If Mumbai is the City of Dreams then Gangtok is the City of
Dreamers; you’ll pretty much find all kinds of people there but mainly Tourists
just like us from all over the world. Sikkim is known as Asia’s Switzerland and
it definitely lives upto the promises; my experience made me feel like I was in
Heaven; a little part of me died when we had to leave Sikkim but I know in my
heart that I’ll go back there time and again, that’s basically how it makes you
feel; you’ll fall in love with the City of Gangtok instantly and the beautiful
picaresque sceneries of Sikkim will be in your heart forever.
We (Me with my Parents) went there in the time of March’14;
it was my Birthday (21st March) trip and that was all I ever wanted
for my sweet 21st Birthday because I love the Hills; the beauty of
Sikkim left me fully satisfied.
20th March, Day 1; Destination NJP: It’s always
nice to travel by trains because you get to see so much and personally it
appeals to me more than the whole flight experience especially when you’re
going to such a beautiful place like Sikkim but there’s no direct train route so
you have to make a rest-stop at NJP (New Jalpaiguri) or Siliguri. You can book
your tickets online or via a travel agent just like we did; if you’re from
Bardhaman then I’ll recommend you to go for Mangalam Travels (mangalam.tr.bwn@gmail.com or
9475001656) the owner at first might come as a bit arrogant but he is a nice
person and you can trust him, he gets the job done. Now, a travel agent might
come as a bit expensive but while he does the hard work, you can just sit at
home and relax so I say the extra expense is worth it. If you want to travel by
flight then you can do that as well; there’s an Airport at Bagdogra (NJP) and
you can get direct flights from Dumdum (Kolkata) Airport; after reaching
Bagdogra you can hire a private Helicopter to roam around Sikkim; to know more
just Google it.
There are many trains to reach NJP from Sealdah or Bardhaman
or from any other place; for details visit the official website of Indian
Railways. I thought of a day-train because you can experience the beauty on the
way; there’re many things to see for eyes’ pleasure like the Farakka Barrage so
I booked tickets for Haldibari Superfast (Another reason was that the whole
trip was planned in a hurry so I didn’t get tickets anywhere else; actually
that’s the only reason) I’d say among the day-trains Satabdi Express is the
best but you have to plan the tour about 1 month prior to the date to get the
tickets. There’re plenty of night trains but all you can see is nothing but
darkness around; no view; but if you’re good with that then go for Uttarbanga
Express or Kanchankanya Express or Darjeeling Mail; they’re all good.
We started our journey on 20th March’14; the
train left the station at 11AM and reached NJP at about 8PM; I loved the whole
experience but suggest you not to go for Haldibari if you’re in a hurry to
reach NJP because it does take a while. The NJP JN is not a bad place to spend
the night at all; there’s a waiting room in a pretty good condition but we
decided to spend the night at a Hotel because we had a long journey ahead of us
in the next-morning.
We stayed at Bikash Bhawan; it’s quite near the station and
a good place to be;
However if you travel by a night-train then you’ll reach NJP
by the morning and then you can hire a private or shared car to get to Gangtok
(Sikkim’s capital); it takes about 5 hours (More or less) However you cannot
travel there by the night because of the dangerous spiral roads.
21st March, Day 2; Destination – Gangtok: After
spending the night at Bikash Bhawan we went back to the NJP JN in the morning
around 7AM to hire a private car to reach Gangtok, the fare is about 2000 bucks
if you want to hire a private car but you can also go for a shared car which
will cost you about 250-300 bucks per head; it’s quite cheap but might be a bit
uncomfortable. The roads are spiral and quite dangerous, towards the end the
road condition is at its worst. I puked twice even after taking meds so I
suggest you not to have an empty stomach on the way because that leads to
nausea; keep your mouth busy; carry chewing-gums or candies with yourself. A
girl tip – Do tie your hair tightly in a bun and it would be the best if you
cover it with a cap or anything of that kind because the dusty roads will take
a toll on your hair especially if it’s dry or colored. Do wear a mask as I
previously stated the roads are dusty and polluted; Sunglasses are a must have.
Keep the windows down but if you’re claustrophobic just like me then these
things might come in handy. On the way the Tista will follow you at all times.
