Day 5 > Tsering woke us up early morning to get ready for Yamthang and zero point. It was difficult to rise n shine, due to last night's beer. But we managed well. We started our journey from Lachung to Zero pint first. Btw due to the rush, I lost my favourite pairs of three-quarters there in Lachung :( On the way from an army canteen we bought cigs, cause cigs cost more in the local shops. Tsering was there to arrange all those things. The road to Zero point ws beautiful. You'll see mountains filled with rhododendrons of different colours(depends on the time of the season). We reached Zero point and a very cold breeze was blowing there. We witnessed that breathing issue of Gurudongmar here in Zero point also, though very slight. Actually we could not go to the real zero point as one bridge was broken about 1 km ahead. But that place was great. While returning from Zero point we went to Yamthang valley. June was the worst time to visit the valley. So we were disappointed. During April the valley covers itself with flowers and in winter with snow. Many food joints are there. We had some noodles there and then started our journey back to Gangtok. Late that evening we reached Gangtok.
Day 6 > Day 6 was uneventful. We spent the whole day very lazily, most of it in the hotel. The world cup match between Brazil & Portugal was scheduled that night. We planned to watch it at the hotel. As all know, the match was a dud. Tsering brought us a big bottle full of Chhang to take home. That would have cost him a lot. But he gifted the 2.5 litre bottle to us! We also went for some shopping a M.G.Marg and bought a load of things including umbrellas, mementos, posters,bags, sweaters and liquors.
Day 7 > The last day in Sikkim. We had to return to NJP before evening. So we had limited plans for the morning. We took Tsering's car again and visited Ranka Monastery and Jhakri falls. Ranka was just great! That was the 1st monastery we had seen. It was new compared to Rumtek. So much peace and silence were there. Even we had company of a Buddhist monk on the ay back who told us about their rich culture and heritage. Jhakri was not that overwhelming. Its just a well decorated park with some nice falls. Then we returned to our hotel, had nice Bengali lunch(thanks to Goutam), packed our things and headed to the Siliguri taxi stand. Tsering came at the hotel to bid us goodbye. One thing I should mention here - when the cars in Gangtok drive downhill they don't use the engine, the engine simply is turned on and then off. It rolls down to the destination! I found it very interesting. Anyway there was trouble waiting for us in the Siliguri stand. I am very sorry to say this, but I confess only the parts of Gangtok where there is a bit of Bengal would be the worst places. e.g. Siliguri stand. Reaching there we saw many people waiting for cars. We heard that as usual there was some strike in Darjeeling region. So we had to pay extra in the shared cab. Exclusive vehicles were demanding very high. So we took the cab and reached well before time at NJP station. We had some chhang left in the bottle. So we almost finished it up at the train and had a fabulous journey in Padatik Express back to Sealda. Next morning we reached Sealda at time.
This tour will always remain in my memory. If in case I miss it, I'll read my own blog, chat with my tour partners, watch those breathtaking pictures and may be I'll visit again!
Thanks for reading.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Sikkim Story Continues
Day 2 >>
The next morning we rented a tata sumo for one day. The driver Tsering was very friendly. We set out for Chhangu lake and Babamandir. These 2 destinations we covered in one day. Nathula was closed. Tsering assured us Nathula is not that much beautiful at this time of the year. The travel cost us 2000 bucks. First we went to Babamandir(Baba Harbhajan Singh memorial) at 14500 ft I think. Great scenery. Then We went to Chhangu lake at about 12000 ft. There you can ride on a yak spending 20 Rs. We saw some chinese trucks there which were doing business with their indian counterparts, ofcourse under army supervision. We went to a market like place. This market near Chhangu is the place where you can find cheapest chinese goods. Dada and Biddu Da bought yak-leather jackets for 1000 bucks each. But you have to bargain hard. We tried the local Wai-wai noodles. It was not up to the reputation. Tsering was very helpful. He showed us all the cool things to do in Sikkim. After returning to Gangtok we planned for the next 3 days. We took a 3 days-2 nights package tour for 4 guyz for 14000 Rs including fooding, lodging, travelling etc. Goutam and Tsering arranged for everything. They took 4 passport photos and 2 copies of id proofs from each of us to apply for the permisson to visit North Sikkim places.
