April with its public holidays + good weather in Sikkim.. it was just meant to be.
(This post is a part of the 2 part blog on Sikkim. For part 2 - North Sikkim, please follow this link
http://traveldazzle.blogspot.in/2014/06/sikkim-greenswhite-gravel-beauty-part-2.html)
Day 0: When Day 1 became Day 0
We go to Mumbai airport sleepy at 5 am.. loitering around the boarding area to keep awake.. stand in line for Boarding.. & just before we reach the counter..Screen change.. BOARDING CLOSED !! ..wht !!..how..why !! now wht !!! there went the sleep..
'Sir ..we have another flight in sometime , u can try for tht'..
& that ensured running outside the airport to reserve new tickets.. running inside to get baggage..
Was a Saturday.. few combinations to suit our connecting flight timing ..
no tickets available.. Oh !! this was so not meant to be :(
Booked tickets for the next day.. Got the bags..informed change of plans to the local travels at Sikkim..hopped into a cab for the only appropriate thing that could be done... Some yummy South Indian Breakfast at Manis, Matunga (Mumbai)..
Tucked in some nice breakfast..complete with filter coffee..
off started the first day of vacation at home..lazy day with food being delivered.. syncing the ipod & other such imp stuff :)
Day 1: Mumbai-Gangtok :
Boarded the flight to Gangtok the next day :) after having skipped Pelling (part of our original plan..)
Mumbai- Bagdogra... & then a 4 hr drive to Gangtok.. after a short lunch break in a small restaurant with a lovely view....Gangtok greeted us with a nice cool climate ..unlike the sweltering Mumbai heat.. Vacation had truly begun... & so had hail :)
We stayed at an ok-ok hotel thanks to last minute change of plans.. but the good thing was it was walking distance from MG road..
Quickly refreshed we set out to MG road.. MG is a pedestrian only lane done up with flower features...benches.. ornate street lamps.. & shops on both sides of the road.. & ? u guessed it right.. its full of tourists..
Strolling around we came across a sign board called " Roll House' best Momos & Rolls.. We have no branch "..the latter part of that statement gave me a feeling this would be good.. it sure was ! ..one of the best ever rolls we've ever had..
Dont get fooled by the tiny size of the shop.. Its a small take away veg joint.. with very reasonably priced delicious stuff..
Loved the mashed potato roll... some chats elsewhere & some sweets later..we walked back to our Hotel..
DAY 2 : Gangtok sightseeing
Colourful flowers... magnificent valley views.. Local costume... Peaceful Monastery.. & a beautiful golden stupa...perfect glimpse of the beauty of Sikkim in a day..
a) Flower exhibit : Strolling through a garden from the parking lot, we reached this flower exhibition center .. It is a modestly sized greenhouse worth a visit when orchids bloom (March-April). (Entry Rs 10/-)
(Parking at every attraction costs you Rs 10/-)
b) Ganesh Tok : Ganesh tok is a small temple at a height of 6,500 ft.More than the deity, the viewing balcony that opens up to the magnificent valley views amazes one here. It offers a superb view of the city & valleys around.
Sikkimese costumes (Bhaku) are available at the entrance for photo ops. The Govt approved gift shop on the first floor charges 10-20 Rs more than other places for souvenirs but you can be assured of the good quality of goods.
There is a small cafe near the parking lot where Momos are decent. (Paranthas arent)
c) Tashi view point : Climbed up a few steps to reach this point to view the lush green valleys around. Seems, on a clear day one can see Kanchenjunga from here. Enjoyed my cup of coffee in this picturesque place.
d) Rumtek Monastery : An hour away from Gangtok is this lovely Monastery. Its a 15 min slope walk from the parking lot. People rotating the prayer wheels along the way, the colourful prayer flags..cute children playing around, small pink & white flowers on the walls.. its a lovely walk to the monastery.
We went on a Monday when a lot of the artifacts inside the monastery were covered up & some monks were preparing prasad. (not sure if its a regular monday thing) .
There is a stupa in the centre where people throw coins & it is said , if the coins stays on the ledge then ones wishes will be fulfilled. We spent about 30 mins in the monastery enjoying the peace & breeze. Loved the gleaming golds & the bold coloured murals.
