Teleworking among the mountains

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020!! Many welcomed it with their friends, families, their loved ones having great foods, glasses in their hands, standing in the rooftops. Eyes sparkled with the reflection of the firecrackers, some to do list many prepared for the coming 365 days. All went into vein when the pandemic hit the world. Every plan got ruined. Just a quarter later everyone started to think when will this end?

The work structure changed upside down this year. Work from home became a mandate for all the IT companies also for few non IT firms. For many this helped them to spend quality time with families for others it became so frustrating and for very few this was the chance to do some remote work and earn. Soon lockdown was over. People started going to the streets, travel and tourism started to resume.

Please collect your PPE kits and step towards gate 16, announced the Go Air executive. The flight to Bagdogra from Calcutta airport was scheduled to depart at 1:00 PM. You guessed right I took the chance for doing some remote work from Kalimpong for a month. One of my elder brother is currently doing a job at Kalimpong and he gave me this idea to work from his home at the hills. I realized this opportunity may not come later so why not take it. So there I was standing outside the Bagdogra airport waiting for his ride to come. And this is how the story started…

Week-end 1 (Sunday):

We planned to visit nearby places every week end as we had our own vehicle there. Started off by visiting Durpin Monastery, which apparently was closed due to corona and we came to know that when we reached. So we chose to move on and visited Deolo park. Deolo Hill is one of the two hills that the town of Kalimpong stands between. Kalimpong is situated on a ridge connecting the two hills, Durpin and Deolo. The hill is 1,704 meters (5,590 feet) and is the highest point of Kalimpong town. After roaming around the Deolo Park we went outside and had some tea. From there we rode towards Army golf course at the opposite of the famous haunted Morgan House. It was pretty windy there because of the open golf course. So we called it a day and returned to our home.

Week-end 2 (Sunday):

Following the Rishi road we moved towards Sillery Gaon. The road was in a pretty bad shape for last 4-5 kilometers. Hence it took a lot of time to overcome the final stretch. Initially we entered the village, walked around the local then climbed for the view point.

It was very beautiful sight. We got a chance to see Mt. Kangchenjunga and Teesta River. Spend some time at the view point, took some pics and started towards Pedong.

Ohhh it was damn cold in Pedong in the mid of the day itself. A colleague of my brother lives there, posted to be precise. So he invited us for a lunch. Had rice, dal, sabji, egg curry, chicken, with freshly home made ghee. Ate too much, can’t move, I said lying flat on the icy chilled bed. Lets go for a hike to a view point, said the host. All excited I jumped right up and prepared for the hike. The hike was not a regular one. It’s basically not a tourist spot either. My brothers friend sometimes climbs it for work purpose so he knows the trail. We somehow tackled the heart pounding climb after stumbling over many loose gravels. All exhausted and completely soaked in sweat in that 6 degree temperature we took some rest to normalize the breathing. Indeed it was a breath-taking view. We were stunned to find that we climbed that steep. Fortunately there was a path through the woods nearby the view point which connects to the concrete road. It was a long walk but it was easy enough for us after the previous hurdle. So we climbed back to the starting point and headed back to our home. Probably this was our most actively exhausting day.

Week-end 3 (Friday):

We started early morning towards Charkhole. We stopped at Mukti bridge to take some pictures and found few restaurants at the end of the bridge. So we had some breakfast and resumed our journey towards Charkhole.

Charkhole is a beautiful village in the Kalimpong district of West Bengal. At an altitude of nearly 5500 feet, Charkhole is located just 27 km from Kalimpong town. The place is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty and thus has become a popular offbeat destination for its excellent view of the Kanchenjunga massif on a clear day. The panoramic view of snow-clad Kanchenjunga from Charkhole is a lifetime experience.

The village of Charkhole is dotted with Pine, Oak, Shal and cypress trees. The village is adjacent to the forests of Pemling. This is a forest area that continues to Loleygaon and Pabong area as well. The forests here are well known for a few rare species of butterflies.

Charkhole is also popular among birdwatchers. The popular local bird species are found here in abundance including Lemon Rumped Warbler, Hodgson's Treecreeper, Chestnut-tailed Minla, Green-backed tit and many others. Finally we reached the point.

Perfect place for a week end stay. An astounding view of Kanchenjunga can be seen from this village. So we had some walk here and there, soaked some sun clicked some pictures and started towards Chuikhim.

Chuikhim is a small village in Kalimpong district. Till recently it used to be one of the least visited tourist places in the area due to the inaccessibility of the place. It was a really hot afternoon. This place offers longs walk, so we roamed around the place for quiet a few hours which triggered our hunger. So we came back to local area. Had some food and started to head back home.

