A journey to a mystique place: Sikkim

It was a funny,sunny day😎(not Sunday) ,having some scattered clouds here and there, that  gave me some sort of warning that it might rain in the afternoon, but,i wasn't concerned about that warning because by afternoon i would be on the other side of rain-spectrum to catch the trade-winds,the spectrum that is famous for its ever-green rain forest.

We started our journey to Sikkim,which is called a land of mystique on 21st June 2017.On that day,I awoke around 8 am in the morning with the help of an alarm clock, that forced me to step out of my comfort zone,"My Bed"😊.I was supposed to leave to airport by 10 Am in the morning.I went to market to purchase some goods(that's a secret) and returned by 9.30 am .My friend, who was also going with me, informed me that flight was delayed due to some operational reason(well,operational reasons always sucks because of their lack of clarity and transparency..i wish i could also use these reasons for all of my excuses😜).Unlike me,my friend got a message from airline about flight status, thanks to my super fast network,which sheds its fastness when need is there.

So we started at 12.15 pm from our flat to airport,unfortunately,we missed the airport bus,thanks to our habit of always being late.These airport buses are  called Vayu Vajra in Bangalore,we use to call it Red Elephant because of its nomadic character(never dare to overtake these buses).Finally, we hired a cab and somehow managed to reach airport on time.During our way to Airport,i was busy in Google Navigation,counting minutes and kilometers every second,these situations teaches us the value of "Time" ,that waits for none.However,in between we also got scolding and dirty abuses from our other friends, who already reached airport,over a Whats-app group,that we had created for chit-chatting of trip affairs.Its a kind of ritual and prerequisite to create such groups before any planned trip,but irony of social-life is that,instead of discussing about trip and its  affairs,we usually share memes and jokes over these groups.

Finally we four friends,disguised as "Fantastic Four"🙌, boarded the flight to Bagdogra at final call around 3.30 pm with a healthy check-in and lengthy status message without showing any feeling over Facebook(feeling excited with 49 others😝),in recent era, these check-ins and status messages are part of every trip-ritual.Earlier days, we used to do prayers before starting any long journey,now that trend has changed,now check-ins and status messages over social media have replaced prayers,this has now become neo-ritualistic trend.There is tremendous pressure to update status messages to show that we are enjoying and we are happy, whether we are really happy or not.And since we manage to be quite unhappy most of the time, it is easier to follow a ritual of happiness rather than strive for happiness.But,amid trends,sometimes we have to remain classic to be happy.

Earlier Darjeeling was also a part of our tour-plan,unfortunately,few days before our trip,protest had started in Darjeeling for the demand of Gorkhaland. Well,that wasn't a new phenomenon, it is actually 110 years old demand of Gorkhas and Nepalis of hilly areas of erstwhile Bengal presidency.As we have read in our history books(Which most of the science student feel boring but in reality its not😉),Bengal was divided into two parts in 1905 by Lord Curzon along communal lines to divide Hindus and Muslims.But,due to major uprising and protest,it was again re-united in 1911.The demand for separate administrative unit in Darjeeling has existed since 1907 when the hillmen's association of Darjeeling has submitted a memorandum to Morley-Minto reforms(Indian Council Act 1909)".

Due to turmoil in Darjeeling, we had to rescheduled our plan accordingly.We also got lot of pressure from all corners(Family,Friends) to cancel this trip,but,somehow we managed to convince most of them(not all😐).Now our main and only focus was Sikkim.We were heading towards Bagdogra from Bengaluru. Bagdogra Airport,a place near Siliguri,West Bengal.I have read a lot about Siliguri corridor, which is also known as Chicken's Neck, it is a narrow stretch of land, which connects India's north-east states with rest of India.You can imagine the strategic importance of this place for India.As a sensitive area amidst three countries(India,Bangladesh,Bhutan), the strip is heavily patrolled by Indian Armed forces.

Fully over-excited,we landed at Bagdogra airport around 6.00 pm,it was very humid there.But,that excitement was short lived,we faced an unusual situation as we stepped out of airport(sometimes over excitement can lead to chaos😨).There is a common highway,known as NH10, that connects Siliguri to both Darjeeling and Gangtok.That highway was also affected by protest.Tourist heading from Bagdogra were also facing some difficulties on their way to Gangtok.We found it very difficult to hire a cab,as they were charging beyond our and their "Aukaat" 😎.So we had to show some bargaining skills,and finally we succeeded.I also learnt an important lesson that no matter what the situation is, always hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.

