Sunderbans possible on Motorcycle?

praveenkm · Mar 23rd, 2009, 11:26

Hi All,

I have been doing solo bike trip from 9th March. Currently in Kolkata for bike service and some shopping.

Have been noting updates as http://praveenkm2.blogspot.com

Now i want to visit sunderbans before heading north towards Bhutan. As such i would request information regarding is it possible to Go till sunderbans on Motorcycle. If not till where can i take my bike and place the bike and excess luggege safely till i come back from Sunderbans. I heard that the boats to Gosoba ferries bikes as well. But not sure how big boats they are and what do i do with the bike after that.

Any info on the obove will be much appreciated

Thanks,
Praveen.

jyotirmoy · Mar 23rd, 2009, 12:08

You would be better off stowing your bike in Kolkata and take the suberban train to Canning and then head to Sunderbans.

chief61 · Mar 23rd, 2009, 13:49

Hi Praveen,

Yes , very much you can take your bike to Sunderdban,
atleast to Basanti , the Gateway of Sunderban.
Fantastic road from Kolkata to Basanti all the way,
Just Near the Science City on E.M.Bypass , follow the
Basanti expressway till you reach there , you can keep
deposit your bike there or carry over on launch till
Gosaba .

You will truly enjoy the beauty of this route on a bike.

By the way your blog is quite impressive,
Please update your blog as you are going
up to Bhutan , I will be driving till Thimpu
in April 2nd week and getting conflicting reports
on the Road coniditions of Bhutan.

Cheers

praveenkm · Mar 23rd, 2009, 16:20

Thanks Jyotirmoy, was thinking the same but exploring possibilities. Plus train will take more time as well.

@Chief61: Sounds very interesting. Where in basanti can i safely deposit the bike and luggage?

Glad you liked the blog and Will be updating further travel. Even i have heard of good and bad sections in Bhutan roads.

chief61 · Mar 23rd, 2009, 18:20

I think it will be easier for you to travel to
Gosaba , I have seen lot of Launches and Country
boats ferries motorbikes accross the River .

There are some Mid Range hotel at Gosaba,
where you can check in with your bike and
luggages .

It won't be difficult to find a place in Basanti
either.

Give me an update on NH34 and Bhutan roads when you
traverse through.

For more biking adventure through Bengal, I suggest
you must go through this fantastic website.

www.theroadrollers.com.

Cheers

praveenkm · Mar 29th, 2009, 21:42

Thanks for the tip guys. I been there now. Managed to take the bike till phakhirala..

Here the account of the days...

Link for the GPS trail.
March25 - EveryTrail

123 KMs

It was time to be on the move again. Decided on hitting sunderbans with still lot of doubts. But some how wanted to go with bike. But since i was carrying bare minimum things, the panniers would have been only hindrance especially with impending boat rides. So i removed the panniers for this sub ride. Hope i can fit it back as strong as before.

Got going by 10 am and out of Kolkata i expected alot of rural traffic. Inquired my way towards Basanti. One person said i have to spell it properly like "Baashonthi" else nobody will understand if i say basanti! Got the road and there was less traffic than expected. Ride through the rural WestBengal once again. But this area seems less populated with lot bettor roads. People also seemed vella compared to the previous areas i visited. It soon became a good ride in the country side with good roads and greenery around. Passed by many fish farms and brick production units. All the while inquiring if i can take the bike all the way to Sajnekhali, got couple of good affirmations and while others discouraged. Any way i wanted to take the bike till the last possible point. All the while making up my mind how ever be the boat ride will take the bike.

Soon i entered Basanti and asked my way till the boats for Gosaba. Man this jetti had steps with steep small incline in the center!. The more i seem to get ready for the much more it gets tricky and tough. I stand there like an idiot with a huge bike not knowing if i will cross the water and if not then what? go back of put the bike in some hotel in Gosoba or trust some 1. By then people had accumulated for the arriving boat. People say ya ya the bike can go get it till the boat. I was too apprehensive to take the bike down. By now an youth was interacting with me. Slowly he started saying about he lost some money and started sharing his problems with me. That got me uncomfortable for which i politely ignored and said things will get bettor and that i would not be able to give him a lift and instead will give him few bux he is feeling short of to get home.

