Goan magic during monsoon 2016

walk to the River Cruise point

Goa is a magical land where you generally do not travel with a checklist in hand. With over 35 beaches having numerous water sport options and cozy shacks offering mouth watering Goan delicacies, historically rich Portuguese establishment, numerous beautiful churches, amazing night life.. the true essence of Goa is difficult to be felt unless one stays for a long time and we had barely four days in hand. So in order to make the most out of our short stay in this magical land we prepared our itinerary after going through several tourism websites and travel blogs. For fellow travellers who have the hunger for exploring but shortage of leaves this itinerary will surely come as great help.. So here's how we explored Goa !

Day 1

We landed at Dabolim Airport around 1 pm in noon booked a pre-paid taxi from the airport exit and headed towards Panjim where we had our hotel booked on the banks of Mandovi river. [link to pre-paid taxi rate as on September 2016 : https://sumarutravel.blogspot.in/2016/09/revised-goa-taxi-rates.html ]. In the evening we planned to go for river cruise on Mandovi river. There were several options like sunset cruise, dinner cruise, backwater cruise [ the details of these can be availed from Goa tourism website. ]. We bought our passes from hotel travel desk for sunset cruise for an amount of Rs.300 each. Our hotel was barely few minutes walk to the Santa Monica Jetty Point so we walked along the banks of the river with cool breeze kissing our faces gently. 

Santa Monica Jetty Point

River Cruise on Mandovi River

Sunset captured over Mandovi River

We reached the jetty boarding point and found a long queue of other tourists already waiting there.  The queue moved and tourists started boarding the cruise once the capacity of the cruise filled the second cruise lined up to take the other tourists.[Currently Priyadarshini Royal cruise, GTDC cruise, M/s Aqua World cruise and Paradise Cruise have all formed a single window system under "Goa Boat Cruise" and they provide uniform entertainment and sightseeing program so do not worry on which cruise you board.] On the cruise local Goanese music and dance was performed by the artists which was quite nice to watch. There were refreshment counters serving cold drinks and snacks. We witnessed the show for sometime and then moved to the upper deck which provided a breathtaking view of Pamjim on either banks of Mandovi River and the gigantic Arabian sea in front. Multiple cruises drifted past us during the entire journey. We witnessed the sunset followed which our cruise drifted back towards the jetty point.  It was dark by the time the cruise started the return journey and beautifully lit floating jetties, houses on banks, restuarants on banks offered a lovely view.  We went back to our hotel that served authentic Goanese cuisine we tried chicken xacuti along with other items and it tasted yummy.  Post dinner we settled in our rooms which had balcony facing the Mandovi river and the view of floating cruise with lovely wind added to an extra charm. Day one in the beautiful city of Goa was one of its kind and we were extremely eager for the following days in the amazing destination.

River Tales@ Varanasi, India

Important information for fellow travellers

Travel options: Varanasi is well connected by air, train and bus from all major cities of India.

Boat ride to all ghats and evening aarti: There is no fixed price and one needs to bargain hard to strike a good deal. In general they charge Rs 200 per person per hour. We were seven in a group and we were charged Rs 2200 for three hours in all which included boat trip to popular ghats (from Assi ghat to Manikarnika ghat) , Kashi Vishwanath Temple darshan and evening aarti.

Places of interest in Varanasi: Ghats , Evening ganga aarti, Kashi Viswanath temple, Sankat Mochan temple, Ramnagar fort, Benaras Hindu University. 

Popular gateway from Varanasi:

• Sarnath (around 15 km from Varanasi) : Places of interest -- Sarnath temple, Dharmek Stupa, Archeological Museum, Thai temple, Tibetian temple,  Chaukhandi stupa.
• Mirzapur (around 60 km from Varanasi) : Places of interest -- Vindhyavasini Devi temple, Wyndham ecological park and falls [The road to the falls is in poor condition. This place is more of a picnic spot] 
• Allahabad (around 120 km from Varanasi) : Places of interest -- Triveni Sangam ,Anand Bhawan, All Saints Cathedral, Allahabad fort (entry to maximum portion of the fort is forbidden).

Day 1 in Varanasi

Situated on the banks of holy river Ganga, Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world. Home to rich benarasi silk work, presence of hundreds of temples including Kasi Viswanath Temple of Lord Shiva and Sankat Mochan temple of Lord Hanuman, site for the famous Ramnagar fort, gateway to the peaceful land of Sarnath and land of mouth watering cuisines this city of India has it all to satisfy the shopaholics, pilgrims, photo-enthusuiast and foodies making it one of the most popular destinations in India.

