Our trip started on April 18 when our train left from Chennai with my aunt, parents, two cousins and I. Over the two-and-a-half day journey, we played cards, listened to music, and as per my dad’s rule, did not play video games.
We got off to see the sunrise at New Jalpaiguri station, West Bengal. A three-hour cab ride took us to Darjeeling, a town on a mountainside filled with alleyways and small shops.
We went to the ‘Rock Garden’, a famous park, where there was a beautiful waterfall we could go to the top of. My dad and I, both avid birdwatchers, got caught up photographing a water bird unknown to us.
The next day, we went to Mirik, some 50 km from Darjeeling. The weather was so foggy we couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead of us. The driver who was used to it, was driving by instinct. We were freaked out. We went to Simana Point on our way to Mirik. Here, the road is in India and the shops and houses next to it are in Nepal.
Finally, we reached Mirik. After a cold night, we drove for four hours to reach Gangtok. That evening, we went to M.G. Marg, a long and wide road with shops on all sides. No vehicles were allowed, so it felt like an open mall.
When we were shopping we suddenly felt a little woozy. Everyone started rushing out of the shops and the flowerpots hanging on the streetlamps started shaking. Everyone felt like they had experienced a tremor. We felt another one just as we were ordering lunch in a restaurant.
We weren’t ready to stay indoors, so we bought rolls and went to eat at our stay area while watching the news about the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Nepal. It was a memorable trip, after all.
Arjun Sivakumar,
Class 7, Isha Home School,
Velliangiri Foothills,
Coimbatore.
