When we first found out I was pregnant I was considering travelling full time. I had a trip to Bali already planned and a few domestic ones. I was in for the vagabond lifestyle. I was in for the adventures. By that point I had already crossed a lot off my bucket list: staying in a luxury tent, staying in a tree house, staying in the woods and so on. And I had no plans of starting a family until I checked everything off my bucket list. In my defense, there wasn’t much left and whatever that was left was related to travelling.

When we first found out about the pregnancy, we made some lifestyle changes and made some choices. One of the decisions that we took was to not sacrifice my urge for travelling. But to explore the world with the new member of our family. Travelling is the best way to educate kids they say. And that’s what we planned for. I talked to some seasoned adventurers and they told me that it gets easier if you start travelling with them early on their lives. That way they grow up habituated with that lifestyle. And it made so much sense that I already had a trip planned for when Seiji would be 6 months old before even he was born.

Little did I know that the pandemic had other plans. We postponed the plans until it was safe. By that time Seiji was no longer a baby but already a toddler in his terrible twos. At this point I didn’t know what to expect from him as he was pretty much quarantined his entire life. So I planned a very short trip to figure things out before jumping towards the vagabond lifestyle.

It was around a 5 day trip. Friday night we hopped on the train at 11.30pm and we reached NJP around 9 am. The timing of the train was super convenient. My husband didn’t have to take leave from work on Friday and Seiji pretty much slept the entire ride. We got a first class cabin and the ride was super convenient. My husband took the upper berth while Seiji and I shared the lower berth. Seiji slept so peacefully and comfortably. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for my insomniac self. I was hoping to get some good night rests so we could start exploring as soon as we reach Darjeeling. But the family we were sharing the cabin with had about 100s of alarms set on their 3 phones starting from 4 am. And they slept through all of them while I sat wide awake patting Seiji so he won’t wake up. I cursed myself for accidentally checking ‘cabin’ instead of ‘coupe’ while getting our tickets.

We reached NJP at around 9.10 am. Our compartment was the furthest from the over bridge and Seiji refused to walk the entire time. Luckily for us we didn’t have much luggage with us, so we took turn carrying him. A friend of mine took the same trip last week and she referred me their driver who was waiting for us at the NJP station. Since Seiji has motion sickness, we gave him his meds as per his doctor recommended, an hour before we reached NJP.

The ride was smooth and serene. It did take us a bit longer than expected. We had a tea and momo break near Kurseong and Seiji pretty much slept through after that. Since our ticket was waitlisted and we only got confirmed berth 4 hours before the train, we hadn’t booked our first hotel. Our driver told us that we won’t get any hotel at proper Darjeeling, and he recommended we stay at Batasia Loop. He helped us get a room at this amazing place called Norlha Homestay. It was my first stay in a homestay and it was the best decision ever.

We checked in around 1.30pm. The owner let us know that they don’t provide lunch and only provide breakfast and dinner. But she was so kind to offer Rice and Aloo Bhaja for Seiji from her own home. I had, for some reason brought takeout all the way from Kolkata. And they were surprisingly fresh for overnight leftovers, so we didn’t have to go out for food. We freshened up, had our food and decided to take a nap before heading out for Darjeeling in the evening.

The nap turned into a full-fledged sleep and Seiji slept until it was dark. On his defense the hills sleep early in Darjeeling. We were notified from the front desk that dinner will be served at 8.30 and kitchen closes after that. It was around 6.30-7 and we were told that it’s too late to go out and even if we get any transport at that hour, we won’t get anything while returning.

When you travel with kids, you don’t wanna take any risks. So we put off our plans to go to Chowrasta. But we still decided to go for a walk outside. We wrapped Seiji with his winter clothes, mittens, cap and a muffler and headed out. That’s when we realized that we were kinda in a middle of nowhere. We did find a small restaurant where I had tea and a small grocery store where I scored some snacks and some delicious Nepali instant noodles. While the walk was actually straight out of my fantasy, with Seiji we decided it’s best if we headed back to our room.

Back in our room we tried to enjoy the serenity but Seiji was hyperactive and it was exhausting keeping up with him. I realized that we haven’t carried any of his toys, and it turned out to be a huge mistake.

Dinner was delicious. Simple home made rice, chicken curry, daal and alu bhaja. Since Seiji is on family pot, his meal wasn’t an issue, and he loved the food there. At this point I was so glad that I chose to stay at a homestay instead of a hotel. Where else would you get delicious home made food otherwise?

After Seiji fell asleep, Arko and I spent some time enjoying the cool breeze on the balcony. The writer in me fell in love with the tall trees and the night sky and I wished I lived there permanently.

The next morning we woke up at 8.30. We had white bread and omelet for breakfast. Seiji had very little bit of the bread. On our tea break at Kurseong the previous day, we were given a bag of apples and chocolates by the eatery owner. Seiji had an apple from that bag for breakfast instead.

On our way to Darjeeling, we got a cab from Batasia Loop at the rate of 500rs. The traveler in me knew that the price was a bit steep. But Arko jumped and agreed to the first quote by the first cab we came across. Dude has a soft spot for getting ripped off and he had done it every time we travelled. This time he said that he refused to bargain for the fare as he has to think of Seiji’s convenience first. I mean we would have taken a private cab any way. But I was aware that a round trip from Batasia Loop to Darjeeling costs from 300-400Rs. Any way we left for Darjeeling and it took us about 15 minutes to reach Keventers.

We spent the day shopping and exploring, and Seiji refused to walk a single step. Before he learnt to walk properly he would always want to walk all by himself and refused to be carried. My mom used to say that when he’ll learn to walk properly, he’ll do the opposite. Apparently that’s what I did when I was his age.

