the best man

At the end of the week long trip to the Himalayan regions of North Bengal and Sikkim, my younger sister Neha made up a list of the most well behaved people in the entire trip and at the top was our beloved daddy Mr Raj Narayan Singh. This was special because growing up, both my sister Neha and i detested dad the most because of the discipline he expected of us. In due course of time, we both got very close to daddy and loved him with all our heart.

We realised, this was our first trip with the full family. Little did we know - with the benefit of hindsight now when i am writing about it almost 9 months after the trip, that this would also be the last and only trip with the full family.

Our dad breathed his last on 5th September, 2020 - nothing is more ironical than a teacher departing for the heavens on Teacher's Day, and this post is a tribute to his legacy - in that i am writing a travelogue after 7 years.

It's to be noted that my almost decade long stint with travelling started when my dad called me to visit him in Assam while he was posted at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Morigaon. My first travel blog was about that followed by the one i wrote about our visit to Meghalaya during the same trip. I vividly remember the golden moments i got to spent with mom and dad creating memories to last for a lifetime.

I moved to the USA in June, 2014, and since then - even when my panache for travelling remains the same, i stopped blogging about the same. I did write a draft last year about my trip to the New England region of the USA for witnessing fall foliage but never published it. Some of my last few trips before i got married in May, 2014, also remain unpublished. I never got out of my lethargy or thought processing to give this page a fresh start. I had no idea - and this is something i never wanted, that a family trip to Darjeeling and Gangtok, will be our last one with daddy, but here we are.

We had to catch a train from Sealdah station on 26th January. My younger sister Neha was already in Kolkata by then while my youngest sister Nisha arrived from Bangalore on the same day. My eldest sister Nandini was to fly from Bangalore to Bagdogra the next morning with her son Rajveer - who we fondly call Tilu. Both my brother-in-laws had prior commitments and would not join us for the trip. Also joining us at the railways station was my mausi and her daughter so we were quite a bunch at the railway station - where we reached quite early. We retired mom, dad and mausi to the comforts of the air-conditioned waiting room and went to scan the station and get some eatables. No outing is complete without the usual station tea - no matter how bad it is, and we got the same for mom, dad and mausi.

The train was on time and we reached New Jalpaiguri station the next morning around 11.30 AM. Didi's flight had landed hours ago so we advised her to reach the station instead of waiting at the airport as was the plan earlier. We got a travel agent - which i would again advise to stay away from, and we booked a car to take us to Rishop. We had booked a night at a homestay and had plans to go to Lava in the afternoon and hike to a nearby waterfall early next morning but when have things happened according to plan? We had planned our trip on the basis of time and distance shown on Google Maps but we didn't take into account the condition of the road. While there were no traffic jams and the drive was mostly beautiful passing first through sylvan tea gardens and then the conifers as we drove higher, it was already late afternoon by the time we reached our stay for the night and it was pretty cold too. Since everyone had to first settle down and have lunch, we skipped the idea of any sightseeing for the day. We instead thought of whiling time at the homestay and leave for Darjeeling via Kalimpong the next morning after breakfast.

We though couldn't forget the snack stop we took at Dhipdhara for some tea, momos, maggi and pictures. Because the place was very beautiful and has some rapids nearby, we stopped here longer than usual and took a lot of photos.

Also special was the family time over tea, pakoras - very average but anything works in that cold, and UNO. The food and hospitality of the place is below average so if you ask me, i would not recommend this place to  anyone. We had to pay extra to get room heaters. It didn't cause much of a difference but i guess without them we would have frozen by morning. Next day, on 28th January, we started for Darjeeling via Delo Park at around 9.30 AM. Located at a height of more than 1700 m, the park is the highest point of Kalimpong and provides beautiful vistas but we were unlucky because of clouds everywhere.

We reached Darjeeling around 3 PM and after getting ready at our hotel - Summit Swiss Heritage Hotel and Spa, we headed for Darjeeling's famous Chowrasta. It's a crossroad with multiple cafes and gift shops. There is an open-air auditorium and a huge square with benches on the side. While dad comfortably sat on one such bench, we went around exploring the place a bit and taking pictures. Then we headed to have some tea and snacks - the favorite part of my dad. While mom, mausi and 2 of my sisters took to the comfort of a tea and momo shop, i joined dad and the two Nehas for some roadside snacks. Even though my dad is one of the most hygienic persons around he doesn't mind eating at a roadside eatery. 

My sisters then shopped for some shawls and knick knacks and then we headed for the famous Glenary's. We got some baked goods for ourselves and our parents - cakes and quiches, and then again headed to buy some more knick knacks. We went to the couple of markets adjacent to the Chowrasta and it was pretty late by the time we returned to the bakery shop. Mom and dad and mausi were already outside the shop with waiting eyes. It was very late by the time we reached hotel for dinner. The serving was very slow but the food was good. The hotel is located 15 minutes away by walk from the Chowrasta but it was a very nice and comfortable with spacious and well stocked rooms.

The next morning, 29th January, we had booked a car to take us around to some beautiful places in and around Darjeeling. We had the below places to cover:

The Peace Pagoda and the Japanese temple

Rock Garden and Chunnu Summer falls

Batasia Loop

Dali Monastery

A show Tea Garden

Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Garden

We covered all these places by 3.30 PM and we had the 4 PM toy train to take from Darjeeling to Ghum. We had booked in advance and reached the station on time. The Darjeeling Himalayan railway passes through India's highest railway station and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. The ride was pretty amazing and it was fascinating to see the train chug through the busy Darjeeling streets often nearly touching the side shops at some sections. The Batasia Loop section is the highlight of the ride and it lies just before the train halts at Ghum station - located at an altitude of 2258 m.

