Bengal Diaries-1 : Dooars

Day 1, 2nd February 2018, Bengaluru.

I was all excited to board the flight to Kolkata, a trip after a long time made it feel like the first rain after a patch of famine. A reunion with college friends added to my excitement. The city of joy welcomed us with a beautiful bird’s view and the posters at the airport :

Day 2, 3rd February 2018, Kolkata.

After a Uber ride, the highlight of which was crossing the Howrah bridge, we surrendered to sleep not before having a long, late night conversation. In the morning, we were at the receiving end of hospitality at our friend Abhinaba(the groom)’s house, savouring Luchi (Puri like breakfast item), Bengali sweets, hot tea. This was followed by a tightly scheduled ride to the airport via the Grand Trunk Road, reminding of a piece of history and catching a glimpse of the beautiful Dakshineshwar Kali Mandir. We made it just in time to catch the flight to Bagdogra, looking forward to explore the Dooars.

The forest regions of the North Bengal are collectively called as ‘The Dooars’ (meaning doors, as they act as gateways to a lot of other regions). We had sidelined all the typical tourist plans (Exploring Kolkata, Darjeeling, Sundarbans (forced to cancel due to ongoing tiger census)) and decided to take the roads to the forests, thanks to a plan by my another Bengali friend Jashojit. After a bit of struggle and uncertainty, we managed to strike a good deal for a taxi at the Bagdogra airport that would take us to Gorumara.

The first part of Dooars exploration was at Gorumara, Dhupjhora elephant camp to be specific. It was a serene campsite, just outside the jungle. The drive to the campsite had its own charm, especially the paths through the forest regions. Fueling ourselves with hot pakodas, soaking in their tribal culture in the form of folk dance and music, followed by more conversations, we settled down looking forward to the morning elephant ride.

We stayed in one of these :

A glimpse of the tribal dance :

Day 3, 4th February 2018, Gorumara.

The elephant ride to the jungle on a chilly morning was a unique experience in itself. We were glad to spot hornbills, barking deer, a herd of Indian bisons and peacock. Had safari like this :

Wildlife spotted during the safari :

Hornbills :

Barking deer :

Indian Bisons :

Peacocks :

A pose with the tusker :

With great memories, we bid goodbye to Gorumara, were gifted beautiful carpets made of jute, and headed towards another region in Dooars - Jaldapara. The same driver had stayed and agreed to drive us to Jaldapara as well (we made him an offer he couldn’t refuse!). Hollong tourist lodge, located inside the jungle was a prime stay attraction there. Owing to our delay in plans, we settled for the Jaldapara tourist lodge just outside the jungle.

Jaldapara Tourist Lodge, a government owned accommodation, was a well maintained place for stay. We decided to rest on that day and got a booking for another elephant safari at the Jaldapara region for the next day. There were several one-day travel options for the day and we decided to go with the plan that would take us to a city in Bhutan and another forest region - Jayanti.

Day 4, 5th February 2018, Jaldapara.

Unlike the Gorumara safari, the elephants at Jaldapara had carriers that made it easier to sit on the elephants. The safari at the Jaldapara began with spotting a Rhino just outside the hollong tourist lodge. This increased our expectations of spotting more of them inside the jungle, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. The safari was less exciting here than the Gorumara one in terms of spotting wildlife, but a baby elephant that had accompanied us made the safari quite enjoyable.

Some pics from the Jaldapara safari :

Peacock spotting had become ‘mor’e of a common affair (on seeing one, we had a pun - more मोर). Nevertheless, it was always an attractive thing to see.

After the safari and breakfast (Oh, Luchi again!? The only other option was toast. If you are a pure vegetarian, it is very likely that you would face issues with the Bengali cuisine, where non-vegetarian stuff is very prominent), we were set to cross an international border for the first time! We visited Phuentsholing, the first city of Bhutan from our side. As soon as we crossed the border, we noticed a transition in the culture, cleanliness etc. We visited a crocodile park (not a worthy one) and Phuentsholing monastery, spent some time in a cafe. Because of the tourists and the proximity to border, people were comfortable with conversing in Hindi. Resolving to have an exclusive Bhutan trip later, we came back to India, ending our short international trip.

