Day 25 (May-6) : Toy train and on to Gangtok

Toy train at Batasia Loop at Ghoom

We left out hotel quite early hoping to take the joy ride to Ghoom and back. However after reaching the railway station we were told that tickets had all been sold out. The booking opens 90 days in advance!! We decided to drive to Ghoom and see the train at Batasia Loop there.

Since we reached Ghhom ahead of time, we decided to have lunch at a roadside dhaba. The momos there were excellent! Then we went up to the Batasia Loop. The train track turns 360 degree and passes under itself, all within less than a Km. It was fun watching the train.

By the time we started for Gangtok, it was 2:00 PM. So dad drove fast in an attempt to reach Gangtok before night. He descended a bit too fast down to Teesta river. Due to continuous hard braking on corners, the brakes became so hot that they started smoking. When we realized that we stopped for them to cool. It took more than 30 minutes but the spot had a good view of Teesta.

By the time we reached Gangtok, it was getting dark. We did not realize that The Club Mahindra hotel, Royal Deemazong was around 12 Km further. We kept asking for direction and very few people knew the place. Finally we found a taxi that was going in that direction and followed it. It was totally dark by that time and drizzling. After a turn, all the lights of Gangtok disappeared from our view and we were worried whether we were really on right track. We finally reached the hotel by around 8:30 PM after some really anxious moments.

The Batasia Loop

Tea pickers at a tea farm

View of Teesta river

My mom waiting for the car brakes to cool down

Trying a self portrait :)

Day 23, 24 (May-4 and 5) : Kurseong and Darjeeling

We left Shantiniketan early in the morning. A very interesting thing I observed, whenever we needed to find the road, someone or the other needed the lift to that very place! We came out of Shantiniketan, using the guidance of the old man, whom we had given lift. The journey as quiet pleasant at first. As we reached the chicken neck part, the road became narrow and congested. We reached Siliguri around 5:00 PM and continued on to Darjeeling.

Within 10 Km of climbing the foothills, it started to rain. My god! How it rained! The sky got lit up by lightening every now and then. The bolts of electric discharge were bigger than ever! We could hardly see anything on the road. Then, we entered a bridge and got in to a Jam. We were on it for 20 minutes or so. Then, we got to know that a huge tree had collapsed. A guy completely wet and cold in the rain asked us for a lift. He looked, pretty weird with some shady text written on his shirt. We reluctantly took him in. He could hardly talk. I was sitting back with him. I soon realized that the guy probably didn't understand a thing what was written on his shirt  and we were judging him by that L He had become very cold, due to which, he couldn't speak properly. He guided us to Kursiong by an alternate path. The ride to Kursiong in driving rain was a bit scary. We lived in a WBTDC hotel there. The food was good and especially the momos. The service was quite good too. The best thing is that we seemed to be the only people there

We left Kursiong early the next day. The road to Darjeeling was okay. We did however end up in a long traffic jam. At a point, we entered a narrow gully and a huge jeep entered from the front. As the cleaner, I had to get down and guide dad in reverse out of the gully.

At Darjeeling, the WBTDC hotel was okay. The location was good but half the things in the menu were not available. When went to shop in the afternoon. Well, if you ever go to Darjeeling, pray don't ever eat continental or Chinese food there!

We should have stuck to momos. We went to Nathmulls to taste Darjeeling tea. I tasted the best quality pearl tea. Mom thought that it tasted like hot water. Papa, also didn't like it much and stuck with his basil tea. Mom too enjoyed her Ruby tea. I however, loved my tea. Its splendid aroma finds way to your heart through the nostrils. You must not take gulps of this tea though. Let it stand on your tongue, Savour the flavor. Let it slip down your throat. The smell of the tea actually gives a smooth feeling, reminding me of pearls(real pearls mind it!!).

Tomorrow we will go on a toy train to Batasia loop and back. Well if you want to come to hill-station to just relax a bit and tell others about it, Darjeeling may seem a good place. However, if you are like me, you may not enjoy the crowd here much. It must have been a very nice place a few years back but not now L I like things, which focus mainly on the core (in this case, mountains). I am hardcore in that sense, I am ready to live on a very rundown place for a good view

Driving through villages near Shantiniketan

Some more villages

Jam on the road to Darjeeling due to rains. You can also see the person I mentioned, standing in the rain.

