Since we were kids, we always used to hear, that “A city never sleeps”, but we think, it must. This tiring routine never ends and people living there never really realize what it is like to stop and feel. A city may portray what life is, but if you want to know about living, you must visit a village. We decided to listen to our hearts, and so, the roads led us to a virgin beauty of India, Pakyong, which is a small town in Sikkim.
There are several trains, which would take you to New Jalpaiguri station, the closest railway station to Sikkim. For us, we boarded Arunachal Express from Delhi; it takes 26 hours to reach NJP (only if it’s not running late). Our journey started long before we boarded the train, with high excitement and enthusiasm, we started our preparations.
Arunachal Express 
3AC of Arunachal Express
On 6 June, 2019 (Thursday), at 15:45 we boarded Arunachal express. The train was running a bit late, due to which we reached at 21:00 instead of 17:00. We were welcomed by light rain showers at the NJP station. There was no transportation available from NJP to Sikkim at such a late hour, so we decided to stay in the Railways dormitory for the night. Our experience of staying in the dorm was not a pleasant one. There was ongoing noise of the trains, and the dirty surrounding really disgusted us. The main problem was the bed bugs! They troubled us the whole night, and thus we were not able to take proper rest after the long and tiring journey.
New Jalpaiguri Railway Station 
Railway dormitory at NJP Station 
Outside view of the NJP Station
Still sleepy, we continued our journey, early in morning. We left the dormitory at 8:00, with all the excitement to see Pakyong. We came to know about a taxi stand from where we can take a direct taxi to Pakyong which is near Vishal cinema in New Jalpaiguri. The other way to reach Pakyong is by taking taxi going to Gangtok till Ranipool, and another taxi from Ranipool to Pakyong, this is a comparatively longer route so we decided to go straight to Pakyong stand. We took an E-rickshaw from the railway station, charging Rs.200 (Rs.100 per person), and by 9:00 we were there at the Pakyong stand.
An old platform at NJP Station 
A vegetable market in Siliguri
We got to know that, only 3 taxis are bound for Pakyong every day. First taxi at 11:00, second one at 14:00 and last one starts from 16:00. We couldn’t take the first taxi because it was pre-booked, so we had to wait for the 5 long hours to catch to second taxi at 14:00. This long wait surely was tiring, but the spark of excitement never went off.
Pakyong taxi stand near Vishal Cinema in Siliguri 
Waiting for the second taxi to start
At 14:00, we boarded the taxi to Pakyong. First 20-22kms of the journey was just plain road, and after that started the real fun! The zig-zag paths led us to the heavenly beauty. With each turn of the mountains we were moving close, towards finding our peace.
Plain roads 
Climbing the mountains 
A river flowing through the valley 
zig-zag roads
After waiting for good 5hrs and travelling the next 5, we finally reached Pakyong Bazaar. It felt so relieving to put our first step down from the taxi, far away from the hustle bustle of Delhi, in the silence of Pakyong. This place does not have many hotels, and we too preferred to experience home stay instead.
Taxi stand in Pakyong Bazaar
We were going to stay with the Basnet family, who own a homestay in Pakyong and live in their 150 years old ancestral home. Mr. Dewakar Basnet, came to pick us at the Pakyong Bazaar. His place is 3 km away from the bazaar. So, finally we reached his place at 19:30, the place we would be calling our ‘Home’ for the next 20 days.
Our Sikkim, Our home: A perfect holiday getaway
Experience the homestay with Basnet family.
150+ years old ancestral home of the Basnet family 
Newly constructed Homestay
Pakyong is hardly 45minutes away from Gangtok but only if you are lucky enough to not to be stuck in traffic. In Pakyong it feels like life has slowed down and we have time to count our breaths. The beauty of this place is wrapped in nature’s arm. It feels like all the mountains, tress, wind and the mist are talking to us, sharing with us the secret of peace.
Roads of Pakyong
Just like that, we covered the long distance of 1500 kilometers, from Delhi to Pakyong. It still is hard to believe for us that we are breathing so fine in Sikkim, so far away from our home. This is mere a step in our long walk of adventure and fun, in Sikkim. There is yet to explore what’s hidden in the lap of this beautiful valley.
Our stay in Pakyong is sponsored by Invacations
Cravings India 
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