We had some snacks in Siliguri as we were very hungry,and started our mountainous journey from Siliguri to Gangtok.Our cab driver was a Nepali ,who had awesome driving skills.The way he was driving through that picturesque zig-zag landscape,literally gave us goosebumps😲.Throughout that journey we enjoyed a lot,cracked lot of jokes,and made fun of each other.Within 3 hours we have covered 125 km of journey,and reached our destination,that is Gangtok.We checked-in at hotel,ate,and slept after some chit-chatting.
DAY-1
Next day we awoke around 7 am ,it was a beautiful morning at Gangtok.It was raining outside,but,after few hours it stopped raining.Well,what to say about that city,i haven't seen before a well organised and cleaned city like Gangtok.It is said that "God rebooted heaven,and we got Gangtok".Transport system was awesome and city traffic was well managed.Everyone was following the traffic rules,and riding in their lane only(I am over emphasizing on traffic because traffic sucks in Bangalore😩).Heavy fine was there for dumping garbage and spitting on public places.People were very humble and co-operative. Literally saying,i have become fan of that city.

We haven't done any booking for upcoming days,so we had to roam around the city for that.We had contacted few travel-services, and after bargaining with one of them, booked  their full package for 4 days(1 day: Nathula Pass & 3 days-2 nights:Lachung-Yumgtang Valley).As we weren't satisfied with our hotel services,we had to change that also and finally shifted to another hotel.After doing all shifting and booking in afternoon, we started from our hotel to visit Gangtok city.First we went to MG Marg,which was the main attraction of Gangtok.It is said by Baba Ranchordas🙏- "Where ever you goes MG Road follows you".Bangalore,and lot of other Indian cities has MG Road,but,unlike Bangalore's MG road, MG Marg was traffic free.After roaming at MG Mark,and eating lots of Momos & rolls,we went to Cafe Live and Loud,Gangtok's most happening music pub,that bathes its customers in a tsunami of sound in evening,when live bands typically crank out rock or alternative-pop sets.We had coffee and drinks(cold-drink...haha😎),as per taste,and after enjoying live music and guitar,left for our hotel.
Cafe Live and Loud





DAY-2






It was our second morning at Gangtok.According to the plan we had to go to Nathula Pass, which was about 55 km from Gangtok. After having breakfast,we started our journey around 10 am in the morning.This driver was a person of unique character,with having chain-smoking habit.In beginning,he was very quiet, we thought,he was angry with us as he was made to wait for us in the morning,but, after some times,he mingled with us,and also cracked lot of jokes. Nathula pass,a historical and strategic pass, located on the old silk road at a height of 14140 ft.Due to its strategic location,government permit is required to go to Nathula Pass.One has to apply for permit one day in advance,our travel-agent did all the formalities.Earlier pilgrims to Kailash used to go only through Lipulekh pass(Utarakhand).But,in 2015, India and China had a agreement to serve Nathula pass as an entry point for the pilgrims of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra(However,due to recent standoff,China closed Kailash Yatra throught Nathula pass).





The way to Nathula had a picturesque landscape, having lot of natural and artificial lake.Among them, Tsomgo/Changu(natural) lake was the major attraction.We enjoyed its scenic-beauty while returning from Nathula Pass.The name Tsomgo meaning "above the lake", was given by the yak herders.The old folktale says that the lake was in a place called Laten in older times and the place where the lack is today was actually a "Goth"(Cattle Shed), where the herders kept their yaks.One night,an old woman in her dreams was told to leave the place soon as it would be filled with water.Next morning she warned all her herder friends but they refused to believe her.She left the village and as she left, she saw a lady with flowing hair,believed to be the Guardian Deity of the lake,enter the valley and soon the place was filled with water and Tsomgo lake was formed.The other herders however perished in the water along with the herds of yaks.The lake today worshiped by people and there are religious offering by people especially during "Guru Poornima".



As we were heading towards higher altitude, it was getting colder.Two of our friends,who came in t-shirts(to become Macho😎),had to purchase jackets on rent.Around 10 km before Nathula, we had to wait for a long for other vehicles as only few vehicles had the permit to go beyond this point.So travelers of other cabs had to shift in permitted vehicle only.We reached at Nathula around 1.00 pm.Because of its sensitive location,camera and photography was not allowed there.There were Chinese and Indian posts on the border,guarded by troops from both the side.Unlike India, there were no tourist from Chinese side.Well, what to say about the patriotic feeling we were getting there.Sense of patriotism was unique and the whole air was filled with some sortof feeling, that gave us goosebumps, and made us to say:'Yes, i am proud Indian"🙌.At such places,we forget all our caste,creed,religion,ethnicity,region,but remember only one thing :"India".



One unprecedented event occurred at Nathula pass,which gave a golden opportunity to my friends to make fun of me😐.My mobile network(Airtel😡) deducted 100 rupees as International Roaming charges as it was India-China border.Irony was that, network was not coming on Indian side but as we reached Nathula,it was coming through Chines side.Hats off to their pathetic services on Indian side of border.



We stayed around half an hour at Nathula. Weather was getting harsher,so we had to move from there.While returning,we went to Lord Shiva Temple and  Baba Harbhajan Shrine.The sitting Lord Shiva Idol at an altitude of 13000 ft is the highest location for any Shiva idol.It adds to the beauty and serenity of the area and provides a hermitage feeling at the back drop of Namnang Choho water fall.





To be Continued......