The Solo Trip, to Nowhere
It was the second day of my solo trip to nowhere. I ended up being on my way to Darjeeling in the evening and was in shared cab when it struck that I do not have a place for the night to stay. It was already around 6 pm and 6 pm is little dark in the hills. I had plans to go to Takdah (a small town covered by forests near Darjeeling) but due to lack of transport in the evening, could not go there and have to take a night halt at Darjeeling.
So in the cab, downloaded AirBnb (not user friendly with it), searched for homestays near Darjeeling. Since I am not much of a scrolling person – went to the first two, saw them, found one of them to be nice, cozy & comfortable – and reasonable enough – went ahead and requested for booking. Name of the place: SuzAm’s Café; A café around 3 km away from the main city with one small room as a homestay. Sussane & Abhishek being the hosts.
Got the response in few mins, did confirmation and booked it for night. Relaxed. Now I had a place to stay. I understand it is not that big deal but for a person who has left home without a reservation for the first time in life was something new and experimental. Now I know, it was easy.
Anyway, reached there around 9 pm, liked the place and was happy for my choice. Kept my bag, did the formalities and since it was only a night halt at Darjeeling, thought to explore a bit. Left the place in 10-15 mins and started exploring the bars of Darjeeling. Joey’s pub (not recommended anymore), Glennery’s – too much crowd, may be because of Sunday evening, ended up at Shangri-la (I hope I am correct with the name) – decent place, had a beer and back to home sweet home by 11 pm.
The beauty arrives
Being an early riser, got up around 5 am and left for a troll in the mountains. As expected, loved to the core – the mist, the rains, cold weather …all was perfect. Did a 5 km walk and back to my room. The hosts were as expected sleeping and were supposed to give the tea/ coffee around 9 am. So had good amount of time to explore the small café. And the next 3 hours, were bliss.
Sitting in a small café of Darjeeling, surrounded by books, good vibes, hanging lights, 2 small windows opening straight up to mountain Kanchenjunga and others (which was though not visible due to fog) but you do get the feel, sitting alone with your book & laptop….I got what I was looking for. The peace, the break, the silence….which talked to me and said to me – Takdah is cancelled. I am going to stay here all day today. In this café, at this place …working, reading, having coffee. Such was the aura of SuzAm’s café.
I stayed there – in the café alone for next 3 hours. Around 9 am, the members came ….then I had my coffee and asked the host for an extended stay if possible. Luckily, got it. Takdah – Cancelled. SuzAm’s café – in for another day.
Spend the next 24 hours in this café. Room at the ground floor, café at the second floor and a open terrace on the third floor. That was my home for next 24 hours.
Cafe SuzAm’s & minimalisTee connects
In the evening had a casual sitting with the host Abhishek, about where is he coming from and all – we discussed how the café is built on the thoughts of minimalism without even knowing it – only one room, limited stuff, mostly souvenirs, books & notes by loved ones.
After having spent another night over there, felt so connected that left our Coffee Table Book of minimalisTee (www.minimalistee.com) at the place for those who come around and can connect further. Thankful to Sussanne & Abhishek for creating such a place with so much of warmth. Would recommend solo travelers going to Darjeeling to surely look forward for a stay here, if available. You can reach them at @suzamscafenkitchen on Instagram.
Cheers to many such home stays.