Our Sikkim Trip March 2008 - Part 1

theyyamdancer · Jun 2nd, 2008, 17:17

Well, it has been a while now (over a month) since we returned from India. I am going to attempt to write about Sikkim. It will be incomplete because as many have already said, words fail them and descriptions on the page cannot match the beauty of the scenery. Together with Mr Theyyamdancer we arrived from Darjeeling by jeep to Gangtok (we took a private ride for comfort and in order to be able to stop freely for photos of the Teesta river). The journey took about three and a half hours, descending from the West Bengal Hills, down to the rice paddies and ascending to Gangtok, capital of Sikkim. On first sight, the contrast between Darjeeling and Gangtok was amazing. I adore Darjeeling, let's be clear on that, but Gangtok has to be admired for its cleanliness and pristine streets. Anyhow, through our driver's connections we met a team who organized very quickly and efficiently our North Sikkim itinerary. I already knew we wanted to visit Lachen and Lachung and as far north of these two places as permitted for non-Indians. So over a chai masala we wrote down a 4 day/3 nights trip. I will not be recommending the team who took us as the "guide" was not a guide at all. I think he was compulsory for us to take with us but he knew next to nothing about our destination. Never mind. Our great fortune was that we went without delay the next morning, just the four of us (myself, my husband, the driver and the guide) and headed off towards the land of perpetual snow.

Has anyone nodded off yet? It has to be said that the journeys by jeep are arduous but the magnificent views make you forget! We passed through jungles and over bridges guarded by prayer flags fluttering in the breeze, the different colours representing different elements. Eventually, after seven hours or so, we reached Lachung, at an altitude of 8610 feet. Our hotel was fine, our cooks made us immediately pakoras and chai, and soon we were wrapped up against the bitter cold and enjoying the silence. The next morning, awaking at 4 am, our breath visible in the air outside the sleeping bag, we cradled another tea in our hands and went outside to admire the mountain views. The roar which I had mistaken for the wind was actually the river just outside. That day we were to head up to the Yumthang Valley, at 12,000 feet and 24 km from Lachung. Unfortunately, the snowdrifts blocked our path and we were stopped short of our final destination. No matter. Together with many Bengali tourists we played in the snow, took silly photos, and examined what might have been the prints of a snow leopard in the fields!

On the following day we drove to Lachen and thence to the village of Thangu and finally up to the CHOPTA Valley, which was the furthest north we were permitted to travel. I liked Thangu and it would be a good place to stay another time. We drank butter tea in a Tibetan chai dhaba and chatted to the locals. It was snowing heavily outside. After the previous day's slight disappointment in not reaching as far as we had intended, we were all the more determined to drive to the end of the road. At a checkpoint they were asleep and forgot to inspect our permits. In retrospect, this means we could have gone all the way up to Gurudongmar, but that would have been irresponsible. On the way down we were scolded for not showing our papers. It is offputting all the bureaucracy but I understand the need for it. Anyhow, we spent eight hours on the road, enjoying it thoroughly, so it mattered less that our "best hotel in town" had no water in the bathroom nor electricity while we were there. We eventually got a bucket of water to flush the loo with. And candles to read by. Very romantic (for one night).

Next morning our all too brief interlude in the snow was over and we headed back to Gangtok, in order to "take rest", and plan what to do next.

(To be continued.)

cutiepie · Jun 2nd, 2008, 17:25

Thats cool. Just cant wait to hear ur rest of the trip. Me just returned from north sikkim too,so find it all the more interesting.

theyyamdancer · Jun 2nd, 2008, 17:38

That was all the encouragement needed to continue!

For me the highlight of our trip (and I keep mentioning it on various threads on Indiamike so you had probably better believe me) was West Sikkim.

