My trip log for the visit to Gangtok, nathula, yumthang and Gurudongmar in May '08

amitmishr

Ever since i returned from my trip, had been planning to post the log, so others may benefit from it. hope you find it useful

I was planning a surprise trip for my wife on her birthday in first week of May. Searched around the web for a location and finally narrowed on Sikkim. One of my friend and his wife, who were also looking to visit the state also decided to come along with us. Then, we started the long planning phase (from first week of February itself. Decided to fly down to Bagdogra and then move to Gangtok. We decided to skip Darjeeling and kalimpong, as they are suffer from huge influx of tourists.

IM really helped us a lot in planning our trip. We finally decided to visit gangtok, nathula and north Sikkim during our stay. I contacted Mr. Prabir Sen and D. Bhutia (Norling travels) to finalize our plans. Prabir’s quote and services were better and we decided to go ahead with him. We booked our flights to bagdogra (I am from Mumbai and my friend from Delhi) on 29th April.

April 30th :
Since my wife was unaware of all my detailed plans for the trip, I told her on returning from office on 29th that we are leaving early morning (5am) to a place with snow, and hence she should help packing our woolens and other stuff. I still had not told her about the destination. We packed our stuff till late night and then took a quick nap. Left home early to catch the 5:25am flight to delhi.

Flight was slightly late but we were just able to reach delhi in time for our flight to bagdogra. My wife was still clueless about the destination. We had a lovely flight with views of snowclad mountains and a picturesque landing at the airport. When the taxi guy who picked us up from bagdogra said Gangtok, then my wife realized the destination and the wide smile on her face made my day.

We stopped at a roadside dhaba on the way, had some snacks, picked up some for the journey and went on to gangtok. The entry into Sikkim was impressive and we were left spellbound by the natural beauty of the state. We proceeded to reach gangtok by 4:30pm.
However, a big surprise awaited us at the hotel. Apparently, they had overbooked and were not aware of our bookings. After a bit of an argument and after a few frantic calls with Prabir sen, they said they were told we were arriving on 1st may rather than 30th. Some time later they showed us two rooms (one a pigeon hole, the other a normal room).

Given that we had limited options and tired as we were, we decided to stay at the hotel and continue with our program. The service otherwise at the hotel were good. Though rooms were bare, they were atleast clean. Anyways after freshening up, we went out on the MG road going up some 100 toebreaking stairs. The effort was worth it and once we reached at the MG road there, the tiredness evaporated at the beautiful sight.

Well MG road at gangtok is unlike the MG road at most of the other hill stations that I had seen. It refreshed my memories of Paris and Edinburgh. The cobbled road, the whole lighting and set up, it was amazing. We moved from one end to the other, and decided to try the local delicacy – Momos. Now, having eaten Momo’s, etal in various Mumbai joints (mings, legacy of china etal), I was just circumspect and ordered 1 plate amongst the four of us. Well, this was not the first time I felt good on my decision to choose Gangtok. Boy, they were amazing. We ended up ordering numerous plates and had our stomachs full by the time we came out of the place.

We moved around the MG road and also went to a Tibet market. We had our dinner at a restaurant at the end of the road (I think aarti restaurant). We took some pictures at the beautiful road and tired and happy, retired back to the hotel to get a nap before heading out to nathula on 1st.

to be continued....

amitmishr

May 1st:
We got up early and got ready for our journey to nathula, Changu Lake. Had breakfast at the hotel itself and left at 9am. Went through a picturesque route to Changu Lake and proceeded straight to nathula border. I clicked a lot of pictures at the border of the Indian and the Chinese soldiers. Tough life these guys lead on those borders. However, one thing to note was that the Indian soldiers looked overweight, whereas their Chinese counterparts looked much fitter.
After spending some time at Nathula, we returned back to changu lake. Lake was really picturesque and it would have looked pristine in winters. A major letdown was the yukky smell from those yaks. Let alone a ride, we could not even stand besides them. Eventually we had some momos (did not like them), and pushed off to a place nearby which had decent amount of snow, to play in the snow. I, among the group was only person, who had seen snow and played in it (manali). We had some fun in the snow and tried the slide on our bumps down the hill with some disastrous results. Wet jeans and hurt backside pained throughout our onward journey, but nothing serious. We paid our homage to Baba Harbhajan Singh on our way back and heard his interesting tale. We returned back to gangtok by evening.
Back at gangtok, we had another round of the MG road and had the delicious momos. I and my wife decided to move around and took a right turn at the end of the MG road. There was some construction work going on there as they were elongating the road beyond the bend. I guess people going there now would have a much better experience of the road. May be somebody can enlighten on its current status.
I and my wife decided to buy some momentos to commensurate our experience and I ended up getting my pockets lightened considerably after the shopping binge there. Knowing that we had to leave for north Sikkim early next day, we had our dinner and retired back to our hotel rooms early.

