I don't know where do tourists get this information that as soon as they come they ask where is the 2 Lakh Cactus So we show them this plant. Someone must have told this. Some look for cactus of 1 Crore.
Namaskar Friends! Welcome to Visa2explore. I am your host Harish Bali. We're traveling in the hilly regions of North Bengal.
We reached Kalimpong last night. Hotel is 7KM on outskirts of Kalimpong. This place is known as Delo. We have walked to Delo Park now.
Let's explore the park today with the help of Mr. D.K. Khawas. Namaskar Khawas Ji! He locally resides in Kalimpong. I met him through someone's reference. So he offered to help explore Kalimpong. It's a great feeling just entering the park.
The park is empty as its early morning. December end and January its crowded Its difficult to find someone if lost due to the huge crowd. I think locals also visit the park.
This is a good place for refreshment. This is a popular tourist spot. This is also at a good height. "I Love Kalimpong" looks so pretty there. Let's go to the view point to see the valley view and Mt. Kanchenjunga. Let's also check the West Bengal Lodge.
I'm feeling good to walk here. In the afternoon due to the crowd it doesn't feel that good. I'm enjoying more in the empty park. So many flowers are blooming here. Flowering season is in October here.
Lily flowers are blooming too. Beautiful! The tourist lodge is in high demand here. I asked if a room is vacant to see. But its completely booked till December I can book the room for January. It is only 13th November today.
There are two room categories of Rs 2500 and Rs 3500. No doubt this place is beautiful! You get to see this amazing view along with this huge open ground. Where is the viewpoint? It's foggy right you can see Teesta River. You can see entire Sikkim belt and Mt. Kanchenjunga.
Due to fog it is not visible today. Best time for views is October-November. Its November now but by chance its foggy Is that Teesta River flowing down? That is a landslide there. It looked like a river was flowing down.
This place is so peaceful. By 11AM-12PM the silence of this place fades with the crowd. One can get 2-3 hours in morning alone. Tourists come after 11AM.
We have come for paragliding enquiry. There are 5-6 people who do bookings. To fly 10-15 minutes, charge is Rs 3000.
For 20-25 minutes its Rs 5000. For photos or videos Rs500-Rs 800 extra. Does paragliding happen anywhere else in North Bengal region? Paragliding happens only in Delo Park.
I was told by many to do it in Delo Park. Paragliding of Bir Billing in Himachal Pradesh is most famous. It started there first in India. It started here in 2013. There is a famous school here. It is a 100 years old school.
Dr. Graham's Homes School. How far is it from here? It is 15 minutes away from here. Let's see the school from outside. Let's go. We came to Dr. Graham's Homes School.
The principal has some meetings now. He has asked us to come at 3PM. Let's go to Kalimpong. We'll come here after lunch. Is this the main market of Kalimpong? Yes, this is the main market of Kalimpong. If someone wants to come by own car There is no space for parking here.
The cars are parked on the road. The cars have taken permission. They pay tax and rent for parking here. For private cars its difficult to park. Cars are packed on Siliguri Taxi stand. If tea is famous in Darjeeling..
What is famous in Kalimpong? Thukpa and Lolipop is famous here. Lollipop is made from cow's milk. There is a song on Lollipop too. Yes, Lollipop and Thukpa.
Momo is available everywhere but Thukpa and Lollipop is famous. I heard noodles is famous too. Nursery visist is important point in Kalimpong's local tourist attractions.
How many nurseries are here? There are more than 100 nurseries here. In surrounding areas more than 100. There are different varieties among them This is a Cactus nursery. You'll find Gilia and Orchid Nursery too. There are big nurseries here. I have met Navneeta Pradhan Ma'am She owns this nursery.
I had a quick look at Cactus varieties here How many varieties are there here? More than 1500 varieties of Cactus. How many Cactus varieties are in India? Mostly these are imported varieties here. These are imported from North, South and Central America. That's fantastic! As I visited these two galleries if I have to buy Cactus for home.. I might not buy as its said that thorns are not good for homes. So, what's your view on this? I have an opposite view than that.
People see the thorns not the flowers. In April, May they will see flowers in it too. Cactus is an indoor plant. They grow in unity as single plant doesn't grow They grow in groups.
One plant will not grow. In one pot you have to put 2-3 plants. Singular is Cactus and plural is Cacti I thought the reverse.
Are thee 1500 varieties available here? I have more than that as I do cross-pollination to get new varieties. People get surprised to see huge size. These are here for 45 years. These are from Mexico. It's life is more than 45 years.
