Finally the trip to Sikkim which I had been planning for quite a long time saw light of the day. I would never have planned or even thought of writing it but some parts of the trip were so thrilling that I had to write one.
Saturday, 29th June '13
Around 4 pm I along with my beloved wife reached Secunderbad Railway Station where my best friends Alistair and Adithya were waiting to give us send off. We boarded 'Falaknuma Express' which would take us to Howrah. It was a 2nd AC compartment shared with a very elderly Bengali couple who were leaving for Kolkata after spending three months in Hyderabad. The old lady just couldn't stop crying for having been separated from her little grand son.
A 2nd AC train journey was very boring with almost no one to talk to and the closed environment which made things only worse. On Sunday, after travelling for around 25 hours we reached Howrah.
Sunday, 30th June '13
On reaching Howrah, we decided to take a look at the famous Howrah Bridge. It was crowded and wet all over, yet we managed to walk few steps on the bridge and had some great views of the city on either sides of the river.
As suggested by the elderly couple we had our dinner at Food Plaza in Howrah and later took a taxi to Sealdah station from where we had to take the Darjeeling mail to New Jalpaiguri (NJP).
It was a 3rd AC compartment this time with loud Bengali group of people, I almost felt I was watching a Bengali movie :-). Morning we were looking forward to reach NJP around 9 am.
Monday, 1st July '13
On reaching NJP we met our driver Mintu who took us forward to Gangtok in an Innova. It was supposed to be a 3.5 - 4 hours drive if everything went fine. We stopped at a local eatery for breakfast then packed some food for our onward journey. As we moved on we were surprised to see the beauty of the nature. The road was blocked at quite a few places due to rain and land slides.
We were getting impatient as the journey was getting longer and tougher. Around 2 pm we reached 'Sai Residency' hotel with whom I had made all the bookings. We checked In and fell dumb struck on looking at the view outside our window. It was simply superb and felt heaven completely out of this world, somehow after sometime having clicked some pics we come back to reality. Rest of the day were left to relax as we had been travelling for the last 2 days.
Tuesday, 2nd July '13
Here comes the most exciting part of the trip, drive to Tsomgo lake (Changu as locals say) approximately 40 km from Gangtok situated at an altitude of 12K ft. Our driver Mr. Bablu a local guy invited us for the journey in a Xylo. Little did I know how the drive would be as initially it was very smooth with very good roads maintained by BRO (Border Roads Organisation). After getting permit from the check post we moved ahead into the clear white sky.
Having traveled a decent 10-12 km the road started getting bad with slight rain every now and then. It felt like I was climbing the sky and the only things I could see were army check posts and soldiers guarding the entire range. Suddenly the road became narrow with sharp curves and could see many people working to repair the damaged parts of the road. It was like climbing up the sky and only things that could be seen were fog, hill edges and deep valleys. There were signboards saying 'Roads sinking be careful' and no surprise they were. Sharp curves with possibilities of land slide and the road completely sinking with pot holes, muddy pools and big stones, where if the vehicle gets stuck or sinks and tries to accelerate, chances are high that we land into the deep valley.
I felt I was getting so close to God, I could feel the emptiness in my stomach, it seemed like the end of the world. I started counting my sins and also prayed for forgiveness. I didn't know what will happen next, I simply didn't feel that we would make it. It was almost 2 minutes and my driver turned around and said with a smile, "Sir, don't get scared even I am with you" as if he read what was going on in my mind. I smiled and said "No, I am ok". Lucky my wife didn't get to see all this as she was asleep feeling motion sick.
So many things were running in my mind, why did I come to such an unsafe place? Is it worth all this danger ? Would I even recommend this trip to anyone? I thought if I go and come back safe from Tsomgo lake I would be really proud and happy to be still alive. Later I thought I would recommend this trip to others but also would warn them that they would have to take this risk. After all there is always some risk to get something unbelievable.
Another 2-3 km and the roads were still bad, I clung to the back of my seat with prayers on my mind. Next 4-5 km were really tough as the road was worse or could I say just no road existed with men and women working hard to repair the road.
I even worried that some point there would be no road ahead. Then we reached a spot from where the lake was just 8 km away. It was a small place with some shops for refreshment and jackets etc were available on hire.