Unfortunately for us, we chose to take our first trip during the phase when he refuses to walk the moment he steps out of the house. We took turn carrying him, though his dad carried him to most. It was getting particularly challenging when we were going uphill.

When we reached Chowrasta, he saw the ponys and wanted to ride one. And that was literally the only minutes that we weren’t carrying him. We had our lunch at Glenarys and Seiji gorged on a Chicken Cheese Pie and a blueberry muffin. He absolutely loved the bakery goods. After our lunch we explored the mall some more. And Seiji wanted to ride the pony again. Before heading back for our homestay he had another pony ride and then we wanted to relax a bit for tea.

We stopped at Teattoria but it wasn’t much relaxing as Seiji decided to play drums with the spoon and fork on the and then wanted to walk around the cafe. We literally gulped down our tea and snack and headed home.

As market was only getting more exciting and new stalls were being setup we headed back. It brought back a lot of nostalgia as both Arko and I visited Darjeeling as teenagers with our respective families in the past and we had both visited the Mall in the evening. The entire day we kept talking how the Mall was so different when both of us visited in the past. And it was only when we were leaving that we found the market from our teenage days. We really wished we could stay back. But Seiji started acting out, and we were too tired from carrying him and all the things we shopped the entire day. We could have spent a few minutes if Seiji agreed to walk, or even stand while checked out the stalls. At this point we wished we stayed in proper Darjeeling for a couple of days because then we could hang out there in the evening.

On our way back back the cabby quoted 700, and Arko again jumped at the first offer by the first cabby. But I  told the cabby that we paid 500 in the morning. He agreed at once, which made me realize I was right about the fare all along.

It started raining and the road was hauntingly beautiful. Seiji slept through the ride, giving us some time to freshen up. He woke up about 10 minutes after reaching at the homestay. I bought a toy truck, a puzzle, a picture book and a xylophone for him from the mall. And he entertained himself with those the rest of the evening. So evening 2, Arko and I got to relax unlike evening 1. Lesson learned!, always carry toys if you are travelling with kids.

The next morning we headed for our staycation at Singtom Tea Estate. It was 15 minutes away from Darjeeling but took us longer due to the offbeat, steep road. The Estate is located in isolated but picturesque area. Once there, we realized that we just gotta stay in and relax these 2 days.

We stayed in a Victorian Suite complete with antique furnitures and details. The moment I walked in, I was scared that Seiji would mess with the artworks and the delicate furniture. But he was actually pretty well behaved during our stay at Singtom. He was pretty much occupied with the toys we bought from Darjeeling and with the games and puzzles that the estate had for the guests.

The next two days was pretty relaxing. We enjoyed the cozy stay, the brilliant view and the nourishing food. Seiji pretty much ate what we ate and the hotel always provided Rice, butter and Aloo bhaja for him as a back up.

Seiji would spend the day time running around the beautiful lawn. During the evening we would cozy up around the fire place and Seiji would spend hours playing with the puzzles. He didn’t actually do the puzzles, but they kept him occupied any way.

Our last day on Darjeeling was pretty horrific though. The hotel car was supposed to drop us at Darjeeling at 10 am. We were supposed to meet up a fellow blogger there, spend some time at Darjeeling and head back towards NJP around 2.30. Unfortunately, we were stuck in a horrific traffic on our way to Darjeeling. And the hotel car literally abandoned us in the middle of nowhere saying they have another booking. We reached Darjeeling after 2 while it rained like cats and dogs. The friend we were supposed to meet up came to pick us up and took us to her home as it was raining so bad. However, by the time we were able to cool off and calm our tired and hungry toddler, the cabby we booked for our Darjeeling to NJP trip said he can’t drop us off anymore as it’s too late. We didn’t even get our deposit back. But luckily we got another cab right away.

We had two tickets, one for Padatik Express at 7.45PM and Darjeeling Mail at 8PM. However, our new driver assured us that the Padatik Express is almost always late and that it won’t start before 9pm. Though it was right on time when we came to Darjeeling, we hoped he was right. We reached the station right at 8pm and the Darjeeling Mail just left before even we started climbing the over bridge. Thankfully, the Padatik Express was late and that’s the only reason we managed to reach home.

We got a coupe this time and I am so grateful for that. We hadn’t been able to pick up any food amidst the rush so we ordered food from the pantry and I had some snack with me. We had our dinner and spend another hour munching through bags of snacks. Seiji didn’t take long to doze off, and after the day we all had we dozed off right after. Considering the terrible day we had, we really, really appreciated the privacy the coupe gave us. It was basically a room to ourselves where we ate and slept as we pleased. Like they say, all’s well that ends well.

Our trip was honestly rushed. It ended as soon as it begun. But somehow it still gave me the much needed break that I have been craving for the past 3 years. And it also makes me want to travel to Darjeeling again. I feel like it was a test trip to see how Seiji accommodates. And he accommodated so well that I wanna travel again with him, this time for a longer period.

My takeaway from the test trip is

1. Always carry toys that will keep the kid occupied.
2. Stay near the area that’s a must visit for you. For example I didn’t know Chowrasta was so nostalgic for Arko and a must visit for him. And he regrets not getting to spend more time there. So next time we visit we are gonna have 2 days allotted for a stay near the mall. As for me, I always prefer to wind down in an offbeat area so after Arko is satisfied staying near the mall, I would love to stay at Norlha Homestay a couple of days again. Just to relax, have tea in the balcony, read a book, write a blog. While Seiji entertains himself with his toys of course.

So that’s our experience travelling with a toddler for the first time. Wish to come back with more stories like this.

Stay blessed <3

Clara Gomes (@beautifullyme16) • Instagram photos and videos

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