This winter, I came home early from Kolkata since the breakbone fever had gotten me bedridden for a week and compelled me to seek homely care. I sure missed my semester exams but a journey back home was bound to naturally boost my morale. So right after I was granted discharge from the hospital, I packed my bag in a jiffy and rushed to the land of momos and mittens with the snow-clad Himalayan mountain range in the background. Now, the first step to getting there is to reach Bagdogra Airport if you are boarding a flight or New Jalpaiguri Station (NJP) if taking the train. From Kolkata, it is just a 45 minutes journey by air and approximately 12 hours by train. Then you can choose to pool a jeep from just outside or you can reserve a taxi. Alternately, you may take an auto-rickshaw to Panitanki More in Siliguri and get plenty vehicles to pool. Reaching Kalimpong from Bagdogra generally takes 3 & a half hour, and I was pretty exhausted by then; but I didn’t mind as long as the thought of gorging on warm home-cooked meal after the hellish hospital food kept me going. The route leading to Kpg is a beautiful sight in itself. It is common to Darjeeling, Kurseong and Sikkim. Though the road is pretty out of shape and makes the ride bumpy, the landscape leaves an incomparable imprint on anybody who crosses it. The mighty river Teesta flows just alongside the road and is flanked by white sand.
It flows on to join the Brahmaputra river and also offers white water rafting to the zealous adventurer.
Further up, in Chitray, the road forks into three directions and one of them runs uphill to the town of Kalimpong.
Now that I''ve reached, my hands have become partially numb and typing on this particular keyboard seems a bit more difficult than it normally is, but no matter what, it feels like heaven in here. Actually, when I reached home, I couldn't wait to walk straight into the balcony, sip on a warm cup of coffee, munch some delicious cookies and admire the mesmerizing view one can never get enough of!
Have a great winter everyone! :)