There are small eateries near the parking lot. We preferred to reach Gangtok & then eat because of winding roads.
e) Museum & Chorten Stupa
The Museum was closed by the time we reached. A short walk from the parking lot leads one to the Stupa.. Its a lovely tree covered path. At the farther end there was one fully bloomed tree which was so exquisite. The flowers on it were so different- 4 white petals & one pink petal..
The golden stupa is stands beautifully gleaming against the sky. We couldnt explore around due to the prayer meeting being held. Just as we were walking back to the parking, the weather took a 360 degree turn.. the sky turned dark grey & showers followed soon... heavy rains accompanied by power cut by the time we reached our hotel ..
Once the rains subsided, we stepped out to MG Road..part of the street still dint have electricity.. power cuts are a usual occurrence here.
Another meal at roll house + sweets at Agarwals.. some loitering around later.. it was time to hit the bed...a 6-7 hr drive to North Sikkim awaited us the next morning..
Check out my next blog post for Days 3 to 5 - North Sikkim (http://traveldazzle.blogspot.in/2014/06/sikkim-greenswhite-gravel-beauty-part-2.html)
( Gangtok- Lachen- Gurudongmar Lake- Don Bang- Lachung -Yumthang Valley-Gangtok)
Boarded the flight to Gangtok the next day :) after having skipped Pelling (part of our original plan..)
Mumbai- Bagdogra... & then a 4 hr drive to Gangtok.. after a short lunch break in a small restaurant with a lovely view....Gangtok greeted us with a nice cool climate ..unlike the sweltering Mumbai heat.. Vacation had truly begun... & so had hail :)
We stayed at an ok-ok hotel thanks to last minute change of plans.. but the good thing was it was walking distance from MG road..
Quickly refreshed we set out to MG road.. MG is a pedestrian only lane done up with flower features...benches.. ornate street lamps.. & shops on both sides of the road.. & ? u guessed it right.. its full of tourists..
 |
| MG ROAD |
 |
| Old world charm |
 |
| Deliciousnes |
Loved the mashed potato roll... some chats elsewhere & some sweets later..we walked back to our Hotel..
 |
| MOMO :) |
Colourful flowers... magnificent valley views.. Local costume... Peaceful Monastery.. & a beautiful golden stupa...perfect glimpse of the beauty of Sikkim in a day..
a) Flower exhibit : Strolling through a garden from the parking lot, we reached this flower exhibition center .. It is a modestly sized greenhouse worth a visit when orchids bloom (March-April). (Entry Rs 10/-)
(Parking at every attraction costs you Rs 10/-)
b) Ganesh Tok : Ganesh tok is a small temple at a height of 6,500 ft.More than the deity, the viewing balcony that opens up to the magnificent valley views amazes one here. It offers a superb view of the city & valleys around.
 |
| View from Ganesh Tok |
 |
| Me wearing Bhaku |
 |
| Momos |
There is a small cafe near the parking lot where Momos are decent. (Paranthas arent)
c) Tashi view point : Climbed up a few steps to reach this point to view the lush green valleys around. Seems, on a clear day one can see Kanchenjunga from here. Enjoyed my cup of coffee in this picturesque place.
 |
| From Tashi View Point |
d) Rumtek Monastery : An hour away from Gangtok is this lovely Monastery. Its a 15 min slope walk from the parking lot. People rotating the prayer wheels along the way, the colourful prayer flags..cute children playing around, small pink & white flowers on the walls.. its a lovely walk to the monastery.
 |
| Prayer Wheels along the way |
We went on a Monday when a lot of the artifacts inside the monastery were covered up & some monks were preparing prasad. (not sure if its a regular monday thing) .
