Road trip to Nepal from Kolkata via Birganj and back in 12 days in November 2017

An IndianRoadie follower with wife and another couple drove to Nepal from Kolkata and back for a relaxed 12 days trip in their Maruti Swift Dzire Petrol in early November 2017.

Day 1: Kolkata (5.30am Dankuni toll plaza) - Muzaffarpur (6.30pm) via Asansol, Topchanchi, Barhi, Nawada, Biharsharief, Patna, Mahatma Gandhi Setu, Hajipur.

Day 2 : Muzaffarpur (6.30am) - Motihari - Raxaul border - Birganj - Chitwan (2.30pm).

Day 3 : Elephant safari + Jeep safari.

Day 4 : Chitwan (7.00am) - Pokhara (3.00pm).

Day 5: Pokhara sightseeing.

Day 6: Pokhara local.

Day 7: Pokhara (7.30am) - Kathmandu (3.00pm).

Day 8: Kathmandu and surroundings, viz. Bhaktapur, Patan, Sunset point.

Day 9: Kathmandu local sightseeing.

Day 10: Kathmandu (6.00am) - Birganj - Raxaul - Motihari - Muzaffarpur - Patna (7.00pm).

Day 11: Patna (6.30am) - Bodh Gaya (12 noon) .

Day 12: Bodh Gaya (9.30am) - lunch at Topchanchi - Asansol - Durgapur - Kolkata (7.30pm). 

Note:
NH19 is in excellent shape all along. 
NH31 after the Tilaiya Dam upto Biharsharief is in very bad shape with huge craters. They found atleast 6 - 8 trucks with broken axles in that stretch.
Bakhtiyarpur to Patna is toll road and a great pleasure to drive on.

Siliguri to Kolkata by car in 19 hrs on 2017-10-30

An Indian Roadie fan/ member took 19 hrs by car to drive Siliguri to Kolkata, a distance of barely 580 kms via #NH31, #NH34 on 2017-10-30.
Major part of Dalkhola to Baharampur is in pathetic condition.
He crossed Dalkhola railway level crossing (a nightmare) in less than 12 minutes.
The pain started thereafter with pathetic road conditions & absolute lawlessness.
It took 80 mins to cross Farakka Bridge.

I have noticed that the moment NH34, the #ShameOfBengal is highlighted, there's a lot of heartburns for some people on various forums. Some Bengal residents go hyper and even get aggressive while trying to justify that the negative state of affairs for a Kolkata - Siliguri drive is not as bad as perceived to be. Why is this behavior of remaining in denial so pronounced?
However, that's still no consolation.
I have been driving around India including on this Kolkata to Siliguri route since 1985 for professional reasons.
Prior to that it was with my dad atleast 10 odd times.
It's our shame/ disgrace since times immemorial! Let's admit that.

Let's go fishing on NH34 at Gobindapur, near Shantipur, Nadia district, West Bengal

Let's go fishing on NH34 at Gobindapur, near Shantipur, Nadia district, West Bengal.
Incidentally, Shantipur is famous for its Bengal Tangail Sarees.
The condition of the road has deteriorated to this extent in September 2014 as seen in the picture.
If you are planning a drive/ ride to North Bengal, Bhutan or the seven North Eastern sisters, be ready to embrace dips or fishing jaunts almost throughout the stretch of this 'highway'.
For the uninitiated, NH34 is the major lifeline of 434 kms between Kolkata and Dalkhola (West Bengal) via Ranaghat, Baharampur, Malda.
At Dalkhola, one meets NH31 (a part of the East - West corridor).
Road On Right (ROR) from Dalkhola: Siliguri via Islampur, Kishangunj.
Road On Left (ROL) from Dalkhola: Purnea (Bihar), Bhagalpur.