Travel freaks made a trip to this city in the month of October 2016 during Dusherra festival. We reached Varanasi Station in the morning. There are innumerous hotels and guest houses along the ghats in Varanasi giving a breath-taking view of River Ganges and the adjacent ghats. Owing to peak seasion we however couldnt get rooms in the hotels we had short-listed so had to check in to a hotel in Chandrika Nagar away from the ghats. Post lunch we hired an auto rickshaw using Ola app and went to Kedar Ghat for booking a boat for the planned Ghat darshan. The auto twisted and turned through the narrowest lanes possible frequently interrupted by cows lazing around. In Kedar ghat on decending the steep steps several boatmen approached us quoting their respective package price for Ghat darshan, Kasi Vishwanath temple darshan and evening aarti. After almost 20 minutes of hard bargain we finally fixed the deal at Rs 2200 for 3 hours (we were 7 persons in a group) and our ride began. We sailed by Assi ghat, Tulsi ghat , Man mandir ghat, Harish chandra ghat, Dashaswamedh ghat (popularly known as evening aarti ghat), Manikarnika ghat and the like. The boatsman narrated the tales and the reason for their distinctive names. Lovely changing city scape , cool breeze and slowly drifting boat made the ghat darshans one of its kind. We disembarked the boat on Lalita Ghat in order to visit Kashi Vishwanath temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. We climbed up the steep steps, walked through narrow lanes, passed innumerable small temples before reaching the entrance gate of the temple [Carrying mobile/camera, big bags, edibles etc are not allowed. There is a locker room at the main entrance where all such items can be kept safely. Also at the entrance I found a board stating foriengers are not allowed. Although I havent enquired the authenticity of the same but found no foriengers inside the temple premises ]. Owing to Dusherra several devotees visited Varanasi so after waiting in long queue and passing the strict security check we entered the main temple and seeked blessing from Lord Shiva. It took us quite sometime before we made an exit from the temple and returned to Lalita ghat to board our boat back which was now to take us to witness the Ganga Aarti at Dashaswamedh Ghat. A deep yellow hue of the setting sun filled the sky during our boat ride to the ghat.

When we reached Dashaswamedh Ghat several boats containing passengers had already reached to witness the aarti and our boat could only find a place way behind. At  6.45 pm the chaants began and filled the air with spiritualism. Purohits all decked in orange attire performed the aarti with brass lamps with snake hood, multi-tiered oil lamp, flowers, incense sticks and idol of Lordess Ganga. The whole event lasted for more than half an hour. It was truely magical and magnificient. (One advise for photo-enthusiasts do watch the ganga aarti from the ghat steps and not from the boats as its extremely difficult to take good shots from so far and due to presence of heavy lights in the backdrop). After the aarti our boatman took us back to Kedar ghat.

We disembarked at the ghat with smile on our faces it was truely a memorable evening !
Our next stop for the day was Kasi Chaat, a famous snack joint located at Godowlia Chowk. I highly recommend this shop to one and all visiting Varanasi. Dont go by the appearance of the shop. The small two storied outlet serves mouth watering , finger-licking chaat with too many options to try out. We started with one and ended up ordering all the types starting from tikia chaat to dahi phucka. :)

-- Contents and pictures by Arumita Biswas

Revised Goa Taxi Rates updated as on September 2016

Temple Tour @Angkor Archaeological Park, Cambodia

This place had been one of my dream destinations since I first read about it in school. ~Arumita

Historical structures has always attracted me ~ Suman

So owing to the common desire of exploring the ruins of Angkor we pin-pointed the first country for our joint visit.

This was Day 2 of our visit to this beautiful country with beautiful people who made us feel at home. 

Angkor Pass Counter

We completed our breakfast early and started  at 8 am with our guide Reth in a car for a full day temple tour at Angkor Archaeological Park. On the way Reth narrated the stories linked with Angkor Thom, the last and most enduring capital city of Khmer empire. We soon reached the ticket counter of the archaeological Park. On reaching the counter we were offered three options for buying pass - for single day $20, $40 for 3 days and $70 for one week visit. As we were to stay in Siem Reap for three days of which two were dedicated for visiting ancient structures we went for the second option. At the counter the personnel clicked our photos and we got our photo passes worth $40 each. Reth warned us to take special care of the pass as it had to be produced before entering every significant temple/structure inside the park and Bantreal Srei and Kbal Spean which was included in our 3rd day itinerary. Post completion of formalities at counter we first headed towards the Angkor Thom and entered the walled city from the south gate .

