Frozen MYSTERY at North Sikkim

Before we go on a trip 2 one of the highest lake in Asia, let me share 1 short story that reminds me of Danny Boyle's movie "Trainspotting". There was a Mumbai guy of our age in 20's who was traveling with us from Gangtok 2 North Sikkim for this 2 nights journey. He seemed 2 be a cool guy & was traveling solo. After attending the local party with the Sikkimese people, when we were at our room chatting, this guy suddenly asked "Do you know why I am traveling alone?". I said "May be U njoy ur own company"... The guy replied "No. I am running away from Mumbai"...

So with chilling weather outside, this conversation was pouring more adventure, where I had a feeling that we were not there for traveling only but to solve some hidden mysteries buried somewhere in the mountains like our very own popular Bengali detective character "FELUDA"(to b contd... somewhere after).

Let's go to the starting point of our journey 2 Gurudongmar lake at around 3-15 a.m. in the morning or night you can say. I was half asleep & once in da car I was trying to sleep on da way but due to the rough condition of the road, constant jerking kept me half awake. We reached a place called Thangu (altitude 14000 ft.) @ 6 a.m. in da early morning to have some garma garam Maggi noodles. I started shivering with the icy-cold weather of Himalayas & it was almost close to ZERO degree Celsius. I was not carrying any gloves & it was difficult to take pictures from my camera as my fingers were frozen. At last I bought a pair of gloves there.

I was trembling bcoz of da big temperature drop

Garma Garam Maggi

While having Maggi, my friend told me to come out & see the outstanding sight of the mountains that have started appearing slowly under the dawn. At first, after getting out of my drowsiness, I was totally mesmerized what I was watching in front. What my eyes were witnessing, my mind was transmitting different views of the nature. If I have to explain I can say it's a volcano with golden lava erupting from the peak, a mountain full of gold all over its surroundings or the first reflection of our god i.e. Sun. Whatever seems logical, pictures (#copyright) say many things.... 

With our driver

After having breakfast, our journey began towards the higher altitude. After crossing 15000 ft. we saw the river water that were flowing alongside the mountains, were frozen all over and the temperature was dropping with increasing altitudes. There were some military check points & one can see the military people with their green Indian uniform & covered face. This is because the China Border lies only 5 Kms from our destination i.e. Gurudongmar lake. Special permits are required for the Foreigners to visit north Sikkim. All the permits can be collected from the Indian Missions in different countries. It can also be collected from Foreigners' Regional Registration Offices in Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai & Mumbai or the Office of the Assistant Resident Commissioner, Govt. of Sikkim, Kolkata or the office of the Deputy Director (Tourism), Govt. of Sikkim, New Delhi.   

NESCAFÉ :)

Frozen water from da mountains

Frozen Gurudongmar Lake

5183 meters --Almost equivalent to da Everest Base camp altitude i.e. 5380 meters

First Selfie

My friend became a temporary brand ambassador of HONEY BEE brandy :p

                            

                           

While clicking pictures I was also enjoying the beauty of World's highest mountain ranges with my eyes. May be there are plenty of ways to express the happiness of traveling there. That's why da photos (#copyright) here express their own meanings to the readers.

And da MYSTERY continues.....

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...

AFTER HAVING TEA WITH MANDELA, SA

When I first landed at "OR Tambo International airport", Johannesburg, on 14th May 2013, I was carrying some cash of Indian rupees with US dollars. First thing that I noticed was, dollars could speak universal language whereas Indian rupees had some other stories to tell. It was not possible to exchange our currency with the local South African currency i.e. RAND but South Africans could recognize the father figure of our currency. Yes, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

We Indians on hearing Gandhi, visualize the imaginary figure of an old man wearing dhoti, holding a stick and wearing spectacles in our mind. But this young statue of Gandhi below changed my illusory figure and made me travel back to Johannesburg virtually between 1906 & 1913, when Gandhi as a young professional lawyer came here by an invitation from an Indian merchant in South Africa. His first encounters with racism gave birth to a non-violence protest that has been enormously influential throughout the 20th & the 21st centuries. 

Statue of young GANDHI

Can't imagine Gandhi without dhoti & spectacles 

Red Bus for the city tour

My brother & I on the rooftop

Our friendly guide Iphrame

Me capturing the Rainbow nation

                         

People on their way to work

Woman bus driver that we haven't seen before in our country

When I went to South Africa, Nelson Mandela was alive. The living legend was/is considered as a god figure of the country. My brother & I were curious to get a glimpse of Mandela and our guide Iphrame while taking us on a ride around Mandela's house said that he was lucky to see him couple of times there going for morning walk with his bodyguards. 

Picture was taken outside Mandela house

Mandela was there inside at that moment 

After having tea with Mandela (in my imagination), we went to Nelson Mandela Square that is linked to Sandton City and is one of the most fashionable destination in Johannesburg, offering some finest restaurants, exclusive couture & designer labels, boutiques and sidewalk cafes.  

Statue of the legend at Nelson Mandela Square, that was unveiled in March 2003 as a celebration of 10 years of democracy in South Africa 

"Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again"--