Page 34 - Seniorstoday November 2022 Issue

Travel
Sikkim –
A ticket to Paradise
Dinaz Wadia extolls on the beauteous landscape of Sikkim and puts to rest
any doubt that seniors are “old”
If someone claims to be old after hitting 70,
I will beg to differ. My husband Hosi and I
celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary
three years back and it has been a joyous
journey all along. We party hard, shake a
leg at the drop of a hat and travel big time
every autumn, until this wretched Covid
reared its ugly head. Hoped to commence
again this autumn of 2022 but the visa
issue stumped us.
So, not to be discouraged, we went local.
Aimed for Sikkim with West Bengal
thrown in, we came up with very pleasant
surprises. Hosi has always booked all
the details of travel himself when we
head abroad, where we mostly use the
public transport. That would have been
a challenge in Sikkim so we had to take
the help of an agent who looked after all
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the details meticulously including the car,
driver and guide and luxurious hotels.
Driving from Bagdogra airport to
Kalimpong, we whizzed past amazing vistas
which went from beautiful to spectacular.
The Teesta glided along with us for most
of our journey, which now unfortunately
has turned a bit grey in parts due to the
construction of a tunnel. Hope the political
jug fest over its waters between M/s.
Banerjee and M/s.Haseena does not damage
it further. When not Teesta, river Rangeet
or its tributary Rimbi would meander along
the gorges.
Our hotel Elgin Silver Oaks had an old
world charm juxtaposed with luxurious
facilities. We woke up in the morning with
the soft sunlight brushing our faces and
were struck by the stunning view out of