A blissful getaway - Siliguri and Kurseong.

Was looking forward to spend my pooja holidays at a conference, presenting an academic paper. But fate had it otherwise; my visa got rejected and my frozen and dejected mind led me to choose travel (as always)!

Having no plans in my mind, I decided to go to the main bus stand in Esplanade, Kolkata and look for the available options. Three hours later, I was heading to Siliguri, sitting on the last seat available for the trip that day.

An eleven hours long road journey turned into a 14-15 hour long ordeal, thanks to our 'oh so intelligent!' driver, who took us through narrowest of alleys, loosing his way a couple of times, expecting the bigger roads to be blocked on account of Durga Pooja.

Siliguri, the gateway to the North-East India is a little town bustling with activity, famous for its 4T's - tea, timber, tourism and transport. 

I chose not do my homework this time (rather ... never had the time to do it )! I got down in the Tenzing Norgay Bus stand at 2pm, totally uaware what to do next. Common sense suggested renting a bike would be a great idea as all the roads looked perfect for a ride, especially being at the foothills of the lofty Himalayas. But as my luck would have it otherwise, none of the rental agencies rented out their bikes for less than 3 days.

The modest people of this belt I have always learnt to trust! The rikshaw-walla told me to choose to stay near Sevoke, a centre point of the town. A room right opposite to the Salugara monastery is what I got! Finally, some luck on this poor fellow!

At 3pm, I set out to the Mahananda wildlife sanctuary (15 minutes by rikshaw from Sevoke) for a Bengal safari, as suggested by the kind hotel manager for the little time that I had in hand for this day.

 The reserve offered a number of different safaries, almost one every 30 mins. The grand safari  for Rs. 200 is what I chose, commencing at  3:15pm.  
[ Travellers on the east must always bear in mind, the daylight is short! Plan your journeys smartly! It gets dark by 5.00pm]

 The safari lasted an hour and a half.I was fortunate to catch a glimpse of a good lot of wild creatures.

The sun had set, making it a soothing dim lit setting to see the Sevoke bridge, spanning across the beautiful river Teesta (Baghpool), a.k.a Coronation bridge or tiger bridge. This is one of the landmarks of Siliguri. However, my camera got unlucky this time!

Delicious momos made by local chefs completed my day. A stroll and a chat with the locals is my typical way to end a travel-day. They revealed that renting a car would be expensive (some drivers charging about Rs 5000/day) as it was the tourist season. A poor traveler is he who is in poverty of time! With only one more day in hand,  I could only afford to go to some of the nearby places.

Kurseong it would be, I decided. The next morning, I set off in a share taxi from Darjeeling moore (Rs 100). It took me 1.5 hours including a fuel stop and one stop for filling water to reach Kurseong. 

Kurseong is a pretty little hill-station en-route to Darjeeling. The Darjeeling-Himalayan railway line runs alongside the road, artistically crisscrossing the road in a couple of areas.

I have no idea who has the right of way here....

 If lucky, you can actually overtake a train....

The roads  are predominantly narrow and serpentine, with several hair pin bends. The gorgeous view of the green valley admixed with the ghostly fog is something you never get tired of watching!

A breather for the exhausted engine

The reunion of the railway line with the road is an interesting sight at the entrance of Kurseong.

A tight package

        The hill station greeting us with a cold foggy blanket

I alighted at the center of the town, right next to the railway station. To be more precise, the railway station, the main road and the railway lines are all meticulously packed into a tight space.

The railway station

Chicken Taipo ( bigger variant of momo) + a great cup of tea.

Fueled up, I began my exploration of Kurseong on foot. 

The locomotor garage beside the main road!

A short uphill walk for 15 mins from the town center took me to the tip of the town!! I reached the Eagle's Craig, a park with a  communication tower which gives you a panoramic view of the humble hill-station and its lush green valleys.

Entrance to the Eagle's Craig

I explored the insides of Kurseong until 3 pm and then boarded a share taxi back to Siliguri. As the taxi descended the , I fell blissfully asleep for merely five minutes within which the taxi broke down. All  gimmicks of the driver in vain, I had to find other means to get back.

Fortunately, I got a lift from an old gentleman who was returning from Darjeeling. On my way back, the serendipitous encounter with this modest beauty of northern Bengal kept playing at the back of my head.

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FYI: Another interesting way to get to Kurseong is by the toy train from New Jalpaiguri station. The tickets are cheap (~Rs 75 ). Declared as a world UNESCO site, the journey takes one through the busy town amidst the winding hill ranges, through a long scenic route till Darjeeling. Longer but alluring ( I bet!), this route takes a good 5 hours just to reach Kurseong!