| BHPian
Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Kolkata
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| Re: Sikkim & its greenery again!
We did an all inclusive booking through a personally known travel agent at a very competitive rate. The package included pick up and drop off at NJP, incl. all breakfasts, lunches and dinners, and conveyance.
Word of advice: Would rate the agent as 3 out of 5. We did face little hiccups at the accommodations (go on reading below). Also, would advise not to include food as part of any package (except of course for North Sikkim trips where all food supplies may be carried with you as a package). If you do not want to read through all below, at least go through the 'Factfile' and 'Accommodation Anxiety' paras.
Day 0
Even though we booked the train Darjeeling mail from Sealdah stn. (Kolkata) to NJP in Feb, we got waitlisted tickets (4 adults + 1 child), hoping they'll be confirmed by May. A week before we were supposed to start, it was still waitlisted. So in desperation we ended up buying four different tickets. And this is what happened:
Darjeeling mail (Kolkata to NJP) - ended up cancelling the ticket
Intercity express (Kolkata to Malda) & Brahmputra mail (onwards to NJP) - we took the first one from Howrah stn. (AC chair car); trip was mostly uneventful except for the folk songs by a singer on the train - see in the photos). Reached Malda at 12:00am, opened up the laptop to find that Brahmputra mail was 8.5 hours late !! That made us feel more tired.
So, we bought general class tickets for Kamrup express due at 2:00am, and two plastic sheets to dump our bodies and baggages. Somehow managed dinner and a light nap at the station, turn-by-turn. While the train came, managed to get the ladies in the ladies coach, and we jumped up on a general coach. Spent the night sleeping off standing for two and a half hours. At around 5:30am, somehow convinced the policemen in the ladies coach to let us (two of us, men) sleep awhile in that coach near the bathroom itself, which they at last obliged to.
Reached NJP at 7:00am where we found our driver waiting with a well-maintained Bolero. So it was already Day 1 !
Day 1
We had our breakfast midway on the road, somewhere before we took to Sevok Road with forests and army camps on both sides. The driver was quite cordial - he informed that elephant sightings have become rare now on these roads. Except for two landslides which caused only a 30 min delay together, the trip was not much to talk about. BRO (Border Road Org.) maintains the roads and clears up the stones, fallen trees and dust when this happens - mostly in a jiffy if not something major.
When the hotel bookings were sent to me through SMS by the agent earlier, the hotel at Gangtok was mentioned as hotel Way Side Annex. We landed up in Hotel Pemathang - supposed to be one of the annex hotels to Way Side. The hotel acco was quite good. Only thing we expected was a western toilet, whereas our acco was given Indian. The other family travelling with us got a slightly bigger room with western toilet. Called up the agent - he said he would ensure that in the rest of the booked accos. We got the acco in the top floor (3rd floor) - on the hills, that may mean you have to either climb up or down a lot of stairs. In this case, the former was true.
Factfile - Later we learnt that while an agent talks about 'Annex', it means that in case the accommodation at original hotel is not available (say, due to tourist rush it would have been overbooked or simply given away at higher prices), they keep an option to arrange for another hotel in name of 'Annex'. So, you may never know which hotel you would land up if you have been communicated 'Annex'.
We didn't go out that day. It was full rest, as next day we were to be up for our North Sikkim trip.
Day 2
We planned to be on the way to Lachen (North Sikkim) by 9:30am in the morning, but it was not until 10:30am that we started - it took time for the agent contact there to get our permits for North Sikkim and Gurudongmar lake. The driver seemed to be an ok fellow, not very interactive (prior experience in my travels to these hills is, drivers are very cordial and friendly).
We had our lunch somewhere on the way before reaching Mangan which was approx. midway from Gangtok to Lachen and an important stopover/ township with shops selling necessities. The photo of the white flower was taken where we had lunch. Picked up bottles of vodka, whisky & wine at Mangan. We didn't find it much cheaper as we expected though.
Chungthang is the place where the road bifurcates - one to Lachung, other to Lachen (one which goes left & up). It was already evening, may be 7:00pm when we reached our hotel (Hotel EcoNest) in Lachen.