I was tired of jeeps (my hips - ouch!) and although enjoying the snowscapes I'm more of a sunworshipper than a snowlover. In Rinchenpong we found the ideal place to sit and gaze at Kanchenjunga while not freezing ourselves. We stayed on a homestay, I can tell anyone where in a PM if they are interested, and it was bliss. The time was far too short. We hiked a bit and daydreamed a lot and planned to return one day.

In all our Sikkim trip we did not visit a single monastery! Shame on us. Well, next time we will. We did go in Gangtok, however, to see the Museum of Tibetology, which was absolutely brilliant. The descriptions were clear, the wall hangings incredibly beautiful, the old manuscripts fascinating. We walked from the city centre over the bridge and up to the museum. The walk alone was such fun we did it twice! Also at the museum we were fortunate to see an exhibition of old photos showing the links between Bhutan and Sikkim. Excellent. I really would like to visi Bhutan too. So many places and so little time.

If it had been less hassle to go and renew the permits, we would have stayed longer in Sikkim.

My favourite things: the rhododendrons against the snowy peaks (at Singhik), the ginger tea and nettle soup in Rinchenpong, the butter chai in Thangu, the people, the people, the people, so hospitable and friendly.

(More later.)

spicetrekker · Jun 2nd, 2008, 17:48

Keep it coming .....

cutiepie · Jun 2nd, 2008, 17:48

When u talk about the people,i must say..they are so damn sweet.Dont u agree? They have a cute way of talking. And the kids are cho chweet. Everywhere u will find children trudging to school.

mousourik · Jun 2nd, 2008, 17:58

Hi,
it's very nice reading. we were in gangtok and pelling way back in 1997, your travelogue reminded me of that tour. at Pelling, we made a short trek to Sanghacholin monastery and at around 10 am, we could see Kanchenjunga, which is a bit unusual. in fact a group of trekkers who couldn't see the peak even at Zongri, had the first glimpse there and they pointed it to us.
thanks for reviving that nostalgia.

theyyamdancer · Jun 2nd, 2008, 17:58

Oh yes, the uniformed schoolchildren. That was also the case in Darjeeling. I had never seen anything so cute!

Actually, anytime we got lost on our walks we asked (accosted more like) some schoolkids for directions.

That reminds me of a funny (as in funny ha ha as well as funny peculiar) thing that happened... we were visiting a bookshop in Gangtok, I forget the name, but it is not important. Mr T was chatting to the owner about archery. (Are you listening Mr Bookshop in Gangtok whose name I can't remember?) Mr T is passionate about archery (hence the desire to visit Bhutan one day) and wanted to meet a local archer and talk about it. We were given directions to a certain Gangtok-ite who lived nearby. On the way it began to rain. We kept asking the school children who were just out of class for the directions. It was a great walk through the drizzle (of course the only day we did not carry a brolly) but we failed to find our destination. Just as we were going to give up we found a tea shop and had one of the best chai ever. We were the only customers (it was someone's house with a few tables in their sitting room) and we spoke with the owner and her son. The archery business was forgotten. Until the next time. That is how it seems to go in India, you set off to do one thing and get side-tracked, but it is just as good fun.

cutiepie · Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:03

I just came back yesterday from sikkim and u wont believe i want to go back right now again..I wish i could stay there..the cute houses in the hills..how picturesque..looks like a fairytale land..right?

theyyamdancer · Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:05

Mousourik, you are very welcome, I myself am reliving my own trip trying to think of how to describe it! Not a day has gone by in the last month without thinking about it... I am addicted...I have really hesitated before writing anything because it seems inadequate.

I don't know why Kanchenjunga has created such a mystique with me. Probably a combination of Satyajit Ray (I finally saw the film "Kanchenjunga" that other India-mikers helped me to track down in Kolkata); plus conversations I had with an elderly Bangalore gentleman a few years ago who was posted in the 1950s to the (as it was known) North East Frontier, which fired my imagination. He has also made me want to visit Arunachal Pradesh. That one is in the pipe-line. But first of all that gentleman will be our visitor this year in Greece and we will be able to glean a mountain of information from him. Sometimes when you cannot go to India, India comes to you! As in India-mike.

theyyamdancer · Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:28

Yes, yes, yes! Cutiepie, I agree.