Road to Darjeeling. You can see the train track next to it

View from Darjeeling

Darjeeling Tea Party :)

Roses

Day 22 (May-3) : Shantiniketan - Rabindranath’s dream

   After leaving Kolkata, we went to Shantiniketan. NH-2 (Durgapur expressway) is quite good as it is part of golden quadrilateral but 2B from there to Shantiniketan was very narrow and broken in parts. Thankfully there was not much traffic. I being the official cleaner of the car, have the right to comment on the condition of the traffic:) When we reached Shantiniketan, it was already evening. We hired two rickshaws, and took a tour of the place. It is a beautiful campus. Bought some books, bags and stayed in a hotel called Banshori, near the university. While going to the hotel we saw a cycle rickshaw puller parked in dark and playing beautiful flute. When we were returning after buying some gifts, we saw a student standing next to him and teaching him. He was playing even better and the sound of flute in the dark surrounded by trees was really heavenly. The food was excellent. As it was dark, I couldn't take any pic. I got a nice picture of lightning bolt on the way to Shantiniketan.

Lightning on the way to Shantiniketan

 

Day 21 (May-2) : The next day

Yesterdays sighting was a real bliss. We were hoping another sighting today, but no such luck. We did see 1-hour old male tiger pug-marks, but no sign of the tiger. The pug marks were on both sides of a 200 foot water channels indicating that the tiger had crossed the channel there.

         We went through a narrower creek, but it was not even close to the ones where the fishing boats go. This time in our boat, we were accompanied by three German doctors. They were really enjoying the place. I really wished they would see the tiger. Well, we did see many birds though...

        The doctors had some work in Kolkata, but they had come to the Sunderbans on the weekend. I gave them my blog addresses, but foolishly (I don't know how it skipped my mind) I didn't ask them their name. Then, we left the place. In a long bus journey, we bid goodbye to each other, and parted. We are spending the night in a place called The Stay in Goria-hat.

        We had proper Bengali dinner in a hotel called Bhojo-Hari Manna. The food was excellent (thanks to Subhojit kaka again for recommending the place) though the service was bad. All the waiters were glued to TV watching India South Africa match!

      The resting cowboy

Lesser adjutant stork

Collard kingfisher

Fish eagle

Barn owl

Doctors from Germany

Niranjan Raptan

Day 19, 20 (Apr-30 and May-1) The Original forest

Our guide Mr.Mandal

 Sunderbans.

The original, the most beautiful, wild, rich with the culture and the home of the only habitual man-eater – Sunderban. Forget any sort of sighting in this place, think you to be very lucky on seeing a deer. You should come here mainly to experience the mangrove forests and enjoy the leisurely boat ride on lonely channels! Relax, let the mangroves pass by your, listen to the interesting and terrible stories of the people here. The threat to the life here, and the guts of the people amazes all minds. Still, the love of their jungle stops them from waging war against the real ruler of the jungle. Sighting the tiger here is very tough indeed! One tiger is seen at an average every month by tourists. However it is different for local fishermen, prawn collectors and honey gatherers. Last year there were 80 incidents of tiger attack!!

As we were passing by the mangroves, another group from Durgash Travels joined us in our cruise. Any sort of sighting seemed impossible. Other than the egrets, no animal could be seen. We turned to beauty of the forest instead.

      Hurrah!! The other boat waves the flag a tiger is spotted. The first this month!. Steer the boat, fast! fast! fast! But where is the tiger. I was lying on the slanting deck of the boat. I had forgotten my camera. As I scan the area, the guy besides me says something to me in Bengali. I follow his finger, and there it is. The Royal Bengal tiger! Fully grown male, approx 9-feet long! I start my camera, as the tiger glares at my eyes! The white manes making the creature look wild and ferocious. I try to focus my camera onto its huge body, but alas, before I focused, I saw the huge mask suddenly stand up and get lost into the dense tiger palm (Hental) forest. There it walks in the forest, no picture can be taken, the lord returns to his throne in the jungle. 

        An amazing sighting I must say, I cannot express my joy. Probably Bono-Bibi, the tiger goddess made the creature come to us. This was the biggest tiger I had ever seen, alas, no pictures. I cannot write all the stories of the jungle in this place, but one of our guide is a must tell..... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

    One of our guides, Mr Niranjan Raptan, was local person, in a family of honey collectors. He was 16 years old, when he went to the forest with his uncle. As he was collecting honey the sight of the tiger scared him. His uncle threw himself onto Mr. Niranjan as the tiger pounced on him. The uncle got deeply wounded, but he did not budge. Mr. Niranjan was under the four legs of the tiger! He put his finger into the tiger’s eyes. In a reaction, the tiger scratched his hand. Mr. Niranjan lived but the uncle succumbed to his wounds.

In night a tribal dance group from local villages entertained with song and dance.

I will surely visit this place again, not as a tourist, but as a researcher.

Dobanki watchtower

 Spotted doves

The islands during low tide

More than 60% of the land area gets submerged daily during high tides!

Stilt roots of Garjam tree, a variety of Mangrove trees

One more mangrove tree

Gliding along the water channels

Spotted owlets in front of our room

The star of the "Tribal Dance Show". The flute player