Jayanti river was totally dry and hence the scenic beauty of the point wasn’t at it’s best. We had a short safari in the Jayanti region visiting a couple of watch towers. Being local to the region, our guide was enthusiastically trying to spot some wildlife, narrating us with old incidents of tiger spotting in the region. The tiger population had drastically reduced in the region. After a day’s trip, we were back at the Jaldapara resort.

About to cross the international border :

Phuentsholing Monastery :

Jungles show their true nature only when you stay close to them, a trait probably the humans have inherited as well. It was my first long stay in a forest region. A rejuvenating one to say the least. It was an ideal relaxing spot where we spent our time listening to the sounds of jungle and the life stories of our friends, over the notification sounds of our mobiles.

It was a place where python meant this :

Instead of this :

Bidding goodbye to the alluring dooars, we traveled to Cooch Behar for the wedding, the primary motive of our trip.

Day 5, 6th February 2018, Cooch Behar.

The Bengali Wedding :

Cooch Behar is a nice town in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas. A bit of research on the place showed that it was the capital city of kings of the Cooch region. The cricket fan in me made me explore more on the Cooch Behar trophy and the contribution of kings of Cooch Behar to cricket. We were accommodated in a nice hotel - Hotel Yubraj. A bit of tight schedule meant that we had to miss entry to the beautiful looking Cooch Behar palace.

The fact that the wedding was late in the night was culturally different to us. Nevertheless we followed and enjoyed the wedding proceedings, oh, and the Bengali sweets (my mouth is watering as I write this). With sweet memories, we bid goodbye to Bengal, only with a desire to visit back again. Wishing our friends - the couple Abhinaba and Anasuya, great fun, joy and adventure in their future journey of togetherness!

Our gang - Swapnil, Veerendra, Abhinaba, Atul and I

Visakhapatnam - Araku Valley Trip

A geeky way of representing Life is ‘L+iFe’ indicating that Life is both complex and ironic. One of the greatest ironies of life is the time-money-energy conundrum. At any point, life provides us with at most two entities out of these three.

The following picture explains it better :

A group of enthusiastic M.Tech students, having a relaxed time in the last semester after the successful campus placements, trying to break the above conundrum (thanks to the AICTE stipend) decided to go on a trip. A destination called Lambasingi (around 100 kms from Visakhapatnam) had caught our initial attention. Lambasingi is often referred to as the Kashmir of Andhra Pradesh. The fact that it is the only place in South India that receives snowfall made us look it up closely. However, lack of information about the place and the weather suggesting no possibility of snowfall in the recent times made us reluctant to visit it and hence our focus shifted towards Visakhapatnam. Gathering some information from friends who were familiar with the place, led us to a decent 3-day itinerary : Visakhapatnam - Araku Valley. We were 8 people in all.

23 Jan 2016, 6:00 PM

We all had geared up for the trip. Circumstances had forced us to submit an assignment 2 days before the specified deadline, (probably the first time in the whole M.Tech course that we submitted an assignment so early! We always operate on the principle of rockets). We had our train tickets booked to Visakhapatnam in the Garib Rath Express that started from Secunderabad junction at 8:30 PM. Despite a few rejections from Uber drivers(citing long distance) and tenseful traffic hurdles, we managed to reach the station at the last moment (so typical of us!). Hunger had taken a toll on us by then and we reverently gulped down some snacks available in the station,a food that the vendor claimed to be ‘biriyani’ and some tasty curd-rice. Overall, the journey was good and the train reached Visakhapatnam at 8:30 AM, almost an hour late.

24 Jan 2016, 8:30 AM, Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam, popular as Vizag (sounded like a swag name to all of us) is the largest city of Andhra Pradesh. It is often referred to as the Goa of the east coast, due to its beaches, water sports and tourist attractions. I’ll be using the latter name from here on.

