Darjeeling – Down memory lane Part IV

Darjeeling – Down memory lane Part IV

Day 4

Having wasted a precious day on my food poisoning, we had to make the most of the remaining trip in a jam packed itinerary. So we hired the hotel cab (hiring a cab comes out expensive in Darjeeling) & left for Mirik Lake. Since it had just rained, the ferns drizzle & greenery on the way looked splendid. The houses, whether big or small had plants potted & walls painted. A feature I noticed in every house on the way. Had hubby & I not fought on the way, Mirik, with its pine trees & clouds passing through the lake would have been a romantic paradise for us. 

Pic Courtesy: Google Search

But I will always remember this place as the place where we had our first serious fight (girls, they remember all the firsts!). So while hubby was fagging away to show off his anger, I was trying my best to attempt a long solitary walk on the bridge over the lake. I could see people enjoying boating & Pony rides while we 2 stood with fowl expressions on our face. It was best not to try anything more as we had paid for the cab & didn’t want to spoil the trip.

They say sometimes journeys are as beautiful as the destination itself. Such was the case with Darjeeling. Terrace gardens with corn all over, I didn’t know how much to stop & click. We stopped near the Nepal border area as I had not eaten at the good restaurants on the way, thanks to our fight. It had also begun to rain. We took rest in a small shop & I savored the best momos that even the best restaurants in Delhi wouldn’t serve. Soft, fresh & steaming hot, they were just the perfect thing on that rainy day. We gorged on momos & chai & hubby made up for the fight by pampering me with perfumes etc.

The way to Teesta & kalimpong is one of the most beautiful memories of my life.  Let me share a little secret. The reason why I had wanted to go to Darjeeling was that in the song “Pehla Nasha” from the movie “Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar”, I had seen Amir Khan enjoying & falling on tea plants & since childhood it was a secret wish to do the same.  And when I saw the tea plantations, I just shrieked “ooooooooh” like an overjoyed child! I went running towards the tea plants & fell on one of them. Mr. Hubby was surprised & laughing! He must’v been wondering what sort of a girl is this. Though now, he tells me he was concerned for the plants since I had fallen on the bunch! Men…

We had a longish photo session & a few meters ahead, we reached a place from where we could see Triveni Point, the point where river Rangeet meets Teesta. I have no words to describe how panoramic the view was so u can see these pics. The calm river Rangeet coming from Kanchenjunga meets the turbulent Teesta coming from Sikkim & the confluence is a treat to the eyes! A must visit. 

Triveni Point from the top

The driver told us, we were to go down to the Delta created by the confluence. Wow! I couldn’t wait. We crossed the Teesta Bridge & reached the Delta. It was monsoon time so the area wore a deserted look however; we were told that in summers, the place is a rafting aficionado’s haven. I have done rafting at Shivpuri as well, but Teesta was just too turbulent, with multiple rapids. I wish it was season time so that I could enjoy the rapids. We enjoyed some quality time together walking barefoot on the Delta’s wet sand & promised we would return someday & do rafting at Teesta.

Teeestaaaaaa!

It was evening when we reached Kalimpong & the driver had already warned us to keep everything quick coz we had be back to hotel before it got late. The nine hole Golf course there perhaps is the most scenic Golf course in the whole country!  The driver also took us to Kalimpong cactus garden which was a well maintained private property. We spotted some amazing varieties of cactus together at one place.

Golf Course

Golf Course

There is also a famous monastery at Kalimpong, the Tharpa Choling Monastry. The silence felt so relaxing & we wished we had more time. But had to cover it in just 20 minutes and hurried to a temple. It was getting dark & it was heartbreaking that I had come all the way from Delhi to Darjeeling & was missing out on Sikkim due to a wasted day of food poisoning. But the damage had been done. We reached hotel back in time for dinner but it had been a long & tiring day & before we knew, we had dozed off.
Read about the final day of the trip here...

Cactus at garden in Kalimpong

Monastry in Kalimpong