Gate of Angkor Thom

Carvings on the outer wall

Smiling faces on Bayon Temple

Bayon Temple

Magnificient demon and God structure lined on both sides and smiling faces over the gate welcomed us to the ancient city established by King Jayavarman VII. We passed several structures until our car stopped at The Bayon which was Jayavarman's State temple and as informed by Reth geometrically placed at the centre of Angkor Thom. We walked towards the huge temple and noted several smiling faces on each dome. Reth informed that there were well over 200 smiling faces carved on the temple tower. The entire temple was divided into three levels with the first and second containing square galleries featuring bas-reliefs and third level containing the Central Sanctuary. The mazing narrow passages, extensive carvings on the walls and huge dimension of the Bayon temple reflected the architectural excellence of that Era. After spending a good time clicking and exploring this temple we made an exit. 

The sandstone bridge leading to the entrance of Prasat Baphuon

View from level 1

Prasat Baphuon

From the Bayon we walked towards Prasat Baphuon on way Reth informed us that although situated within the historic city of Angkor Thom this temple was built much earlier the city got established. A long elevated bridge made of standstone formed a bridge to this temple. The temple stood on rectangular sandstone base and had five levels. Steep staircase guided us to the first level which was surrounded by sandstone galleries. We walked round in the galleries and got a beautiful vire of the surrounding. Reth had informed that the first three level had similar galleries and the higher levels were almost destroyed. So we restricted ourselfs to only the second level and climbed down the stairs to view the Gaint reclining Buddha that spanned the entire west wall of the temple and was built using stones that got collapsed from the temple enclosure. The Buddha structure was abstract and could be distinguished only on viewing  minutely from a particular angle.

Gaint reclining Buddha on the west wall

Phimeanakas

Having explored the temple we walked further through the forest and entered the enclosure of Royal Palace of Angkor Thom which was completely in ruins. Reth narrated tales all through our walk. He pointed out some berries which according to him was poisonous enough to make the consumer loose consciousness. We passed by Phimeanakas a hindu temple in Khleang flavour. Having three levels of varying area it resembled Pyramids. We crossed ruins of broken walls which according to Reth was a part of Royal palace. Until we came out into clearing reaching the Terrace of the Elephants and Terrace of Leper King. While the former had bigger carvings the latter had intricate work on its entire wall. From the terrace we could get view of Suor Prat Towers and the wide ground in front where royal ceremonies were conducted.

Terrace of Leper King

Terrace of Elephant 

Ta Prohm

Our car was waiting outside the Terrace of King Leper and we drove towards the second most photographed structure in the Angkor archaeological park Ta Prohm (the first undoubtedly being the famous Angkor Wat). We got down from our car at the entrace and saw a huge board carrying the contribution of Archaeological Survey of India for restoration of Ta Prohm and felt quite proud ! We walked through the forest towards the main temple and on reaching the site we were amazed with what we saw. Gigantic Trees  had completely engulfed a temple ! Reth explained that it took years to cut through the dense forest and clear a portion of the temple to showcase the power of Nature. Most of the temple was in ruins and the rest blanketed by trees. Walking galleries was present and we were not allowed to enter few portions of the temple for obvious reasons. Apart from the distinctive nature of its present state the temple is also famous as it was used for shooting a popular holly movie "The Tomb Raider"

Temple Wall engulfed by Tree

Ta Prohm

It was past 2 when we exited from the temple. Although our cameras were extremely satisfied our stomach were craving for food. We went to  Samroh Srah Srang Restuarant for our mid day lunch. This restuarant located very close to Sras Srang, a gaint reservoir, served yummy authentic Khmer cuisines. We tried chicken Amok here and totally loved it. Post lunch we rested here on the easy chairs for sometime before we would start for the topmost attraction of the day and the one we were eagerly looking forward to "The Angkor Wat".

