On a cold morning, boarded a flight from Bangalore to Bagdogra defence airport. After landing on the defence airport, made my way straight to the airport cafeteria for refreshments as I had to travel for 70 kms by road to reach Darjeeling City.
To reach Darjeeling City, one needs to travel through Siliguri which is at an altitude of 60 kms. Its a complete ride along the hills surrounded by lush greenery as we keep going higher. The scenic ride was amazing.
The coolness kept on increasing as I went higher and higher up the hill and the coolness kept me fresh.
As I reached the city, the altitude was 8000 feet above ground level and the environment was very pleasant. Due to festive season, the streets were crowded and folks all over the Chowk Bazaar created a buzz.
It was evening times when I saw the food street vendors selling their eateries and the local and tourist crowds flooded to grab a bite. Although Darjeeling is famous for its tea saplings and momos, there was more than just the 2 delicious to enjoy. The Chowk Bazaar had its place dedicated for the sweet vendors and the fried stuff. Everything not only looked delicious but tasted equally good.
Early morning was great. The weather especially, chilled and foggy, like every other tourist, I too wanted to see the sun rise between the tall mountains covered with snow. The road towards sunrise point is a ghat surrounded with lush greenery, I hired a private cab for the whole day and it didn't cost me much.
Once I reached the hill top, the climate was such that we could barely see the sun rays, lots and lots of fog, but still made sure, I had captured the view from viewpoint.
I was standing right there and one item from my bucket list was completed.
Mount Kanchenjunga!!!!!
The altitude was 8000 feet above ground level. Having Nescafe at this height tasted very delicious.
I spent like an hour there and came back and on my way down, I visited the famous Batasia loop. It was around 10 pm when I reached the Batasia loop.
Some pics over there and then I headed towards the Railway station to board the train for the famous joy ride.
The joy ride does stop at Batasia loop and Ghoom railway station. By this time, it had started raining and it was awesome travelling in the train.
The return journey was filled with excitement for me as I travelled by train after almost 6 years. The 2 big things in Darjeeling for me was the peak Kanchenjunga and the joy ride, I was a different person when I came back.
Travel does make one modest!
I would definitely recommend travelling to Darjeeling for every traveller and photography, it's a wonderful place filled with very decent people.
Thanks for reading!!
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