Dussehra/Durga Puja was round the corner and we had no plans to utilize the holidays. We were prepared to enjoy pujas in the 'City of Joy'.
As many of you may know, Durga Puja is celebrated in Bengal in a big way and it is worth roaming the streets of Kolkata during this time of the year.
Also, it is the time you can get at least 4-5 holidays, good enough for a road trip. We opted for the latter.
It had been three months since our last road trip and Bhavneet's (my wife) hectic work schedule had her craving for a trip to the hills. A week before the holidays, we planned our itinerary to North Sikkim as follows:
Day 1 - Kolkata - Siliguri - Mangan
Day 2 - Mangan - Lachung
Day 3 - Lachung - Yumthang - Zero Point - Lachung - Lachen
Day 4 - Lachen - Thangu Valley - Gurudongmar Lake - Lachen - Siliguri
Day 5 - Siliguri - Kolkata
However, this is not what we actually did.
Day 0/1 - Kolkata to Darjeeling
I finished with work early on Wednesday the 27th of September and got back home to pack our bags. We left from home in the evening. For various reasons we were in a very flexible state of mind about our trip. Sometimes we thought of cancelling our trip altogether since we were going to miss friends and family time. Also, Bhavneet had an early morning flight to catch on 3rd October which was turning us against the hectic itinerary for 5 days (28th Sept to 2nd Oct). In spite of these thoughts constantly coming up we went on.
We started from Azad Hind Dhaba on NH2 after dinner at around 8:30 PM. Drove through the night. Both of us felt sleepy as day light came and decided to take a nap at a petrol pump on the Botalbari route. Had a good sleep for 1.5 hours. Once we were near Islampur we stopped for breakfast and to refuel. The major highlights of the drive were the bad roads near Khargram to Panchgram - nearly 25 kms. And the road near Raiganj till the Botalbari road - nearly 20 kms.
We reached Siliguri and saw a board with directions to
Darjeeling and suddenly we started making an alternative plan. We parked the car and asked the cops at the nearest crossing about the state of bandh at Darjeeling. We had heard about the bandh being lifted just a day back. The police did not say anything different from that. I called Sherpa Chalet, Sandakphu and then Dekeling Hotel, Darjeeling. Both confirmed that the bandh was lifted and it was safe to travel.
On Wednesday, September 27, 2017 The Gurkha Janmukti Morcha had called off the indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling after 104 days during which normal life in the hills remained paralysed. When we last left Kolkata on June 14, 2017 for a planned trip to Darjeeling we had to proceed to Sikkim instead because of the indefinite bandh called from Monday, June 12, 2017.
Here was an opportunity to start off again where we had left off. We decided that we would stay at Darjeeling for a day or two and then move to Sandakphu.
Darjeeling has a very special place in our life as my Grandparents had spent their entire working career there. My Dad and his brothers were brought up there. So if there is a holiday and a drive to the hills is a possibility, Darjeeling is a default destination for us. Listening to the age old stories from Dad never bores us.
We reached Dekeling Hotel at around 12 PM (28th September).
Why Dekeling? - I had randomly come across this place when we had planned to go to Darjeeling in June. I booked it and around then the talks of the bandh started. I was skeptical and called the management to confirm if it was okay to plan a holiday at Darjeeling then. Earlier they confirmed that it would not be a problem but a day or two before the trip they called us to cancel the booking. They were apologetic and told us to visit some other time. We were sad to hear that we could not go to Darjeeling and planned the old silk route instead. Therefore, when we now planned Darjeeling, Dekeling was the first to strike my mind.
The receptionist at the hotel gave us a warm welcome and showed us the choices of rooms they had. On asking for a car parking the receptionist told us about the Dekeling Resort at Hawk's Nest. We then thought of having a look at the rooms there also. We were offered a 30% discount as the bandh was just lifted and to probably attract customers.
The Resort was beautiful and one look at the room made us decide against going anywhere else. It is worth mentioning here that the Hotel itself is a very nice and clean place to stay. The resort is a bit more premium.
It was a moment of mixed emotions for me as I made the entry in the resort register. The last entry made was on the 14th of June, after which I made mine, dated 28th of September.
We were offered a welcome drink (Darjeeling tea) and soon had lunch at the Resort. We rested till around 5 in the evening. At 5 we asked them for a car to take us down to the market area. We did a bit of window shopping and then went to Glenary's for dinner. We got back to the resort by 8 PM and slept soon to be up early for the Tiger Hill visit.
Dad's school on the way to the Hotel The room at the Dekeling Resort Welcome Drink Lunch with a view At Glenary's in the evening Streets at night Day 2 - 29th September - At Darjeeling
As planned the day before, we got up by 3:30 AM and were off to Tiger Hills by 4 AM. We got confused with the route but finally followed a Tavera Taxi to the destination.
To our surprise there were more people there than we expected. We were not lucky enough to witness the sun rise or the Kanchenjunga peak. We took some pictures, had tea, chatted with few tourists and finally decided to head back.
At Batasia loop, we stopped in front of the Gorkha War Memorial to have the freshly made pakodas. They were delicious. We had another cup of tea and then thought of making a quick round of the War Memorial. There were local dresses being rented out at the War Memorial and Bhavneet tried one out. St Paul's School (where my uncle studied) was not too far from the resort. We drove to the school on our way back to the resort but were not allowed beyond the gate.
At Tiger Hill At Batasia Loop St Paul's School
We got back to the resort and rested. We planned to go to the Botanical garden and the Zoological Park in the afternoon.
We left at 1:30 after clicking few pictures at the resort.
Few clicks at the resort
The room door on the left and the parking on the right. This is after a steep climb from the main road.
View from the resort