Any way the youth took the bike's handle and slowly rolled down the bike along with the boat mans help. And before i realized the bike was on the boat! Man now there is no turning back. Spend a nervous 15 mins to get across the water and this time i managed to get the bike up not so steep ramps. Now i am off towards sajnekhali. Here no four wheelers ply on the island. all the roads are just some 5 feet wide, but still neat. Ride for some 20 mins in the small roads which even had an arrow stright section. Finally cam to Pakhirala and asked to boat man to take me and my bike to the Sajnekhali for which was impossible. One there was not ramp on the steps. The Sajnekhali island has just the tourist lodge right on the edge. Now i had to leave the bike somewhere there. The boat man had hotel near by and said i can park there and stay. Conveyed my intentions to stay at sajnekhali and requested to watch over my bike. Then catch the boat to Sajnekhali. If the bike aint there at the hotel when i go back then guess the ride is over!

Though i had no booking, get a room as out of 40 odd room mine was only the third! Was 3.30 am and no boating possible today it seems. Any way settle down in the room or just out side the room as it was hot hot hot hot. And electricity is only from 6PM to 6AM. The campus is awesome with fence around the non water edges to prevent tiger from entering! After the fence its just the raw mangrove forest. Tomm will be going for a full day boat ride. Laze the rest of the day around the campus. Spend some time on the watch tower at the rear staring at the mangrove forest for miles and miles ahead. Gotta get up early tomm.

Nice roads towards Basanti

Lot of brick manufacturing establishments...

And fish culturing...

Cant believe the load on the boat!

Riding throught the West bengal villages

The great water crossing!

Dizzing incline to move the bike!

Catch some mud skippers while i wait for the boat.

This guy was not really leaving the bike. Intent on getting a lift. Helped him by 20 bux and politely told him i would not take him along!

Narrow roads in Gosaba island...

Narrow and arrow straigt!

Trust my bike here at pakhirala... cant take the bike further any more...

Then i catch a boat to hop to the sajnekhali island...

The rooms in a row...

the dorms..

My wooden room.

Boy was it hot. Power/Fan available only from 6pm to 6am!

Some evening photography...

Day18 - Sunderbans boat ride

Boat ride trail
March26 - EveryTrail

Quite a disturbing sleep due to the heat. Wake up early and go straight to the watch tower at the back of the campus. Mangrove forest is pretty strange with nothing but soft clay on the floor and tall bushes or short trees of around the same height. Its the same for miles and miles. The campus is fenced and many times Tiger has been spotted around the campus.

After breakfast my boat man arrives and we get done with the formalities of forest office permission for me, the boat man and a guide. We sail to pakhirala to get stuff so that food can be prepared on the boat. By the time we actually start its 9.30 and temperature picking up really fast. The guide Subhendu starts of with a lot of gyan about the place. All in Bengali! good that i can understand bengali. Lot of negotiations to enter the core areas yielded no result. Even with further prompts i was politely declined. The Tide is going up and water is almost at the tree level. Not very convenient factors for Wildlife spotting. We start of with some with some wind which created waves and rocked a boat a bit. The boat man bit concerned tough not worried. It soon starts rain lightly! Looked like a very bad day to be out there. Later the weather improves. Thanks to the rain its bit cool and also cloudy for the rest of the day. Could see the water level residing.

Then on we sail towards Dobanki and it got pretty boring for a while. I was having short naps sitting on the watch! Cos there was nothing but water and bushes. Reached Dobanki by lunch time and walked on the canopy walk to the watch tower. It was pretty hot and no praises to guess that could not spot anything. Have lunch at the boat. They take a lil narrower route on the way back. Now that the water level had reseaded quite a bit could see the land and raised the interests. Interesting formation of the soft clay leading up to the bushes. Nothing much say about that but it was awesome sailing slowly on the canals between islands.

Reached Sadhanukhali again for an evening try and see that water level has reseeded like more than 20 feet compared to when we had come in the morning. And i thought it would hardly be 3-4 feet. This time the weather is good and it is good time for spotting says the guide. Sure enough we spotted the spotted dear from the observation tower, along with wild bores. Spend a good one hour and no luck so it was time to head back. Sighting or no sighting, the evening was truly amazing and enjoyed every bit of it. The Guide told me a couple of stories of the way he has seen tiger and some incidents. Even heard one had been inside the tourist campus a couple of days back!

