Blogs from Siliguri, West Bengal, India, Asia

"Chilapata Forest Range" near Hasimara in WB India a most beautiful destination for Nature lovers ,wild life explores as well as birders . Chirping birds... I am sure will wake you up.... If you are lucky ? you have a fair chance to get such a glimpse of a Baby ? elephant with its parents . The Colurful watch Towes will add to your photography euphoria . Sunbirds are in plenty inside the Jungle camp to be watched from close . Wild flowers ? will steal your heart ❤️ if you are a nature lover...I am damn sure ! Leaf Birds are in quite plenty sucking nectur from blooming wild flowers ?. That was Jan2016 around 23rd , me and my wife both by choice are Nature lovers started for Siliguri in WB and it was ... read more

Geo: 26.735, 88.4176Um 6:00 Uhr sind wir fertig mit der Nacht, fangen an zu packen und gehen noch schnell am Strassenstand etwas frühstücken. Dann geht es los und wir finden schnell einen Jeep nach Siliguri der auch tatsächlich schon voll ist und los fährt. Die Fahrt ist gewohnt holprig und obwohl ich mittlerweile einiges ab kann, ist mir ein wenig schlecht im Magen.So bin ich froh, als wir nach knapp 3 Stunden Serpentinen den Berg hinab endlich im Flachland sind – eben da, wo ein Hamburger hingehört. JIn Siliguri angekommen, finden wir sehr zu unserer Freude auch gleich das Unternehmen, welches mit gepflegten Bussen westlichen Standards aufwartet und ich denke für einen Moment, dass die Busfahrt gar nicht so schlimm sein wird in diesem Luxusgefährt. Aber wie sollte es anders sein – der Bus ist ausgebucht ... read more

After leaving Phnom Pehn I headed south to Shianoukville. Its a small beach city in the very south of Cambodia, that travelers say is how Thailand used to be before tourism took over. out the window on the the 4 hour bus ride we were shown the real Cambodia. Vast rice paddies and lotus flower farms. As we crept closer to the coast the rolling hills took over until we decended the last one and found ourselves there. I hopped on the back of a motorcycle and headed to the guesthouse. the most popular area for travelers was buzzing with people adn there ended up being a big group of us that had met along the way down Vietnam adn reconnected there. For the most part we explored the city, i had my first win (and ... read more

After the fun of Kolkata we hit the road to Puri, a "beach" town 12 hours south. Our train pulled in at 5:30am (never a good time of day to arrive in a strange town) to be greeted by a crazed rickshaw driver telling us that 2 local boys were after us with knives as big as our arms. But madam, for 50 rupees extra he would somehow be able to protect us from these nasty men - how exactly we don't know, but he assured us 50 rupees would cover the cost of our lives. We pondered this for 10 seconds, took a gamble that he was drunk and making it all up, and we lived to see another day. Phew! That was close! NOT a good first impression of Puri, and the Maoist rebel ... read more

I had originally wanted to go either to or from Darjeeling via the Toy Train, however my enthusiasm for this had waned, having heard tales of how frequently the 6 hour journey could become 8 or 9 hours, plus the route it follows is so close to the road that the views aren't much different. So instead I simply went to the station this morning and took a few photos. Later in the day, on my way back to Siliguri by Jeep, we passed the train coming up, maybe 6 hours into its journey - the passengers did not look as though they were still enjoying the experience. In order to be full of energy for the day ahead, I ordered chicken sausages in one of the cafes - and got 11 of the blighters. Though ... read more