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Nov. 24, 2007 I am a romantic at heart. And what better way to flatter oneself but to meet someone on whose curves you will lose your nerve! This is the journal of my trip to Gangtok during October’07, where I kept falling in and out of love every moment. Friday, 12 October 2007 My journey began on the night of October 11, when we boarded the Darjeeling Mail for NJP. After reaching NJP the following morning around 9 and having a light breakfast at the adjacent railway canteen, we tried the WB government's prepaid taxi booth for a shared jeep. It would have cost us Rs. 140 per head. However, after being hassled by agents and taxi drivers for around quarter of an hour, we decided to take an auto rickshaw to Siliguri instead. Much cheaper at Rs. 10 per head, and after around another 20 minutes or so, we were dropped at a Sikkim Tourism counter in Siliguri. There was a Tata Sumo waiting for passengers on way to Gangtok. It cost us Rs. 120 per head. The journey would be around 5 hours (115 KM), with lunch on the way. Incidentally the jeep stand was also ferrying cabs for Darjeeling, and we found the Sikkim Tourism counter in Siliguri less crowded and free of touts and agents. We had to be patient for the other passengers to arrive. Our journey for Gangtok finally began around 11:30. After driving for half an hour or so along the street of Siliguri, we finally took to NH31A - the national highway that is the lifeline of Sikkim. Whether you arrive by train or land at the Bagdogra airport, NH31A is your only means of reaching Gangtok. And it is along this road that we had our first mesmerizing encounter with the virgin beauty of the hills. Slowly yet steadily we kept climbing up the NH31, crossing over the West Bengal-Sikkim checkpost at a village called Rangpo. Rangpo is a town in East Sikkim bordering West Bengal and situated along the river Teesta. It is the first Sikkimese town on NH31A which links Siliguri to Gangtok, and is mostly inhabited by Nepalese and Bhutia. All vehicles entering Sikkim are scanned here for foreign tourists who require the necessary documents to enter the state. Our cab cruised along a comfortable 40kph, give or take occasional 5kph. On our way we came across landslides that took place few days prior to our arrival. Sikkimese men and women were busy repairing their lifeline while tourist cars whizzed past them on a road that seemed barely to accomodate two vehicles. It had rained the last night, and the roads were damp. It was hot with the sun shining down on the hills in full glory. But the view was spectacular. The winding roads lined with sloping hills and trees of unknown breed on one side, and sheer steep drop on the other, with the Teesta accompanying us as we etched forward. What struck me odd during the journey, and also during my entire trip, is that we didn't come across any birds other than the common pigeon and the ubiquitous crow. With so much greenery and vegetation around, there ought to be a plethora of our winged cousins. But then October was not the best time to visit Gangtok. According to the locals nature is at her best in March when the hills come alive with zillions of flowers. I was told that the Rose alone would be found in 150 different shades, and there would be almost a million different species of flora showcasing their pristine beauty to the romantics like me. NH31A is maintained by BRO - Border Roads Organization. And the engineers have done a wonderful job of lining the roads with lovely quotes and anecdotes: "Drive like hell and you will be there", "Three evils of mountain road - liqour, speed, and overload", "Leave early, drive safely, reach safely", and many more. But I was taken aback by the following plated on the mountain walls: "On my curve test your nerve"! It was metaphor at its best. If Cleopatra had a face that launched a thousand ships, then surely the mountain roads of Sikkim has a body that can wreck a thousand hearts. Situated in the lower Himalayas at an altitude of 5500 feet, Gangtok is the capital and largest town of Sikkim. It was a small hamlet until the construction of the Enchey Monastery in 1840 made it a pilgrimage center. On our way we drove past the Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, and the Black Cat Division of the Indian Army. When we reached Gangtok, it was around 4:30 pm, and the Sun was getting ready to call it a day. Our room at the Millenium Inn had west-facing windows, and we finished the day with a fantastic sunset overlooking the mountains. Saturday, 13 October 2007 This was a one day 10-point tour of Rumtek Monastery, Shanti View Point, Botanical Garden, Enchey Monastery, Tashi View Point, GaneshTok, Flower Show, Sikkim Handloom Expo, Sikkim Water Refinery, and a wonderful waterfall. Rumtek Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. It is the largest monastery in Sikkim, and has mountains behind, a snow range in front, and a river below. Ofcourse we didn't get to see any snow though. It is home to the community of monks who perform Buddhist rituals and practices. Opposite the monastery is a college, Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies. Photography is prohibited, but yours truly couldn't withold the temptation of taking a snap in the dark lonesome room. Sorry Lord Buddha… Sunday, 14 October 2007 The morning began on a great note. The sky was clear, and our window was a canvas to the majestic Kanchenjunga. She was hidden behind the clouds the last two days, and the Sunday morning she revealed her splendour with the rising sun. What a great way to start a day that would eventually end at 14200 feet higher at Tukla Valley, closer to Nathu La Pass. We drove past the lake higher up at a place called Tukla Valley. It houses the place where Harbhajan Singh used to stay before he went missing. At 14200 feet it was bright, sunny, windy, and cold. When we got down from our jeep, I was dizzy and having difficulty breathing. I felt like a drunkard unable to balance my stance. 