We clicked some pics with the local kids and proceeded for the lake. My driver said that the bad roads are over, but I still feared how would we get back to Gangtok.
Finally reached Tsomgo lake, but nothing much was visible due to thick fog. Clicked pics sitting on the yak for a price of fifty rupee per person and spent some time walking around the lake feeling its serenity.
Return journey was little better, we started at 1 pm and reached Gangtok around 3 pm. I was alive and I was happy. We had lunch at Parivar restaurant located at M.G. Marg, did some shopping and got back to hotel. Its very happening place in Gangtok with no vehicles allowed on the street, eating joints and shopping are major attractions.
Wednesday, 3rd July '13
Trip to North Sikkim - Lachung & Yumthang Valley my dream destination. Sadly, at 8 am got to know that a bridge towards Lachung has broken down and the trip is cancelled. We had no option but only to opt for the alternative to Namchi in South Sikkim which is around 90 km from Gangtok.
We started with almost very less expectations and 90 km on hills is just too much. We were joined by our driver's son Feroz a bright kid who was such a delight with his down to earth nature. He was very disciplined, intelligent, well behaved, cute and a nature lover. It was fun to have him on board and we enjoyed the day a lot.
We took breaks every now and then as the drive was very tiring. South Sikkim has some beautiful tea estates and one of them was Temi Tea Estate. Took some beautiful pics of the tea plantations and then continued for Namchi.
Some pics of Tea estate & our driver Bablu with his son.
The only attraction at Namchi is the Char dham built recently in 2011 which has the replica of the char dham, jyothirlingas and a huge Lord Shiva Idol. It is just an awesome place to spend good time at top of the hill with breath taking views of adjacent hills.
Thursday, 4th July '13
Gangtok - local sightseeing. Last day of the trip to go around Gangtok. Started with Banjkakri water falls a small park with beautiful water falls. Spent time enjoying nature and clicking pics.
Then headed for the famous Ranka Monastery and spent some time experiencing tranquility.
Visited Do Drul Chorten Stupa, Namgyal institute of tibetology and had the pleasure of riding the Gangtok Ropeway.
Saturday, 29th June '13
Around 4 pm I along with my beloved wife reached Secunderbad Railway Station where my best friends Alistair and Adithya were waiting to give us send off. We boarded 'Falaknuma Express' which would take us to Howrah. It was a 2nd AC compartment shared with a very elderly Bengali couple who were leaving for Kolkata after spending three months in Hyderabad. The old lady just couldn't stop crying for having been separated from her little grand son.
A 2nd AC train journey was very boring with almost no one to talk to and the closed environment which made things only worse. On Sunday, after travelling for around 25 hours we reached Howrah.
Sunday, 30th June '13
On reaching Howrah, we decided to take a look at the famous Howrah Bridge. It was crowded and wet all over, yet we managed to walk few steps on the bridge and had some great views of the city on either sides of the river.
As suggested by the elderly couple we had our dinner at Food Plaza in Howrah and later took a taxi to Sealdah station from where we had to take the Darjeeling mail to New Jalpaiguri (NJP).
It was a 3rd AC compartment this time with loud Bengali group of people, I almost felt I was watching a Bengali movie :-). Morning we were looking forward to reach NJP around 9 am.
Monday, 1st July '13
On reaching NJP we met our driver Mintu who took us forward to Gangtok in an Innova. It was supposed to be a 3.5 - 4 hours drive if everything went fine. We stopped at a local eatery for breakfast then packed some food for our onward journey. As we moved on we were surprised to see the beauty of the nature. The road was blocked at quite a few places due to rain and land slides.
We were getting impatient as the journey was getting longer and tougher. Around 2 pm we reached 'Sai Residency' hotel with whom I had made all the bookings. We checked In and fell dumb struck on looking at the view outside our window. It was simply superb and felt heaven completely out of this world, somehow after sometime having clicked some pics we come back to reality. Rest of the day were left to relax as we had been travelling for the last 2 days.
Tuesday, 2nd July '13
Here comes the most exciting part of the trip, drive to Tsomgo lake (Changu as locals say) approximately 40 km from Gangtok situated at an altitude of 12K ft. Our driver Mr. Bablu a local guy invited us for the journey in a Xylo. Little did I know how the drive would be as initially it was very smooth with very good roads maintained by BRO (Border Roads Organisation). After getting permit from the check post we moved ahead into the clear white sky.
