1.8 A Very Loooooong Day

1/3/24 Friday 

In 1994, the Krishna Pranami Mandir in Siliguri beckoned, yet fate intervened. Fast forward to last night, and serendipity unfolded—it turns out the divine haven was merely 4-minutes away from our hotel. Seizing the opportunity, we rose with the sun, jumped in an auto rickshaw and basked in the divine presence to experience a long-awaited darshan.

Destiny has smiled on our journey throughout, weaving a tapestry of spiritual fulfillment.

Shree Krishna Pranami Mandir, Siliguri

A word about the Asian Highways that I wrote about yesterday. 

Asian Highway 2 runs from Indonesia to Iran

The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia to improve their connectivity via highway systems.

Agreements have been signed by 32 countries to allow the highway to cross the continent and also reach to Europe. Our National Highway 27 (Fulbari to Siliguri) and NH 327 (Panitanki to Siliguri) form part of AH 2 that runs from Indonesia to Iran.

Today is the last driving day of Leg 1 of our adventure. Our convoy of 5 cars departed from Siliguri at 8.15 am. 

After navigating challenging roads and construction zones, we arrived at our Guwahati hotel at 9:45 pm, following an epic 11.5 hour drive covering 427 kilometers! The anticipation is electric as we eagerly wait for the kickoff of our expedition with AO tomorrow. Adventure awaits!

The figures:

8.30 am Siliguri

10.45 am Diesel break 47.05 L - 95 kms

1.30 pm Lunch break at Bablu Dhaba, Barobisha, WB - 74 kms

5.30 pm Tea break

9.40 pm Vivanta Guwahati - 258 kms

Tolls paid today : Rs. 300

Total Tolls paid : Rs. 3425

Traveled today : 427 kms

Total distance covered : 2727 kms