Day 3 >>
Tuesday morning we left the hotel. We were heading to Lachen, a small village in North Sikkim at about 10000 ft. The journey was great. We bought one crate of beer and took it with us in the car. Lachen was cold. We stayed in Tsering's sisters home. Its a hotel cum home. On the way to Lachen we bought 1 kg of fresh pork from a village. We were stopping at many places thus making us late reaching Lachen. Several water falls were there. Seven Sisters Falls were nice. There was no stopping of photo clicking on the road. North Sikkim is so so much beautiful. Especially the journey from Chungthang to Lachen was a treat to our eyes. it got dark when we reached Lachen. We entered Didi's wooden home and sat in the huge kitchen. Every member of the family was present there. It was very nice to see the young boys helping in household works. Now comes the best part. Tsering brought chhaang for us. This is Sikkim's desi local beer, an instant hit among the foreigners who come to Sikkim. 4 small barrel like wooden containers were served. We had to drink it with wooden straws. The taste can be described as "tango"! Well it really made us high. We loved it right away. To add to this there was the pork, we bought downhill. Didi cooked it for us and cooked it really well. Our cheecks turned red after having chhaang and pork together. So note it down, you must try chhaang and pork there.
Day 4 >>
Woke up very early in the morning and set out for Gurudongmar. It was very cold the previous night and in the morning also. As usual the journey was great. We stopped at a place called changu to have breakfast. We had maggi and jam-bread there, sitting beside a fireplace. Great experience. JFK found a leech inside the car. It sure had its share of our life-juice. The leech was looking healthy. the next morning we found out that the victom was no other than Tsering. After breakfast again we started for Gurudongmar. We were heading to the Tibet border. So there were many army camps. We were gradually going higher in altitude. And gradually the nature was changing itself. At about 15500 ft there were no huge trees, only green grass. Then above 16500 ft it was totally different. There were no grrenery there. tsering described it as cold desert. It was something like what I imagined Afganistan to look like. It was beautiful.We had to keep the glasses of our car up, because a very cold wind was blowing outside. Strange creatures were there. Yaks, large looking dogs and even large rats. We saw ice on top of the hills there. Two sikh army men were standing on the road of the cold desert. They wanted a lifty to Gurudongmar. They got in our car and we started chatting with them. There was so much patriotism in the words they were speaking. Beleive me those words were better than J.P.Dutta films. The strangest part was that they told us they came down from 24000 ft and even showed us the Indian bunkers above the hill in the border. Gurudongmar is 17800 ft above sea level. There was 6% oxygen in the air. We were having breathing problems and these guys came down from 24000 ft walking and then dived into the below 0 degree water of the lake, got up and went uphill and vanished! They must be inhuman. We were standing still near the lake. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. I can not describe it in words. Pictures can't also. Heaven must be like this. We took water from the lake as it is considered very pious. The water was extremely cold. I could not climb up the stairs from the lake. My tongue touched my chin. Heart was beating at an extreme rate. JFK almost fell sick. There were 3 cars including ours on that day coming to the lake. One car returned well before reaching the lake due to the climate. the climate is so much disturbed there that the army does not allow anyone there after 12 noon. After 12 a terrible wind storm blows there with small stones which can damage cars. The army gives hot water, chocolates and biscuites there to the tourists. We felt better after having cadburys. Gurudongmar was dangerrously beautiful. What an adventure! We returned to Lachen and had lunch. Then we went to Lachung. We reached Lachung at night and boarded a bengali hotel. That hotel was not like didi's home. But we managed that night with beers.
Bye for now.