In fact, I am seriously considering November - they told us that it is the best time to visit Sikkim - ie best views and fewer (?) tourists. Maybe combine it with Diwali... when is that this year?

Well, to continue with Part 3 of the Travelogue:

People we met in Sikkim

On our way back down to Gangtok from the far North, we picked up a couple of hitch-hikers who had been waiting all day for a lift without success. (If you are reading this girls - HI!) They turned out to be the most knowledgeable people one could have the honour to share a jeep with. I was totally ignorant of the significance of the prayer flags we had been seeing everywhere. One of the ladies - an imminent Tibetologist - helped open my eyes. Her friend, a mine of information on Sikkim, will surely be someone we will meet up with again.

A guy who worked in a hotel in Tibet Road in Gangtok, a Christian, who wished us a Happy Easter and brought us gifts!!!

The cook at the Lil Tangerine who roasted our raw peanuts for us, purchased that morning at the Lal Bazaar.

The girls who accompanied us on our walk to the Museum of Tibetology.

The Bengali family in Yumthang with whom we sang a Tagore song in Bengali.

The chap in the Gangtok photo shop who gave me (for free) a wonderful poster with the Eight Auspicious Signs.

cutiepie · Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:43

Well yes..November is a very good time to visit..but if u want snow all around u i would suggest december-february. u step out of ur hotel/cottage n u will find heavy snow. Diwali this time is October end.

theyyamdancer · Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:49

Thanks for the info. I'm getting an idea: Durga Puja, Diwali, Sikkim, Chaams...

cutiepie · Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:50

Chaams?? wat wud that be?

theyyamdancer · Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:58

Chaams are the religious celebrations in the monasteries of Sikkim which are held in January/February (see Janice's many informative posts on this forum). They are held mainly to celebrate Losar, the Tibetan New Year, although in Pemayangtse they take place just before Losar. I don't have the exact dates.

cutiepie · Jun 2nd, 2008, 19:03

ok,gotcha. well lucky you..u wud be returning to sikkim soon. i dont know wen i wud be going next though..if possible end of this year.