We headed to the most sought after destination in Siem Reap province which is "Angkor Wat". Angkor Wat was initially a Hindu religion temple that was later turned into a Buddhist Temple. Built in 12th Century AD, this was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in Yasodharapura which used to be the capital of Khmer Empire. Angkor Wat's breath taking view and gigantic size is something one can relish throughout his/her lifetime for which it has now become one of the world's largest religious architectures & one of the most sought after sites in the World.  Reth explained that Angkor Wat was the best presentation of the Khmer style of architecture and had been built to represent Mount Meru, the home of Hindu Gods Brahma & demi-god Devtas. After giving a brief insight Reth then guided us inside the Angkor Wat premise.

Moat surrounding Ankot Wat

Inside Angkor Wat Temple

Angkor Wat - Front View

As we approached, we observed that the Temple stood within a gigantic moat. We were informed that the temple has been dedicated to Lord Vishnu & Suryavarman II started the work of building "temples inside temples" to represent a 'Varah Vishnu Lok' in the Khmer Empire. Soon after his death, temple construction work stopped & it was Jayavarman VII who restored the work by taking control of the Khmer Empire and establishing Angkor Thom & Bayon Temples to the north side of the place.  The different relics of the Bishnu Temple were clearly seen, some got fade away & destroyed with time. 

Carvings on Temples

Wall inscriptions of Hindu Epics 

 A strange fact which our guide told was that temples in Angkor Wat are built oriented to the West which in Hindu tradition signifies the "death", contrary to the Hindu temples built in  the East Direction. The Angkor Wat has been built with sandstone while laterite was used for the outer wall and hidden structure parts. This again comes from the Khmer style of architecture. The temples had fine carvings of devtas, apsaras, bas-reliefs,scenes from different mythology epic & on the pediments has extensive garlands and narrative-scenes.

Southern gallery view

King Suryavarman II in his chariot

After exploring the Khmer style of calligraphy, we moved inside the temples. We moved to the area where their were fine carvings of Hindu Gods & Goddess that depicted episodes from Hindu epics like the Mahabharata & the Ramayana. From the north-west corner of the temple, the western gallery portrayed the battle of Lanka (where Ram defeats Ravana) & the battle of Kurukshetra (where the Pandavas defeats the Kauravas). The Southern galley depicted a procession of King Suryavarman II and the gates to 32 hells & heavens !! .. It was very fascinating to see the depiction of Hindu culture away from our country and that too portrayed & preserved so beautifully for so many decades. Other than the Hindu epics, their were also depictions of stories that linked to Hindu God Vishnu.


 

It was evening by the time we made an exit from the huge temple complex completely soaked in history and enriched with all tales narrated by our guide Reth. We purchased some magnets as soveniors and drank coconut juice in the makeshift market adjoining the temple. Our journey to our next destination, Thailand started the next day as we bid adieu to one of the most heritage county in the world . Bye , bye Cambodia !! 

   

Tips for travellers going to Siem Reap, Cambodia

If you are a history buff Siem Reap will outstand your expectation. Gateway to the famous Angkor Wat ,this town in Northwest Cambodia is a must visit place for all travel lovers. Here's a few tips for travellers wishing to explore this place.

• Country : Cambodia 
• Our travelling details : We had boarded a flight for Siem Reap from Don Muang Airport [DMK] in Bangkok. Travelling time was 55 mins. As we had booked an all inclusive package from Make my trip so air tickets and VISA formalities was handled by them.
• Currency : Cambodian Riel  [ But one can easily use Dollar which is although regarded as the second currency of the country but by experience we felt, its used more frequently than Riel in hotels/shops/public transport and the like. Carry small denominations like $1, $2, $5 and $10 more as most of the items will not cost you more than this ]
• Weather : It hot and humid almost throughout the year. Months from November to March are dry and temperature preferable for exploring. [ We had visited in the month of December and could comfortably move around in cotton tees and quarter length trousers ]
• Power Socket outlet used : Voltage 230V , frequency - 50Hz, Power socket Type A/C/G

• Cuisines to try : Fish / Chicken Amok, Khamer Red Curry, Nom banh Chok (Khmer noodles), fried ice creams, Banana chocolate milo pancake
• Places not to be missed :
• In Angkor Archeological Park - Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm,  Baphuon, Wall of king Leper, Terrace of the Elephants
• Banteay Srei
• Kbal Spean
• Tonle Sap lake and floating village
• Old Market
• Siem reap night market
• Pub street
• Angkor Pass Information : Angkor Pass is required for visiting all temples in Angkor Archeological Park, Banteay Srei and Kbal Spean. These places cannot be covered in a single day. 1 day pass costs $20, 3 days pass $40 (where you can visit the places on any three days within a weeks time) and 7 days pass $60. Its preferrable to get a 3 days pass and go around at ease. Donot lose your pass as its has to be produced before you enter the temples. Owing to innumerable travellers going to the destination the temples get overcrowded and if you wish to avoid standing in queue start your temple tour early in the mornings when the temperature is cooler and number of tourists less.
• Dress Code: In the temples espacially Angkor Wat you will not be allowed to enter unless you dress modestly (shoulders and legs covered.. A cotton t-shirt and trouser should be good enough). As the country is mosty hot carry light cotton fabric cloths along. Wear comfortable shoes when you are going for temple tour and Kbal Spean tour as you need to walk a lot in both the places.

