A Trip To Darap (Part 2)

I found out later that the drive is Dipu, a local in a village near Darap. He said he would go further along Yuksum and would drop me at the Darap Village. While on our way to Darap, we halted at an unknown bend at the road for some snacks. It was cold, the sky was clear, I knew we were in for a chilly evening at Darap. We had Momo’s and Phalay there at a small outlet, along with some warm tea. Phalay is Samosa (or Singara, as we Bengalis love to call it) made from Onions. It tasted amazing with some chili condiments that came along with it.

We reached Pelling by 7pm. It was dark. I got down at Pelling to by some booze. Booze is dirt cheap in Pelling. I bought a pint of Old Monk Rum, White Mischief and a bottle of local Red Wine for just 400 INR! The weather was freezing. By 8pm we reached Darap.

We had booked our stay at Daragaon Village Retreat. It’s a homestay maintained by the Mayfair Group of Hotels. There a small road made of cobblestones which goes up to the hotel, it’s a bit tricky walking on it because it’s almost always wet. Shiva Gurung maintains this homestay along with his wife Radha, his 2 daughters and son. Whoever wants to visit Darap should always try this homestay, its centrally located, has a wonderful view of the mountains, and the Gurung family entertains the guests as a part of their family.

Just beyond these mountains was Kanchenjunga!

Posted by Rajtilak Bhattacharjee on Wednesday, December 31, 2014

We were put up in a room called the Kanchi room. It was with a small verandah. Oh, I missed a couple of more member of the Gurung family, here they are:

Posted by Rajtilak Bhattacharjee on Wednesday, December 31, 2014

We had called Shiva earlier and had asked them to prepare dinner for us while we were in NJP. Once we retired to our room, I took a long warm shower. It was refreshing, to say the least. We ordered for dinner in the room. Dinner was simple, yet delicious. Rice, a sabzi and Chicken Curry. The food was piping hot but it went off the plates in no time. Sleep came in and when I opened my eyes, it was already morning. We had our tea and breakfast, the breakfast had roti made of local grains, was brownish in color, and boiled veggies along with eggs.

Out traditional breakfast. Bread made of local grains, boiled veggies, eggs and tea.

Posted by Rajtilak Bhattacharjee on Wednesday, December 31, 2014

By the time we finished out breakfast, Dipu was waiting. He would be our guide in Sikkim. Shiva also instructed him to take us to a few unknown places which usually these conducted tour operators avoid.

First, we went to see the Changey Waterfall and then the Kanchenjunga Waterfall. Words fail me when I try to describe the beauty of these places. One should see them to experience the beauty themselves.

Posted by Rajtilak Bhattacharjee on Wednesday, December 31, 2014

From there, we went to visit the Norbugang Monastery (Dubdi Monastery) near Yuksom. Near to this, there is the factory for the famous HIT Beer (local beer owned by Danny Denzongpa). The Monastery is peaceful. It is said to be one of the oldest Monasteries of Sikkim. If you can spend an hour here, you would feel refreshed.

Posted by Rajtilak Bhattacharjee on Wednesday, December 31, 2014

From there we went to see the Helipad. And from there we went to see a local lake which is over crowded with beautiful fish.

Posted by Rajtilak Bhattacharjee on Wednesday, December 31, 2014

And finally, we came to the Khecheopalri Lake. It’s a 10 minutes walk to the lake from where Dipu dropped me. A narrow winding road took us to the Lake. Khecheopalri Lake, originally known as Kha-Chot-Palri (meaning the heaven of Padmasambhava), is a sacred Lake for both Buddhists and Hindus, which is believed to be a wish fulfilling lake. Don’t know about wished, but the Lake itself is enough to fulfil the wishes of every wanderlust.

Posted by Rajtilak Bhattacharjee on Wednesday, December 31, 2014

By the time we finished watching the beauty of the lake, it was afternoon and was pretty late. We already had lunch at Yuksom, Chicken Chow and Pancakes with Maple Syrup and Honey. So, we started back for Darap.