haringp

it is really a detailed and informative for all.
pl. complete your post. specially the north sikkim part.

amitmishr

hey.
Am writing and then posting simultaneously. with diwali celebrations going on, pressed for time right now. hence the delay.
will surely try to complete it ASAP.

amitmishr

May 2nd:

this day we woke up early and got ready. Had our breakfast at the hotel itself and waited for the driver to arrive at the hotel. After a wait for 20minutes, our driver, Amar, duly arrived at the hotel in a brand new Mahindra Scorpio. We loaded our luggage into the taxi and set out on our journey. Just half an hour after we started, there was a large queue of Mahindra vehicles on the road. We stepped out of the vehicle and after walking for just 200metres saw the reason for the queue. There was a huge rock in the middle of the road (round in shape with probably a diameter of around 25feet).

My heart literally sank at the sight. I really thought all me best laid plans being laid to rest and really thought that I might have to spend the next three days, and more importantly, my wife birthday at gangtok rather than at Gurudongmar Lake at a height of 17,200ft. On talking to our driver as well as others, I was told that the landslide happened overnight and would be fine in next fifteen minutes and we should be on our way shortly.

That news relaxed me and I got busy with my camera. Though, arguably, there was not much to click especially with the crowd of SUV’s on the road. Just as we had clicked a few pics, the SUV’s started going though a narrow clearing made on the road, through the efforts of a few people who worked tirelessly so as to allow the traffic to move on.

A peculiar thing we noticed in Sikkim was the presence of the school students walking across the roads at almost all the times. On talking to the driver, I was told that the children start from home early in the morning (probably by 7), while the school starts at 11. All the meanwhile the students go to their friends place to pick them up and then the whole gang reaches the school together. Hence one sees the kids moving along the roads.

Another thing I saw was that there were many ladies sitting along the road with a hammer breaking the stones. When enquired I was told that the guys there drive taxis while ladies used to work in shops, or in breaking the stones.
The rest of the journey for the next couple of hours was luckily uneventful. We reached a picturesque location on the way, where our lunch was to be served. We had a basic lunch of dal, rice, chapatti and aloo mutter with salad. Although very basic, it tasted great as we were hungry. Though the journey was really tiring, the breathtaking beauty of the Sikkim Mountains really kept refreshing us. As soon as we were done with our lunch, we started our journey towards Lachen.

Well, that is when God decided that he is indeed going to bless us on this trip and would show us all colours of Sikkim during this trip itself (you would also realize this by end). Amar told us that it is soon going to rain and we must hurry from our camera clicking adventures. However, although there was a cloud cover, it did not look like that it was going to rain soon. Though slightly disappointed, I decided that the best thing to do was to listen to our driver on this and move quickly.

Barely ten minutes after we had started moving, a couple of droplets started coming down. Pretty soon, it turned into a downpour and for me sitting into the car, I thought we were about to stop somewhere to let the rain stop. However, Amar said that we have to keep moving on as this rains may not stop till late. It was really a horrifying drive as we were not able to see where we were heading too. Infact a couple of times, there was muddy water on the road, where the vehicle was slipping on the road.

Well after half an hour of rainfall the weather cleared up and we were treated to one of the best views, we had seen.

There were green mountains all around us with numerous huge waterfalls and snow capped mountains on the horizon. Add to that our wonderful companion over the entire journey in North Sikkim, River Teesta. Well somebody on the IM rightly said- : “In north Sikkim, journey is the destination”.

We reached Chungthang (a lovely village from where there is a diversion to Lachen and Lachung) by early evening. We took a break there and called our homes that we have reached. Since there was no network on our cell phones and the lone phone line in the area had gone down due to some unforeseen reason, we apprised every one not to worry about us for the next few days.

I just took a couple of Britannia cup cakes and a few eatables and continued our journey towards Lachen. By the time we reached Lachen, it was already getting dark. We checked in the Fortuna hotel (it was really a beautiful hotel with newly made rooms). There was also a fireplace in one of the rooms, with a nominal charge of Rs300.

However, since we were already tired after the journey, we decided to rest and have a good night’s sleep. While the dinner was being prepared, we went around the lovely village and had momos in of the shops there. Post the rains the scenery was lovely and the weather was cold.