Any way leaving sunderbans tomm to calcutta. Hope that the bike is still there where i left it and again hope that i would be able to get the bike up the steep jetti at Gasoba.

Solar panels at the Sajnekhali resort.

Staring at the Mangrove forest..

Thats my boat...

Kitchen cum Engine room.

Going to SudhanaKhali watch tower.

Some land has been cleared so that viewers can see the animals...

With high tide, nothing but water and bushes.

Rain man!

With receding water level can now see some land..

If not the big cats how about the small cats...

Any forest spotted dear can be easily spotted! This one swam across the river..

Water going down and more land showing up...

Thats me, Karthik the boat man and Shubendu the Guide...

Tiger foot prints...

Saw pug marks and wanted to turn the boat around to go back. It kinda got stuck on the bank. The guys were really worried that if a tiger was around it would jump on the boat!

The pub marks hardly a day old. Cos the marks gets washed away in couple of tides.

At Shudhanakhali view point again...

Wild friends. When ever the deer reached for the leaves the monkey used to push down the branch. Else the deer could not have reached it! Have a VDO of it will try to upload.

Awesome evening at Sunderbans...

Day 19 - Sajnekhali to Kolkata...

GPS Trail...
March27 - EveryTrail

Trip meter so far 3382

Got up lazily as i had nothing to do but get myself to calcutta. Cos any more boat ride and it would set me back too much in money. Also had two worries. Weather my bike will be there and if its there, how do i get it up the steep ramp at Gosaba.

Was also not feeling well, with whole night sleep i was feeling weak and felt like resting for more time. But knew once on bike i would be alright and riding heals!. Have got on to the bike before in much bad shape and few mins into riding i felt fine

.

Go the watch tower behind the hotel for one last look at the Sunderbans. Its just forest just outside the fence. Have a lazy breakfast, collect myself and check out the room. The care takers wish me luck for my further trip. I had let them know that i am on a big bike trip. I get to the gate and the Subhendu, my previous boat ride guied was there and he announced about my ride to near by people. The same old curious questions to which i answered politely. After hearing all the tiger stories of Sunderbans, may i left a story about a crazy guy who came in bike all the way from bangalore to pakhirala, blew some money alone on a boat ride and left! Cos the previous day by the time our boat reached the SudhanaKhali watch tower, a boat man near by had already heard my story!

Bid farewell for the cheerful crowd waited for my boat to Pakhirala. Got there a bit nervous and when i went to the Apanjan hotel, yeppie my bike is still standing there. Though i was assured by many people that bike would be safe but still it was at the mercy of strangers for 2 days. Gave the owner 150 bux though he might not have expected as much. But had requested me to stay in his hotel for a day. Any way again the same announcement about my ride and the owner was taking pride in saying that my bike was at his place. Shook hands with him and went towards other side of Gosaba for the impending boat ride! With people who rarely spot motorcycle on the island they see a black 'new model' bike with black attaired rider and were surprised like hell. Caught up with the donation collection boys whome i had met the other day. They were over joyed to see me hehe. shook hands with me and told me to come again.

Now i maneuver through the narrow streets and present myself at the boat ghat, where there was a boat already full of people. I was told to put bike in now itself. The boat man sterny says 25 Rs it will be, expecting my disapproval, but i am like anything boss just get my bike on the other side! Thanks to the high tide, the boat at the top most step. Not much man power, and i had to spend my limited muscular resources! With a couple of scares of falling into water bike was in the midst of overcrowd boat and i sat on the boat with my feet anchoring the bike to compensate the sways. Again i was the talk of the boat.

Reached the other side and scare came alive. Though it was high tide, the topmost and steep ramp of 6-7 steps had to be climbed. No sooner did the boat stop and people got off the next batch of people wanted to get in. Managed to turn around the bike on the boat just before people hurried in to secure their seat on the boats edges. Got the bike of the boat. Could understand their difficult cos 1) the bike is heavy and 2) there is nothing to hold. Was afraid that they might use plastic or the box mounts for the lifting. But the patient boat men listened to me as to where to lift. pointed them at the swing arm and front tire.
Now i had to put the bike in gear and manage the drive up. Since it was too steep at one point the bike stood on engine! Somehow managed to get it up and breathed a sigh relief. Yeppie back on the main land.

