining room is on the roadside. So we are climbing up the stairs to reach there. We all are shivering in cold.

After having our dinner we have come back to our room. We have filled our stomach with rice and hot egg curry. So the cold is now on back-foot to some extent.

We are now having an "adda" (a conversation or a form of intellectual exchange). A bottle of VAT 69 has added a flavor to the adda. We don't have any soft drinks today. Without any soft drink I am not feeling much interested  in hard drinks. So I have taken only one glass and passing the time sitting on the single bed.

Its now bed time and nobody is willing to sleep in the middle of the big sized bed. Somehow I was going to sleep in that least wanted place but suddenly I have found the place is wet and smells like the beverage that we were taking. Somebody has dropped a glass there and have made the place wet. I was not aware of the incident. The other three were aware of that and was making me "murgi" or "bakra". So I got angry and now I have come back to the single bed and settled here. The other three are fighting among themselves now. :)
The final result is that Soumya has got  angry and has put a blanket on the wooden floor. He is going to sleep there. Everybody is going to sleep unhappily.


I am sleeping on my right side keeping my legs curled up. I am sleeping in the exact same position constantly. The bed is very cold. So whenever I am going to stretch my legs or turn to other side I am getting awake and reverting back to the same position.

Its an early morning. We have all got up except Soumya. We are calling him to wake up to view the sunrise. Soumya is not willing to go outside so early in this frightening cold morning and telling us to go ahead without him.

We have come outside and moving up on the road. Soumendu is moving fast. He does not want to miss capturing the sunrise in his camera. I am moving in normal speed while having conversation with Argha. After sometime we cant see Soumendu and we are trying to guess in which direction he has gone as there are small diversions on the way. We are now moving on our own and we can see the Kanchenjunga now. The sun is just about to rise.

The Kanchenjunga during sunrise

Youtube video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvV0IejqmJ0

Samsing Part-2 - Dooars - Beautiful Colours of West Bengal - Destination East - Incredible India

Samsing Part-2

We have returned to the lodge after buying beverage for the evening. Soumendu is not happy with the brand but there was no better option. Rest of us is not complaining as its good to have something than having nothing. We have to consider the location of this village and it is still an offbeat place to visit.

Samsing is situated at an elevation of around 3000 feet. It is located at the foothills of mighty Himalaya. The vast plain land of Dooars can be seen at one side and the other side is forested mountains. The forest of the Neora Valley National Park starts uphill from here. 

We are now sitting in the balcony. We have ordered two plates of onion pakora. In the moonlight we can see the plain land and the forested hill at the other side of the valley. We can see the Murti river flowing down through the valley and opening into the plain. It is a blissful time. 

 The balcony facing the valley

The onion pakoras have reached. Everybody has got a glass full and the population of onion pakoras has started decreasing. The taste of the pakoras is so good and the great view of the place is making us feel amazing. The last of the pakoras is history now.

A girl who is the cook has come to fetch the empty plates. We are ordering two more plates of pakoras. But she seems to become angry and complaining us why we have not ordered it once for all. So we don't want to take any risk and ordering four more plates of pakoras. It feels strange to us at first as we usually get appreciation for more orders anywhere else. And it is just the start of the evening and we were not impolite at all. I guess these people have not become professionals yet to serve the tourists. 

Next round of pakoras is going on. So is our conversation. Soumya is playing some popular hindi songs in his mobile. The volume is kept low to blend with the environment. We are enjoying the evening to its fullest. 

Our dinner is kept covered on another table in the balcony. We will take it ourselves at our convenient time. Its 8 pm now and it seems the village is ready to sleep.

We have taken our dinner and now again sitting in the balcony in this chilly night. The rooms are quite nice and comfortable though. So you guys can understand how much tempting the balcony is. ;)

We have now come inside the rooms after a couple of hours. I have occupied the room at the corner. I am sharing the room with Argha. The room sharing logic is based on the guest's love for the tobacco. I am not so high-minded in this context. ;)


Argha and Soumendu are having some discussions (a kind of knowledge sharing session is going on) ;) . I am resting on my back beside them and I am feeling sleepy. Zzzzzzzzzzzz


Its a beautiful morning. Sun has risen some times back. I have not witnessed the sunrise as I have just woken up now. Soumendu has taken some beautiful pictures of the rising sun from the balcony. It is a nice view we are having here. 

Sunrise from the balcony

Our morning tea is served. We are taking it sitting in the balcony while enjoying the view. The heights of the hills are gradually decreasing before vanishing completely in the plain land. The river Murti is coming from the Neora Valley National Park and flowing downhill gently and opened up in the vast plain land of Dooars. The morning is beautiful and revealing. It is very shiny now (though the winter sun has risen from the cold river water ;) ).