Monsoon weekend in Kalimpong, India

Important Information for Fellow travellers planning a trip to Kalimpong:

Nearest railway station: New Jalpaiguri NJP (77 km)
Nearest airport : Bagdogra (79 km)
NJP to Kalimpong Tata Sumo Gold Price : Rs 2300 [ we were charged same both ways]
One day sightseeing : Rs 1000 [Maruti Omni with four seating capacity] /Rs 1200[Maruti Omni with six seating capacity] / Rs 1500 [ Bolero]
Contact number of few drivers:
        Sunil : 8759394240
        Pema : 9932673805 & 7479207765

And heres the account of how our trip went

"Kalimpong" in the month of August, 2016.

Being monsoon most tourists avoid the journey to the hills as chances of landslide and consequent road blocks is at the peak. Every single person we knew only discouraged us to go forward with the trip. We had pre booked our railway tickets to New Jalpaiguri (nearest railway station to Kalimpong) long back and were not in any mood to cancel it. From one week before our departure date we constantly broused weather reports on http://www.accuweather.com/ and asked travel mates on different travel forums like Tripadvisor regarding the weather condition. With thunderstorm on weather forecast, alerts from travel mates and relatives, we along with four common friends boarded train from Sealdah, West Bengal with lots of uncertainties. We kept on telling each other if the weather was bad after reaching NJP we would look for some hotel and stay in Shilliguri itself. 

The overnight journey passed quite uneventfully and next day morning 9.30 am when 6 of us got down at NJP clear sky and bright sun welcomed us. We freshened up in Upper class waiting room and ate quick breakfast at Food Track on Platform No. 1 . The choices of breakfast in the menu list was quite extensive but most of the items were unavailable so we setlled up ordering two plate Chole bature, 2 plate stuffed aloo paratha and two plate paratha sabji.  Our next objective was to hire a vehicle for up-hill climb. While few of us waited on platform others went to the parking lot where innumerable vehicles waited to be hired. Soon we fixed the deal with a driver and our uphill journey began on Tata Sumo Gold.
Hill journey is always fascinating. You get to experience Mother Nature very closely! 

Kalimpong is set amongst the foothills of mighty Himalaya at an altitude of 1250 m above sea level. The hill station of Darjeeling at 50 Km & Gangtok at 75 Km are the two major tourist pullers.  As we moved up the Hills, the weather changed and we experienced cool breeze that was soothing to our soul !!! We passed by the mighty Teesta river that was flowing in the valley below and separates Kalimpong from Sikkim. Overlooking the Teesta valley, Kalimpong is believed to have once been the forward position of Bhutanese in 18th Century. Our cameras managed to capture some amazing views of Teesta river while on move.

We crossed the Coronation bridge, Sevok Kali bari, Teesta Low Dam project site and after about two hours of uphill climb made a halt at Tamang Bro's Abhinay Resturants. This resturant provided proper seated lunch option with amazing river view as well as the corner was piled with quick snack option. As some of us suffered from motion sickness we stuck to buying only chips and cold drinks (P.S. the price of chips and cold drinks are always charged above MRP so if you are pocket concern carry them from the start of your journey.) After the quick halt we resumed our journey towards our destination and after almost an hour the beautiful city of Kalimpong welcomed us!

The hill journey had took a toil on us & we were starving as it was past noon. We had pre-booked our hotel for two night stay before coming to Kalimpong. [We had booked using Goibibo, regarding booking of the hotel at time of monsoon, we would suggest look for some hotel close to Kalimpong market/ bus stand. Many hotels remain close for maintenance due to off-season. So, it is advisable to choose the location and talk with the manager before hand.]

Our car finally reached the main gate of Hotel Garden Reach located in upper cart road. We completed all our boarding formalities & went straight to the dining area for mid-day lunch .

