Dhaka to Sajek Ride

At the onset I would like to thank MotorcycleValley for giving me the opportunity to share my story again. Earlier I shared the 3500 km riding experience of my Lifan KPR 165 bike, today I am going to tell my Dhaka to Sajekar travel story.

I have spent lots of time with a bike, and it feels good to give a tour with bikes. The story I am going to tell today about the Sajek Tour was stuck for a long time as I didn’t have any high CC bike. Small tours were occasional, but experienced riders say it's best not to ride with a high cc bikes when we are heading to hills, or for a long distance ride for days. Consequently. I had to wit and after waiting for a long time, my Dhaka to Sajek bike ride was finally completed 2 months ago. Last August (2021), my friend Istiaq and I went for three days’ tour to Sajak (including heading ways), which is one of the tourist destinations in Bangladesh. Guess what? Our ride to take us there was my Lifan KPR 165. Let me share with you my experience of how, how many days and how the journey experience was.

Packing:

We were heading to sajek for 3 days’ tour, so we had very light packing. The excitement was too much; it's been my turn to go so far with my bike, till date I used to see others. So, I didn't pack too much, since I had to ride with a pillion, which is why except for the necessary water, accessories and clothes nothing much was in my bag. Stay as light as possible. I would think differently if it was a solo ride.

Bike checking:

I had serviced the whole bike before the day we were about to leave, although I didn't have to do much because the bike was new. Tire pressure, plug, nut-bolts, chain checking etc.

Safety:

None of us are regular travelers or professionals, which is why we didn't have much safety gears in our stock. But anyway, Safety First. That is why we wore thick jeans and thick knee guards inside. The shoes were of good quality and the gloves as well. Both of us have used helmets throughout the journey.

Now the journey begins.

Day 1:

After planning and plotting for several days, my friend Istiaq and I decided to combine our days for the journey. At 6 o'clock in the morning we left Gulsan-1 by taking the name of Allah. The fuel tanker does carry about 16 liters of fuel, so I just loaded to its capacity. After finishing all our work, we left Dhaka at around 7 in the morning with the intention of Sajek. The plan was to run our bike according to our mood, I mean changing hands during ride, and I started. I already had “No Rush Riding” thinking in my head and for that we didn’t set any such time to reach the place. We reached Comilla by crossing the road at an average speed and about 120 km. Around 9.30 we were there. We took a break, changed the rider and started the journey again to Baraihat Bazar, from there we have to go to Khagrachari. 80 km road, took about 1.5 hours to reach.

2/3 km from Baraihat Bazar or maximum 5 km from Baraihat, we will reach Koberhat Bazar and from there on the right hand side we have go to Khagrachari road, which will take us to Sajek. However, a little before we went to Kaberhat, we forgot the road and went straight for about 10 kilometers. After a while I see all people are shouting Feni, I also see Feni in front in the road markings. I told Istiaq that something went wrong. Looking at the map again, I stopped the bike and came back and took the right path to Khagrachari. One thing is very important to remember that this 4/5 km road from Baraihat to Koberhat is very bad in condition.

Well, you can go to Khagrachari in two ways. The road is about 35 kilometers through Jaliapara. Another is about 50 km by the New Mohalchhari road. We took the long road go to Khagrachari through my new mohalchhari, because the condition of the road is quite good and the natural beauty is mashallah. While taking pictures, and standing several times we rode our way to Khagrachari.

The plan was to stay in Khagrachari beforehand, according to that plan, we have ridden slowly and enjoyed a lot. Because if you want to go to Sajek in one day, you have to maintain 2 times for your own safety. The fact is that the Army Squad takes you to Sajek with a guide and protection, so the locals cannot attack you while you are traveling alone on a hilly road for a long time. They don't take bike or car but money, phone all you have. So when we went to Sajek, the army took us to the top of Sajek with a squad once at 10 am and once at 3 pm.

However, we reached Khagrachari after about 4 pm, we stopped many times, and it was raining so late. In fact, it does not take so long as we spent. If you want, you can go before 3 o'clock and catch the army squad. We checked in to a hotel. Very good bike parking is available in almost all hotels. You will find several high quality hotels in Khagrachari, and there is also safety due to being a tourist area. The mindset of the people in the hilly areas are very immense, I got the proof of this on this trip. Everyone in Khagrachari are very friendly, the quality of food is good, the price is not too high and most importantly you are safe at night. We spent a lot of time sightseeing the city on bike and after about 11 o'clock we reached the hotel. We met many people, it was raining a lot, we were waiting for the night to pass and then the sajek seems nearby.