We reached Gangtok around 1PM; we had previously booked two
rooms (One for me and one for my parents) at Canaan Lodge which is situated at
Kazi Road, Gangtok.
The private car will drop you in front of the hotel but if
you get a shared one then you might have to spend around 200 bucks extra for
cab fare to reach your desired hotel because it’s next to impossible to walk on
the roads although the distance is not much but with luggage and backpacks,
trust me it will be tiring because of the ups and downs and the shared car cannot
go beyond the Taxi-stand, it’s a rule and surprisingly illegal.
Gangtok is a beautiful city with the minimum crime-rate and
the maximum cleanliness; it’s situated at West Sikkim around 150KM away from
NJP and it is definitely one of the most beautiful cities in India. If you have
the fear of heights then after visiting Sikkim you will not have Acrophobia
anymore, that’s a promise but you have to spend at least a month there. It is
an expensive place to be, so be prepared to spend a fortune because from food
to water to lodging everything is more costly than other places in India. It’s
a romantic city so it’d be the best to roam around with your boyfriend/husband/girlfriend/wife but if you have the soul of a traveler just like me then do go alone; parents
might come in handy when it comes to spending; it was my Birthday trip and I
wanted to celebrate it with the two most important people in my life. Gangtok,
Sikkim is one of the best Honeymoon destinations in India if you prefer the
Hills.
Usually the richest people in Sikkim are called “Kazis” and
they live at the Kazi road, hence the name - Kazi Road. Our hotel was just in
front of the Old King’s House.
Kazi Road is definitely The place to stay at while in
Gangtok; the iconic M. G. Marg is just below it and the view is spectacular;
all the main offices like The Secretariat’s Office, Sikkim Legislative Assembly
even the Ropeway, they’re all on Kazi Road. There’s a taxi-stand nearby as
well.
We had booked two rooms and
for the obvious reason I got the room with the best view. If you’re lucky
enough you can see the amazing Kanchanzangha range right from your window but
sadly I wasn’t lucky enough.
You can also get a room at a hotel after reaching Gangtok
but the chances are not very impressive especially when it’s season so I say
it’s better to pre-book.
After our lunch at the Hotel (The food was delicious) we
went for a little sight-seeing by hiring a private car which takes around 1500
bucks.
We experienced a few
unimportant waterfalls and a little bit of heaven;
First we went to the Gangtok Flowers’ Exhibition; it was
nothing less than Eden Gardens, there you’ll find a huge range of different
kinds of Orchids.
You can hire a professional photographer to take your
pictures because they know what’s best for you; they usually charge 50 bucks
for a picture; it’s worth it.
From there we went to Ganeshtok, which is a View Point; you
can see the breath-taking view of the city of Gangtok from top.
Another delight on the way was Tashi View Point; it’s
towards the end of the City of Gangtok.
We ended our day’s journey at the iconic M. G. Marg; it was
raining at that time, perhaps that made it look more beautiful; for a moment I
forgot it was my Birthday but a sudden tap on my back by my Mum reminded me of
my existence and we celebrated my 21st Birthday just with the view
(Later did plenty of shopping)
M. G. Marg is a little piece of Amsterdam; you’ll meet all
kinds of people there from all over the world, it has a different charm (Positive
vibe) altogether; the night-life is
pretty awesome and it definitely is The most happening place at Gangtok. Plenty
of pubs/bars, shopping destinations, food plazas; you just cannot get
bored.
There is another unforgettable thing about Gangtok which is its Street Fashion; it's pretty much everywhere. Due to an exposure to all kinds of different cultures throughout the year Gangtok experiences a style of its own when it comes to fashion and if you consider yourself to be a Fashionista then Gangtok is The place to visit. From the Rockstar look to the StreetBoy or the School-girl to the Happy-Go-Lucky; you can even spot a lady holding a brand new D&G (Fall/Winter) handbag or a Man in Hugo Boss; shouldn't come to you as a surprise. Because of the variants of tourists in the spot the fashion has become the central-idea of the city; it's something that holds them together. The positivity around is intoxicating; the food, the people, the mixed-cultures from all over the world all together make an attempt to make you fall in love hard and fast. "Nathula Pass" is a great place to shop and you can visit the place by hiring a private car; all kinds of branded, non-branded things are available there. Gangtok is almost transitional because it holds so many cultures in its heart and that makes it a unique place to be.