We had a round of the nearby areas the mountain ranges across us, the local school. We came back and were told that food would be ready in 5-10 minutes. We had our dinner and retired back to our rooms. We were told that we had to get up by 5am and leave by 6. However, there was no water in the bathrooms.

When we asked the hotel guys, we were told that the pipelines have frozen due to the cold weather outside. This was in the month of May!! We shuddered at the prospect there in winters. We went to bed and for the first time in my life I was sleeping with 5 thick blankets over me and still shivering because of cold.

It was an ultimate experience for all of us, who had never seen such cold weather earlier. In fact once during the night, my wife woke me up because she could not move the blankets as she had to use the rest-room.

haringp

nice detailed presentation.
pl. complete it, whenever you have time.

amitmishr

May 3rd.

We got up very early in the morning and received the shocker when we stepped into the bathroom. The floor was icy cold and just the thought of taking a bath in that cold weather was worrying. Anyways, we took some Hot water from the hotel fellows and did our best to cleanse ourselves as by the time they brought the hot water to our rooms, it was warm and by the time you used the water, it was at best usable in the cold environ.

We got ready and came out to board the taxi. It was really cold outside and the sun was just rising and a nice light was around the sleepy village. Our hotel manager told us that we are really lucky as we are about to witness a rare snowfall in May. We were very happy to hear that but I guess it might have meant additional cold weather to bear for the local population there.

Anyways, we packed our breakfast and went on with our journey. After a brief journey through amazing surroundings, we reached an army checkpoint and we had 10 minutes to spare there. I went around the area and saw army men roaming around in shirt and pants and shivered at the way they were moving at sub-zero temperatures as if they are roaming on the streets of Mumbai. I really admire these brave souls who suffer through such a hard terrain so that we can enjoy our nice sleep and go on with our lives unharmed.

I also saw a few tanks placed in bunks there and was told that due to the tension between Tibet and China, India had also moved some artillery to the border areas and hence the presence of the tanks.

Duly after 10 minutes, Amar returned in tow with an army official (head of the post there), who started questioning my friend, which made me hurry back immediately to the vehicle. I was relieved that the root of the questioning was the address we had submitted in the form. The army guy was from Aligarh and seeing a tourist from Noida, had hurried outside to offer us advice and wish us the best for our onward journey.

He told that people from all over India come to visit gurudongmar but rarely does someone from his native state visits this faraway land. We said our byes to him and carried on our onward journey. Barely minutes out of the post, we saw the first flickers of snow floating in the air.

Since this was the first experience for most of us, we were overjoyed by the snowfall and were happy to be inside the car rather than outside. The snow had a beautiful impact on the nearby scenery and the fresh snow covered mountains were really good to look at.

We reached café 15000 and ventured outside the vehicle in the fall for the first time. We went into the café, which is entirely manned and maintained by the Indian army and is the highest café in the world. Ever since we started from gangtok, I was unable to find a cake for my wife’s birthday (well fruit cake which can be carried around) but at the end I had to settle for the Britannia cup cake which served as the birthday cake for my wife. We had a small treat with the cake and tea/soup from the café.

We went outside to wonderful scenery with the snow still falling around. Well one thing that I must compliment all us Indians is to device interesting uses of daily use products. One necessarily needs to visit the men’s room outside the café to marvel the intelligence of the army fellows and the innovative usage of the funnel regularly used by the oil merchants across the country. Despite a strong urge I decided not to use my camera there due to a short queue outside the makeshift restroom there.

We started onwards to Gurudongmar lake but were surprised by the quality, rather the lack of the roads in the terrain. The driver was working completely on his memory without any visible sign of any road on the area. We went through patches of rocks and even saw signs of life on large mountain sides (possible bunkers of the army). It was really a wonderful journey. Soon, we saw a few vehicles standing in the horizon, and anticipated the journey to be almost complete.
Amar parked his vehicle next to a few others and told us that due to lack of oxygen, the vehicle would not be able to do the last 100metres or so of the journey.

We decided to complete that on foot and had some water and moved on. As soon as we had walked 20metres or so, I and my friend started feeling breathless. We were slightly worried at that and decided to move slowly without spending much energy. Incidentally, our wives who had not taken water just prior to the walk were fine either due to better health or due to the water we both drank earlier.

However, just further 20 metres of our walk we started feeling normal and there was no problem whatsoever in the remaining 45 minutes we spent there. We first went into the shrine where the floor was very slippery and saw a couple of people having a hard landing on their backsides. We somehow negated the slippery nature by holding to each other, walls of the temple. As soon as we were inside, it was such a relief from the biting cold winds. After getting a bit warm, we ventured outside and saw the pristine lake surrounded by snowy mountains.