The next morning we rented a tata sumo for one day. The driver Tsering was very friendly. We set out for Chhangu lake and Babamandir. These 2 destinations we covered in one day. Nathula was closed. Tsering assured us Nathula is not that much beautiful at this time of the year. The travel cost us 2000 bucks. First we went to Babamandir(Baba Harbhajan Singh memorial) at 14500 ft I think. Great scenery. Then We went to Chhangu lake at about 12000 ft. There you can ride on a yak spending 20 Rs. We saw some chinese trucks there which were doing business with their indian counterparts, ofcourse under army supervision. We went to a market like place. This market near Chhangu is the place where you can find cheapest chinese goods. Dada and Biddu Da bought yak-leather jackets for 1000 bucks each. But you have to bargain hard. We tried the local Wai-wai noodles. It was not up to the reputation. Tsering was very helpful. He showed us all the cool things to do in Sikkim. After returning to Gangtok we planned for the next 3 days. We took a 3 days-2 nights package tour for 4 guyz for 14000 Rs including fooding, lodging, travelling etc. Goutam and Tsering arranged for everything. They took 4 passport photos and 2 copies of id proofs from each of us to apply for the permisson to visit North Sikkim places.
Day 3 >>
Tuesday morning we left the hotel. We were heading to Lachen, a small village in North Sikkim at about 10000 ft. The journey was great. We bought one crate of beer and took it with us in the car. Lachen was cold. We stayed in Tsering's sisters home. Its a hotel cum home. On the way to Lachen we bought 1 kg of fresh pork from a village. We were stopping at many places thus making us late reaching Lachen. Several water falls were there. Seven Sisters Falls were nice. There was no stopping of photo clicking on the road. North Sikkim is so so much beautiful. Especially the journey from Chungthang to Lachen was a treat to our eyes. it got dark when we reached Lachen. We entered Didi's wooden home and sat in the huge kitchen. Every member of the family was present there. It was very nice to see the young boys helping in household works. Now comes the best part. Tsering brought chhaang for us. This is Sikkim's desi local beer, an instant hit among the foreigners who come to Sikkim. 4 small barrel like wooden containers were served. We had to drink it with wooden straws. The taste can be described as "tango"! Well it really made us high. We loved it right away. To add to this there was the pork, we bought downhill. Didi cooked it for us and cooked it really well. Our cheecks turned red after having chhaang and pork together. So note it down, you must try chhaang and pork there.
Day 4 >>
Woke up very early in the morning and set out for Gurudongmar. It was very cold the previous night and in the morning also. As usual the journey was great. We stopped at a place called changu to have breakfast. We had maggi and jam-bread there, sitting beside a fireplace. Great experience. JFK found a leech inside the car. It sure had its share of our life-juice. The leech was looking healthy. the next morning we found out that the victom was no other than Tsering. After breakfast again we started for Gurudongmar. We were heading to the Tibet border. So there were many army camps. We were gradually going higher in altitude. And gradually the nature was changing itself. At about 15500 ft there were no huge trees, only green grass. Then above 16500 ft it was totally different. There were no grrenery there. tsering described it as cold desert. It was something like what I imagined Afganistan to look like. It was beautiful.We had to keep the glasses of our car up, because a very cold wind was blowing outside. Strange creatures were there. Yaks, large looking dogs and even large rats. We saw ice on top of the hills there. Two sikh army men were standing on the road of the cold desert. They wanted a lifty to Gurudongmar. They got in our car and we started chatting with them. There was so much patriotism in the words they were speaking. Beleive me those words were better than J.P.Dutta films. The strangest part was that they told us they came down from 24000 ft and even showed us the Indian bunkers above the hill in the border. Gurudongmar is 17800 ft above sea level. There was 6% oxygen in the air. We were having breathing problems and these guys came down from 24000 ft walking and then dived into the below 0 degree water of the lake, got up and went uphill and vanished! They must be inhuman. We were standing still near the lake. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. I can not describe it in words. Pictures can't also. Heaven must be like this. We took water from the lake as it is considered very pious. The water was extremely cold. I could not climb up the stairs from the lake. My tongue touched my chin. Heart was beating at an extreme rate. JFK almost fell sick. There were 3 cars including ours on that day coming to the lake. One car returned well before reaching the lake due to the climate. the climate is so much disturbed there that the army does not allow anyone there after 12 noon. After 12 a terrible wind storm blows there with small stones which can damage cars. The army gives hot water, chocolates and biscuites there to the tourists. We felt better after having cadburys. Gurudongmar was dangerrously beautiful. What an adventure! We returned to Lachen and had lunch. Then we went to Lachung. We reached Lachung at night and boarded a bengali hotel. That hotel was not like didi's home. But we managed that night with beers.