The lunch was served after almost 20 mins. It was little annoying as we had ordered the lunch well before reaching the Hotel over phone. We were informed owing to off-season, most of the hotel staff were on leave & so it was difficult for them to arrange it quickly. The lunch was a simple Veg lunch as we thought of not doing any kind of experimentation with other dishes as the place was quite new for all of us. To our surprise, the food was extremely tasty & delicious, specially the yellow dal that had an unusual aroma which we haven't tasted in any of the restaurants in Kolkata. It was simply heavenly especially owing to the rats which were already tired of running in our stomach . After having lunch, we moved to our room that had wide window opening to breath-taking view of the mountain. The clouds, the hills and the greenery it was just mesmerizing !!

It was past 5 by the time we all got freshened up. The manager informed that by the time we would reach any of the tourist spots it would be dark and hence it was better to keep the plan of sight seeing for the next day. While our fellow travel mates opted to strech out in their room Travel freaks could not hold their enthusiam of exploring the nearby areas. So we got ready with our cameras to walk to the market place and back. Our hotel was approximately 2 km from the main market. We passed tiny beautiful houses, a children's park, the kalimpong stadium and finally reached the main market area in about 20 mins. Innumerable stores were lined packed with shoes, bags, clothings, home decoratives and lot more. Few lanes were so ower crowded that it was even difficult to walk. We later learnt it was because Saturday's Haat Bazaar was popular place amongst locals as well who came over to quench their shopping desire. We spotted a small cafe named 3C's  their chocolate muffins looked quite irresistable. We bought some for us as well as our travel mates. It was quite dark by the time we moved out of the market and remembering our hotel manager's warning of avoiding moving around in dark we boarded a shared taxi that safely droped us back to our hotel. The day ended with full on chit -chat and anatakshari session with our friends at hotel.



Day 2 in Kalimpong


Our second day began when the hotel staff greeted us morning with steaming darjeeling tea. Perfect flavoured tea and a breath taking view of hills pumped up our spirits. We get freshened up and moved towards the dining area for enjoying our morning breakfast. The spread was not extensive but good enough to suffice our taste buds. Post completion of breakfast we moved to the reception to book a car for a day sight seeing program. The manager called up their tour partner but owing to off season and independance day weekend he couldnt arrange any vehicle. We decided that some of us would walk to the local bus stand (that was around 10 min walk from our hotel) to search a vehicle  while the others got ready. Our plan worked and soon a bolero arrived to take us to different places around the beautiful city of Kalimpong.

Our first point of visit was the watershed view point that overlooked a Golf Course wrapped by blanket of hills and clouds. Inaugrated on 7th October 1973 at the height of 4400' this was the most picturesque  Golf course I have ever seen. Visitors are not allowed to enter beyond a point but one can stand at the view point and admire the beauty to their heart's content.

Just a few steps from the View point was the Morgan House famous for all kind of spooky tales. A heritage house, built by George Morgan in 1930 where his family lived until the death of his wife, is presently a tourist lodge maintained by West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation. Locals claim that the place is haunted and often avoid the surrounding. We were quite eager to explore the place espacially as we were in group and it was braod day light (We definately would not have tried if it was otherwise.. Lolz). With beautifully maintained gardens, picture perfect surrounding and magnifient structure the place definately wanst creepy at all (not sure about the night expirience though .. lolz )

After exloring the so-called creepy Morgan House boarded the car which halted after 10 mins uphill climb near the Durpin Monastery also known as Zang Dog Palri Monastery on the Durpin hill. When we reached the place mid day prayer was on. Monks of all age group were seated inside the monastery in long columns and prayers were on. We initially didnt enter the premise as our driver had warned us not to disturb the monks during their prayer and to just go round the monastery and climb up the two levels to get the views of Kalimpong town and Kanchenjunga range. But when we reached the monastry gates a monk directed us to enter and silently explore the inside. We were thrilled because we had read that this monastery houses rare buddhist manuscripts on Tibetology that were presented by Dalai Lama during his visit in 1956. Beautiful incricate art work covered the walls. It was the first time we ever witnessed the prayer session of monks and as we walked inside the monastery the grasping chants of monks and the beautiful musical instruments played by them added a magic to the surrounding. We slowly and silently explored the interior and seeked blessing from the Buddha idol within and walked out. Photography was not allowed inside the monastery so we captured all the beauty through our eyes ! On the wall outside was the row of prayer wheels we turned them as we moved around the monastery from outside until we reached the staircase for going to level two. In the second level the outside was again lined with prayer wheels, we rotated them and reached the staircase which would take us to the third level. This level offered a 360' view of the surrounding. As the sky had clouds we couldn't see the Kanchenjunga range nevertheless the view of the surrounding was breath-taking and we were more than satisfied.

