ASSAM
TeenagE
Excursion to Sikkim ! By Barsha Das, class X............
On 28th November 2006 our school planned to taken the class IX students for an excursion to Sikkim. We went to West Sikkim which is really a very chilly place. I believe that this is one of those places which most tourists have failed to notice despite its beauty and charm.
We were 62 students in the team along with a guide. We boarded the Kanchenjungha Express at Guwahati railway station. We enjoyed a cheerful playing damsharaj and antakshori all the way.
After day 1 we got down at the Jalpaiguri station in West Bengal. From the station we had to carry our heavy bags to the bus stand. There we were joined by 5 guides, one of them a woman and they were to travel with us. The guides were experienced trekkers. We took pleasure in their friendliness.
Though the walking part was rigorous, the bus journey was neatly comfortable and nice; we were captured by the place’s serene beauty. The Teesta River was flowing along with us and trees formed a green carpet. The guides then gave us breakfast packets.
After that we reached Okhrey, took our lunch and went to Versey. The road here is a narrow strip, the bus cannot go any further and we got down. Now begins the real journey. The guides told us to take out our torch lights as soon as we got down from the bus. It was dark. We started trekking the hills, a sanctuary it was, and the road was scary, slippery and forests surrounded us in both sides. We were sad to miss the animals, besides the 5 kg baggage on our backs for 5 kilometres was little pleasure. We were at our destination after one and a half hour. We entered a lodge named Last Valley, which it is said once lived the Prince of Sikkim. We were shivering like anything here, the temperature was 2 degree, though a cup of tea we found refreshing.
Next day the guides showed us some up warm up exercises and then took us for a sight of the Kanchenjungha Range which looked beautiful from the place. We then trekked 8 kilometer up and down the Versey hill to explore the place. The trekking was adventurous; we slipped over and over again as we were passing through a large number of fallen trees. The trekking was tiresome; we took lunch back at the lodge and decided to take rest. In the evening we gathered for bonfire and it was time for fun and frolic. We sang, we danced, and we mimicked the teachers.
On day 4 we trekked from Versey to Gorkhey in West Bengal. This time we hired some people with us to carry our baggage. I was surprised to see them carrying 4-5 bags when I could not take even one.
We trekked for seven hours covering 16 kilometers. It was the most exhausting and unsafe part of the expedition. It became dark before we finished our trekking and one of our friends had a narrow escape from a steep fall.
The following day we trekked 16 kms from Gorkhey to Sirikhola which the best destination of the expedition. Such trips should be organized by schools during vacations to promote learning beyond classrooms. Thus I conclude by saying: In visiting a place one gets a unique traveling experience.
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