The Land of Red Panda and Orchids: Sikkim

19th May, 2006

The train was scheduled to leave Guwahati at 6.15 am and it did leave on the dot. A Bengali family and two Nepalese couple shared the compartment. The Bengali family had just completed a tour of Shillong, Kaziranga and Cherrapunjee as part of a huge entourage from Siliguri. They were constantly chattering about their visit to Kaziranga and how they saw the Rhinos and Elephants in the wild. With the kind of enthusiasm they demonstrated, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had scared the animals off!!!

The train halted now and then for brief moments (unscheduled of course). Just as we were approaching NJP, an aged man in our next compartment got into a heated argument with one of the railway staff and in his anger, pulled the emergency chain…bringing the train to a complete halt!!! When all this drama was on, we got to know that the AC vent in a compartment in a few bogies away had caught fire. So after almost an hour and a half of delay, the train pulled in at the station at NJP.

We had a quick lunch at the Railway Canteen ( Bhojanalaya) and soon began our onward journey to Gangtok. The roads were quite narrow but thick foliage lined both sides and wonder of all wonders, magnificent wild orchids of varying hues bloomed on the trees. And the waters of the mighty Teesta thundered, as it flowed by….a steady rumble wafting in the air.

Monkeys on the roads gave company to the passing cars and tiny hamlets dotted the mountainside. Small, makeshift shops set up on the roadside sold neatly arranged fresh fruits and vegetables. While exotic looking products (like churpi) were laid out in neat glass bottles.

There was another unscheduled stop on the way, when the right tyre on the rear got punctured. We finally reached Gangtok by around 6.30 pm. We checked in at a guest house called “Dho Tapu” – a very homely place located in the midst of the city centre. Dho Tapu gives an excellent view of the majestic mountains and the view after sunset is truly amazing with tiny lights lighting up the entire face of the mountain like sparkling fire flies!!!

20^th May, 2006

Visited M.G.Marg, the main city centre….browsed through shops selling local goods…very touristy. Ate lunch at this lovely coffee shop “Baker’s Café”—very warm and welcoming!! The interiors were done up tastefully in browns and greens, with soft lighting lending a warm touch. It offered a huge array of quick delights- pasta, pizza, sandwiches, muffins, pastries and the like at very affordable pricesJ!!!

21^st May, 2006

Woke up early and got ready by half past 7 in the morning. After a quick breakfast, pushed off by around 8.30. Our destination was the Tsongo (pronounced as Chongo) Lake at an altitude of around 13,000 ft and onwards to Baba Harbhajan Singh’s Samadhi at 13,000+ feet.

As we inched our way out of the town, we found 100s of taxis lined up on the road at the first check post—all headed towards the same destination. The roads were narrow but good (in fact much better than the Imphal-Moreh road, also a border road on NH 39, bordering Myanmar). Probably the GoI gives China priority over Myanmar and hence such excellently maintained roads. As we moved higher, the landscape underwent a change. The mountains had thick groves of conifers in varying shades of green—paler shades to the darker olives!!! Small hamlets dotted the mountainside and numerous prayer flags (white and coloured) fluttered in the breeze. One thing that was omni present at regular intervals was the defense forces—the Bengal Sappers, Assam Rifles, Border Roads Organization and the Indian Army—each with an eye catching name (“Nathula Eagles”) to match their dynamism and dedication at the frontiers.

As we moved further on, thick fog enveloped the roads and for brief moments, it seemed like we were actually “walking in the clouds” (yeah…it sounds clichéd…but it was true to the moment!!). With a veil of mist descending upon the thickly carpeted mountains and several naturally flowing water falls, the journey was not only pleasing to the senses but also very interesting. Colourful rhododendron plants peeped out of the mountainside--- carpet of red, pinks and magenta!!!

We reached Tsongo Lake quite early but we didn’t halt there. We moved on to Baba Harbhajan Singh’s Samadhi, which was situated further on at Nathula. The uphill journey was made more interesting by patches of snow in the mountains. Winter was long gone but a few patches had remained—hardened icicles, made dirty by the poisonous emissions of the passing vehicles. One could see the blackish-brown snow on the mountains along the road but it wasn’t tempting at all—not quite the kind I’d like to mess around with—seemed more toxic than fun!!!

On the way, also came across an ATM of UTI Bank at 12,400 ft and if that wasn’t enough, the highest cyber café in the world at 13,600 ft (isn’t that great)!!! Somewhere close to Nathula Pass (only 4 kms away…we couldn’t make it to the Pass as we didn’t have the requisite papers), there was a bifurcation and we took the road to Baba H. S’s Samadhi. There’s an interesting tale to it.

To be continued......