Kolkata - Siliguri - Temi (Sikkim): The Xylo Takes a Tea Break

[Chandranath]

In my numerous visits to North Bengal, Sikkim and the Darjeeling mountains I had criss crossed and passed though countless tea Gardens and have always been bowled over by the beauty and serenity of them. While on those journeys, had always stopped to have a feel of those places whatever might be the urgency but such stoppages have never lasted for more than an hour.

So this time I had decided to make a trip exclusively dedicated to the tea gardens and to stay amongst them to not only feel their heartthrob but also to sense the life behind these gardens.

Spoke to a school friend of mine Parha and his wife to tag along with me, my wife and 2 year 10 month old son. He heard of the plans and immediately agreed and took the lead in finding the place and accommodation for us. The group of 5 (4 & half more precisely) was what it was to be..



Now to choose the destination, between the plains of North Bengal, Sikkim and the Darjeeling / Kurseong area found out a whole lot of options but most of them were abnormally priced. Some of them went up to Rs 30k for a night for a couple. I was sure they had the reasons to charge so high but neither did my pocket permit me nor did my sense allowed me the luxary to spend such a fortune for a night to stay like the planters from the bygone era of the British Raj.

Finally zeroed in on Temi Tea Gardens which is the only Tea Garden of Sikkim, situated in the South district and producers of one of the finest tea accross the Globe.



At a height of almost 6,000 ft it offerred a hotel (they call it a resort) which was fairly priced and absolutely within the Gardens. Called the Cherry Resort it also had a fabulous view of the Kunchejungha range.


We wanted to book Cherry for all 3 nights of our stay but relised that despite being on a stricter budget we still wanted to have a feel of the Old World British charm while visiting the gardens. Quite by accident we hit upon a PWD Bungalow on the border of the Gardens. Got the info that it had only 2 rooms which suited us fine as we 2 families would get complete control of the construction. We were told it had a kitchen with all amenities and we could cook ourselves or ask the caretaker to do it for us. Was slightly skeptical as was travelling with family specially my kid, but a risk taker that I am heard my heart rather than my head and went ahead and booked it for 2 nights. It turned out to be a masterstroke as the stay was one of the best and most exciting I have ever had in the Himalayas. Here it is..



And of course like every time the journey from Kolkata to Sikkim and back was made super smooth and super comfortable by the one and only XYLO...

 

[AR Ram]

Great pictures with lush green meadows !!!. The hotel/resort looks very isolated but very very peaceful.

 

[amit1km]

awesome, those landscape and the staying places looking cool.

 

[rahul4640]

Beautiful pictures! What was the charge of the Temi tea garden? Was the food expensive? Please also share with us the pictures of the interior of the PWD bungalow.

 

[AppU]

Excellent Pics chandranath

waiting for the remaining TL

 

[swiftkolkata]

Superb..keep it rolling.Nice pics.

 

[anshuman8]

Awesome pics .

Keep posting more.

 

[Chandranath]

Great pictures with lush green meadows !!!. The hotel/resort looks very isolated but very very peaceful.

Thanks Ram. Actually the greenery is not exactly a meadow (which is more of a grassland) but the tea shrubs.

Beautiful pictures! What was the charge of the Temi tea garden? Was the food expensive? Please also share with us the pictures of the interior of the PWD bungalow.

Thanks Rahul. Cherry resort was above Rs 3k per room per night. The bungalow we got for less than Rs 3k per night

Excellent Pics chandranath

waiting for the remaining TL

Thanks Appu

Awesome pics .
Keep posting more.

Thanks Anshuman

Will start posting the details.. Stay tuned please

 

[Chandranath]

Day 1 - 2nd June'13 - Sunday

For me it was a concious decesion to start on a Sunday as NH 34 is usually very crowded on a weekday. Not to suggest that the road has any less trucks / heavy vehicles on Sundays, but the cycle rickshaws, Tongas, the bullock carts, the auotos are much lesser allowing the faster vehicles to move at a normal speed

Two of my friends Rahul4640 and Anis of this forum had already adviced me to take the Dumka Bhagalpur route but we had already planned our first night halt in Raigung tourist lodge on Nh 34 and hence taking this roue became mandatory also.
d Krishnanagar
Started at 6.30 in the morning from South Kolkata and as per usual practice drove around Kalighat temple before picking up my friend Partha and his wife. Started from Partha's house in Kasba area around 7.10 am. It was a long journey and more importantly through some rough roads and had the usual concerns from my wife and son.