Bye for now.
For Sikkim Pics - http://picasaweb.google.com/somonline
Thursday, July 1, 2010
My Sikkim Story
The idea came to Biddu da in the midway in train on a Sunday evening. I was returning back to Kolkata from Knathi with JFK and Biddu Da. The group of friends that I possess has done hundreds of extra ordinary things but only this one was left to achieve - organising a long tour. Plans had surfaced in our minds many a time before. But it has always been till the planning part. So this time we were very serious. We thought of trying for Dooars.
After some days Biddu da called us up telling hat he had got leave for 10 days in the June end. I am mentioning this because this guy got leave after 2 years of service. So the rest was in our hands to organize the tour in the worst ever season to visit any Himalayan part of he country(that's what people say). Soon we heard Dooars was closed due to the start of the monsoon season. So We started planning for alternatives and that's when one of our friends came with the idea of Sikkim. And that was it. Bought train tickets in Darjeeling mail on 19th and return ticket in Padatik Express on 26th June. One week of Sikkim tour including North Sikkim.
But soon problems and issues started to arise. Initially we were 7 guys. Then for various reasons the number started to reduce. Ultimately on the day of journey(19th June) we were 4. Me, Dada, JFK and Biddu da. Before 19th there were a few landslides in Sikkim. On 19th the Morcha in Darjeeling called strike. We thought we could manage. Got on Darjeeling Mail from Sealdah at night not being sure what was waiting for us there - Slides or Kookri!
Day 1 (Sunday 20th June)>>
We reached NJP on a cloudy Sunday morning. It was drizzling in NJP. We rented an Indica Vista for 1800 Rs. It was a bit expensive but we needed the luxury of smoking in the car. You can also take shared cabs for cheaper rates. The journey to Gangtok was beautiful. We were so much excited to see the landscapes that we snapped many pictures on that journey itself(Later we realised it was nothing compare to North Sikkim). We stopped at many places. It takes 4 hours approx to reach Gangtok.
We reached Gangtok at noon. The weather was good if not great. Gangtok is amazingly beautiful. We are from a small town by the bay of Bengal. We had never been to a hilly area like this. The whole state of Sikkim is a litter free, spit free and no smoking zone. Four of us being avid smokers the last part was a problem. But watching this wonderful city you will acknowledge these imposed regulations. Actually this is the reason why Sikkim is so beautiful and natural. Only local city cabs are permitted inside the city. There are different taxi stands at the outskirts of the city. We off boarded at the Siliguri taxi stand and took a cab to reach Hotel Yang La at the Paljor Stadium Road near STNM hospital. We had booked 2 rooms for 2 nights there in advance, some days before in Kolkata. Hotel Yang La serves some rooms for Calcutta Tram Corporation. We had booked 2 rooms by visiting CTC office near the Esplanade Bus stand. The rooms are actually 3 sitters. So 2 3 sitter rooms for 2 nights cost us 1300 rs. Pretty cheap. Isn't it? The rooms were great. We were in Sikkim for 7 days and we were the only boarders for the entire week. Because June ends the longlasting travel season. The season again starts from mid September. Let me share one interesting thing about this hotel. Its behind the STNM hospital. We went behind the hospital and saw only a Board mentioning the hotel name. There was no hotel behind that banner! Then we realized stairs follow down beside the banner. The manager said we got room in the 2nd floor. Dada asked if the view was good. The Manager assured us. The reception was at the top floor. And our room was 2nd floor down from the roof(from where we entered). The view from balcony was great.