22nd March, Day 3, Destination- South Sikkim
(Namchi, Temi Tea Garden, Char Dham, Shriddhi Sai Baba Ka Mandir): On our 2nd
day at Sikkim we planned to go visit the stupendously beautiful Tsomgo Lake (It
means “The Source of The Lake”) but Government didn’t give us the permit to
visit (We even went to the tourism office) because of the heavy snowfall so we
hired a private car for the tour of South Sikkim which costs about 3500 bucks;
you can get a shared car as well which will be a lot cheaper but if you’re the
nagging kind just like me (“Bhaiya stop the car I have to take pictures”, “Bhaiya
stop for a while I want to roam around a bit”, Bhaiya stop the car I feel like
I’m gonna puke”, ”Bhaiya stop the car I’m hungry”, “Bhaiya stop the car I need
to go to the washroom” – Yes I can be annoying at times) then a private car
will be the best for you. If money ain’t a matter then you can experience the
best of Sikkim only by hiring a private car at all times. You can personally
hire a driver for all the days you’ll be over there and the total cost will be
around 20000 bucks (Depends on the places you’ll visit) I personally feel it’s
for the best and so we did. We got the cutest driver ever. His name is Puran
Roy, he is 29 (Single and extremely handsome) and he lives in South Sikkim;
also a good photographer as he clicked most of my pictures!
If you’ve got a boyfriend/husband who claims to be an
excellent biker then this might be The chance to prove it as you can hire a
sports bike (R15 V2 or Pulsar 220 will be the best) to roam around Sikkim for
the best experience; for this experience you can contact a local and rent his
bike for the days you’re there. Will not cost you more than 10000 bucks
including the patrol expenses but I should tell you, it’s dangerous but quite
adventurous.
No matter where you go in Sikkim, the Tista will be just by
your side; maybe a few thousand feet down but it will be around!
On our South Sikkim tour we first visited the Temi Tea
Garden which is the only Tea Garden in Sikkim and considered to be one of the
bests in India as well as in the world. The temperature was around 5 degree Celsius
when we visited the place.
There’s a café just beside the Garden where you can have the
tea produced in the Garden; do try the Momos there as I did and definitely the
best ones I’ve ever had.
Next we visited the tallest Buddha temple of the world (135
Feet) and the view from top was a spectacular one and you can also see the Char
Dham (Situated in South Sikkim) from the top of the Temple.
Before visiting the most important tourist destination in
South Sikkim we stopped at the “Shriddhi Sai Baba Ka Mandir”
I had my lunch with the local food “Fela” which is just like
fried Momos; it was just yum!
Next stop was The Char Dham; indeed an experience of a
lifetime. If you visit Char Dham at South Sikkim then you won’t have to visit
the places respectively as they mastered the art of imitation. They charge a few extra bucks if you carry a camera with yourself (Depends on the camera) which is a big turn off. The Char Dham
are...
After visiting Char Dham we went back to our Hotel; I must
say the spiral roads of South Sikkim were far better than the roads in the
plain lands of the big cities in India. The CM of Sikkim and the famous
football player Baichung Bhutia both reside at South Sikkim; perhaps the reason
behind that.
23rd March, Day 4, Destination – Lachung (North
Sikkim): The main attraction of North
Sikkim is the Yumthang range but it’s quite a long journey from Gangtok and due
to the dangerous roads it’s impossible to travel at night so in order to reach
Yumthang one must make a rest-stop at Lachung. You can hire a private car which
will cost about 12000 bucks or you can go via a travel agency’s contract (Shared
Car) which takes about 1200-1500 per head (Food and Lodging). The roads are
beyond painful and there’s no way to fix them due to heavy rainfall during the whole
year. Make sure you hire someone experienced; probably the most dangerous roads
of Sikkim lead to Yumthang but all I can say is it’ll be worth it in the end if
you go during January-March; you’ll get a piece of Heaven.
We started our journey to Lachung around 1PM and reached
there at around 7.30PM. On the way you’ll see way too many waterfalls; the view
around is outstanding!