Reached the outskirts of Ranaghat by 8.55am (&1 km from our base) and decided to stop for breakfast.


My son (Jijo) was more interested in the extra curricullar activities of the BPCL Ghar rather than the food itself



As we start to leave, we take some photos


From here on we next stopped in Baharampore Tourist lodge for lunch and went ahead to Malda and on to Raigunj. Roads wer not as conjested as it was a Sunday, however the surface being broken / peeled off / cracks in between the average speed never crossed 40k /hr.

Reached Raigunj Tourist Lodge at 7.15 in evening exactly 12 hours from Kolkata with ample and more than sufficient breaks in Malda, Baharampore and Nadia (just before Ranaghat).

It was a tough day drive on some BAD roads and Jijo and I relax together feelin g it s effects.


Soon the others join


We end day one on a happy note.

 

[Chandranath]

Day2 - 3rd June 2013 Monday

This was supposed to be a very nerve wracking day for me. Thinking of crossing the Dalkhola level crossing gives you shivers down the spine. One of the major reasons why motorists want to avoid NH 34 is this crossing which may take upto hours to get cleared.

Throughout the previous evening I had been sensitising all on this and pressed upon them the importance to be on the road by 6am and to reach Dalkhola by 7 so as to cross it before the normal traffic sets in.

Got up early but not as early to make the 6 o' clock start. The tourist lodge at Raigung was right on the highway (NH 34) bang opposite the Kulik Bird sanctuary. In fact the tourist lodge in itself is an extetion of the Bird sanctuary and some of my earlier visits in Winter had seen quite a few species of them within the premises hangin on to the trees inside. But this time it was NOT to be and we moved on dissapointed.

But that did not deter me climbing up to the watch tower of the lodge to make an ariel survey


While coming down from the tower saw the Xylo had already been washed neat spick and span by a hotel guy whom we had requested the previous night and was sparkling in the morning Sun and ready to hit the Himalayas.


Started at 6.45 and first fuelled up. The Fuel Efficiency that the Xylo returned was a decent 11.46 k/ltr on bad road with full ac and good amount of load. Hit Dalkhola which was 45 km from Raigung by 8 am over some pathetic roads and before I could realise I was on the rail tracks of the Dalkhola level crossing which usually takes an hour for me to cross. My luck was so great that given a chance would have bought a lottery ticket.

From then on to NH 31 it was a breeze with the Xylo hitting speeds of 130k/hr at times. I am not including too many details of these roads from Kolkata. If anyone is interested in getting down to more details may find so in my earlier story on the same route in this link
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ylo-takes-heights-north-bengal-himalayas.html

The landscape changed very fast as we approached Siliguri. From the paddy fields and vegetable plantations it gave way to the tea gardens a clear indication that we were nearing the mountains.

It was a Monday.. beginning of a week for me in my professional life.. my company's branches open pan India.. doing business.. me getting calls but not picking up as I was driving.. but finally relented.

Parked the Xylo on the highway with tea Gardens all accross, the distant mountain, the cloud cover, the absent Kunchenjungha but always making its presence felt. Took out my mobile and Connected with my teams accross on SMS and made some quick calls wiith headquarters to assure that despite my leave I am still on the job (which I was).







The ambience was great but huge clouds loomed over us and threatened to spoil the mood. And they did even as I drove on to reach Siliguri by 10.10am on some very wet roads.


Stopped for a quick refuell for the xylo and then decided to fuel ourselves up. My favourite joints have been Sevoke and reached there around 11 and decided to take an hour break for a brunch.



From here on the Xylo hit the mountains and we kept on a constant cruising speed but roads around Kalijhora appeared to be a joke with craters, mud, dust, slush making driving extremely slow specially with the heavy traffic.

Reached Tista Bazar in an hour's time from Sevoke and stopped for a quick breack on the bridge over the Teesta which we needed to cross. My son was visiting the mountains for the first time and was enjoying it like anything though I really doubt as to how much he would be realising it and retaining facts.




Tista Bazar is a place from where the road bifurcates to Kalimpong and a road also branches of to Darjeeling. The Xylo took none of them and proceeded on to NH 31A towards Gangtok.

Just before reaching Melli stopped at the confluence point of the Teesta and the Rangit Rivers. The clear water of the Rangit was falling into the comparatively slushy waters of the Teesta. The sight was enough to energise me though I had seen the same confluence from the top of a mountain and it appeared a different vista from their.



It was rafting season and the jeeps were busy.



Reached Singtam on the route to Gangtok vis the Bengal / Sikkim border of Rangpo by 3 pm.



