GANGTOK A GONDOGOL

Gondogol? Problem? Y not? How pessimistic I am!!! But hey, this title of this blog reminds me of the famous detective story "GANGTOK A GONDOGOL" by Satyajit Ray. 

Well, when we reached Gangtok late in the evening most of the shops were closing down. Only M.G.Marg area was open till 9-30 p.m. We were not lucky to get the permit for the next day to visit East Sikkim (Changu lake, Baba Mandir, Nathula Pass). But we were actually lucky to find a shop half opened at 10 O'Clock in the evening where a guy gave us an option to visit North Sikkim (2 nights) the next day. Ultimately "GANGTOK A GONDOGOL" was becoming reality as the real mystery of Feluda lies on the way to North Sikkim. 

Some photos I clicked on our way to North Sikkim (Between Gangtok & Lachen)....#Copyright

Another Car Tyre was punctured on da way & dis photo shows da coordination among da local drivers 

Our driver repairing da Car Tyre 

Having Tea

Our driver wanted to reach Lachen before getting dark but we reached there a bit late. That's where the feel of adventure started on the way after the sunset when nothing was visible outside except the rough road ahead of us under the reflection of our Car's headlight with sound of river sometimes waving by.

Finally we arrived at Lachen fully exhausted after 6 hours of long bumpy rides as the condition of the road was not good after entering North Sikkim. Some years back (most probably on 2008) there was a massive earthquake that demolished the hill road & landslides are very common here. 

It was too cold. I don't remember how much (probably below 5 degree) on December evening but for social drinkers there is a good news. Alcohol is very cheap in Sikkim. So we bought local Sikkimese rum at Gangtok that helped us to keep our body adaptable with the cold climate of the mountains.

Local Sikkimese Rum

There was a local party going on next door where we were living & I thought there was no point of taking rest while traveling as I remembered one important line my South African guide cum friend Iphrame told me "All rest in heaven". 

After taking a walk around for a while we joined da party. The local people were curious to know about us after hearing that we are from Kolkata. Everyone started shouting dada dada (they mean to say Sourav Ganguly, former Indian Captain) & famous Mithun Chakroborty(Bollywood actor). I am sharing one trending song of this time that goes with the flow of this party ;p;p;p...

                             

Finally we went to sleep @ 2 O'Clock in the midnight & our next destination for Gurudongmar lake was about to start @ 3 a.m. that is an hour later. So imagine what next !!!

Stay tuned for da REAL adventure.... 

GATEWAY 2 SIKKIM

Standing near the New Jalpaiguri Station with luggage after traveling for more than 12 hours & negotiating with the drivers of shared taxi can be tiring but once the journey begins towards the hills, all the tiring feelings disappear on the way.

Some photos taken on the road (between Siliguri & Gangtok) :

These are young mountains (i.e. they are still growing) & that's why landslides are common

While on our way, my friend & I met a middle-aged Bengali man who was traveling there with some kind of hotel business purpose. 4 hours of journey from Siliguri to Gangtok flies just like that if one comes across any like minded people to communicate. For us being Bong (Bengali) we started talking & sharing our plans with this unknown man in our mother tongue.

The music that our driver was playing was annoying as all the songs were sad but we kept on talking bla bla bla. Bollywood masala music would have lifted our spirits but at the same time I was expecting to hear local Sikkimese songs after entering the state of Sikkim.

Rangpo check post (Gateway 2 Sikkim)

Rangpo is a small town bordering Sikkim & West Bengal along the Teesta river. When we stopped nearby for the evening snacks, I first encountered with the local Sikkimese beer "HIT BEER", that was awesome & cheap that brought a big smile on our face as we were traveling on a fixed budget. But ultimately this unplanned trip taught us that nothing is fixed & budget is out of question if you really want to enjoy your journey.

My first encounter with the HIT BEER

After getting hit by the HIT BEER ;p, I started feeling relaxed & was trying to figure out some adventurous stories from the young mountains along with the flowing Teesta river. Then this Bengali man started telling us about the mystery of this place where he sometimes drives around with his friends at midnight. He tried to tell us one of his scary experience there of coming across a ghost on the road in a human form of a girl at 2 O' clock in the night & she flew off suddenly like a bird over the mountains. 

River Teesta

Somehow this story didn't impress us as we Bengalis (most of them) after getting hit by beers, especially HIT BEER, become story teller. May be I was expecting something more scary...

The sun was setting down fast behind the mountains & I could very well guess the Capital of Sikkim upon arriving there in the evening. The town was lit up with twinkling lights as if the stars have come down on elevated surface of the earth.

Stay tuned for more interesting stories on our way to North Sikkim & some spectacular panorama of the HIMALAYAS...