Dorjeling / Darjeeling Sept. 29 – Oct. 07 1984
Saturday Sept. 29 1984:
By Road Runner (jeep?) from Gangtok to Darjeeling (Rs. 27/-). Boarded at 10 AM and reached only at 6 PM due to tyre puncture after Singhtam and some other trouble after the notorious Likhubir landslip area, on the banks of Tista. Stayed at Hotel Daffodil. Dorje (vajra/thunderbolt) ling (‘place’ where it fell)
Sunday Sept. 30 1984:
Visited Chourasta, Mall, Lloyd Botanical Gardens, Railway Station, Dhirdam Mandir, Chowk Bazaar.
Monday Oct. 01 1984:
Walked up to Youth Hostel – witnessed Phoolpathi Shobayatra from JP Thapa Park, Chourasta to Dhirdam Mandir and back (on the eve of Dasain {Durga Puja}); Visited Bhutia Busty Gompa (Monastery)- Step Aside ?), Mahakali Mandir
Tuesday Oct. 02 1984:
Went to Observatory Point 4.30 AM – 6 AM. Then Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park, Bengal Natural History Museum. Gandhi Jayanthi exhibition on the plight of Darjeeling Town, organised by Yuva Sangarsh Samiti, Sree Mandir, Tamang and Sherpa Gompas.
Wednesday Oct. 03 1984:
To Ropeway Office (shut for repair), North Point and back by taxi – Bloomfield Armed Police Grounds, West Point, to witness “maar’ (‘killing’) (the sacrifice of scores of buffaloes on the occasion of Dasain/Durga Puja) between 9 & 12. Went to Tourism Bureau and reserved ticket for Tiger Hill (trip?). Visited Burdwan Maharaja Palace, Ava Art Gallery, Victoria Falls, Happy Valley Tea Estate, Cemetery, and viewed the Peaks at sunset from Raj Bhavan Point.
Thursday Oct. 04 1984:
Toy train cancelled; took snaps of Bhutia Busty Gompa with Peaks at the background; visited Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre; from there to Lebong Race Course and back by taxi; washed clothes and then watched procession of Durga (for immersion at Khagrajhora) at the end of Dasain. Watched ‘The Driver’ cinema at Rink Theatre.
Friday Oct. 05 1984:
To Ghoom by toy train and then back on foot. Photographed train at Batasia Loop on its return journey. After lunch, window-shopping and loitering
Saturday Oct. 06 1984:
4 AM to Tiger Hill, Ghoom Gompa, Batasia Loop by Tourism Vehicle. Ending my sojourn in Darjeeling, by shared taxi to Mirik Lake 9 ½ - 12 and stay at Park Hotel. Walked around the lake, then to Devi Stan Temple. To the bazaar in the evening.
Sunday Oct. 07 1984:
By bus from Mirik to Siliguri 8 ½ to 11 AM – stay at Tourism Lodge, Siliguri. By shared taxi up to Singtam and then again up to Gangtok by 7 ½ PM along with Hariharan, SBI, and ‘Ponds’ friends, who were returning to Gangtok from elsewhere after Puja vacation.
