Pujo Vacation 2019: Dooars and Darjeeling
Autumn happens to be the time when the dark, heavy monsoonal clouds have disappeared and made their way to bright blue skies that shimmer with wisps of cottony, feather like clouds. It also brings in kash flowers, the sound of the dhaak, carnivals and that of Goddess Durga. Autumn is nostalgic and brings with it memories: of travel, of teenage love, of dew on grasses and of mouth watering food. During the Pujos, we visited Buxa and Darjeeling. Both these travels are documented as part of the same post.
Since my hometown is in Cooch Behar, I make it a point to visit the place atleast once in a year. This year, though, I had visited it multiple times - owing to the trip to Shillong and subsequently Arunachal, where we had stopped over at Cooch Behar - reasons being home comfort and also meeting with relatives. Also right after the Pujas a family gathering was coming up and we thought of spending a few days at home, taking in the slow pace of life and also to relax. Our house, built in the mid-ninetees, is very typical of those you find in North Bengal. Big rooms that let in ample sunlight, next door neighbours with whom you holler to say "How do you do?", a bazaar that sells fresh produce from the fields and country chickens and young goat (kochi patha). A visit to Cooch Behar is like a vacation, one that I hardly get to avail of nowadays.
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| Road passing through the Buxa Forest |
We started from home at 8 in the morning. Buxa is almost 50 kms away from Cooch Behar and took almost an hour and a half to reach. There is a forest entry checkpost where one needs to get a ticket for the vehicle and the passengers. Most of the tourists were from the southern part of our state. Once the checkpost is crossed, the road becomes narrow and one can hear the chirping of birds and crickets and insects. The car window was rolled down and the cool, crisp morning air started to fill up the car cabin. It was on this very road a few years back, in the same car that we encountered a rogue elephant. That was a journey with friends in the early days of when I had taken my first steps to 'long distance driving'. There are numerous banners stating "drive slow" or "elephant corridor" and one needs to keep a watch for the same.
After a few minutes we encountered a junction. The road towards the right goes to Jayanti and the straight road goes to Buxa. We wanted to go to Buxa first. At Santalabari we parked the car at a spot and enquired about how to reach Buxa fort and found that you needed to pay Rs 280 for a guide (way to create local employment). They not only take you to the Buxa fort, but also a little higher to the Lepchakha village. The way to fort takes a little more than an hour and a half and has superb views of the Dooars forests. The fort itself is disappointing - most of it being in ruins. Those wanting to venturing out a little further, can stay the night at Lepchakha and then trek towards Rupam valley. These hills are in the proximity of Bhutan and you won't even know when you are entering in Bhutan and coming back to India.
A few minutes into the trek, the skies started to darken and it rained. And so, we paused at a road side shop for a tea break. The walk is easy and coming down was even faster. Started the car and we took the road towards Jayanti. The Jayanti river bed is mostly dry with some shallow channels of the Jayanti river. A few vehicles had crossed the river bed towards the hills of the other side where one can visit a temple.It was almost 5 PM that we returned home but not before we purchased a fresh from the river Katla fish that was going to be the dinner for the night.
A trip to Darjeeling doesn't warrant a post. But since I thought of writing the Puja vacations leaving out Darjeeling didn't make much sense. Out of the several forays to Darjeeling, some have found a way into this blog, like Winter 2017 visit to Darjeeling or The Motorcycle ride to Tonglu and Darjeeling . We had also explored the Chamong Tea Garden in 2018 and it remained one of the offbeat places we had explored. The photos are the same, the activities are the same, but then there are somethings timeless and Darjeeling is a timeless place.
Out of the 'firsts' that we did in Darjeeling, we took the Rohini road for the first time travelling in a car. Previously I had travelled to Darj taking the Peshok road mostly because those were trips taken from either Sikkim or Kalimpong hills. And stopped at Margarets Deck for a quick sip and bite. Darjeeling tea and warm cakes overlooking a misty valley.
We were booked at Sinclairs Darjeeling. I felt that the rooms were slightly smaller in size but you could see the Kanchenjunga range. Took bath and ordered for some coffee and cheese toasts. When the sun was setting we took a walk towards the mall and speaking of the mall the road took us towards Glenarys. We spent the next 3 hours in Glenarys. Son loves listening to the songs and we love enjoying the warm ambience with great food and music.
The next day we hadn't planned for anything. So took it easy. Had a nice breakfast and headed towards Takdah and Tinchuley. Wish I had the photos from the drive. As one takes the road towards Takdah the gradually sloping road turns dark and misty with tall trees that are typical of the Darjeeling hills. The same road goes towards Tinchuley-Lamahatta-Chota Mangwa and Bara Mangwa: all sweet little villages on the slopes of the Himalayas. There are flowers of various colours blooming. The few vehicles that were coming up the road had switched on their headlights, whose beams were smeared with the thick fog. It was almost 1 PM when we reached Takdah looking for lunch. But none of the food joints were open because it was the festival of 'Dashain' (or may be the day after). Saw that there were some superb bungalows at Takdah where one can stay overnight. Especially the 'Bungalow No. 12' - but its a tricky climb in a small car. We had a nice lunch of hot rice and dal and egg curry and then returned to Darjeeling around 4 ish in the evening.
That night again we visited Glenarys - same routine. Next day we reached Malda where we stayed overnight at Golden Park and then reached Kolkata the day after. Thus, the Puja vacation came to an end.