Factfile - vehicles that ply to other parts of Sikkim are not allowed inside Gangtok beyond 8:00am. So we had to take taxis to reach the North Sikkim taxi stand, and there we met our driver with his jeep.
1st accommodation anxiety - To start with, first the confusion ; our agent had booked our 2nd night in Lachung (don't know why - our plan was to visit the lake the next day and come back to the hotel, relax, and go back to Ravangla via Gangtok). Secondly, the room given to us was not quite clean, though the hotel was quite fine (you can't expect much in Lachen).
Talked to the agent, changed our plan (to his disagreement though) ; talked to the hotel caretaker and got the room changed for a better one (much better one!) for extra Rs.200 per day, and also changed from 1 night to 2 nights acco. The other family with us got a good big room by default. One thing to note was that, the caretaker, a local guy, was extremely helpful & accommodating.
The view from the balcony was awesome, even in the night! Had our dinner (there was a common place near the kitchen) and retired for the night.
Day 3
The first time we felt that the driver was of not-so-good-demeanour was the next morning. We were supposed to start at 4:00am, but informed the driver that it would be 4:30am (due to families, kid). He starting getting somewhat impatient and blabbering, and later more or less stopped talking to us for most of the way :-P
It was still dark when we started. Found that a few tourist vehicles returning - they informed that there was a landslide, hence road's blocked for the day! We felt devastated. On top of that, our driver insisted that we return as well - we didn't agree, so continued. Beyond the first bridge, we saw a line of jeeps waiting. The landslide had thrown off a few big stones and a huge tree onto the road, blocking it. We also waited. At last a few drivers with a few other tourists managed to move off two-three boulders, somewhat clearing the path to seep through.
So to the driver's dismay, we were up and running! In 2-3 hours we reached Thangu, a small sleepy village with a few shops, alsothe last stopover, before reaching the lake. Bought a few warm caps sensing the coldness. In another 2 hours we reached the army checkpost where the permits got checked. On the way till this post, there were large army camps with paton tanks and armoury - photography entirely prohibited.
Beyond the post, our vehicle ran through wide open terrains till the lake - a sight to behold !! The blue lake midst the snow-clad cloud-covered mountains around, the colourful Tibetan flags and the temple; all added to the awe. Contrary to our driver's good advise of spending only 10 min., we roamed around clicking for around 30 min. Took the bird's photo there at the lake. It did feel a little dizzy at times, and our ladies and the kid got breathing problems, slightly fainting off - this prompted us to leave at last.
Back to the hotel, post the afternoon siesta, we went to visit the Lachen monastery; the complex was still under construction. The driver left us somewhere midway on the road (don't know why), from where we walked up to our hotel.
The rest of the evening was of gossips, a few pegs, clicking views around the hotel, dinner, and then a good sleep.
Factfile - No more than 20-30 min. at Gurudongmar lake is recommended; very low air pressure can cause nausea, vomitting, dizziness, head-spinning and fainting. You need warm clothes to cover you throughout. Beyond Thangu, weather changes drastically - even enough to stop you from reaching the lake (we didn't face this); so better to factor in two days trip in case the first day it fails.
Day 4
Again the driver got impatient in the morning as we started at 9:00am instead of 8:30am (inspite of informing him of 9am). Had to talk to him a little strongly this time to wait for us.
Anyway, we stopped at Chungthang for tea. It was slightly raining. Nothing much for the rest of the way except that our driver took was through an alternate route full of greenery (more than the usual route) around.
It was a late lunch at Gangtok at around 4:00pm at Hotel Pemathang. We spent the evening in M.G. Road - buying souvenirs, trying Tibetan food in a restaurant (Thukpa [noodles with veg in hot soup], Seyphale [large samosa-like snacks with stuffed meat/chicken]), and clicking around. Came back to the hotel by 9:30pm, followed by dinner and then sleep.
Factfile - taxis from hotel are shared (can be reserved also) for around Rs.20-40 per head; max. 3 people per taxi (goes to 4 heads in the night) in Gangtok. If you reserve a taxi, they may charge Rs.150-200, so sharing is cheaper (anyway if you are 3-4 heads, its one taxi).
