Merry Christmas good folks! Hope you are gracefully enjoying the end-December chill, and at times counting Santa's stale surprises stuffed inside your stinky socks. Today, I'll be sharing with you my pleasant experience of spending two nights at Kanchanjungha Youth Hostel, Siliguri en route to Darjeeling. There was a time couple of decades back when Siliguri had her special charm among tourists due to the exclusive availability of smuggled electronic goods. Siliguri doesn't have many places of tourist interest, yet it's mostly touristy. It acts as a transit city, the sole gateway to hills of Darjeeling, Sikkim, other Northeastern states of India, Nepal and Bhutan. Added to the overwhelming tourist influx Siliguri is also the business hub of North Bengal.
Although reviewing accommodations is not my cup of coffee, sheer convenience and value for money proposition associated with this staying option compelled me to highlight it for the best interest of other solo backpackers visiting Siliguri. I was riding to Darjeeling to join a trekking itinerary from there. May be it was possible to reach Darjeeling on the same day itself, but I try my best to avoid long distance motorcycling post sunset. Yours truly was smart enough to book his stay at Kanchanjungha Youth Hostel well in advance. Rest was simply a matter of navigating through the busy city of Siliguri, locate the Kanchanjungha Stadium and claim his bed in the dorm.
