Day 1: Hyderabad to Darjeeling

Day 1: 15/10/2011

We took the morning flight out of Hyderabad to Bagdogra with a flight change at Kolkatta. The flight to Kolkatta was delayed by 75 minutes. I used the delay to park myself on the floor of the spiffy Hyderabad Airport , resting on the back-pack & tried to look like a cool Himalayan Trekker.

Luckily, the ATR from Kolkatta to Bagdagra was also delayed & still on the tarmac at Kolkatta & we were bundled directly from one plane to the next.

The ATR gave us the flavour of Darjeeling with the ethnic mix of the passengers & crew already reflecting the North_East. As we disembarked a Buddhist Monk on the plane blessed the Tibetan-looking Air Hostess.

I didn’t know what to expect from Bagdogra. My only acquaintance with Bagdogra was the flight announcements in the Metro Airports. Maybe it would be the usual dusty small town. But the view from the aircraft as we came in to land was very pleasant. There were carpets of paddy fields with rivers skirting through them. But I couldn’t see any hills or mountains.

The flight landed into a hot airport & we took a pre-paid taxi for the 3-4 hour journey from Bagdogra to Darjeeling. Bagdogra was lined with the usual small stores, but it ended in a jiffy & the road entered the Cantonment & Air Force Areas with the Canteens & Golf Courses surrounded by Tea Plants. Darjeeling was Tea but Bagdogra? The countryside soon turned into heavier vegetation & the temperature dropped abruptly with the smell of rain.

It is apparent that we were not just in West Bengal, but in Gorkhaland. All Shop signs just said Gorkhaland & there were no signs of Bengal or signs in Bengali. Obviously, the Telangana movement has learnt a few things from Gorkhlaland.

The road passes through small neat villages amid tea gardens. The air was blowing cold & fresh on the face as we climbed a hill & descended to a scenic bridge over the Dudhi river. The hills were on the left & the plains were on the right. It was a beautiful preamble to the Himalaya & I was already loving the trip.

We stopped for lunch at Mirick. The Mirick lake is surrounded by hills & the road was lined with cafes & shops. It was hosting a Gorkha Cultural Festival. We had Cow Mein for lunch in a Tibetan Cafe

We were lucky to see the tea-pickers come in to deliver the leaves at the collection point. It was a colourful sight against the misty green background. After all, this was the vision of Darjeeling one expects to see. The women looked cheerful with their bright clothes. The baskets were worn effortlessly. The days work done, they were relaxed. There is something about a labourer at the end of the day which seems to liberate him/her, which you do not see in an office-goer.

Soon enough we neared Darjeeling & encountered the Hill version of a traffic jam. An earth-mover was maneuvering through he narrow road. The vehicles on the other side formed an orderly line as a Cop directed the Earth-mover safely through the narrow road.

We passed Ghoom station where the Toy Steam Engine was puffing away. Ghoom also has a big Buddhist Monastery. Already we were seeing plenty of Tibetan & Buddhist influence. After all, Darjeeling was originally Dorje Ling & once part of Sikkim.

We reached Darjeeling by nightfall which is at 5:00 p.m. Our hotel was on a slope & we had to climb steep steps to the reception. We were escorted to our room up a steep flight of stairs & horrors: one more & yet one more. I was totally breathless and my heart raced. Was it taste of things to come in the trek over the next few days?