It looked a good deal for us when the autowalas offered us to show some 4-5 hotels in the vicinity for a total sum of Rs.100. A hotel named Rohini inn looked decent and fitted our budget. Hotel didn’t really matter much for us as we would be outside for most part of the day.  

We got ready, had breakfast at a local hotel nearby and headed towards the Submarine Museum in a shared auto.

Submarine Museum, one of its kind, is a must visit destination of Vizag. (It is closed on Mondays, open only in the afternoons(2PM onwards) from Tuesday to Saturday and open in the morning too on Sundays). I had a totally different imagination when I had heard the term ‘Submarine Museum’ (you might be thinking the same). Contrarily, a colossal submarine named INS Kurusura that served the Indian Navy for about 31 years, formed the museum. As we entered it, a person gave some information about the remarkable underwater boat. There were descriptions and modeled depictions at the appropriate places which kept the observer interested. Taken aback by the sophistication it possessed, we could do nothing but appreciate and wonder as we walked through.

(The Submarine Museum, Vizag)

The same auto guy who had dropped at the museum was waiting for us after anticipating that we would be needing more auto rides. (A successful business needs such quick calculations and proactiveness!). It looked a win-win situation for us and he ended up taking us to all the desired destinations throughout the day. We went for a boat-ride in the sea, that turned out to be mostly a photo-session. The ride had its own set-up, calmly stood buildings on one side and a never-ending sea on the other. After a decent ride, we had a tasty mango sweet, a specialty of Vizag.

(View of the city during boating)

Two of the most popular beaches in Vizag are ‘Rishikonda beach' and ‘RK beach’.

Rishikonda (rishi - sage, konda - hill) is located a bit off from the city at a distance of 10-12 kms. The hills located in the vicinity make it scenically serene. After having lunch at a good-looking hotel suggested by the auto driver, we went to the beach seeking some relaxation. A Harita resort (APTDC resort), built on a nearby hill looked elegant. We took several photos, there were photo-bombings. A lot of people were playing at the beach. The software engineer in us had disappeared and suddenly we had become sand artists and architects. Though we did not get into the water, we carried back some great moments from the beach (unavoidably, some sand too).

(Left to right : A capture during boating, Rishikonda beach)

Ramakrishna beach (popular as RK beach) was our destination to spend time in the evening. Unlike Rishikonda, the sandbed looked to get steeper soon here. We played in the water carefully for more than an hour, gaining pleasure from the quick and frequent waves that splashed onto us. It was a full-moon day and soon, the moon appeared in the form of a huge orange ball playing hide-and-seek through the clouds. Following this cold affair, we had hot and spicy snacks and chats near the beach. After a decent dinner, we surrendered ourselves to sleep, to be waking up at as early as 5:00 AM on the next day.

(We missed visiting a hill called Kailasagiri, intending to cover it on Tuesday).

25 Jan 2016, 6:00 AM, Vizag Railway Station

Never before had I seen, a passenger train absolutely full, with more than one hour for the departure. On a positive note, it gave us an indication of a scenically wonderful journey that we had heard of. (Personally, we felt that it would have been good to reserve a seat). We were travelling from Vizag to a station named Borra Guhalu (Guhalu - caves in Telugu). As the journey was about to commence, we occupied places near the door. We had made a pact that two of us would sit at the doorstep, taking turns (even though it was not an advisable thing to sit there). First two hours was a painful journey across the plains, having to bear an occasional pungent smell of the toilets. The mountainous region started, showing us a glimpse of engineering marvel, a result of interaction between man, mechanics and the nature. The train passed through the lush green regions, rigid rocks and tunnels, offering us a lot of breathtaking moments. “There is light at the end of tunnel”, is a famous and inspiring saying. Adding to it, there was light inside the tunnels too (Indian Railways had installed electric lamps). A four-hour long journey ended up as a tiring affair for the body and a feast for the eyes. We got down at the designated station, to be quickly approached by the local tour organizers.