There is a stupa in the centre where people throw coins & it is said , if the coins stays on the ledge then ones wishes will be fulfilled. We spent about 30 mins in the monastery enjoying the peace & breeze. Loved the gleaming golds & the bold coloured murals.
 |
| Rumtek Monastery |
 |
| A Monk throwing coin |
 |
| Colourful interiors |
There are small eateries near the parking lot. We preferred to reach Gangtok & then eat because of winding roads.
e) Museum & Chorten Stupa
The Museum was closed by the time we reached. A short walk from the parking lot leads one to the Stupa.. Its a lovely tree covered path. At the farther end there was one fully bloomed tree which was so exquisite. The flowers on it were so different- 4 white petals & one pink petal..
Once the rains subsided, we stepped out to MG Road..part of the street still dint have electricity.. power cuts are a usual occurrence here.
Another meal at roll house + sweets at Agarwals.. some loitering around later.. it was time to hit the bed...a 6-7 hr drive to North Sikkim awaited us the next morning..
( Gangtok- Lachen- Gurudongmar Lake- Don Bang- Lachung -Yumthang Valley-Gangtok)
 |
| Artistic shop corner |
Having returned from Lachung the previous evening, we had just kept this day idle.
For the last leg at Gangtok,we stayed at Suhim Portico which is away from the city centre but clearly one of the better choices. A good comfortable spacious room & attentive staff made our stay really comfortable.
We stepped out after a lovely breakfast & visited the Handicrafts centre (didn't find anything interesting). The Ropeway was closed for lunch hour so we walked to MG road to grab some lunch followed by a nice coffee at Bakers Cafe.
Next a long line for ATM access and some window shopping. Generally lazed around the rest of the day.
DAY 7 : TSOMGO Lake
-A glacial lake that’s situated above an altitude of 12,000 feet
Tsomgo lake visit ..Yipee !! Shared transport - Downer !!
the roads to Nathula Pass were closed due to weather so we were issued permits only for Tsomgo Lake & Baba Mandir. Cramped up vehicle..10 of us in that Sumo along the winding roads for 3 hours was really bad !! & then the driver says we can stay at Tsomgo only for ten mins...
So we decided to skip Baba Mandir & opted to be picked up by the car on their way back .
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| Colourful tourists & prayer flags |
My cousin who was posted here for a while had told me that the beauty of Tsomgo comes alive on a bright blue sunny day. When we reached, it was grey & cloudy. The lake still looked beautiful surrounded by snow covered mountains.
There were colourfully decorated yaks for rides.
We went for a short walk along the lakeside.. which is not as peaceful as it sounds with yak rides also along the same path :)
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| Beautiful Tsomgo Lake |
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| Walk around the lake |
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| Yak awaiting a rider |
..Soon, the sun came out & sure enough, like my brother had said..the sight looked spectacular with the reflection of the blue skies, fluffy white clouds & snow covered valleys in the water. Unlike anything I had seen before.
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| Speechless !! |
We just sat on a bench higher up enjoying the view... Any pic you click here will be a postcard pic.. It really is that beautiful !!
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| A tourist enjoying yak ride |
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| God mustve spent a lil more time here |
We had decided to meet the driver at 2:30, so went to the designated spot. No network was a real challenge & there was no other way to get in touch. Had to wait for an hour standing at the same place.. in the cold... & the image of getting back into that cramped vehicle made it worse.. 3 hrs later we were back in the comfort of our hotel room.
DAY 8 : All our bags are packed we are ready to go
...We left the hotel at 5:30 A.m & the kind souls had kept breakfast packed & ready for us.. It was an entire day of travel.. Gangtok-Bagdogra drive..then a flight to Kolkatta- then to Mumbai..The melt-in-the-mouth mouthwatering Rasgullas at Kolkatta airport did make this & the coming few days more sweet :)
All through the day images of the places we had visited kept flashing in my head...
Sikkim is unbelievably beautiful... with its green never ending valleys... snow clad mountains playing peek-a-boo... pristine sights & the smiling beautiful people...
Its a must visit place guys... soak in nature's beauty at every turn... !!
Check out my next blog post for Days 3 to 5 - North Sikkim (http://traveldazzle.blogspot.in/2014/06/sikkim-greenswhite-gravel-beauty-part-2.html)
( Gangtok- Lachen- Gurudongmar Lake- Don Bang- Lachung -Yumthang Valley-Gangtok)
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