It was a sight to behold and despite the hands refusing to come out of the pockets, we took out our cameras and clicked to satisfaction. There was some sort of a religious ceremony being carried out on the lake shore and there was a fire lit by a person there. We warmed our hands on the same and decided that before any further breathing related problems recur, we should move back to Lachen.

By the time, we started back, the snowfall stopped, the scenery, which continue to remain wonderful but not as breath-taking as it was earlier. Seeing the same mountains when the snow had melted now, it was abundantly clear why people say that to visit Gurudongmar in December is majestic. It was as if God was telling us that since you had come so far, I showed you the special aspect of sikkim, and now I should show you the part which others see when they come to these shores.

On our way back to Lachen, the army post incharge, duly welcomed us back and asked us inside to enjoy some tea and snacks. However, short on time, we had to move on. We thanked him for his kindness and continued our journey back to Lachen.

We reached back to Lachen by afternoon. Had our lunch there and went back to Lachung via Chungthang. On the way we stopped at a couple of omnipresent waterfalls and enjoyed the serene beauty abound in North sikkim.

Amar also used the opportunity to wash the vehicle.

We reached Lachung by evening and were treated to pakoras on reaching there. I think people would under-stand the lure of the pakoras in such a nice weather. Our hotel in Lachung was amazing with a big steep mountain on one side and the river and village on the other side. Our room directly looked at the river and the village from the window and we all sat in the balcony munching the pakoras.

We enjoyed a nice chat session before being called for the dinner. Post the dinner, we came back to our rooms for a nice nap.

amitmishr

May 4th:

As was usual, we got up early again, packed our breakfast and started on our journey to Yumthang. We were eagerly anticipating the valley especially after the rave reviews we had heard on different forums, from people in Gangtok. We thought, if Gurudongmar was so beautiful, how much more pretty would be Yumthang.

Foolishly, I had bragged to my friend and my wife that the rhododendron trees would be in full bloom and hence it would be really a beautiful sight. However, once we entered in the nursery, though pretty, the trees were nowhere as pretty as I had predicted. Moreover, once we reached Yumthang valley, it was a further disappointment.

Yes the valley was picturesque and the photographs near the river were really good, but overall the experience was a let down vis-à-vis our expectations. Guess, one should go with zero expectations and enjoy whatever is there.

After this experience, we decided that the journey was better than the destination and as we say, journey is the destination. We strolled around the river, crossed it through a shallow sectioned, enjoyed some time there and then moved on to a place which Amar told us was the source of the hot water spring. We trekked a little bit (200mtrs, but looked like a long trek as we were thoroughly tired) and found a hut with heating arrangements and a bath and were surprised by that. Slightly surprised, we decided to return back and had our breakfast sitting near the river.

After finishing our breakfast, we started back to Lachung. Most of the return journey to gangtok from there was uneventful and we reached back to gangtok by late evening.

After checking in, I and my wife decided to shop a few souvenirs for our trip, while my friend decided to sleep early. We went around the majestic MG road again, for the last time during our trip, went to a shop, where we bought a couple of showpieces.

We had dinner in a nice place and retired back to our room for a nap.

What happened next was the worst part of my journey. I might have had unboiled water at some point on the previous evening and my digestive system duly gave up.

Suffering from dehydration, I somehow spent the night with frequent visits to the restroom and as soon as there was some sunlight, asked the hotel fellows to get some medicines from a local pharmacy.

The hotel guys were very co-operative and got me some medicines, which improved the situation soon. As we had to leave for our flights from Baghdogra, I had some ORS, and started back on a taxi. Luckily, there was no recurrence of any problem on the way back, and I was pretty much ok by the time I reached Baghdogra.

I took a flight to Kolkatta to catch my onward flight to Mumbai, while my friend took the direct flight to delhi. We reached Mumbai late in the night and were happy to be back home with lots of good memories of a beautiful land of honest people.

One thing I still remember is my interaction with a local salesgirl in a gangtok shop. We had decided to buy some thing to munch on our journey and asked her for some amchoor, supari-like stuff. I picked 12 packets of the stuff, each priced Rs0.75.
She asked for Rs10, but as the total price was only Rs6, I just said what? Looking at my face, she said innocently, ok you give me Rs2 only. At that I had a big laugh and was so much amazed by the innocent nature of these people. I hope the tourism does develop in the state but it does not destroy the innocent nature of the natives there.