Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam on Bikes :Part-2 : Day-1 : Bagdogra, Siliguri, Pashupathi(Nepal), Mirik Lake, Darjeeling

And finally, the big day - October 20th came after what seemed like years of waiting! Our flight was from Bangalore to Bagdogra, at 6 am. As there are no direct flights from Bangalore to Bagdogra, we had to go till Delhi first and wait there for more than an hour for the connecting flight to Bagdogra. The flight to Delhi was pretty much boring.  Then in Delhi terminal, thank god there was a Foosball table! We did nothing else but to play Foosball for the next hour, till the security check-in.  



The flight from Delhi to Bagdogra was very exciting, as we could spot many snow capped mountains throughout. Then finally, around 2 pm, we had reached Bagdogra airport. Our bikes were shipped to New Jalpaiguri, which was around 20kms from the airport and we took a cab to reach there. 

And after reaching the Blue Dart warehouse, there we saw our rides.. After nearly 2 long weeks! Packed in cardboards and bubblewraps, we took them out of the warehouse and started unwrapping them, as if they were our birthday gifts!



But sending the bikes through Blue Dart was not a better option when compared to sending in trains. Our rides did take some beating. The side stand of CBR was totally bent, and I needed bricks all the time to park it anywhere! There were some dents on the silencer cover as well. But as soon as I pressed the ignition button, it started to roar within a second!






Since the bikes were idle for a long time, it did take some time to start all the bikes, by filling some petrol. The side stand of Pulsar was also damaged. We found a garage nearby and spent the next hour getting the bikes repaired. I had to get the side stand welded, and we also got a new spring for the Pulsar side stand. 

When I was getting it welded, some people from that village started gathering around the CBR, and started asking the questions.. 
"Kitna deti hai?." 
"30-35."
"Mera Gaadi 65 deti hai!"
"Achcha.. "
"Kahaan se ho? (Takes a look at the KA number plate).. Kerala?"
"Nahin.. Karnataka.."
"Udhar se? Bike mein?" 
Then I explained to him in my bad Hindi that we parceled the bikes from Bangalore to here. Then after clearing their doubts for another 15 mins about the bike, top speed, reason for buying the bike and explaining why CBR is better than a Splendour, the bike was ready!

We didn't have time to have lunch. So we drank as much water as we can and ate some biscuits. 

Darjeeling is just around 70 kms from Siliguri. But we had decided to take the alternate route, which goes through Lake Mirik, and touches the Nepal Border. In this route, Darjeeling would be 105 kms. But by the time we filled the petrol and the bikes were all ready, it was already 4pm. When in Bangalore, 4 pm would mean direct sunlight and hot conditions. But there in West Bengal, it was already nearing sunset. It was getting dark faster! 

So, we left Siliguri at around 4.30 and started riding toward Lake Mirik, which was 65 km far. We had gone there during Dussera festival. And we could see the festive spirit all over West Bengal. 

After riding for another 2 hours, at around 6.30, we reached Lake Mirik. Mirik is a small town in West Bengal. It was already dark and it was getting colder and colder!


Since we didn't have any proper food till then, we were very hungry and were waiting to pounce on any food we get! Even though it was still 6.30pm, the place looked totally haunted. As if it was midnight. There was a small cart selling Momos and Tea. There we had the best Momos of our lives!   It was very spicy and yummy to the core! We even had tea, and were able to feel the chill of the weather. We were then feeling that the snow capped mountains would be nearby somewhere! The momo guys then warned us to be careful while taking the route to Darjeeling, as robberies happen there frequently during nights, and the road went through a jungle! We decided to stick together from there and tried to take a look at Lake Mirik, but couldn't see a thing!  Instead we took a few pics of our bikes and then left towards Darjeeling, which was 40 kms ahead.



After riding for another 10-15kms or so from Mirik, we reached the Nepal border at 8:20 pm. That place was also totally haunted and everyone in that village had slept off. We easily walked into Nepal, without any security! Took some pics of the place to boast that we walked in another country! 




From there, we took another hour to reach Darjeeling. It was also totally haunted, and we couldn't find a single person to ask for directions as well! As a result, we missed a turn which leads us into Darjeeling town, and were going straight in a wrong road for nearly 10-15 kms. Later we realized somehow that we weren't in the right track and took a U-turn. 

It was 10:30 by the time we reached Darjeeling, and everything was shut in the town. After searching a bit, we were able to find a lodge and he agreed to serve us dinner as well. After eating well, our day 1 ended. It was around 11:30 by the time we went to bed, but we knew we couldn't have a sound sleep.. As we had to get up at around 3:30 only the next morning.. To go to the famous Tiger hill at Darjeeling and see the first rays of sun falling on the mighty Mt.Kangchenjunga!