(The train ride to Araku valley, courtesy : Google image)

Katiki waterfalls is one of the major attractions in the region along with the Borra Caves. After a decent breakfast at a local hotel, we boarded a jeep that would take us closer to the waterfalls. It was a topsy turvy ride in a muddy terrain, toppling us every now and then from our seats. Another 10-15 mins of a small trek, and we arrived at the falls. The falls disappointed us, considering the efforts that we had taken to reach there. Well, it was unrealistic to expect a very lively waterfall during the end of January. However, that did not detain our enthusiasm to enter and surrender ourselves to the force of chilling water. After a more-exciting downward journey, we had lunch in a hotel that looked crowded (herd mentality). If you are a non-vegetarian, you should try the ‘Bamboo chicken’, which is a local speciality over there. Due to its high preparation time, you are required to pre-order it before going to the falls.

A small walk after a heavy lunch led us to the Borra Caves. I had done a few cave explorations earlier and had a small doubt as to whether the place was worth visiting. This concern was totally wiped off once we entered the cave - it was breathtakingly beautiful! We were awestruck by the fantastic formations that it encompassed. Stalactite and Stalagmite (forms of calcium) deposits decorated the whole cave, aptly illuminated at spots adding to the beauty. The whole thing was wonderfully maintained by the Andhra tourism department. It was indeed one of the best caves that I have visited. Appreciating the stunning structures, we made an exit, with a lot of photographs. Unsure of the bus facilities, we decided to take a shared auto all the way to the Harita Hill Resort, Araku Valley, 40 Kms from the caves. Riding through the chilling breeze, soon we were at an altitude of around 3000 feet.

.

(A few clicks at the Borra caves, credits : Veerendra)

Two resorts operate prominently at the Araku valley - Harita Valley Resort and Harita Hill Resort. There are two other options - A resort at Anantagiri (36 km from Araku) and Tyada Jungle Resort (near borra caves). Out of these, Tyada resorts looked wonderful. However, our delay in booking the accommodation meant that it was full. It wasn’t a wise option to go and search dynamically at a place with limited stay options. Out of the others, Harita Hill resort seemed a better option and we had to go for A/C rooms (non-A/C rooms were full). No doubt, the rooms were beautifully maintained, and after a good dinner at the same hotel’s restaurant, we got a much needed rest.

26th January 2016

Far from a typical republic day happenings, we woke up to a misty morning. The view from the hotel balcony was worth capturing. After having the complimentary breakfast that was provided, we paid visit to a nearby coffee museum. It was one of its own kind, depicting the story of coffee in pictures and modelled exhibits. Araku Valley is one of the major coffee plantation regions in India. We then left for a tribal museum nearby, not before buying some coffee chocolates and authentic coffee powder. The Araku region housed a lot of tribes and the museum exhibited their lifestyle. We had to head back to Vizag as we had our train in the evening back to Hyderabad. It was a three and a half hour journey that kept us churned during the initial two hours. A few other places that we couldn’t cover were : Botanical Garden, Galikonda view point, Coffee estate, Shooting spot.

(From left : The cable car, A view from Kailasagiri)

Kailasagiri , a hilltop park in the Vizag, was accessible via a ropeway cable car. Tired by the journey from Araku, we didn’t have much energy to roam around the hill. We visited two viewpoints that overlooked the city and the beaches. It was amazing to see how the region was reconstructed well after the devastating Hudhud cyclone in 2014. It seemed to teach us a lesson - “Failure is not when you fall down, but when you refuse to stand up again”.  Vizag had succeeded to become one of the top cities in the Andhra region. We paid a visit to the RK beach again before boarding the Vizag-Secunderabad Duronto express, carrying mango sweet, and a lot of wonderful memories to cherish.

(A beautiful view of the city from Kailasagiri)

(The eight of us at Kailasagiri. From Left : Atul, Pankaj, Akshay, Veerendra, Nilesh, Shashank, Swapnil, Praveen)