Wanderlust

Wanderlust… I have an OCD for meticulous planning and organizing of things. Every little activity has to be minutely planned in advance so that things move with clock-work precision. My friends point out that I am missing out the fun in life, the fun in letting myself go, the fun in enjoying the disorganized chaos of life. Maybe they are right…may be they are just tired of hearing me say, “I told you so!” every time…maybe they just want me to be humane...make some errors and enjoy the roller-coaster ride of life. That was the premise or the background, with which I planned my trip to Gangtok. Hence, only the first day and final day were planned. With the aim of “Letting go”/go with the flow, for the intermediate days. The first thought that struck me, as soon as I landed in Bagdogara, was “OMG, how clean is this place!” Absolutely no litter, anywhere in sight! The hills and valleys were just like picture postcards, and the air….so fresh! No smoke and no pollution of any kind. The cab-ride from Bagdogara airport to the sleepy Siliguri town was filled with picturesque views of tea-gardens and hills. As my cab was zipping past the views, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, when I caught a signage. “City centre”-KFC. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Such a small town on top of a hill, where accessibility itself is a major hurdle, boasts of a KFC!!! And my city, the so-called aspiring IT hub, BBSR has been yearning for a KFC ever since I passed out of college! And still continues to be an elusive dream. Anyways, I thought to myself, now that I am in Siliguri, let me not miss this golden opportunity to dig my fingers into a creamy bucket of fried chicken….yummmm. But I had to save the KFC trip for the later part of the trip, as we were in a hurry to reach Gangtok before sunset. Because the hillside roads were too risky for night drive. …To be continued