It requires very little water. There is water in its body. How to carry it? People take it in their cars. Tourists ask where is Cactus worth 2Lakh So, we show them this plant. Someone must have spread this rumor. So, I show this.
Some ask for the Cactus worth 1 Crore. What is the price? It ranges between Rs 75,000-Rs 80,000 This size costs Rs 75000. It is expensive and grows slowly. How old is this nursery? It is 50 years old. What's special here that there are over 100 nurseries in Kalimpong? The weather here supports plant growth. I had this fruit in Meghalaya 5 years ago.
Its sour in taste, but forgot its name. I have forgotten its English name. We call it Sangkatra We add chilli and salt and eat this fruit.
We add more chilli powder and eat. When will it fully grow? It'll be ripe in 1-2 weeks. People prefer to eat this in February. Its said to be ready to eat in February.
It was nice visiting this place. Thanks a lot! We've come to visit famous monastery. Its locked, so is it closed now? The entrance is from that side. Which sect do the followers of Guru Padmasambhava belong? When I visited Rewalsar in Himachal Pradesh I shared a lot in details about the life of Guru Padmasambhava. You can see Holy scriptures this side. There are paintings on the walls.
Paintings of Buddhist Gods & Goddesses These paintings are 30-40 years old. I wish Lama Ji could explain this better what each painting is depicting Let's go out now. I had Nepali food in this region along with Tibetan and Bengali food. I wanted to have a fourth variety of food.
So he told we can try Bhutanese food. We will have lunch here. I can see an orange tree here. Yes, oranges grow well here. Proper orange gardening isn't done here.
I've taken soup before main course. This is Jasha Maru soup. There are chicken cubes in it.
Chicken is good. Its tastes and full of butter. It as butter, spring onion and ginger.
But there's a lot of butter in it. Overall, the soup is good. This is chicken curry with glass noodles its called Jatsha Tshoem. This is Mushroom with cheese. This is Red chilli with cheese.
Kam Datshi has dried red chilli & cheese. Every main course dish has cheese. Glass noodle, chicken with cheese.
There's nothing without cheese. I heard Kalimpong has factories that make glass noodles. Yes, there are 15-20 factories.
Glass noodles is supplied everywhere. In Meghalaya, Arunanchal. It is a bit spicy. Bhutanese use chilli so to balance the spice cheese is added.
The chilli is not as spicy as I thought. Cheese is enhancing the taste. We can find red rice in many places. I try it everywhere its found. It tastes different from normal rice.
Grain is small in size, do you eat at home? We eat it sometimes. This dish's preparation is delicious. I'm yet to taste the dish with mushroom. Have a look at the texture.
Mushroom cooked in cheese and dried chillies. This mushroom tastes quite different. It tastes different due to the cheese. On a serious note, I didn't like the mushroom & cheese combination much. One has to have it 4-5 times to develop the taste for it. I liked chicken and cheese dish a lot.
Today, we had a different food experience We'll leave after lunch. We'll explore Kalimpong market a bit. After that our journey will continue. By end of the day we'll reach Rishop. We crossed Kalimpong market 2-3 times.
So, I asked our driver to stop here. Let's first see famous noodles shops. Then we'll see local handicrafts. We are at this shop.
Tell me more about these varieties. This is pure veg atta noodles. What is the price of this? The MRP is Rs 50. The wholesale price is Rs 35. These egg noodles has MRP of Rs 35. The wholesale price is Rs 25.
This is a wholesale shop. These noodle are without egg. This costs Rs 25 with Rs 35 as MRP. What is this here? These noodles are made from moong dal. You can also get its dust. This is Rs 20 per piece.
This is made from Moong dal dust. The dust is separated and eaten by locals as Phambi. Phambi is made from it. Its noodles of rubbery texture. It looks like dhokla of Gujarat. Where can we eat this? We can eat Phambi on the way.
The taste and texture is like egg white. This is moong dal powder. Roughly, how many noodles factories are there in Kalimpong? There are about 50-60 factories.
These are small-scale factories. There are 10-15 Phing noodles factories That's interesting! Give me 4 packets of eggless noodles. Or give me 5 packets each.
This is a special quality of Lollipop It is made from milk. This is popular since British Raj. It was famously known as Swiss Diary. Now Swiss Diary has closed down.
It is now prepared by locals. How much does a packet cost? This is Rs 70 per packet. I'll take this too.
It's a lollipop made from milk. Many sweets are made from milk. Yes, but this is supplied all over the world. Taste it and you'll know what it is.