We stayed overnight at Silver Green Resorts. It’s awfully
cold there; you can rent a room heater but it’s a remote area so there’s not
much electricity so it might not work at all. Do carry enough warm clothes and
possibly dry foods as well because the food quality there is definitely not
upto the mark.
The morning arrived with this view from my room...
I was at a loss for words; couldn’t wait to get to Yumthang
valley to touch the snow with my hands and to play with it and so we did; after
breakfast we started our journey at 7AM to Yumthang valley and it took us
barely an hour to get there but I swear it was the most beautiful one hour of
my life, snow all around covered the roads and the trees and for a moment I
felt like I were in Narnia. We stopped a few times to play with the snow or
just to enjoy the view. It was the very first time I experienced snow in my hands and it felt magical.
The roads were in pretty good condition as it’s a military
area. You’ll find a Helipad nearby and a few base camps of military people as
well. Do carry Gum boots if you want to have the best experience in snow; you
can rent them at the resort as well for only 50 bucks.
We stopped for a while before Yumthang valley for coffee;
there’re plenty of stalls there; had a snow-fight with a few Nepali girls, then
we went to Zero Point (14000 feet) and the pictures will tell you the rest, the most
beautiful experience I’ve ever had and the memories will stay in my heart for
the rest of my life. At zero point had snow-fight with pretty much everyone
around!
I even made a little snowman!
Follow me on Instagram - @anamikadutta
We stopped at Yumthang valley for a while to take some
shots; there you’ll find the Tista as well surrounded by snow floating on its
own.
I did not want to leave Yumthang valley, cried a bit but
eventually we had to. We had our lunch at the Resort then we went on our way
back to Gangtok around 1PM and we reached there at about 8PM.
25th March, Day 5, Gangtok: I was sad since the
morning because we had to leave at night but decided to make the most of the day.
Went to M. G. Marg for a while; saw a few Helicopters roaming around then
decided to have a ride on the ropeway; Mum and Dad both bailed so went with
someone I had met during our stay. The view from top was a great delight especially
it gets better when shared with someone special. If you’ve got great company
then don’t mind taking more than one ride. It costs about 70 bucks per person.
After our lunch at the Hotel we went for Siliguri to catch
our train.
We came back by a night-train (Kanchankanya Express) as we had no other
choice; in the last minute it was almost a miracle that we even got confirmed
tickets for both our arrival and departure.
From the beginning to the end the whole experience was
something to live by; As long as I shall live, I shall live with the beautiful
memories, the moments spent at Sikkim. There were so many little things that I
cannot express in words (I might fall short) that will remain in my heart
forever. On our way from Lachung to Gangtok two little kids just waved at me
saying goodbye; filled my heart with happiness. I personally feel that the
chinky girls (Not an offensive term) look the best wearing sharees as I saw a
few did and they looked absolutely beautiful. Almost every guy looked like
Keanu Reeves or Robert Pattinson to me (Yes they’re quite handsome and cute);
too much paleness it almost made me miss the Sun and I was dying for something
tanned (Silly face) Please don’t be an idiot with the DSLR (They’ve seen plenty
of them) trying to capture everything in the memory cards instead try to
capture them in your own memory slot; experience the beauty of Sikkim with your
own eyes not via an expensive camera and do treat the people with a bit of
respect (They deserve it) as I saw pretty much everyone who go there consider
them to be inferior just because a large amount of people are drivers and they
do not come from money. They’re hard workers and the best kind of people you’ll
ever meet; they risk their own lives just to get you to your destination so don’t
ever look down upon them. Do not litter; keep the city clean. Do spend around
15-20 days to visit almost everything that Sikkim has to offer but I personally
believe if you stay there for that long you might not want to come back at all.
There’re plenty of other things you can do in Sikkim like
Paragliding and there’s a water park near Gangtok as well. You can study at
Sikkim Manipal University (I’ve decided on that) or visit the various training
centres; flirt with the Black Cats or kiss the clouds or go trekking or go to the Namchi Rock Garden or you can
just marry someone over there and settle down; life is peaceful there; well if you go there once, you’re
gonna wanna go there again and that’s a promise.