9 KM downhill from this spot lies the famous Baba Mandir. Built in the memory of Harbhajan Singh, a sepoy in the 23rd Punjab Regiment, the Baba Harbhajan Singh Mandir lies between the Nathula and the Jelepla passes. Legend has it that he appeared in the dream a few days after he went missing and expressed a desire that a monument be built in his memory. His fellow soldiers then built a monument that has over the years acquired the status of a pilgrimage. Believers leave a bottle of water, which they collect a few days later with a hope that their dreams are fulfilled. Earlier the Indian army used to hold a prayer and a ceremony with lunch in his honour every Sunday and Tuesday. That tradition has been called off now, and all we had was prasad - a spoonfull of halwa. On our way back we halted at Changu Lake (also called Tsongmo Lake). The cerulean lake is about 40 KM Gangtok at an altitude of 12400 feet, and took us 3 hours to reach from Gangtok. Many locals have set up shop here offering Yak rides, which I gladly partook. Just to sit on top of a Yak and take a snap would cost you 10 bucks. Want a ride on top these mountain animals, and you will need to shell out Rs. 80. The bulky Yaks dressed up in colourful costumes smell awful. We had lunch here - there were Maggi and YoYo on the menu. And tea of course. I have reasons to believe that the locals used Yak milk with the tea - I have never had such distasteful tea in my life before. On our way down we stopped at the Mandakini waterfall. It's not a very large or deep one, but with the rocky mountains in the backdrop, its a magnificent one nevertheless. The day had begun on a sunny note, but the descent brought us face to face with mist and clouds. The weather changed in a matter of minutes. The sun got clouded by a foggy atmosphere, with no street lights on the curvy mountain roads. To top it all it started to drizzle, and visibility went down almost to zero. We could hardly see a couple of feet down the sloping road ahead. Our driver - a very stylish young lad - was forced to abandon his sunglasses and stare ahead with full concentration. It was getting darker by minutes, and the prospect of spending the night in the hills made me very excited. But alas! We reached Gangtok around 7'o clock in the evening - safe and satisfied. Monday, 15 October 2007 We chose to go around the locality and do some shopping. Our hotel was on the Dengzong Cinema Road, with Rani Mukherjee donning the walls of the city with her latest release. Minutes away from where we stayed was Lal Bazar - the main market of the town adjacent to the M.G. Road. It was strewn souvenir shops and restaurants, and we bought some mementos like little bells with Buddhist symbols to adorn the entrance of our home. Later on we went to a small place called Deorali which is famous for spicy Pork momos. Our cabbie took us to a native's home and I had Pork momos that was totally different from the ones I have had in Calcutta. Another element of difference I found in Gangtok was the lack of transport buses. Whether one is a tourist or a local, the only means of public transport are the taxis - Tata Sumos, Maruti Omnis, and the rest. For locals they would charge 10 or 20 bucks to drop them from one village to another. And not all taxis will do so, because many would be either reserved or packed with tourists. Tuesday, 16 October 2007 My aged parents were breaking down with fatigue and exhaustion, and we had to cancel the rest of our trip and arrange for a flight back home. It meant I won't be able see North Sikkim - places like Yumthang and Gurudongmar Lake, the highest in Sikkim. It was time to bid farewell to the mountains, but I was contented. The four days we spent at Gangtok made me fall in love with the hills. I have been to Mussoorie before. But Mussoorie is no match for the grandeur of Gangtok and her hills. What amazed me most about Gangtok is it's slowness and cleanliness. Coming from the hussle and bustle of Calcutta, Gangtok seemed to be a place where time stood still - literally. I never felt that an hour could be so long! People were in no hurry. And the city is extremely clean. The only industry that was visible was the tourism. I could see a few banks here and there, but the entire world of Sikkim seemed to revolve round tourists. Another striking point was that most of the labour was undertaken by the women - from running shops and restaurants to building roads. The men mostly took to drinking and driving; and those are not always mutually exclusive! But I also found simplicity on their faces and a smile on their lips. Makes one wonder the source of their happiness amidst so much hardship and monotonous life. ------------ Email Soumya Maitra: soumya.maitra@cognizant.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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