Photo Travelogue :
Read first part - Here!
1ST TRIP
On trip 1, it was on 6th Jan, I started my journey in early morning. I had overpacked and still had to tie bits and pieces in roof of my car, so, by the time I was on the road it was almost past 6 am. The sun had already appeared, although, it was bit foggy too ( especially after I left Guwahati ). My mother was still stunned or rather 'shocked' at the notion of a female going on such a long journey alone, and, kept telling me to rethink my decision. She is old fashioned and couldn't fathom a girl going alone anywhere, much less, a road trip of this magnitude. But, bidding bye to her instead, I set off. I had made up my mind, and nothing in the world would stop me. It was my dream journey. Soon, I found myself crossing the Saraighat bridge and was well on my way. Still, I gave myself time, that, if things go well till Bongaigaon, I'll continue with the trip; but if things go bad, I'll return home, as Bongaigaon was only at five hour distance. But once I crossed that, then, I'd continue and not look back. On my journey, I had packed all kinds of eatables like bread, cheese, ready to eat poha, pizza, bananas, apples, burgers, potato chips, chocolates etc...so didn't halt in any dhaba, although, I was tempted. But, my car was so loaded with food, that I thought, I'd try dhabas from 3rd or 4th day onwards. My first trip was to be slow travel...hence, I stopped my car in many places. I was not in a hurry. Halting, taking in the views and really enjoying every moment of it. I was quite prepared mentally to spend many days on the road. Crossing the Saraighat Bridge early morning - pics below :-)
Of all my Ghy-Bom ( and vice versa ) road trips...I can say my first was the most adventurous as well as relaxing. Everything was a first, so, although there was nervousness there was excitement as well. I made my car my home - it had everything in it, and I simply wanted to enjoy the journey doing full-on car camping. In one place however, as I halted my car and chilled watching some bigg boss episodes, another car stopped right behind me. It had 4-5 men inside and they were looking at me strangely, so, I panicked a while and drove off. It was in Kokrajhar..I thought they might kidnap me seeing my car the way it did. After that however, there was no such incident and I was ever alert. My drive schedule was 2-3 hrs drive, 1 hr rest and then repeat. The rest period, I'd just chill, watch youtube, enjoy the views, eat, walk about my car, watch other cars/trucks, click pictures etc. I had decided not to drive after dark, so, by the time sun set, I was prepared to stop for the day. I pulled my car near a bus stop in a place called 'Barobasha' and slept the night. Of course, I woke up few times especially when someone banged at my car window at about 9pm or so. I had stopped driving 5pm itself, as it had gotten dark. I peered through the black-out screen, and saw a man looking at my number plates. He banged at my car window few times before going off. I didn't answer and rest of the night went well. It was a naxal-infested place, so, I must admit I had a queasy feeling. I did have protection - a knife in each door ready! And yes, it was in West Bengal. The rest of night went undisturbed. There was a little pan-shop at the bus-stop and the man there played some soft bengali songs till wee hours.
2ND TRIP
I made my 2nd trip on 30th Nov the following year. This time too I had packed a lot, but, far less than my first trip. I did have plenty of food as usual, but cut down a lot of 'unnecessary' things that I didn't use the last time. My mother was not as anxious this time round as I had already proven to her that I could do it quite well. The onward journey was pretty much the same and I started at about 5am. At the Alipurdar traffic juncion, some WB cops stopped me and told me that my PUC had expired. They didn't fine me, as my fine happened automatically on the records. They told me to get the PUC done, so, I asked if they knew anyone who could do it. Till I reached Hashimara, I stopped at the towns that I crossed enquiring if anyone did it. But it seemed, noone did online, and for offline, it had to be done in the home state. I finally got it done in Sikandara ( MP ). It wasn't as cold this time and I reached uptil Hashimara on same evening itself. On this trip, I had sped up a bit and skipped the longer Sevoke route. I drove longer too, so had time in my hands as well. I stopped driving by 8pm and halted in front of what looked like some insitute hostel. It was a nice dark corner. The night was undisturbed; I slept like a baby inside my warm n cozy sleeping bag.
3RD TRIP
I did my 3rd trip again in the month of Jan ( 6th ) the next year, and, started as early as 4am. This time my mother was bit unwell, so, I was little unsure if I should continue with the trip. But since, I had already once postponed it in Dec, I decided to go ahead when she showed signs of little improvements. In this trip I had further cut down a lot on my packings as well, so, my car was a lot lighter ( full wheels visible ). It was still dark when I exited Guwahati and encountered fog even after day light all the way till noon. It was so foggy, I could barely see the road. But by noon the skies had cleared. On this trip however, after crossing Bongaigaon or so, a little goat jumped right into my car bumper in fright as it was crossing. It lay in the midde of the road without moving with another little goat bleating near it. So, for almost one hour I just pulled my car to a stop wondering what to do about it. The unbarricaded highways almost always have these stray animals getting hit by speeding vehicles, and I felt really bad that it happened with me too. Sadly, I decided to move on with my journey. The time I had gained was lost due to this incident, so, I decided to make up for it by taking the alternate Alipurduar-Falakata route and skipped Hashimara. This way by 8pm I reached New Jalpaiguri. This route is not picturesque like the Hashimara road, and had to pass through several small crowded villages/towns instead of forests and tea-gardens.
Address : Rangiya, Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Sorbhog, Gosaigaon, Srirampur, Alipurduar, Barobasha, Hashimara, falakata/New Jalpaiguri...
Read next part - Here! Stay tuned for all my road, rail, flight, cruise & walk trips.
( Images - ©Mine. All rights reserved. )
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