Then on it was pretty comfortable ride till calcutta. Lot of empty stretches of road. Since the bike did not have boxes and luggage, handled really well. Once i get o cal the boxes will be on. So made use of this ride to do some spirited riding and ripping. Get into cal by 1.30pm and then it was some traffic surfing and to my friend's place. Tiger or not the Sunderbans trip was awesome the landscape very unique and the experience was great.

Off to Siliguri tomm. Its going to be hard to make it in a day but thinking of giving it a run. After hot beaches, its time for cold mountains....

one last look at the Mangrove forest..

Waiting for my boat to pakhirala wondering if my bike is still there...

Fellow island hoppers...

Hurray the bike is still there...

with one worry over i ride through the picturesque gosaba island thinking about the impending boat ride...

ride through gosaba streets..

On the boat and center of attraction...

Oh man that incline...

Boy am i glad to be on the main land rubber side down!

Ride through the villages near basanti

Curious kids...

who needs expensive theme parks

Rare empty road towards Kolkata

Before i put back the panniers. This is how i am carrying the spare rear sprocket!

Btw now i am in Bhutan. Any suggestions for places is very much appreciated.

praveenkm · Mar 29th, 2009, 21:45

Day 17 - Kolkata to Sajnekhali

Link for the GPS trail.
March25 - EveryTrail

123 KMs

It was time to be on the move again. Decided on hitting sunderbans with still lot of doubts. But some how wanted to go with bike. But since i was carrying bare minimum things, the panniers would have been only hindrance especially with impending boat rides. So i removed the panniers for this sub ride. Hope i can fit it back as strong as before.

Got going by 10 am and out of Kolkata i expected alot of rural traffic. Inquired my way towards Basanti. One person said i have to spell it properly like "Baashonthi" else nobody will understand if i say basanti! Got the road and there was less traffic than expected. Ride through the rural WestBengal once again. But this area seems less populated with lot bettor roads. People also seemed vella compared to the previous areas i visited. It soon became a good ride in the country side with good roads and greenery around. Passed by many fish farms and brick production units. All the while inquiring if i can take the bike all the way to Sajnekhali, got couple of good affirmations and while others discouraged. Any way i wanted to take the bike till the last possible point. All the while making up my mind how ever be the boat ride will take the bike.

Soon i entered Basanti and asked my way till the boats for Gosaba. Man this jetti had steps with steep small incline in the center!. The more i seem to get ready for the much more it gets tricky and tough. I stand there like an idiot with a huge bike not knowing if i will cross the water and if not then what? go back of put the bike in some hotel in Gosoba or trust some 1. By then people had accumulated for the arriving boat. People say ya ya the bike can go get it till the boat. I was too apprehensive to take the bike down. By now an youth was interacting with me. Slowly he started saying about he lost some money and started sharing his problems with me. That got me uncomfortable for which i politely ignored and said things will get bettor and that i would not be able to give him a lift and instead will give him few bux he is feeling short of to get home.

Any way the youth took the bike's handle and slowly rolled down the bike along with the boat mans help. And before i realized the bike was on the boat! Man now there is no turning back. Spend a nervous 15 mins to get across the water and this time i managed to get the bike up not so steep ramps. Now i am off towards sajnekhali. Here no four wheelers ply on the island. all the roads are just some 5 feet wide, but still neat. Ride for some 20 mins in the small roads which even had an arrow stright section. Finally cam to Pakhirala and asked to boat man to take me and my bike to the Sajnekhali for which was impossible. One there was not ramp on the steps. The Sajnekhali island has just the tourist lodge right on the edge. Now i had to leave the bike somewhere there. The boat man had hotel near by and said i can park there and stay. Conveyed my intentions to stay at sajnekhali and requested to watch over my bike. Then catch the boat to Sajnekhali. If the bike aint there at the hotel when i go back then guess the ride is over!

Though i had no booking, get a room as out of 40 odd room mine was only the third! Was 3.30 am and no boating possible today it seems. Any way settle down in the room or just out side the room as it was hot hot hot hot. And electricity is only from 6PM to 6AM. The campus is awesome with fence around the non water edges to prevent tiger from entering! After the fence its just the raw mangrove forest. Tomm will be going for a full day boat ride. Laze the rest of the day around the campus. Spend some time on the watch tower at the rear staring at the mangrove forest for miles and miles ahead. Gotta get up early tomm.

Nice roads towards Basanti