After viewing the beautiful Monastery at Hill top, we moved towards our next destination the Pine View Nursery, which is a small nursery of Cactus which are grown & nurtured with ultimate care.
The entry fee was meager Rs 10 & one would be able to view different varieties of Cactus which are normally grown in regions of  Australia, North, South & Central America. As Cactus requires a very hot & dry weather to grow, the plantation garden is divided into small zones and covered up by small tents, each of the tents are maintained at high temperature through greenhouse effect. The different varieties of cactuses had flashy thorns and spines which though looked ugly but were unique in nature. Some of them had diverse colour flowers which looked beautiful. The Nursery boasts of having the largest collection of cacti in Asia and holds a place of pride for the local citizens. It took about 45 mins to move around the plantation garden.

Apart from the Cacti garden, Pine View Nursery offers beautiful view of mighty Teesta river which flows in the valley & Kalimpong town from the top.

We were already very hungry as it was 2pm when we made an exit from the nursery. So the next thought that came was to satisfy our empty stomach on our way to our next destination.

Deolo Hills is situated 5.590 feet above msl & is one of the highest point in Kalimpong. Basically, the town of Kalimpong is situated on a ridge that connects Durpin and Deolo Hills. The hill is situated on the north east side of Kalimpong town. The road led us through a misty hill-range where the cirrus clouds passed through us !!.. It was a heavenly feeling experiencing Nature in its purest form!! Drizzles started as we climbed through twisted roads to reached Deolo Hills.
 We were extremely hungry when we stoped at the gates of Deolo Park. We checked in to a small hill-top food stall that was serving steamed momos. Momos are very famous snack in Kalimpong &  having the first bite we realized the reason for its popularity. They were lip smacking, tasty , delicious etc etc .We initially ordered only a plate but ended but eating four plates of chicken steamed momos Lolz ( Apart from momo's we didn't have any other option also :) .

After having a quck snack, we went straight to the ticket counter for entering the Deolo Tourism Complex. The ticket fare for Indian citizens was Rs 10 /- while for Foreign citizens it was Rs 50 /-. Car packing was charged separately as it is outside the complex.
The Deolo tourism complex is developed on a 8-acre of parkland that has beautiful flower gardens, green lawns & a Deolo Tourist lodge. From this Deolo Tourism complex which is at an altitude of 5500 ft, you can get beautiful views all-around the place.This includes the excellent view of Kanchenjunga range and confluence of Teesta & Ranget river although we got non as the thick clouds formed a blanket around us . Horse-riding was available for tourists & we observed some local music being played while we went to the centre of the garden top.

The beauty of the place was so enchanting that we felt like staying here for some more time. We  lazed through the beautiful flower gardens that were well maintained by the complex authorities. It was past 4, when we started our journey back to our hotel. On our way , we stopped to visit Hanuman Mandir & Ma Durga Mandir. We offered our prayers to the God & seeked blessings.


After visiting temple, we then took the downward hill path towards our hotel. On returning to the main market we went to Hotel China Garden and consumed some mouth watering authentic chinese cuisines at a jaw dropping cheap price. Being a day before independence day and a sunday most local shops were closed , so we planned to watch a movie in a local multiplex. It was pretty exciting to visit a cinema hall on the hills as we had never had such an experiences before. The inox was in close proximity of the market and we walked to the place. The movie started at 6 and ended at 9 pm. It was pitch dark outside when we moved out of the INOX. The walk from the INOX to the hotel was one of its kind with no lights and no soul around. It almost seemed we were out on walk at 2 in the night. The day wrapped with steaming dinner in our hotel and packing our bags as our departure was planned the next day . The beautiful of hills have always fascinated us & now Kalimpong has been added to the list .
We started our journey for New Jalpaiguri Railway station next day around noon. It rained heavily as if the hills were bidding us a teary farewell. Overall the trip had been one of its kind for sure Kalimpong is a beautiful hill station in the Northern part of West Bengal.

Kalimpong !! We are carrying back home innumerable lovely memories. Adieu until we meet again !