Since Ghum was pretty deserted we had to run around to get a cab. The ones at the cab station were charging a fortune so we instead waited for a taxi ferrying passengers. Since we were quite a bunch, it took us quite a while to get a cab with enough seats for all of us but we got lucky. Once we reached Darjeeling, we went to our hotel. While mom, dad and mausi rested at the hotel, we went for another round of Chowrasta - to have some Darjeeling tea and buy some more gift items. We had dinner by 8.30 PM and retired home rather early because we had to start before daybreak for Tiger Hill the next morning.

The next morning, on 30th January, we got up early to start for Tiger Hill. It would be my second attempt to see sunrise and the amazing Kangchenjunga massif - the 3rd highest mountain in the world. Neha and my sisters had no enthusiasm to go but i persuaded my wife Neha to join me. Mom, dad and mausi were also ready. We reached around 5.30 AM and it was still dark and chilly. We had underestimated the cold and everyone was shivering. We bought some tea and sat down in a quiet corner to wait for the sun. As fate would have it, even after 90 minutes of waiting, we couldn't see the sunrise because of cloud cover. We disappointedly had to head back to our hotel but our driver looked for a place to show us the mountain from Gandhi Road. It was an amazing moment.

We then headed for Gangtok and had our breakfast enroute at Hebongay Restaurant. Mostly, drivers have their favorite places where they dine for free if they bring customers and the food is mostly bland but we have to make do with what we have. The view from this restaurant was nice though. The problem with Gangtok is, outside vehicles are not allowed in the city so we had to get down at the taxi stand and then book cabs to take us till the hotel - Summit Namnang Courtyard and Spa. The hotel was undergoing renovation - in that they were trying to modernise by making a parallel building. It was located near MG Marg - the nerve of Gangtok, but was accessible via a narrow alley. We reached around 1.30 PM and decided to get ready and head for the city centre to get lunch and see around the place. Dad decided to stay at the hotel because he wanted to watch TV. We had plans to go to Changu Lake and Nathu La the next morning and we had to provide our identity cards (no Aadhaar cards please) and photographs to our travel agent to get us permits for the same.

After having lunch at Fat Panda's Kitchen - highly recommended, we sent mom and mausi to the hotel while we loitered around at nearby cafes. We had to wait for the travel agent so while he took his time because it was drizzling (umbrella anyone?), we sent everyone else to the hotel and asked to arrange them for the mini party we had planned for the night. After much trouble - collecting documents, photographs and getting them photocopied is quite a task in Gangtok because shops close early, we arranged everything and headed for our hotel by 8.30 PM but not before we were told that chances of the lake and the pass the next were slim because of excessive rainfall in the higher areas which can trigger landslides. The army decides on allowing tourist vehicles to these areas because in case of emergencies it's them who have to come for rescue leaving behind their primary duty.

So even when we were dejected - it would be the second time my plan for that lake and pass would probably not fruitify, we decided to enjoy the night and see what happens the next morning. I didn't make a plan B - when has alcohol ever allowed that? but it was great to catch up with my sisters after so many years.

We woke to get the confirmation that our plan for the lake and the pass had been shelved and while in my slumber i decided to not go anywhere and spend our last day of the trip mostly at the hotel or see places in Gangtok, my sisters finally convinced me to make plan B. We decided for Ravangla and Namchi. We readied ourselves and were on the road by 10 AM.

Below are the 3 places we covered:

1) 40 m tall Buddha statue at Tathagata Tsal, Ravangla

2) 36 m tall Guru Rinpoche aka Padmasambhava statue, Namchi

3) 33 m tall Shiva statue at Siddheswar Dham, Namchi

We reached Tathagata Tsal at around 1.30 PM and by the time we wrapped up lunch and a tour of the place - which is kind of vast, it was already 3.30 PM and our driver didn't want to go to Namchi because it was still an hour or so away and it would get dark by the time we would return to our hotel. We somehow convinced him to take us to the other spots as well - albeit for some extra cash. We reached the Guru Rinpoche statue at around 4.30 PM and only had a brief stop there. It was past 5 PM when we finally reached Siddheshwar Dham - which has replicas of the Char Dhams as also other major temples from across India. The ticket counter unfortunately closed at 5 PM, it was getting dark and the clouds had started to engulf the place. The guy at the ticket counter though allowed us in. We reached just in time for the evening aarti but we didn't have the time to stay there for long.

My mom in particular was very pleased with the place. She kept saying we should have left Ravangla sometime earlier so we could have had more time here at the temple. The place was beautiful no doubt. We then left for our hotel and after having a brief stop for tea at 7 PM, we reached our room by 9 PM. We ordered dinner - which was pretty good, and then retired for our beds - the last day of our trip.

The next day - 1st February, we left our hotel at around 8 AM and after dropping Nandini didi at the airport we went to the railway station for a long wait. We had an amazing breakfast at a roadside dhaba in Kirney, Darjeeling. The food was simple but one of the better ones we had in the dhabas on our trip. We also had a view of River Teesta from the restaurant. Our train was not until the next few hours so we whiled away our time doing precious nothings after reaching the station. We as usual were busy buying things to eat and daddy was busing writing political posts on Facebook. I rarely read what my dad wrote on Facebook but because of the luxury of time that day i did. I had no idea he wrote such impeccable Hindi and i was impressed.

I had no idea that i had only a few more days of camaraderie left with my dad. I miss you a lot daddy. No future family trip will be complete without you.