Day 2:

With a lot of excitement all night we had many thing going on our head. Many people said be careful on steep roads, don't use double brakes together, maintain the bike at 1/2 gear, always thinking about these things, we fell asleep for some time and in the morning we left the hotel for joining the army camp Dighinala, Baghaihat at 10 am. You can say it is the border to go to Sajek. This is where the army took us to Sajek. The journey started at 10 o'clock. First they lined up the bikes and let the bikers leave together. Finaly Sajek! At first Istiaq was driving, I was sitting and having fun, I saw many people driving on their own, I also thought then why am I left out. There were also several Lifans. So, I just took the riding seat.

Looking at the front, I was really fascinated, somewhere steep roads, somewhere we see the jungle and somewhere no one is with you, only you your bike and the valley. There were also straight roads, where I overtook several vehicles on purpose. I speeded up the bike because I want to go alone. Cars and bikes also come from the other side and the road is quite tiny as a 2-way road. I left behind Pulsar, RTR, Fazer, and other, then me and my friend was riding alone and enjoying the scenario. Suddenly a Lifan overtook and left, Lifan Lifan Bhai Bhai! so I didn't say anything else, it okay.

It takes about 1 hour from the army camp to reach the village of Ruilui in Sajek. But the biggest fear and trouble is when more cars come from the other side. I would say everyone should ride on the left side, I have done the same, you will get benefit in the corners. Enjoying the last corner, where I saw the writing “Sajek 3 km”, looked pretty good, but the road just turned my head! A road that is completely steep, even if it is not 90 degrees, it will be 50/60 degrees. The bike has the pillion, baggage, steep road and me. You have to run with two brakes, or else you will not have balance. This 3 km road was a big challenge for me to cross. Leaving the brakes, pulls my bike backwards, what I do? Seeing the good power response of the bike, I started to get up slowly, but after a while I told my friend that we have a little way to go, the peak can be seen by walking a little, I was afraid if he fell. But nothing happened. he got off the bike and pushed the bike for some time and walked. Finally, we were up on top. This was my first ride so I just struggled a bit. Hopefully next time it won’t happen.

Many hotels and resorts are placed on the top. You can book in advance, even if you don't, relax. However, if you go during the peak season, you must book. Staying one-night max 2 nights is enough for sajek. There are many hotels on both sides of the hill. Bangladesh view and India view are beautiful on both sides, but Indian view is more crowded. This is because you will always see clouds there. However, we had already booked a hotel, but could not find that. That's why we got into another one. It was safe to keep the bike there. The arrangements were good. Leaving the bike, we started walking around after taking rest. I tried to climb the hill with the bike, but it was not possible as the road was muddy in the rain water. Enjoyed a lot, spent time with good people, spent time eating good foods and most importantly enjoyed the nature. It was night by then while we enjoyed a lot. Time to get back home the next day.

Day 3:

On the 3rd day we woke up in the morning and now it was my return back home, so we were in a hurry. With so much joy, with so much trouble coming so far, now it's time to leave. The same Army Squad will take us from here at 10 in the morning. The journey began, hands on the head again, oh that 3 kilometers! We got up, but this time it was the turn to go down. Allah vorosha! I started the journey slowly, we got down very slowly and ended up with a lot of difficulty. Occasionally you will find a tea stall (Tong) on the side of the road, there are some places where you will also find a place standby and rest. We reached Dighinala, Baghaihat Army Camp in 1 hour. Now we know the whole road. So, we went straight to Khagrachari. Arriving there we ate, picked up fuel and took a short break. Since the road is very familiar and the mindset of returning home we did not take much time to go directly to Comilla. It was evening when we reached Dhaka. On the way we didn’t took so many breaks and no trouble we face. That is why there is nothing much to say about the returning journey. The road we went on was covered in a short time.

Those who will go for the first time must remember:

- Take fuel from Dhaka and maintain the quality. There are petrol pumps on the way to Khagrachari, but very few. You will get many up to Comilla. Although the road from Dighinala, Baghaihat Army to Sajak is very short, you will not find any pumps or mechanic.

- You will get oil in a bottle at sajek. Those who are more aware of oil must keep this in mind.

- From Khagrachhari, your ATM booth option is almost closed, you can keep cash or bKash nearby. Sajeke will offer more or less everything except the booth.

- You will find many teal stalls (Tong) on the way, but it is better to keep your essentials with you.

- Since I have already taken the pillion with me, I will say that there is no problem in taking the someone, but it is better to keep the luggage and packing a little lighter. If the bike is light, you will get some benefits in the hilly roads.

- Robi network is the best on top of sajek.

This was my short story of Dhaka to Sajek. I didn’t check the mileage at all, as always. I got very good speed and power response from my Lifan bike. I am wishing and willing to do more tours with my bike. Hopefully something new will be shared again.

Thanks for reading.