The Manager was very helpful. We had our lunch at a Bengali restaurant in M.G.Marg. I would say it was cost effective. At the evening we went to M.G.Marg(the Mall). You can spend the entire evening here. They play nice music and host shows also. But we were busy planning for the coming 6 days. There are many travel agents there in and near M.G.Marg. We spoke with one or two. Then went to a pub named Pub 25 in the Mall. There we had some liqour and the famous HIT bear(made in Danny Denzongpa's breweries). The beer was excellent and cheap also. One bottle of beer costs 39 Rs. Then returned to hotel thinking it would be wise to consult with Manager Jethu(what we called this wise old man [:)]). Jehtu told us not to worry. The hotel has a driver and the driver is excellent. We were satisfied with this assurance. We planned the next day we will visit Tsogmo lake(pronunced as Chhangu) and Babamandir. Both are in East Sikkim. It would cost us 2000 Rs total. The driver had a Tata Sumo. His name was Tshering Bhutia. That night we had beers in the hotel with pakoras and fries prepared by Goutam, the caretaker of Yang La.Well I must mention Goutom's name here. He was extremely helpful, carried out every single instruction we gave including bringing Cigarettes, snacks and beers for us! This boy cooks exellent food. We felt like home there. In his own words he could do everything from 'Juto selai' to 'Chandi Path'. Not much of exaggeration, I confess.
My next post will contain info about the remaining days.
For Sikkim Pics - http://picasaweb.google.com/somonline
Bye for now.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Ma friend Pritha was spot on with the answers....She got 5 correct out of 6 questions...Nice Job...
The answers to the 6 science tech questions posted on 14th August are >>
1. Louis Pasteur
2. Static charge
3. In the Earth's protective layer of ozone.
4. Aurora
5. Fibonacci
6. Lead
Its our country's Independence Day today.....We did put up a flag in our house.......no wait......well actually we put up two flags......There was a small one & another flag which was new and larger too.........
Someone told me it would had been better if the British did not give us our independence.........
I did not say anything. May be I should have...........
Happy Independence day.......whatever
Well, I thought for some time about what to put in my blog. The first thing that came up to mind was of course Quizzing. So I am sharing 6 sample science & Technology questions. Please do Comment. Soon I will be with the answers ......
1. Name the french chemist and biologist who succeeded in creating a vaccine to prevent death from rabies?
2. Robert J. Van de Graaff was an American physicist who specialized in the field of electricity, and he invented a piece of scientific equipment which is named after him. But what exactly is generated by the Van de Graff generator?
3. In 1995 Mario Molina, Paul Crutzen & F.Sherwood Rowland won the Nobel prize for chemistry for work leading to the discovery of a 'hole'.Where?
4. what is the term for a natural display of light in the sky that can be seen with the unaided eye only at night?
5. Which number series is believed to have been born from this problem: 'Beginning with a single pair of rabbits, if every month each productive pair bears a new pair, which becomes productive when they ate one month old, how many rabbits will there be after n months'?
6. The use of which element in drinking water supply pipes was discontinued after it was discovered that the element caused poisoning in humans?
Happy Quizzing.
1. Name the french chemist and biologist who succeeded in creating a vaccine to prevent death from rabies?
2. Robert J. Van de Graaff was an American physicist who specialized in the field of electricity, and he invented a piece of scientific equipment which is named after him. But what exactly is generated by the Van de Graff generator?
3. In 1995 Mario Molina, Paul Crutzen & F.Sherwood Rowland won the Nobel prize for chemistry for work leading to the discovery of a 'hole'.Where?
4. what is the term for a natural display of light in the sky that can be seen with the unaided eye only at night?
5. Which number series is believed to have been born from this problem: 'Beginning with a single pair of rabbits, if every month each productive pair bears a new pair, which becomes productive when they ate one month old, how many rabbits will there be after n months'?
6. The use of which element in drinking water supply pipes was discontinued after it was discovered that the element caused poisoning in humans?
Happy Quizzing.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Brainstorm
Well.....Brainstorm started when i was in my college.....An inter college quiz competition that was a runaway hit...and as the event coordinator, the urge of carrying it forward has always been there....& whats better than some good ol blogging & quizzing between you & me !!
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