Jun 2nd, 2008, 17:17	#1
theyyamdancer Maha Guru Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Crete Posts: 1,419	Our Sikkim Trip March 2008 - Part 1 Well, it has been a while now (over a month) since we returned from India. I am going to attempt to write about Sikkim. It will be incomplete because as many have already said, words fail them and descriptions on the page cannot match the beauty of the scenery. Together with Mr Theyyamdancer we arrived from Darjeeling by jeep to Gangtok (we took a private ride for comfort and in order to be able to stop freely for photos of the Teesta river). The journey took about three and a half hours, descending from the West Bengal Hills, down to the rice paddies and ascending to Gangtok, capital of Sikkim. On first sight, the contrast between Darjeeling and Gangtok was amazing. I adore Darjeeling, let's be clear on that, but Gangtok has to be admired for its cleanliness and pristine streets. Anyhow, through our driver's connections we met a team who organized very quickly and efficiently our North Sikkim itinerary. I already knew we wanted to visit Lachen and Lachung and as far north of these two places as permitted for non-Indians. So over a chai masala we wrote down a 4 day/3 nights trip. I will not be recommending the team who took us as the "guide" was not a guide at all. I think he was compulsory for us to take with us but he knew next to nothing about our destination. Never mind. Our great fortune was that we went without delay the next morning, just the four of us (myself, my husband, the driver and the guide) and headed off towards the land of perpetual snow. Has anyone nodded off yet? It has to be said that the journeys by jeep are arduous but the magnificent views make you forget! We passed through jungles and over bridges guarded by prayer flags fluttering in the breeze, the different colours representing different elements. Eventually, after seven hours or so, we reached Lachung, at an altitude of 8610 feet. Our hotel was fine, our cooks made us immediately pakoras and chai, and soon we were wrapped up against the bitter cold and enjoying the silence. The next morning, awaking at 4 am, our breath visible in the air outside the sleeping bag, we cradled another tea in our hands and went outside to admire the mountain views. The roar which I had mistaken for the wind was actually the river just outside. That day we were to head up to the Yumthang Valley, at 12,000 feet and 24 km from Lachung. Unfortunately, the snowdrifts blocked our path and we were stopped short of our final destination. No matter. Together with many Bengali tourists we played in the snow, took silly photos, and examined what might have been the prints of a snow leopard in the fields! On the following day we drove to Lachen and thence to the village of Thangu and finally up to the CHOPTA Valley, which was the furthest north we were permitted to travel. I liked Thangu and it would be a good place to stay another time. We drank butter tea in a Tibetan chai dhaba and chatted to the locals. It was snowing heavily outside. After the previous day's slight disappointment in not reaching as far as we had intended, we were all the more determined to drive to the end of the road. At a checkpoint they were asleep and forgot to inspect our permits. In retrospect, this means we could have gone all the way up to Gurudongmar, but that would have been irresponsible. On the way down we were scolded for not showing our papers. It is offputting all the bureaucracy but I understand the need for it. Anyhow, we spent eight hours on the road, enjoying it thoroughly, so it mattered less that our "best hotel in town" had no water in the bathroom nor electricity while we were there. We eventually got a bucket of water to flush the loo with. And candles to read by. Very romantic (for one night). Next morning our all too brief interlude in the snow was over and we headed back to Gangtok, in order to "take rest", and plan what to do next. (To be continued.)

Jun 2nd, 2008, 17:38	#3
theyyamdancer Maha Guru Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Crete Posts: 1,419	Part 2 - West Sikkim ; Gangtok That was all the encouragement needed to continue! For me the highlight of our trip (and I keep mentioning it on various threads on Indiamike so you had probably better believe me) was West Sikkim. I was tired of jeeps (my hips - ouch!) and although enjoying the snowscapes I'm more of a sunworshipper than a snowlover. In Rinchenpong we found the ideal place to sit and gaze at Kanchenjunga while not freezing ourselves. We stayed on a homestay, I can tell anyone where in a PM if they are interested, and it was bliss. The time was far too short. We hiked a bit and daydreamed a lot and planned to return one day. In all our Sikkim trip we did not visit a single monastery! Shame on us. Well, next time we will. We did go in Gangtok, however, to see the Museum of Tibetology, which was absolutely brilliant. The descriptions were clear, the wall hangings incredibly beautiful, the old manuscripts fascinating. We walked from the city centre over the bridge and up to the museum. The walk alone was such fun we did it twice! Also at the museum we were fortunate to see an exhibition of old photos showing the links between Bhutan and Sikkim. Excellent. I really would like to visi Bhutan too. So many places and so little time. If it had been less hassle to go and renew the permits, we would have stayed longer in Sikkim. My favourite things: the rhododendrons against the snowy peaks (at Singhik), the ginger tea and nettle soup in Rinchenpong, the butter chai in Thangu, the people, the people, the people, so hospitable and friendly. (More later.)

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Jun 2nd, 2008, 17:25	#2
cutiepie Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: KOLKATA Posts: 51	Thats cool. Just cant wait to hear ur rest of the trip. Me just returned from north sikkim too,so find it all the more interesting.

Jun 2nd, 2008, 17:48	#4
spicetrekker Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Mumbai Posts: 284	Keep it coming .....

