Trip to Bhubwaneswar and Nandankanan Zoological Park

There is an old proverb in saying "Where there is a will, there is a way".The same is very much applicable for this trip to Bhubwaneswar. It was a sheer coincidence that our Railway Exams took us to Odisha & I was the last person to let go of this opportunity to explore Bhubaneswar. Our exam was scheduled on 10th October, 2018 & fortunately I and my brother had our exams on the same day at the same location. Accordingly we boarded Dhauli Express on 9th October, 2018 from Howrah at 6.30 AM. It was a pleasant journey & finally we reached Bhubwaneswar at around 1 PM. We had our lunch from Jan-Ahar at the railway station. After lunch we set out in search of our exam venue which was quite far from the railway station. Accordingly, it took us one hour and fifteen minutes by bus to reach our destination which was at Patia. After locating our examination venue we went to our hotel which was pre-booked by us through OYO.

OYO hotel at Patia, Bhubwaneswar

Closeup view of our hotel

When we reached our hotel it was already 3.30 PM. We went through the formalities at the reception and went to our room for a quick nap. One thing I can surely back for OYO is that they provide state of the art facilities which one needs while staying in a hotel i.e., AC, Geyser, luxurious rooms, prompt room service etc.

View of our room...

Selfie time...

We woke up at around 7.30 PM in the evening and went out in search of dinner since dining at the hotel was a costly affair. Once outside we realised that Patia is one of the most popular locations in Bhubaneswar, where people from different parts of the city visit for marketing and hanging out. As we had our exam on the next day, we did not waste much time. We packed our dinner and returned to the hotel at around 10 PM. We quickly had our dinner and retired for the day.

Chilling out on the bed in your hotel room watching television, while wearing your own pyjamas, is sometimes the best part of a vacation......

I pretend I'm one of the royal family when I'm in a hotel and that the hotel belongs to me - it is a palace...

Next day we woke up early and ordered our breakfast which was complimentary. Our examination centre was half an hour drive from our hotel so we decided to have our lunch before setting our for the exam. As per plan we ordered from Zomato App and after having lunch we set out for the exam which was scheduled at 4 PM. The exam went pretty well for us.After the examination, while we were waiting for our Taxi we heard from the locals that a cyclonic storm 'Titli' had struck the coast of Odisha, though the weather was pretty clear at Bhubwaneswar. That day after reaching our hotel we decided to go for a walk to the nearby Big Bazaar and tried a few local cuisines. The remaining part of the night was uneventful while I and my brother chatted for long hours retrospecting on our trip so far. Next day our checkout from the hotel was scheduled at 11 AM, but our train was at 11.30 PM so we decided to utilise the remaining part of the day by visiting Nandankanan Zoological Park.

One of the biggest and oldest zoological parks of India...

Selfie time....

We had a hassle free checkout and by 11.30 AM we were on our way to Nandankanan. It was just five kilometres from our hotel. We reached there by 12 noon and paid our entry fees to enter the park. Taking a guide is mandatory inside the park as the area is so vast that one can easily get lost. One thing that was really admirable and which I had never seen before in a zoological park was that it's a "Plastic Free Zone: Carrying or use of any kind of plastic was strictly prohibited".

Story behind the name Nandankanan...

Statue of Kanan the tigress...

Once inside the park we visited the cage of different herbivorous animals like Monkeys, Deers, Nilgai (A species of deer), Barking Deer, etc. Our guide was a veteran and he clarified each and every query of ours with utmost precision apart from giving a few valuable tips here and there.
Then we visited the Carnivorous section of which Nandankanan is famous for.

Lone Asiatic Lioness....

Lone African Lioness...

Barasingha....(State animal of Odisha)

The zoological park was so huge that it took us more than 2 hours to explore every corner. Unfortunately for us the safari was closed that day because of the cyclone Titli. It was around 2:30pm in the afternoon, we had only finished our lunch and was sitting by a large lake when the weather started turning for the worst. The dark cloud patches started surrounding us. Predicting a deadly storm, we decided to call it a day.We were more than fifty kilometres away from the station, so to reach the railway station in time was of utmost priority to us.

A small museum cum seminar hall inside the park....