Here we were to leave the Gangtok route and turn left for Ravangla / Tarku to reach Temi Tea Garden. Till now I was in complete command over the road directions but from here though I knew the route still needed to be doubly sure with the locals.

I have never used the GPS navigation systems and for me the local paan walla, the taxi driver, the old man standing on the lonely road had acted as a navigation tool. Here also I trusted their instincts and very soon was driving through some deserted greenery, crossing streams and climbing uphill.


Reached Temi by 4.10PM. The first 2 days we were to spend in the PWD Bungalow and we learnt about it from Mr. T.D Bhutia who was a retired accountant of the Temi Tea factory. He stayed in Temi Bazar and we reached there, parked the Xylo and called him on his mobile.

And what a coincidence.. quite unkwowingly we had actually parked in front of his gate and even as Partha was speaking to him on the mobile we could hear him talking back though our naked ears only. We were glad to find him so easily. The selfless gentleman that he is he was glad to see us in his own backyard of Temi



He offerred to guide us to the PWD Bungalow and got in the Xylo. It was 2 km uphill from the Temi Bazar on the road to Namchi. The Bungalow at first glimpse was a hit and the isolation and completeness mesmerised us. The Xylo got parked in front and were bowled over by the warmthness of both the rooms with wall to wall red carpet complete with fireplaces. It had a large living room too.



The Tea Gardens started from the back of the Bungalow. My bedroom window caught a glimpse of them.



The Kitchen was like an outhouse and the foodie that he is Partha's first job was to make a quick inspection of it.


to conclude day 2 in next post as this has run out of pic capacity....

 

[Chandranath]

Day 2 (Contd)

We just decided to give our tired limbs some rest and leisurely hang around the cottage.



The dining enclosure was good though the XYLO was not allowed entry


but still we decided to have tea and evening snacks under the open skies


The caretaker of the bungalow had gone to the market to fetch some vegetables and chicken for us. Wives along with the gardener who doubled up as the executive chef took the onus of getting us a hot and tastey dinner.


Unfortunatelu due to a heavy reain in between the power snapped leaving all the adjoining mountains incuding our little bungalow in darkness. The caretaker, gardener had all left by that time and we were the only souls in the vicinity. Had dinner on torch light and the laptop light of Partha with the symphony of the steady drizzle outside.

Power was restored by late night, but we were asleep by then.

Thus concluded Day 2 also on a happy note...

 

[AR Ram]

Day 2 (Contd)

We just decided to give our tired limbs some rest and leisurely hang around the cottage.
View attachment 95597
View attachment 95598

The dining enclosure was good though the XYLO was not allowed entry
View attachment 95600

but still we decided to have tea and evening snacks under the open skies
View attachment 95601

The caretaker of the bungalow had gone to the market to fetch some vegetables and chicken for us. Wives along with the gardener who doubled up as the executive chef took the onus of getting us a hot and tastey dinner.
View attachment 95599

Unfortunatelu due to a heavy reain in between the power snapped leaving all the adjoining mountains incuding our little bungalow in darkness. The caretaker, gardener had all left by that time and we were the only souls in the vicinity. Had dinner on torch light and the laptop light of Partha with the symphony of the steady drizzle outside.

Power was restored by late night, but we were asleep by then.

Thus concluded Day 2 also on a happy note...

Excellent TL blended with beautiful pictures. Awesome scenery . In one of the stretches where the vehicle parked, I noticed a concrete road. Except a small bit, all the way the road looks fabulous.

Waiting for the remaining TL and pics

 

[Chandranath]

Excellent TL blended with beautiful pictures. Awesome scenery . In one of the stretches where the vehicle parked, I noticed a concrete road. Except a small bit, all the way the road looks fabulous.

Waiting for the remaining TL and pics

Thanks Ram.

The stretch of NH 31 from Dalkhola to Siliguri does have a fair bit of concrete stretch.

 

[rahul4640]

The stretch of NH 31 from Dalkhola to Siliguri does have a fair bit of concrete stretch.

Yes. A picture of the excellent highway with concrete surface from my side, with tea gardens bordering both sides.

BTW, excellent writings. Please continue at your leisure, as we are eagerly waiting for more.
Warm regards,
Rahul

 

[AR Ram]

Yes. A picture of the excellent highway with concrete surface from my side, with tea gardens bordering both sides.
View attachment 95750
BTW, excellent writings. Please continue at your leisure, as we are eagerly waiting for more.
Warm regards,
Rahul

Excellent road rahul . We hardly see such kind of concrete roads. Looks like a runway.