Having traveled a decent 10-12 km the road started getting bad with slight rain every now and then. It felt like I was climbing the sky and the only things I could see were army check posts and soldiers guarding the entire range. Suddenly the road became narrow with sharp curves and could see many people working to repair the damaged parts of the road. It was like climbing up the sky and only things that could be seen were fog, hill edges and deep valleys. There were signboards saying 'Roads sinking be careful' and no surprise they were. Sharp curves with possibilities of land slide and the road completely sinking with pot holes, muddy pools and big stones, where if the vehicle gets stuck or sinks and tries to accelerate, chances are high that we land into the deep valley.
I felt I was getting so close to God, I could feel the emptiness in my stomach, it seemed like the end of the world. I started counting my sins and also prayed for forgiveness. I didn't know what will happen next, I simply didn't feel that we would make it. It was almost 2 minutes and my driver turned around and said with a smile, "Sir, don't get scared even I am with you" as if he read what was going on in my mind. I smiled and said "No, I am ok". Lucky my wife didn't get to see all this as she was asleep feeling motion sick.
So many things were running in my mind, why did I come to such an unsafe place? Is it worth all this danger ? Would I even recommend this trip to anyone? I thought if I go and come back safe from Tsomgo lake I would be really proud and happy to be still alive. Later I thought I would recommend this trip to others but also would warn them that they would have to take this risk. After all there is always some risk to get something unbelievable.
Another 2-3 km and the roads were still bad, I clung to the back of my seat with prayers on my mind. Next 4-5 km were really tough as the road was worse or could I say just no road existed with men and women working hard to repair the road.
I even worried that some point there would be no road ahead. Then we reached a spot from where the lake was just 8 km away. It was a small place with some shops for refreshment and jackets etc were available on hire.
We clicked some pics with the local kids and proceeded for the lake. My driver said that the bad roads are over, but I still feared how would we get back to Gangtok.
Wednesday, 3rd July '13
Trip to North Sikkim - Lachung & Yumthang Valley my dream destination. Sadly, at 8 am got to know that a bridge towards Lachung has broken down and the trip is cancelled. We had no option but only to opt for the alternative to Namchi in South Sikkim which is around 90 km from Gangtok.
We started with almost very less expectations and 90 km on hills is just too much. We were joined by our driver's son Feroz a bright kid who was such a delight with his down to earth nature. He was very disciplined, intelligent, well behaved, cute and a nature lover. It was fun to have him on board and we enjoyed the day a lot.
We took breaks every now and then as the drive was very tiring. South Sikkim has some beautiful tea estates and one of them was Temi Tea Estate. Took some beautiful pics of the tea plantations and then continued for Namchi.
Some pics of Tea estate & our driver Bablu with his son.
Thursday, 4th July '13
Gangtok - local sightseeing. Last day of the trip to go around Gangtok. Started with Banjkakri water falls a small park with beautiful water falls. Spent time enjoying nature and clicking pics.
Then headed for the famous Ranka Monastery and spent some time experiencing tranquility.
There was also an option for paragliding but just did not have enough time and missed it, wish I had known about it in advance.
After visiting the flower show which was nothing much to do about we headed to our hotel to spend the rest of the day enjoying the views outside window.
Next day finished packing and had to leave for NJP. I always knew that this trip would come to an end very soon yet these 5 days in Sikkim felt long enough to enjoy nature and its beauty on the hills. I got so attached that just didn't feel like leaving Gangtok. So many things I discovered like my love for the hills, my love for the great Himalayas, people and their hard earned life on hills and lastly the hidden traveler in ME. This trip would be so memorable & cherished and this blog would keep these memories always fresh.Hope to visit Sikkim once again, remember that North Sikkim trip to Lachung & Yumthang is still not done.
Thanks to Hotel Sai Residency for arranging this trip. Thanks to all my friends for their support and encouragement.
Photos: My Nokia Lumia 720
"Explore the traveler in you, there is a whole new world waiting !!"
Planning a trip to Sikkim? Do visit north Sikkim - Lachung, Yumthang, Lachen and neary by places. Ideal time to visit is Oct - Dec & Mar - May.