While we were still in the bus, light drizzling started and cold stormy winds started blowing all over. By the time we reached the station it was raining cats and dogs. Our train was at 11.30 PM and it was only 5.30 in the evening, so we had to spend a long time at the waiting hall of the station.From there we witnessed one of the most powerful storms striking a junction station like Bhubaneshwar. Heavy rain resulted in flooding the platforms as the sweepers seemed helpless in getting the situation under control. At one point of time, we were literally afraid that we might have to wait in the station for the storm to get over, that our train could have been cancelled due to the harsh weather conditions.Many trains got cancelled but fortunately for us our train was on the right time.

Neither have I seen such a devastating cyclonic storm in my life nor I have seen such a heavy downpour from such a close range. What amazed me more is how helpless we are infront of mother nature even in this modern fast paced & technologically evolved world. Although frightened, we were thrilled to the optimum level being adventure lovers. My brother and I left Odisha only with a promise to return in future. Lets see when time permits us again!

Take only memories and leave only footprints...

(Picture Courtesy: Piangshuk Mukherjee)

Reliving Sandakphu

Sandakphu as we all know is the highest peak of West Bengal. I have been there before and the best thing about visiting a place twice is to relive the same emotions I have felt before and mesmerise myself in the same old manner yet again.

And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.

This year in the month of April I planned a visit to Sandakphu with my younger brother Piangshuk, Subrata and Arijit. Last time when I visited Sandakphu, it was during the winter. So, this time we chose the summer season. Our Journey was scheduled from 11th April, 2018 to 20th April, 2018. 

Darjeeling Mail

According to our plan we boarded the Darjeeling Mail on 11th April. This was the first major trip for one of our group members Subrata Roy (Gopal) hence a sense of excitement was always there for him. Our train departed from Sealdah at 10:05 PM, right time. We were scheduled to reach New Jalpaiguri at 8 AM next day but reached there one hour late. Our car to Manebhanjan was previously booked and was waiting right outside the NJP station. As we were already running late we decided to skip our breakfast at the station and have it on our way to Manebhanjan.

Mirikh Lake

By the time we reached Manebhanjan it was three in the evening and the weather turned for the worst as it started to rain. We brought down our rucksacks quickly from the car and went to our hut. The rain continued for one and a half to two hours roughly. In the mean time we had our lunch and as soon as the rain stopped we went out to explore the place before it got too dark.

A playground just outside the hamlet.

Manebhanjan

We went to a local monastry situated at the foot hill of the hamlet. Last time I visited Sandakphu I had been to that place, so I immediately started relishing the memories from the past. I was lost in my thoughts when it started raining again and we had to run for shelter. The day ended without much fuss as we prepared for our upcoming trek with great excitement.The night was very cold and windy.

Next day our guide Mr. Sonam Lepcha came early. He was a very humble and soft spoken person. Our trek started as we bid adieu to Manebhanjan.

13th April, 2018

Our trek started on 13th April, 2018. In the beginning we had to obtain permission for entering the Singalila National Park from the forest department. After receiving the same we trekked our way to Chitrey. The most difficult part of the Sandakphu Trek is from Manebhanjan to Chitrey. Gopal being new to this kind of terrain had to suffer the consequences as his body could not bear with the exertion and started to vomit, however he recovered soon to continue.

On the way to Chitrey...

 I will not go into much details about trekking route of Sandakphu in this blog as in my previous blog I have already mentioned the same. Here in this blog I will only relate the funny incidents that took place in Sandakphu.

En route Chitrey...

Selfie time....

Our next halt was at Chitrey hamlet and the weather was beautiful until then. Although we were thoroughly exhausted we enjoyed our journey to the fullest.

Chitrey

After having a cup of tea at Chitrey we started trekking towards our next destination Meghma. One must note that Meghma is a small village situated at the border of India and Nepal, so trekkers must carry their photo identity proofs for verification by the army personnel. We had our lunch at Meghma.

Before reaching Meghma...

We were only having our lunch when the weather turned for the worst and remained the same through out.

Life is better in hiking boots...

We had to wait at Meghma for long hours due to rain. Finally we started the final lap of our first day trek to reach Tumbling where we stayed for the night.

Tumbling was on the other side of the mountain...

Tumbling hamlet seen from Meghma...

