Sinclairs Retreat Dooars

Up here on Chalsa Hill Top, the air is a bit thinner and a lot cooler. We are in the Jalpaiguri district, 735206. This retreat is spread out over the green hills of the Dooars. It rains a lot here. Sometimes the mist is so thick you can’t see the next bungalow. We spend a lot of time pruning the bushes and keeping the grass from growing too wild. It’s a big property. There are lots of birds in the trees early in the morning. I usually start my day walking around the perimeter to check if everything is okay. We get families coming up from the plains to escape the heat. The kids like to run around the open spaces. We have a pool, but when it’s cold, nobody goes in. The kitchen staff makes a lot of hot tea and pakoras. We source what we can from the local markets down the hill. Life is slower up here. The road to get to the top is winding and sometimes has potholes after the monsoon. We’ve had some monkeys try to get into the dining area once or twice. It’s just part of living in the hills. We don't have the noise of the city, just the sounds of the forest at night. It’s a quiet place to work. We’ve been here for many seasons now, watching the trees grow taller every year. It takes a lot of effort to maintain everything in this damp weather.