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
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