Week end 3 ( Saturday ):

We planned to visit Takdah, Tinchuley, Lamahatta today.

Started our journey towards Lamahatta. The journey was with lots of downs and ups. There is a view point / stop at the mid of Pesoke road. From there you can see (Triveni Sangamsthal) the confluence of Rangeet and Teesta river. The place is famous for picnic spot, bon fire and camps. After gazing at the view we resumed our journey again.

After half hour we faced a severe traffic jam. Thought there has been some accident or some road is under construction. After slowly moving forward we understood the traffic jam is for the cars parked beside the narrow road of Lamahatta park. It was a chaos. The parked cars were blocking one side of the road and left with only a single lane for others to pass. Nearly it took around 1.5 hours to pass that 3-4 kms. We became so frustrated that we took the decision not to visit the park.

Some important note here, if you have your own car and planning to visit this place, please make sure you are pretty much habituated to drive in high inclined / declined road with traffic otherwise you will be in a deep trouble.

So without making the stop we moved forward towards takdah. Some old barracks and orchid centre. It made us a little lite after that irritating traffic jam. Visiting the orchid centre requires to buy a visiting pass. Which is of amount 20rs per person. We took some time to see all the plants there. It was a very well maintained orchid centre.

Week end 3 (Sunday):

Today our destination is Aritar Lake and Mankhim.

Noted to be one of the oldest lakes in Sikkim, Lampokhari is a mesmerizing emerald boot-shaped lake. It is placed at an altitude of 4600 feet and is 1120 feet long and 240 feet wide. Also known as Aritar Lake, it is surrounded by rich green pine forests making it look even more stunning. The main highlight about this natural lake is its boating facility and a pathway that has been constructed around the lake for tourists to look at it from different angles. The pine forest around the lake adds more charm and captivates the visitors here. There is also a small shrine on the banks of the lake dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava.

This place was almost 80kms from Kalimpong and it requires to cross the Sikkim border. So it took around 3 hours to reach the place. After crossing the Sikkim border the roads were just too good. There was a parking fee at aritar lake which was around 40rs. The place is well maintained neat and clean. We took a walk around the lake. It is a massive lake. Few people were boating in the lake also. There are some shops beside the lake. So we had some momo and headed for Mankhim.

You can reach mankhim by taking the main road or if you are willing then you can do a hike from aritatar lake to mankhim. But be aware it’s a long hike.

The Mankhim Temple is an off beat tourist destination in Sikkim which is slowly gaining popularity among the tourists because of its great historical as well as religious significance. It is situated at the top of the hill near Hattipailay Village, belongs to Khambu or Rai; indigenous ethnolinguistic groups of Nepal who are believed to have originated in the Maity Village. The temple provides the exquisite view of Lampokhari Lake surrounded by the tall and well-groomed trees of pine and fir. The temple offer as a vantage point to get the unobstructed view of mighty Mt. Kanchenjunga.

We had a splendid glance from mankhim view point and took some rest there. After that we headed towards our car and started back.

At the time of heading back we went to Ramdura view point to have some hot coffee in a chilled windy weather and stunning sunset of Kanchenjunga.

Week end 4 (Thursday):

We planned that we won’t be staying at our home on new years eve. My bothers colleague has a home at Jhalong. After Knowing we are going there she invited at her place on new years eve.

It is almost a 130km drive from Kalimpong. And the journey itself is a bliss. Surrounded by the thickly wooded forest and the astounding hills of Bhutan in the backdrop, Jhalong is undoubtedly a paradise for nature lovers.

Hydel power station is one of the famous tourist attractions to visit while staying in Bindu. The Bindu dam also acts as a bridge for the people of neighboring kingdom Bhutan.

During the evening time we lit a bonfire at our stay to get some warmth.

Next morning we went to Dalgaon view point. It’s a wonderful place to spend few days. Very less people. Few resorts are also available and few are in work in progress. The place is filled with abundance of flowers and trees. From this view point you can also see Bhutan and a wide landscape.

Week end 4 (Saturday):

We drove towards Bidhyang (Doon valley to be more precise), it is a newly found gem of North Bengal and is the most promising off beat destination, situated beside the Relli River, which is approximately 15km from Kalimpong town. This place is covered with green lush crops of agricultural lands. The wooden hanging bridge of bidyang kalimong standing on the river is magnificent. The place is perfect for camping your tent beside the relli river, Relish the Wilderness of cool transparent water flowing through the rocks.

Week End 4 (Sunday):

Time passed by very quickly and it was again the time to return to Kolkata.

So everyone, if you are doing work from home and have any relative or friends far away living in the hills / beach / any places which has nearby tourist places, take a chance and experience the remote work. You will definitely love it... :)