Mist, Mountains and more - The sikkim sojourn - Part 2

We reached the hotel and as soon as the mattress caught our eye we pounced on it for it was a tiring journey uphill in spite of a comfortable cab and splendid roads. The view through our room window was just awesssssssome !! The mist playing hide and seek with the mountains all the evening was a treat to watch .. We had an early dinner and hit the bed as early as 9, which would have been my 'late evening time' in chennai !

I was woken up by a hazy ray of light in the middle of my sleep, i got up and wow,the dawn was almost there !.. 'so soon ?!' i thought and started groping for my phone to know the time . '4:15' read the time! 'What happened to my phone !' i thought , shaking it ,switching it off and on again,still it only managed to show the same time. It was after i reached out to dad's watch that i realized that my phone was working perfectly! .. It struck me then .. I was in the far east of the country , the altitude adding to it! I have never seen natural light creep into the bedroom as early as quarter past 4 ! I was thrilled ..

It was 8.30 as we were all set to start for the 2 hour journey to changu lake, 12k feet above sea level. The hotel boy packed for us bread and jam for breakfast which we had to gobble up before our local cab reached the main taxi stand from which we were to take the share jeep to changu lake. Finally around 9, our jeep of 10 ppl started towards changu lake as were sitting,more excited than ever!..

Soon we were climbing the steepest of roads, narrow and slippery as it was drizzling nonstop.. Steep curves welcomed us all through the journey as our driver, a lad of around 17, pulled it off through the bends at no less than 60 kmph! .. yes, you heard it right ! At around 10k feet above sea level with narrow roads and rains ( not drizzle anymore! ) reducing the visibility levels, you wouldn't enjoy your 'driver kid' racing at such a feverish pace !.. yet, to me it was thrilling enough :D

It was noon when we reached our first stop - 'Baba Mandir' at 13,000 feet above sea level.. Now we were just a few kms away from Chinese soil !..The mandir is located just about 5 kms before the Indo - China Border .My hands were shiverrrrring as we got down from our jeep, we jus couldn't believe our eyes!.. There was mist,mist and more mist all around us!!.. there was absolutely no visibility at all.. The drizzle added splendor to the scenic mist covering the mountains layer by layer .. the entire atmosphere was divine .. There was a small park like area beside the mandir where i posed for a few snaps ( 'a few' for my standards :D ).. The temple is built in memory of an Indian soldier Baba Harbajhan Singh, who had his last breath near that spot ; his spirit is still believed to exist and guard the Indian border!..



As we descended from the mandir, the next stop was at Changu lake at 12k feet .. It was almost 2.30 and I was already hungry as if I had starved for days together! Our driver left us a km ahead of the actual parking lot there so that we could admire the beauty of the lake walking around it .. Much to our ill luck it started pouring and pouring heavily !!.. Imagine at an altitude of 12k feet, with heavy rains, we were on our foot walking on the slippery road beside the lake.. But to be frank, I just luvvvvvved it !.. my hands almost froze and my body trembling with shiver with just a sweater on and i almost couldn't feel my feet !!.. ooph .. I had my breath after reaching the shades of the market complex there built near the lake. I got 3 plates of noodles packed and carried it to the jeep and we finished it in no time ! In that cold,the super hot noodles, though priced at 25 per plate, seemed no less than a delicious maharaja buffet meal !! ..



On our way back,it was already getting dark but the sceneries were just splendid !!.. I felt there are a very few adjectives in English to admire the mystic beauty of the hills ! .. 'Breath-taking' by all means is an understatement !!.. my fingers were glued on to the click button of my cam.. These 2 hrs were lifetime memories !!.. The white mist slowly covering the entire stretch of greenish mountains was much more than just a visual treat !.. Such a scenery touches deep into your soul , an experience which only can be undergone and relished and hard to describe !.. Just take a look at these pics. I felt I was sailing though the clouds!!







The next morning, we hired a cab and headed for local sightseeing which included a host of viewpoints - Ganesh tok, hanuman tok ( these are temples with an awesome viewpoint!) and Tashi. Lastly we visited a monastry, a stupa and an institute (museum) exhibiting Buddhist history.. All the places are definitely worth seeing per se, but the changu lake hangover shadowed them all !..

It was an excellent 2 day stay at sikkim but for a small regret - that we couldn't make it to the Nathu La pass which is the Indo - China border at a 14k feet height... And as my mind was getting filled with cherishable memories - the memories of mist and mountains, I vowed to come back to Sikkim sometime again and conquer the historic Nathu La !!

Location and general info:

You can take a look at this site for all Sikkim related info

Getting there:

Rail: Take a train from Kolkata to Siliguri/New Jalpaiguri (These are twin towns located around 10 km from each other).
Air: Fly to Bagdogra, a 40-minute flight from Kolkata. Bagdogra is around 15km from Siliguri town.

Siliguri is the base for both Darjeeling and Gangtok. Both Sikkim state transport and WestBengal transport operate buses from Siliguri to Gangtok. Its best to take a shared jeep (10 ppl in a mahindra jeep) for Rs.150 if you are travelling economy. A jeep for yourself costs around Rs. 1,300 - 1,500. It takes about 3 1/2 hrs for the 115 km drive from Siliguri to Gangtok.

Places to hang out:

In Gangtok: There is no dearth of view points - Ganesh Tok, Hanuman Tok, Tashi, etc . The Tibetology institute is a must-visit if you are a lover of antiques and artefacts . There are quite a lot of monasteries, the one at Rumtek (40 km away) being the largest and the best among all.

Around Gangtok: Take the most popular excursion to Nathu La pass at 14k feet above sea level (Indo-China border) and Changu lake at 12k feet (actual name being Tsongo lake). You will also be taken to Baba mandir at 13k feet. Cost per person in a shared jeep: Rs.250, a full jeep: around Rs.2,000 - 2,500. Try and visit Pelling, a 3 hr drive from Gangtok. You can also enquire about 2N/3D North sikkim packages to Yumthang valley and Gurudongmar lake (at 17 k feet).

Worth sharing:

Take an evening stroll at the M.G Marg (the mall road of Gangtok)
Try 'Rasoi' restaurant at the beginning of M.G Marg. Great food , worth the price.
Try walking as much as possible through the ups and downs.. you discover thousands of wonderful sceneries as you walk:)
You can drop in at the Sikkim Tourism Information Center at the beginning of M.G marg for any info. The staff there are very helpful.
Be ready to spend quite some money on local transportation since you have to rely only upon omni taxis who charge you heavily. No jeeps are allowed inside the town and jeeps from Siliguri are stopped at a jeep stand 2 km before the town.
Try the yak ride at Changu lake :)