2ns acco anxiety - through our agent, we had earlier informed to have both rooms with western toilets - found otherwise. On talking to the agent and the hotel, seemed that they have given the rooms to some other guests at higher prices. We insisted, and somehow they obliged opening up the right rooms for us in 30 min.
Day 5
Had breakfast, and by 7:30am we were on our way to Ravangla via a sight-seeing tour. Why early at 7:30am? Jeeps going to other parts of Sikkim (as I said earlier) are not allowed inside Gangtok beyond 8:00am.
This time the driver with us was excellent, friendly, smiling, and making us listen to some good Nepali music (actually we insisted). On the way, took almost an hour for our ladies to buy bunches of plants including orchids and lillies from a nursery (which we had to arduously carry all along back to Kolkata).
It was raining, sometimes less, sometimes more as we passed through clouds!
Local sight-seeing consisted of Samdruptse (monastery; Bhutanese Buddhism), Chardham at Namchi (a little diverted town away from Ravangla) and Temi tea garden. My friend (the other family), being an owner of a tea garden himself, explained why this one was not so well maintained. Chardham was an ok place to visit, housing artificially constructed temples of Jagannath (original at Puri), Rameshwaram, Kedarnath & Badrinath. The original temple at the top of Kiriteshwar (the hunter-form of Shiva from Mahabharata) houses a large Shiva idol (someone informed 187 feet?!) - the entire place has tight security. Samdruptse was the place which we really liked (see photo). A huge pink Buddha idol in Bhutanese sculptural form [angry, large eyes, flat but roundish face, moustache) sitting on top of the monastery, covered in clouds, added to the awe.
At last we came to the hotel in Ravangla.
3rd acco anxiety - our local agent informed that the hotel has been changed from Hotel Reegyal to Hotel Reegyal 'Annex'. We got jitters, and this came true. The 'Annex' was some Hotel Smriti - we will forever remember those unclean rooms with insects, old bedsheets, a rotten glass bottle and patched-up carpet, suddenly no water after 10pm in the night (got the caretaker to bring us two buckets of water), that too one of the room under the staircase. No mobile connection for a while, so could not contact the agent. Steer clear of this hotel! The caretaker was acting too smart as well, though none of the workers were paying heed to what he said.
At night thankfully, we were able to contact and complain to the agent. After a night of suffering, the next day our acco was changed to original Hotel Reegyal at the centre of the town, with heavenly rooms indeed! Ok, that would be day 6.
Day 6
Cancelled our plan for Maenam Hills trek. It was raining heavily causing roads to become too steep and slippery, with the problem of too many leeches (we also got a few strolling on the hill sides). Moreover with family and kid, it was a no-go.
Amidst the rain, we still went out. The stroll through the laid-back town, through the clouds (where you can hardly see the approaching vehicles on roads) was wonderful. We took a taxi and went to the Buddha Park. The sight of as-if Buddha emerging from the clouds was awesome (see photo) - this time, the huge Buddha idol was of Tibetan form [calm, squarish face, black and gold]. The park itself was fantastic with clouds all around, with a lot of birds and exotic insects to click. Inside the monastery with spiralling walkways, the entire life story of Buddha was painted on the walls, along with colorful Buddha idols placed along the lowermost wall sides. There was an inner enclosure for the main idol (that's worshipped) encircled by different painted forms of Buddha as in different sect-styles.
Back to the hotel with not much to do, we again had tea with a lot of gossips, with rains outside.
Factfile - Ravangla and surrounding areas in South Sikkim is the way to Pelling (West Sikkim). You may choose to go for Maenam trek (if weather permits), go to West Sikkim (either for sight-seeing or for a heavy trek till Kanchenjunga base camp), or relax & do nothing. Definitely its a great place to unwind and enjoy greenery, flowers, local markets (including savouring the raw carrots from the veg markets) and wine.
Day 7
Started our return lazily around 11:00am. Nothing much to say except for the lunch mid-way at a nice small restaurant, a short trek to photograph birds (though failed due to time constraints), and back to NJP station waiting for our train. This time it was a confirmed ticket.
Day 8
Ok, we were back in Kolkata.
Last edited by car-go : 10th June 2013 at 17:13.
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7th June 2013, 17:14
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