Jun 2nd, 2008, 17:58	#6
mousourik Maha Guru Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: KOLKATA, INDIA Posts: 975	Hi, it's very nice reading. we were in gangtok and pelling way back in 1997, your travelogue reminded me of that tour. at Pelling, we made a short trek to Sanghacholin monastery and at around 10 am, we could see Kanchenjunga, which is a bit unusual. in fact a group of trekkers who couldn't see the peak even at Zongri, had the first glimpse there and they pointed it to us. thanks for reviving that nostalgia.

Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:03	#8
cutiepie Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: KOLKATA Posts: 51	I just came back yesterday from sikkim and u wont believe i want to go back right now again..I wish i could stay there..the cute houses in the hills..how picturesque..looks like a fairytale land..right?

Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:05	#9
theyyamdancer Maha Guru Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Crete Posts: 1,419	Mousourik, you are very welcome, I myself am reliving my own trip trying to think of how to describe it! Not a day has gone by in the last month without thinking about it... I am addicted...I have really hesitated before writing anything because it seems inadequate. I don't know why Kanchenjunga has created such a mystique with me. Probably a combination of Satyajit Ray (I finally saw the film "Kanchenjunga" that other India-mikers helped me to track down in Kolkata); plus conversations I had with an elderly Bangalore gentleman a few years ago who was posted in the 1950s to the (as it was known) North East Frontier, which fired my imagination. He has also made me want to visit Arunachal Pradesh. That one is in the pipe-line. But first of all that gentleman will be our visitor this year in Greece and we will be able to glean a mountain of information from him. Sometimes when you cannot go to India, India comes to you! As in India-mike.

Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:28	#10
theyyamdancer Maha Guru Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Crete Posts: 1,419	Yes, yes, yes! Cutiepie, I agree. In fact, I am seriously considering November - they told us that it is the best time to visit Sikkim - ie best views and fewer (?) tourists. Maybe combine it with Diwali... when is that this year? Well, to continue with Part 3 of the Travelogue: *People we met in Sikkim* On our way back down to Gangtok from the far North, we picked up a couple of hitch-hikers who had been waiting all day for a lift without success. (If you are reading this girls - HI!) They turned out to be the most knowledgeable people one could have the honour to share a jeep with. I was totally ignorant of the significance of the prayer flags we had been seeing everywhere. One of the ladies - an imminent Tibetologist - helped open my eyes. Her friend, a mine of information on Sikkim, will surely be someone we will meet up with again. A guy who worked in a hotel in Tibet Road in Gangtok, a Christian, who wished us a Happy Easter and brought us gifts!!! The cook at the Lil Tangerine who roasted our raw peanuts for us, purchased that morning at the Lal Bazaar. The girls who accompanied us on our walk to the Museum of Tibetology. The Bengali family in Yumthang with whom we sang a Tagore song in Bengali. The chap in the Gangtok photo shop who gave me (for free) a wonderful poster with the Eight Auspicious Signs.

Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:43	#11
cutiepie Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: KOLKATA Posts: 51	Well yes..November is a very good time to visit..but if u want snow all around u i would suggest december-february. u step out of ur hotel/cottage n u will find heavy snow. Diwali this time is October end.

Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:49	#12
theyyamdancer Maha Guru Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Crete Posts: 1,419	Thanks for the info. I'm getting an idea: Durga Puja, Diwali, Sikkim, Chaams...

Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:50	#13
cutiepie Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: KOLKATA Posts: 51	Chaams?? wat wud that be?

Jun 2nd, 2008, 18:58	#14
theyyamdancer Maha Guru Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Crete Posts: 1,419	Chaams are the religious celebrations in the monasteries of Sikkim which are held in January/February (see Janice's many informative posts on this forum). They are held mainly to celebrate Losar, the Tibetan New Year, although in Pemayangtse they take place just before Losar. I don't have the exact dates.

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Jun 2nd, 2008, 19:03	#15
cutiepie Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: KOLKATA Posts: 51	ok,gotcha. well lucky you..u wud be returning to sikkim soon. i dont know wen i wud be going next though..if possible end of this year.