Mawa, made from milk creates this sweet This has a strong fragrance. It is mawa (khoya), what's its shelf life? It lasts for 3 months in Kalimpong temperature but outside Kalimpong, must be refrigerated Or this can get melted. This is very tasty! It is known as Lollipop here. Please pack all this. Thank you!
We're exploring Mintri Road Market I spotted a shop Bajrang Chum Thang Did I pronounce it right? Yes. I saw this and was curious to know This is Tumba, used for traditional drinks Its a bottle to serve local drink. One can't have the drink at once. The drink is sipped gradually. This showpiece is put on buildings.
What is it made of? This is similar to tiles used in buildings I've seen it outside Tibetan houses. You have a wide variety of things. This can be put on doors.
What's the price? This costs Rs 6500. It has 8 lucky signs in it. How much does this cost? This costs Rs 1800. These are plates kept under the bottle This is a plate. What's the price of this plate? It costs Rs 250.
Show me the one that costs Rs 450. Yes, Rs 250, Rs 350 and Rs 450. I have one piece of this at Rs 650. Give me two of this. Please give me a bill for it too.
The total is Rs 500. Thank you and nice meeting you! It is 3:30PM and I'm at Dr. Graham's Homes School. This is an old and famous school. We have the school's principal with us. Mr. Neil Monteiro. Good Afternoon and welcome to Dr. Graham's Homes School.
We were established in 1900.. by Reverend Dr. John Anderson Graham. He was a Scottish Missionary. He came to India in 1880s.
We are a school of a mix of day scholars and boarders. The concept is at the centre we have school and establishment buildings That side towards west end we have girls colleges. We don't have the dormitory system.
We have buildings with cottages. In each cottage we have 20-25 children. Cottage parents take care of children like parents at home. Girls cottages are spread on West end.
Boys cottages are over the East end. At the heart is chapel or church of school. This is the central point of the entire establisment. We have around 1200 students now including day scholars. We have a very large staff strength.
As we have so many departments. So, 320 people are working here. 75 teachers, then non-teaching staff cottage parents and workers. Our employee base is huge.
What does cottage parents refer to? In this cottage there ae 20 children. There'll be a couple, husband and wife who will look after the children. That's amazing. So, that's how you have concept of home.
That's the term for cottage parents. We don't call them hostel wardens. We call them cottage parents.
It began as a home then gradually founders realized its not just a home we have to provide so the school evolved out of the home. In 2000, we received Telegraph award for the school that cares. That's when we completed 100 years.
Our school was inducted into the Anglo Indian Hall of Fame. That's lovely and nice to learn all this. I'm so happy to visit such an old school and got a chance to meet you. Thank you so much for your time.
You are most welcome. After half an hour journey we've reached Deuralli View Point. If the fog wouldn't be there today.. this would be among top 3 views.
That's for sure. Which river is that far away? That is River Teesta. You can see longest river view from here. You can see entire mountain ranges of Mt. Kanchenjunga till Nathula Pass. This is a part of off-beat tourism. There are mostly locals here.
He has a homestay at Icche Gaon How far is it from here? It is 25minutes away from here. We'll go to Icche Gaon. If there wouldn't be fog today..
we could see sunset from Icche Gaon. There are no sunset points here but many sunrise points. From Icche Gaon you can see sunset. That's right, you'll get best sunset view from Icche Gaon. Sunset won't be visible let's go to your homestay, its 4:40PM already. It'll be dark when we reach.
We'll stay for a bit there then leave. After that how far is Rishop from there? It will take 1 hour 20 minutes. I liked the surroundings of this place. You can visit the viewpoint and walk too. There's not much traffic here. Let's go.
It would be good to come in the noon. Very nice. Hello ji! How many rooms are here? We have 4 rooms as of now.
What are the charges here? We charge between Rs 900-Rs 1200. It includes food too like Breakfast Lunch, Evening snacks & Dinner. This is the dining room. I thought of having just tea here and pakoda is served here too. This is roasted corn. This is made from flour.
Its crispy in taste. It has a little sugar in it too. This is served with tea.
It is crispy and hard. Corn is dry roasted. I have never had this before. How is it hard? Its hard as it is dried.
It is preserved for 1-2 years. This is a quick snack. This is something new and tasty.
This pakoda is of mustard saag. We had rai saag 5 times in 7 days. Its tasty and found everywhere. Pakoda is my first time.
We'll reach Rishop and settle down. Tomorrow from Rishop we'll explore Lava then Lolegaon to Siliguri. Bye Bye! Thank you so much. Thanks for your time!
2025-01-14 17:24