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kuch hai junoon sa - kuch pagalpan hai - sau baatein karta yeh buddhu sa man hai... it's a miracle to fly off wherever and whenever u want... one more off my bucket list Glenburn Tea Estate... yes dancing away all the way to the airport... treks around ribbons of swirling tea estates yup kinda that swirling a darjeeling cuppa + walking towards a downstream river i have been warned it's treacherous + catching the majestic Kanchenjunga in the front row seat or vanilla reading (ambitious got 7 new books ) next few days it seems it's me and my red shoes traipsing n mulling with those butterflies that Glenburn promises

Picture: Preeti at Kandaghat, Himachal Pradesh, India

what stumps me always wherever I travel every cuppa has a story...how cool is it to experience a temperature drop (16) in just a few hours from bombay's 32 in January...  looking over Teesta river with my first Glenburn Darjeeling tea (no milk) and it was awesome (first time knowing how much I like my masala chai this was an hatke experience)... Offcourse the tea estate also sent a herbsncheese sandwich as well as walnut brownie kinda adds to yr moments and all I requested bhupenjee (driver) to do - it was supposedly a stop over for nukkad ka chai... His response: in 40 mins we will stop at a view point for yeah! A high tea - kya bolu... 

The New York times titles its review of Glenburn Tea Estate as 'High Tea, India Style' and I can vouch that its true and more... though it may feel like a crazy ride to reach there and you often ask yourself do you really want this cuppa or the ride... u have to personally assess the aha moment!

Where: Glenburn Tea Estate, Darjeeling, Near Bagdogra, West Bengal, India. Travel Date: January 2018

nothing is as welcoming as wide colonial verandahs where you can just sit and ponder whether to trek around two rivers, the Rungeet and the Rung Dung entwining themselves as they run through valleys or just stay put mesmerized by the dominating Kanchenjunga...

Where: Glenburn Tea Estate, Darjeeling, Near Bagdogra, West Bengal, India. Travel Date: January 2018

my very first thought walking into 140 year old Glenburn Planter'Suite (estate is ancient 1859) - is it expansive or what not just the room the four poster bed or the dull wood wardrobes or the huge the fireplace that is actually lit now...and isn't it fantastic that images on their website look almost as thumbnails in comparison... room opens to a rich porch with so many sitouts kinda tailor made for me... doors open up letting in the tea estates wind whip through the suite...

Where: Glenburn Tea Estate, Darjeeling, Near Bagdogra, West Bengal, India. Travel Date: January 2018

took the tea pluckers narrow route walk a curvaceous slippery path and surprisingly lush green (as this part of India suffered with almost no rains)... Glenburn is a large estate so meandering across panaromic views is a given formed by rows n rows of tea bushes (almost seem like soldiers) n backdrop u turn around at every curve to check if u can still see the kanchenjunga (I m told I m lucky as it was hidden in the mist for the last few days) is relatively easy n was surprised that the almost 100 mins disappeared too fast... Can u see the faint line of Kanchenjunga behind me? 😎

Where: Glenburn Tea Estate, Darjeeling, Near Bagdogra, West Bengal, India. Travel Date: January 2018

I certainly can say that I earned the glass of red wine with barbequed veggies, beetroot n pomelo salad in mustard vinaigrette + cauliflower in peanut n sesame sauce...what follows is spicy caramel n caramelized bananas (yummyyyy) n some rose white tea... just rungeet gurgling loudly is a definite plus... and cheers till next time ☘️

Where: Glenburn Tea Estate, Darjeeling, Near Bagdogra, West Bengal, India. Travel Date: January 2018

I can get used to this kinda gudnights... home made chocolate thins with caramelized ginger pistachio and rocksalt... Good morning all set for a trek hopefully u all are working hard or on the way to office ☘️

morning dew settles well on spectacular view of the tea estate against pale shadows of hills curtained behind the gray mist... look so appealing u never want to leave... walked away passing many villages threading our way down with temps dropping stoically...wondering what is it that drives me through such wilderness again and again

bk in my reading corner... It's almost 7pm n there's a resounding silence on the estate... (today it's rose white darjeeling tea) day started early and there is no more beautiful a sight than dawn struggling to life...(banned phone till evening) clear blue sky n harmless white puffs of floating clouds can only mean a clear view of kanchenjunga... Can stare at them standing bold and unique for hours... I guess when i start relating to such sights it's kinda my world of superlatives but they do their job of being incredible everyday... accomplished an 8 kms downhill trek to rangeet river took about 170 minutes reward was barbequed veggies with three salads n fast flowing rapids kinda playing their own hypnotic tunes... n we were still on Glenburn Tea estate...

sheepishly asked for a masala chai (being a tea estate they actually can give u a different blend every five mins) with the quintessential hotttt pakoda n brownies... ( in one of the living rooms at Glenburn) - it's a tough deciding whether to stay indoors or outdoors (n to believe that u will in sometime meet for drinks how much can u eat or drink ... 🙄 will know soon)

from clean n crisp mountain air to a smoky woody aroma (feel like a princess neva had a roaring fire place in the living room - it's probably 12 degrees outside)... post an absolutely psychedelic active day time to catch me time and a few pages