When my parents and I started planning a vacation we had already set our hearts on travelling to Darjeeling and started thinking about the places we would visit. My dad, the ever enthusiastic planner, had already thought of all the places we could visit and my mom and I cross-checked them to make an itinerary.
We had planned to stay at a place called Dawaipani and then visit different places like Lamahatta and other places in Darjeeling. Dawaipani is one of the most beautiful places I have been to and the homestay we decided to stay at added to the experience. It felt like a fairytale to wake up early in the morning to the view of the Kanchenjunga mountains - despite the fog obscuring some of the view, it still looked beautiful. We had planned to stay there for two days but in the end, I did not want to leave.
Day 1- Lamahatta

I didn't know what to expect but all three of us (my parents and I) were very excited. We went to Lamahatta Eco Park, which looked straight from a postcard. The tall trees and the greenery were healing. My parents and I hiked uphill to see the beautiful lake on top of the hills and it was a challenging walk. Strangely, the hike was therapeutic because there were moments when we wanted to give up and not go further, but we continued and, boy was it rewarding. The lake surrounded by tall trees and clear winds devoid of the pollution that is all too popular in the cities was almost dreamlike and made me want to stay there forever. This hike was the highlight of our day; all three of us felt reinvigorated afterward.

After that, we headed towards other sites- one of them was the Teesta-Rangit spot, and the pretty view and the hot coffee we drank tied things together.

We then visited a small tea garden and bought some to take back.
Overall the day went by so fast but was very memorable. The journey back to the homestay made me look forward to the next day of the trip. We officially ended the day with really tasty food.

Day 2 - Darjeeling
I had never traveled to Darjeeling before and had only heard stories or watched clips in travel shows. I was a bit worried that Darjeeling would be too crowded (it is a busy and popular place), which it was but that didnot take away from the fun we had.

A) On the way to Darjeeling, we visited the Ghoom Monastery and we were told to be on the lookout for the Toy Train that passes by. The Monastery itself was very calming and the beautiful artwork and religious offerings added to the serenity of the place. As we were putting our shoes back on, we heard the whistles of the train and ran up just in time to see the train: I felt like a kid trying to make it in time and smiling from ear to ear throughout.

B)We then left to visit the Batasia Loop and War Memorial and turns out the train passes through the war memorial too. We walked around the Memorial which was sanctioned on 22nd March, 1995 to commemorate the Gorkha soldiers who bravely fought for our nation. The place was busy with people and many places to click pictures. Although we were more enamored by the sights of the hills and the blue sky. We alsogott another chance to see the train since it carried tourists there who also got down to look around. We didn't stay there too long though and made our way to the next site.

C) We then made our way to the zoological garden but we did stop on the way to check out the Tenzing Rock HMI even though we could not stay long. When we visited the zoological garden I wasn't sure what to expect. I felt a bit sad seeing the caged animals but they also seemed to be taken care of and we walked around seeing the animals and birds. The Red Panda is one of the popular animals there and it was fascinating seeing them (there were two of them) walking in their open enclosure and resting in real life and not in a TV show. The walk around the zoological garden was long and most of the enclosures were open (except the ones with carnivores and birds). The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute was also located there but we couldn't visit the place but we hope to go there the next time we travel to Darjeeling.


D)On the last leg of our journey, we visited The Mall Road, Glenary's Cafe, and The Peace Pagoda. Mall Road was crowded that day but we could still walk around since there was a Trade Fair organized and even though we didn't buy anything it was still fun to window shop. Now Glenary's wasn't really a tourist site we had planned to visit but the cafe had been established in 1938 and was a heritage building. And if that wasn't enough, it is a popular bakery and I did not want to say no pastries! We then left for the last place of the journey that day- The Japanese Peace Pagoda. I had not expected the place to be this peaceful because every spot in Darjeeling has a lot of people there (it is after all such a beautiful place) but it was calming and the temple and Pagoda had a regal air to them.
With that, we made the journey back to the homestay and I was already feeling sad because we were going to leave the next day to travel to Cooch Behar (our next destination). The night was spent packing and the very next morning we left for Siliguri's railway station. On the way, all three of us kept on reminiscing about all the places we got to see and wondering how the next part of our vacation would be.
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