29/09/1984 Bus fare from Gangtok to Darjeeling (by Road Runner) | 27.00 |
Limca at Rangpo | 03.00 |
Curry rice at Tista | 08.00 |
Board &lodge at Hotel Daffodil @ Rs.50 x 5 | 250.00 |
Commission to agent for room booking | 05.00 |
30.09.1984 2 chips pkt. + 1 milk bikis pkt. 2+2.50 | 04.50 |
01.10.1984 ‘’shradha’ (scarves) 2 pieces | 10.00 |
Mahakali Temple offering | 02.00 |
Apple ½ kg. 5 + tea .50 | 05.50 |
Books, picture postcards cards, etc. | 22.50 |
02.10.1984 Entry fee: Himalayan Mountaineering Institute & Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park | 01.50 |
Coffee | 02.00 |
T-shirt at Chowk Bazaar | 35.00 |
Processing advance for 2 rolls | 20.00 |
Photo tips for an old Nepali woman | 02.00 |
Tamang Gompa offering | 05.00 |
1 pkt. Each of chips & popcorn | 02.00 |
03.10.1984 To & fro taxi fare to North Point (ropeway) | 04.00 |
2 cups of tea at Darjeeling Rly. Station | 01.20 |
One roll processing | 20.00 |
‘Tiger Hill’ tour ticket | 14.00 |
Urgent washing of clothes – 2 pieces | 08.00 |
04.10.1984 2 plates momok at TRSHC(Tibetan Refugees Self-help Centre) | 02.00 |
5 picture postcards at TRSHC | 03.00 |
Donation for orphans at TRSHC | 15.00 |
Lebong-Bazaar taxi fare | 02.00 |
Film processing | 20.00 |
‘The Driver’ film – balcony ticket at Rink Theatre | 04.50 |
2 pkts. Each of chips, popcorn & groundnuts for Re.1 | 05.00 |
05.10.1984 II Class train fare to Ghoom from Darjeeling | 01.00 |
Halls (throat soother) & Éclairs toffee Rs. 2 each | 04.00 |
Chowmein (with pork) (more or less fried noodles with pork | 08.00 |
Fuji film roll | 65.00 |
Extra fish curry for lunch at Daffodil | 04.00 |
06.10.1984 Coffee at Tiger Hill | 01.50 |
Ghoom Gompa photo charge | 10.00 |
Ghoom Gompa offering | 02.00 |
Darjeeling-Mirik shared taxi | 30.00 |
Room rent at Park Mirik | 40.00 |
Lunch at ‘Manjusha’ (chicken curry) | 08.00 |
Rent balance for 2 days @ Rs.50 + service charge 10% Hotel Daffodil | 135.00 |
07.10.1984 Breakfast at Mirik (toast & double omlette) | 06.10 |
Bus fare to Siliguri | 07.00 |
Room rent – Tourist Lodge at Siliguri | 31.50 |
Lunch at Tourist Lodge, Siliguri | 11.93 |
Shared taxi to Singtam from Siliguri | 50.00 |
Shared taxi to Gangtok from Singtam | 15.00 |
T o t a l Expenditure of Darjeeling Trip | 953.51 |
Distance & fare chart of Darjeeling Toy Train
Station | Kms. | I Class Fare (in Rupees) | II Class Fare (in Rupees) |
01. Ghoom | 07 | 13 | 01 |
02. Tung | 16 | 16 | 02 |
03. Kurseong | 31 | 25 | 04 |
04. Mahanadi | 39 | -- | 05 |
05. Gayabari | 45 | -- | 06 |
06. Tindharia | 51 | 36 | 07 |
07. Chunbati | 53 | -- | 07 |
08. Rongtong | 63 | -- | -- |
09. Sukna | 71 | 47 | 08 |
10. Siliguri Jn. | 80 | 49 | 09 |
11. Siliguri Town | 83 | 60 | 10 |
12. New Jalpaiguri (NJP) | 87 | 60 | 10 |
13. Jalpaiguri | 121 | -- | 16 |
UP | Arrival | Down | Departure |
9D Local | 1000 | 2D Pass. | 1045 |
1D Pass. | 1745 | 4D Pass. | 0700 |
3D Pass. | 1625 | 10D Local | 1645 |
Notes:
Natural History Museum: Earlier known as Darjeeling Natural History Museum. Set up in 1903 on the suggestion of Governor of Bengal. Previously housed in Lloyds Botanical Gardens; shifted to the present building in 1915.
At the base of the statue at JP Thapa Park: “Shree Supradipta Manyabar General Pratap Shumshere Jung Bahadur Rana – Born (Nepal) 1886; Died (Darjeeling) 1934 – s/o late Maharaja Sir Bir Shumshere Junhg Bahadur Rana Kt. G C.S.I.
Thong Lin Ping Ma Ko Kwang Yang Sang
Late P.M. & C-in-C
Erected by his son Col. Sheree Sobina Shumshere Jung Bahadur Rana”. 
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