Siliguri Fishing @Sammy's Fishing Kingdom

Siliguri, India
October 29, 2009

Siliguri is the center point between Sikkim and Darjeeling. One has to ride a train from any point in India to Siliguri and ride a jeep to either Sikkim or Darjeeling. The town is a lowland area, therefore it has general average temperature of 20-25 degrees. Again we rode a 4x4 runner jeep back from Darjeeling to Siliguri. It was another magnificent sight going down with the tea plantations abound. I was tempted to ask the driver if we could stop for awhile and pose for some pictures but unfortunately other vehicles behind would have to stop also because of its narrow road.

It’s time to shed our bonnets and jackets off, we’re in Siliguri!

We were picked up by our dear friend Sammy from the main intersection. Sammy is from Darjeeling but now lives in Siliguri where his various businesses are prospering and growing. Riding in his brand new car makes me so relaxed and comfy opposite from the precarious ride going down from the hills. For introduction purposes, we met Sammy during our ICT in ISI-Delhi. He easily made a good friend out of Noel, the Filipino volunteer. At first, Noel thought Sammy was a Filipino since he looked exactly like one. That’s when their beautiful friendship began when Noel started talking to him in Tagalog (Filipino Language) and Sammy didn’t understand a single word but smiled with his perfect white teeth and almost non-existent eyeballs. We had a couple of dinners with him in Delhi and regularly talked to him in ISI-rooftop since he was there billeted also by the Jesuits. As his usual self, Sammy was so vibrant and cheerful host. Offered us Italian red wine as welcome drink and urged us to drink it while he went to his office, the next door, and create havoc to his employees.

Then we were served with a sumptuous Bhutanese lunch (his wife is a Bhutanese, by the way). I learned that Bhutan also have pig pork in their main dishes like in Philippines. It was a nice chili pig pork meal and some vegetables and dhal to go with our rice. That’s all we need! Dessert was peanuts with caramel crust. We were thoroughly entertained by his pet dog and his good-looking 8 year old son…hmmnn…speaks very good English too. Good job, Sammy & the lovely wife!

After that, Sammy drove us again towards his kingdom of vast fish farm. The fish farm has 4 huge ponds: one for small fishes, one for medium sized fishes, one for big size fishes, and one for … err… just fishing purposes, fishes of all sizes. At the other side of the fence, is the new house. It’s still under construction but it goes up to 3rd floor, basic structure tells me its going to be a fisherman’s palace. Mabel & I attempted to do some fishing. Nice guys patiently allowed us to use their fishing rod for quite sometime (actually we told them, “If you don’t give us your fishing rod now, we will kiss you!” and they backed off instantly). Mabel caught a couple of small fishes and was exorbitantly delighted since it was her first time to do some fishing. Not bad for a starter!

And there stood a solitary dead tree at the center of the ponds. Now, there is an extraordinary story behind this dead Banyan tree. Before it was very much alive and stood at the far end corner of the land when Sammy bought this land kingdom three years ago. He was surprised that even though he had created a fence around the area (to protect his fishing kingdom), several people come inside without permission to worship the Banyan tree every morning. It was believed that the Banyan tree was there a hundred years already. According to him, many people in the place think Banyan tree as sacred and it is the symbol of prosperity and reproductive union between a man and a woman (both married to each other, I suppose, or maybe soon to be married). To ward off the unwanted visitors, he hired an agriculturist and some workers to uproot the tree and place it somewhere near the ponds. Unfortunately, the (15K rupees) job was not so successful and cost the life of the sacred tree. Now, it stands there gray and dead but still firm with its trunk and branches stand majestic above the waters of the ponds.

Sammy promised he will build a “Nipa Hut” (a hut made of coconut leaves) on the side of the ponds, near the dead Banyan tress, where Mabel, Cristina and Me shall take our rest or sleep during our next visit. So Cristina, Sammy is expecting your visit pretty soon!

We were served with a big bowl of vegetable chowmein for our afternoon snacks and farewell wishes from Sammy’s family. Nice to know that chowmien tasted so good if eaten with ketchup. It was another food adventure to cap our Sikkim-Darjeeling-Siliguri journey.

Interesting to know that in Sikkim, one can easily go country hopping in less than a few hours. One can ride a bus for 45 minutes going to Nepal or be in Bhutan in less than three (3) hours. I’m seriously considering visiting Bhutan one of these days? Anyone who wants to join me, raise your feet!