View from the balcony

We can not relax for the whole day here. So we are now taking bath one by one to get ready for the next journey.
Next Part:  Suntalekhola

Youtube Video Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x7GENNCpfw

Next Part:  Suntalekhola
Previous Part: Samsing 
 

Samsing - Dooars - Beautiful Colours of West Bengal - Destination East - Incredible India

Samsing

Its a nice afternoon. We are returning from Bindu. One Border Security Force personnel has requested for a ride in our car. He is sitting at the front passenger seat. So now Soumya has to come among the rest of us. I am being careful about my shoes so that they do not touch Soumendu's shoes (If you are wondering about the reason, please read the previous chapter). Though the car is running fast and its winter time, we have kept the windows open to keep the air fresh. 

We are going downhill towards Jhalong. We can see some orange trees beside the roads and adjacent to houses. Its the ripening season for oranges. 

An orange tree near Bindu

We have stopped our car near a shop. There are some nice wooden logs being used as chairs inside the shop. When I have looked at them first I have wanted to sit on one of them. We have wanted to order Maggie noodles but found only Wai Wai noodles are available. So we have ordered the same for all of us.

 Road map from Jhalong to Samsing

( I am wondering where I have lost the scale )

We have crossed Jhalong. Now we are moving towards the plain land. We can see some rubber plantations beside the road. The rubber tree cuts are covered with plastics on the top.

Rubber plantation on the way

We have now reached to the plain land. The army personnel has said goodbye to us. We are taking a short cut road towards Samsing. This road is bumpy. So we are holding the handles tight. There is a more rough patch in front of us. So we are coming out of the car to make it light while crossing the patch. 

The shortcut road towards Samsing

We are now going through a vast open land. The road is smooth now. Many tea plantations are present on both sides of the road. Rest of the places are open and covered with reddish brown grasses.

The road we have come from

It looks beautiful all around. We have stopped our car at a place to enjoy the beauty and to take a break. There is a "kancha rasta" (earth road) going into a tree plantation at this point. We can see two boys are taking that road. We don't know from where they are coming and where they are heading to.

An earth road going into a tea plantation

We are having some photo sessions here. Before stopping at this place I was having a discussion with Argha regarding how people get corrupt in our country. I was deep into the discussion and Argha was appreciating my analysis with his expressions. Well now we have forgotten our worries and we are enjoying the beauty of this place. 

 Feeling good

The sun is ready to go down. Soumya is taking picture of the sunset keeping his camera on a waist-height rock. 

Sunset

We have now reached near Samsing. The path is going uphill now. We have booking in a lodge in Samsing. 

We have reached at the lodge. Our rooms are on the second floor which is the top floor of the building. The rooms are nice, the balcony is big. The lodge is located at a great location. The balcony is facing towards the valley. There are some sitting arrangements in the balcony.

The rooms are double bedded. So we have taken two rooms. The rooms are adjacent and share the common big balcony. Our driver Hasanur is staying at a room on ground floor. He has done his own arrangements as per our agreement made during booking of his vehicle.

We have taken tea after our arrival at the lodge. We are now having a stroll inside the village area. Hasanur is guiding us to a shop where we can buy some beverages. There are electric lights in every house. The paths are clean. Hasanur is informing us that the village school has taken the initiative to keep the area tidy.
Next part:   Samsing Part-2

Please let me know your comments (all sort of) in the comments section ;)

 

Youtube video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsQdnF1_uhY

Next part:    Samsing Part-2

Previous part:  Jhalong-Bindu Part-2

Jhalong-Bindu Part-2 - Dooars - Beautiful Colours of West Bengal - Destination East - Incredible India

Jhalong-Bindu Part-2

We are spending some quality time here looking at the Jaldhaka river. The land on the other side of the river belongs to Bhutan. The nature of the land or topography on both sides of the river is the same. Hill slopes are covered with forest. We are enjoying the beauty of the nature in the sunny winter day. There is a lady with a bucket in hand approaching towards us. There are some live fishes inside the bucket. These fishes are freshly caught from the river. She has most likely thought us as probable customers of the fishes. But we have limited ourselves upto only viewing the fishes and we are happy with that.

Freshly caught fishes from the river Jaldhaka

After taking some snaps, we are now back inside the car. We are continuing our journey towards Bindu. 

We have now reached Bindu. Bindu is a small picturesque hill village situated on the bank of the Jaldhaka river. It is the last village of West Bengal as well as the last village on the Indian side bordering Bhutan. Bindu is a confluence of three streams. One of the streams is originated from the Kupup lake in East Sikkim. These combined streams have formed the Jaldhaka river. 

There is a dam built on the river. Our car has stopped some distance away from the dam. The road actually ends here. But people can walk further up and also on the dam which works as a bridge too. We can see the lock-gates of the dam. Some gates are partially open and water is running down fast. Releasing water from a dam always creates a great view and this is no exception. So this dam controls the flow of the Jaldhaka river and so it controls the Jaldhaka Hydel project.

The river bed is full of rocks. So is the thin Bindu valley. Seeing a big black rock beside the river, I am feeling the temptation to step on that rock. 

