We started on our sightseeing round Ravangla next day at 9Am. The driver of our Maruti van was 26 years old and constantly talking on his mobile so much so that we had to narrate some of our stories regarding what happened to such people who walked and talked, or those who drove and talked. Fortunately his talktime finished and he had to concentrate on his driving.
We first went to the Teri Tea garden, where tea bushes stretched to the horizon, interspersed with narrow curving pathways.
Our next stop was the nearby Biodiversity Park.
A sprawling place with little waterpools ,bridges and winding paths, contains numerous rare trees and flowers. Bluebells, forget-me-nots and unknown wildflowers were everywhere.
From the park we made our way on the Namchi Road to the massive statue of Guru Padmasambhava (unveiled in 2004) placed on a strategic hilltop. The statue is about 150 feet tall and is wonderfully constructed. Unfortunateley it was being touched up so the pictures do show the bamboo platforms. As we descended along the flag lined road, the breeze brought along with it a brisk shower and gurgling brooks started to flow beside us.
Next day . we made our way down to Siliguri. Heavy overnight rain had rendered the roads slippery.The fog brought the visibility down to a metre only as we slithered our way down to Namchi. The road from Namchi to Melli was a wonderful drive. We reached Siliguri and then Bagdogra airport, before taking the Kingfisher flight back to Kolkata in the evening.
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain
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