After reaching Tumbling we were totally exhausted and retired to our respective trekkers hut. That night, it rained heavily and I have never seen such a heavy downpour. Temperature dropped by degrees at night. Next day we woke up to a bright sunny morning. My father always says, " Weather has a lot to do with one's mind!" and that day I realised the same.

Trekkers hut Tumbling...

with our guide Sri Sonam Lepcha...

Finally it was time to say goodbye to Tumbling. We started late that morning as our trek was short in terms of distance and difficulty. one more reason to start late was that one can get a 360 degree view of Kanchenzonga from Tumbling. Unfortunately we didn't have the luck that day as it was completely covered with a thick layer of cloud.

View of Kanchenzonga was blocked by a thick layer of cloud

Adieu Tumbling...

Day-2 (Tumbling to Gairibas): That day we had to trek through Singalila National Park and I being a forest lover enjoyed this part of the trek the most.

Singhalila Forest Range...

Mile Stone..

After one hour of trekking we finally reached the highest national park of West Bengal, "Singalila National Park".

Pictures taken before entering the park...

I have been to Singalila National Park before but this time the weather was much different from the one  that we had experienced earlier. Once we entered the park we were covered by a thick lining of cloud and could hardly see things beyond a foot or so.

Wherever you go,
go with all your heart...

Finally we reached Gairibus. I had personally booked Gorkhaland Tourism Guest House at Gairibas as it has some mind blowing views of the jungle from it's balcony.

GTA Guest House, Gairiabus...

At Gairibas the weather turned bad again and it started to rain. This time the rain did not stop until we left Sandakphu.

Gairibas view from the top...

Our next stop was at Kalapokhri. No pictures were taken at Kalapokhri due to the bad weather conditions. Temperature was below freezing and the wet condition made it worse.

Way to Sandakphu...

The weather remained the same throughout our stay at Kalaphokhri. Being frustrated at the poor weather we left the place early next morning for Sandakphu.

By the team we reached Bikheybhanjan, a sudden hail storm started.We reached Sandakphu amidst a heavy downpour. Though we had a plan of going to Phalut but our guide Mr. Sonam Lepcha warned us against it, so finally we had to drop our plan.

Final few steps to the summit....

We stayed in Sandakphu for a day and decided to descend to Shrikhola the day next. Here are few snaps taken at the top.

Sandakphu top...

Full cloud cover where kanchenjunga should be...

Proud feeling after reaching the summit...

Last time when I had visited the place there was a 360 degree view of the mountains from Sandakphu and I narrated that to my brother so he was super excited after reaching the top for the mesmerising view. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be seen this time because of the thick cloud cover. Disheartened to the power infinity, we settled for the night at Sandakphu.

In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks....

Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt...

On 17th April, 2018 we decided to descend from Sandakphu towards Gurdum, which was the next hamlet after the summit. It took us nearly three and half hours to reach Gurdum as the downhill was very difficult due to the continuous rainfall.

Way to Gurdum village....

 

Nature always wears the colours of the spirit...

While we were descending the nature started to improve a little but by that time we had made our mind to climb down. On reaching Gurdum we had our lunch. While we were having our lunch it started raining again.We decided there is no use of staying at Gurdum as we would not be able to enjoy the place. So we decided to reach Srikhola, the last stop in the Sandakphu circuit. According to the plan we reached Srikhola at around 5 P.M fully drenched and thoroughly exhausted.

All good things are wild and free...

Gopal at Srikhola river....

We reached Srikhola two days before schedule as a result of which we did not get the GTA accommodation in which we had our actual booking.

Few pictures taken at Srikhola...

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you...

Srikhola hamlet....

Frustrated but enriched with a different kind of experience, we left Sandakphu only with a promise to return again. We reached Siliguri on 18th April, 2018. We spent two days at Siliguri and went for the famous Bengal Safari.

Picture taken at Bengal Safari...

Doing what you like is freedom but liking what you do is happiness...

Bengal Safari is a must visit place for those who are planning to stay at Siliguri. Finally on 20th April we had our  return train to Sealdah. Each time a journey comes to an end my heart feels with sadness and that helps me to prepare for the next one...

To live is the rarest thing in the world...

(Picture Courtesy: Piangshuk Mukherjee and Arijit Ghosh)