 The rocky riverbed of Jaldhaka

I am now sitting on that big black rock. The flowing water is striking the rocks and creating white foam. I am savoring the beautiful view and as well as enjoying the appealing sound of the river. In front of me at some distance away down the river there is a man standing inside the river. He is standing there with the support of a big rock. He is catching fish there. I am wondering how the man has reached on that rock while the current is so strong.

A man catching fish inside the river

I am still sitting on that big black rock and wishing to lay on my back on this rock to relax for some time. But there are other people present in the vicinity and hence I have discarded that plan. Now Argha and Soumya both have come on this rock. Soumendu is standing on the road. He is taking pictures of the surroundings.

There is a border outpost present here. Border security personnels are guarding this outpost. They are keeping their eyes on us. One security personnel has come near us. He is talking to Soumendu now. He is looking at the pictures that Soumendu has captured.

We  have now come back on the road near Soumendu. I am curious about the discussion that took place between the security personnel and Soumendu. What I have come to know that taking photograph of the dam is prohibited. So he was looking at the pictures to find out which photos captured the dam in the background and if found then delete them.

We are now looking at the surrounding places. There are some houses present between the road and the river. All the houses are decorated with many flower plants. Hasanur is saying that few days back a woman from a tourist group plucked some flowers and some altercation took place. I remember during my hostel days we used to do gardening and we created a beautiful garden full with different kind of flowers. Some women from nearby places used to trespass and pluck flowers from our garden during early morning. It was heartbreaking for us. 

When Soumendu was capturing photos of this place he somewhere stepped on some dog poo. He is now trying to clean that shoe by the flowing river water. His woodland shoe is very hungry and so he has not got much success with his effort.

We are now going inside the car. Its time for our return journey.
Next part:   Samsing

Please let me know your comments (all sort of) in the comments section ;)


Next part:   Samsing

Previous part:  Jhalong-Bindu

 

Jhalong-Bindu - Dooars - Beautiful Colours of West Bengal - Destination East - Incredible India

Jhalong-Bindu

We have checked out from Resort Murti after a nice stay. We are now ready for todays journey. Hasanur has reached at the resort with his car. He is actually belongs to this locality. He has spent the night at his home. He is saying that he would invite us to visit his home but due to time shortage he had not done so.


We are now crossing the bridge on the river Murti. We are going to the direction from where we came yesterday. This path is going through the jungle and again the subject of our ongoing discussion is the wild elephants. Hasanur is providing his valuable input in the discussion. And we are thrilled as usual.

 Road map from Murti to Jhalong and Bindu

( I have lost the scale )

This path goes to a place called Khuniya More and from there we are going to take a diversion from our yesterdays route. We will take the path towards the Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary. We don't have plan for any more jungle safari so we will continue towards Jhalong. 

 The road from Murti towards Khuniya More

We are now moving towards Jhalong. We have left the plain land and now we have entered a hilly area. The path is slowly taking us uphill. There are different kinds of trees all around. We can see many jack-fruit trees along the road. 

The road towards Jhalong

Hasanur has stopped the car at a place. We are taking a break. This place is having plenty of jack-fruit trees surrounding. It looks beautiful. On one side of the road there are long grasses. Hasanur is going somewhere and he is telling us to follow him. He wants to show us something. He is going inside the long grasses. We are following him. Wow! we have reached a view point. We can see the plain land below and a river passing through. Hasanur is saying it is the Jaldhaka river. When I was in school then I read about this river. This place was previously used as a view point. But now it is abandoned. Hasanur has also informed us that these long grasses all around this place are medicinal. These are citronella grasses. Citronella grass is used to make citronella oil. I was aware of the Citronella oil as it is sold in local trains and stations in suburban Kolkata. I have taken one grass leaf and have squeezed it between my thumb and fingers as suggested by Hasanur and I am now taking the smell of the leaf juice. Yes the smell looks familiar. Citronella oil is used in soaps, insect repellents, aromatherapy etc.

We are now moving ahead towards Jhalong. Before getting into our car we have done a photo-session. Soumya has given some heroic poses.  

We have now reached Jhalong. We can see some other tourists are present at an eatery near a view point. We are spending few minutes here and taking some snaps.

A view from Jhalong

We are now moving towards Bindu. The road is moving along the river Jaldhaka keeping it always on the right side. This river is famous for its hydro electric project as it is one of the foremost in the country.

After driving for some more time, Hasanur has stopped the car at a place. This place looks very nice. We are feeling happy to get out of the car and enjoy the beauty of the nature. I am standing on the river side of the road. A railing is present for the safety of people standing here. The river seems very beautiful from here. The water looks very clean and clear so that we can see the river bed through it.

 The Jaldhaka river

Next part:   Jhalong-Bindu Part-2

Please let me know your comments (all sort of) in the comments section ;)

Youtube video link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3xeYPR_miY

Next part:   Jhalong-Bindu Part-2

Previous part:   Murti Part-4