Early afternoon, we gathered at the college all apparently excited to head out for our tour.

Altogether we were 36 people, including three teachers. We carried our heavy bags and managed them on the bus.

Our First destination was Darjeeling,and it was a long way so we spent our very first night travelling on the bus. The second day we reached Illam at 8 in the morning and enjoyedat the Illam tea garden. It was so special. We had continued to have fun throughout our bus ride and here we were, at a beautiful place, still in merry spirits. Our expectation was increasing from time to time. 

Upon reaching Pashupatinagar, we changed our route and took two sumos, with nine people in each sumo. From there on, we visitedMirik which is beautiful place to hang around to enjoy the view. The entire place resembled a well-groomed garden. We took a break for the day and rested at a cozy hotel. To refresh ourselves we walked around Chauthan, the street there seemedso impressive, full of lights anddecoration. 

The next day we woke up early in the morning to visit the Tiger Hillsand have a view of the rising sun. Though it was too cold there,the crowd gathered to see the early morning sunrise were busy clicking photos, drinking hot coffee and waiting for the sun’s arrival.

After that, we had our breakfast, packed our bags and headed for Sikkim. It was five hours from Darjeeling. On the way to Sikkim, we thoroughly enjoyed the view and made a lot of memories. We reached Sikkim at 8 pm and stayed at a hotel in Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. All of us were too tired, so we had dinner and went to take a rest. 

The next day, our guide helped us visit different places in Sikkim. Firstly, we went to the Banjhakri waterfall where we had fun playing with water, taking pictures of scenery and even tried on the traditional Sherpa dress.We then went to the plant conservation areaand the Peace Pagoda.Our fourth day in Sikkim ended with us buying souvenirs for our near and dear ones. 

It was our last day in the place. We got up at 6:30 am to make our journey to TsomgoLake in east Sikkim, which is 40 km from Gangtok. The attractive scenery, trees and hills on the way to the Lake is truly serene. As we were reaching the Lake, our excitement level had surpassed all limits. All of us were eagerly waiting to play with the snow at ChanguLake.

As we rode higher, toward the Lake, mountains clad with snow started to appear at a close distance. The view kept us entices. Upon reaching the Lake, we found out that it was completely frozen and we just took a moment to take in the real beauty of it. It was like a dream to see huge yaks. It felt like we were in heaven. 

After that, the most exciting moment was on the ropeway as we saw attractive Himalayas and high hills from the air. The experience was unbelievable. 

We returned to our hotel at 1 pm and prepared to head back home. But to our dismay, the Sikkim border was closed that day. So we stayed back and enjoyed our extended visit. While returning back, we realized how fast time had passed, and we were taking back all but memories. 

Sunar is a Grade XII student at Prime International Secondary School, Kusibun.