23rd May 2014
This day morning we were woke up by 5:30 AM to take a look at the view of the snow clad Kanchenjunga by my FIL. Truly it was a great experience.So, finally we got the view of Kanchenjunga here which was elusive in Darjeeling .Even though it was cloudy, we could have a sneak view of it!
It's said that Pelling is the only nearest high altitude point to view all the 4 snow clad mountain range(Kanchenjunga, Pandim, Sinalchu, Kabru) in this area and these 4 are visible according to their altitudes! We got ready for the sight seeing and before that we went to the vegetarian restaurant to have our breakfast. The hotel people dropped us there in their vehicle. It was an uphill walk so it was better we go there by vehicle. The name of the restaurant was Anjela. It was a very small place. You have to see the crowd there to believe the taste of food being offered there! First we did not know the food items available there since there was no menu card as such. We went with dosas and parathas. And some other items were some snacks that are available in the evening.But we were happy with what we got :)
So our sight-seeing started with Kecheopalri Lake.The entire route was covered with tourist vehicles and as a result they were moving very slowly.So we lost some precious time there!Also the roads are bad making it difficult to reach places on time. Infact in one place i saw a small hatchback finding it difficult to climb up the road.So better to avoid self driving in these places. The thing i liked here was there a chain of helpers helping people cross the stream flowing to the falls side. That was such a nice gesture by the locals.
This lake is called the wish fulfilling lake sacred place for both Hindus and Buddhists! The place was so crowded.
Then we went to Kanchenjunga falls. Then went to the Darap Valley. There our driver took us to a small restaurant.There we had some noodles but it was nothing but hot Maggi and some momos. Delicious food to keep us going. Then we had to visit the Pemyangtse monastery and Rabdentse ruins to call the day off, but unfortunately our vehicle developed some problem. We went to the travels office to switch vehicles. and then visited the Pemyangtse monastery. It was such a beautiful and divine place.
We had to go to the Rabdentse palace ruins now but the new driver warned us about the nearly 11/2 hr long walk we should take to cover the entire palace and also it was getting late. So he took us to a view point from where we could see the entire ruins. Then he took us to the helipad where we can have the entire view of Pelling. We could clearly see that it was the top most point in Pelling. When in Pelling do make a point to visit the Helipad.
While dropping off we asked the driver to drop us at Anjela for some snacks.We had some cheese toasts and sandwiches. The chefs here were from Madhya Pradesh and the oven was constantly on now! We ordered some poha for tomorrow morning as we had to travel to Gangtok for children. Also inquired about the timings they'd open so that we can have our breakfast and leave.
Back to the rooms,kids enjoyed by playing Table tennis there. We also ordered for some veg sandwiches also for kids to have somewhat later. Though there were some initial adjustments here we enjoyed it here and also were over excited about our onward journey to Gangtok not knowing what was in store!!!
Day 6 : 24th May 2014
So again everything was packed and we were ready to move to Gangtok. So went to Angela had our breakfast with some nice aloo paranthas and this time we ditched the dosas :) and got our pohas packed. We bid goodbye to the place!
Our driver suggested that we visit Ravangla on the way which has a beautiful Buddha Park with a central statue of Buddha about 130ft high. The place is so beautiful and calm and such a large premise.You could feel like you are in clouds here. You need some time here. Inside the premises the stories from Jataka tales, the life of Buddha are painted. Wow such beautiful paintings and the place was so pleasant with the mild chilling weather! We could also buy some artefacts there!
We also could have the view of Temi Tea Garden in this route. The weather was in such a way that it was rainy and cloudy in one place and sunny in other .Such is the climate in hilly terrain i guess.
For lunch we stopped at a government run restaurant near Singtam i suppose.Very near to the place river Rangit was flowing.Though we reached the place late and we had to wait for our orders we enjoyed the food there.
Even though the travel time was 2hrs only the whole trip with stopovers for food and other sight seeing make it longer.In Gangtok the driver has to drop us at taxi stand from where the local travels need to pick us up. Here in Gangtok big vehicles are not allowed unless otherwise they are your own vehicle and that too with permission. So here we have to take two vehicles for our large group for local sight seeing. And also we had to take it from the taxi stand there.And i need to mention about the route to Gangtok from Ranipool,it was in bad condition.Some road expansion work was going on and the whole place was very dusty. Since Gangtok was the capital city, the roads were well laid and since only small cars were allowed not much of traffic jam too ie you dont get struck in a single place, the vehicles keep moving. Our rooms were booked in Sai Kripa. This was also much away from the maddening crowd in the city. But yes we had awesome food in their restaurant.
After freshening ourselves we went to MG Road for some unwinding. This is the centre place of the city with hotels, cafes and shopping centers and it was buzzing with activity. We had dinner at a very small hotel near to the MG Road but yes food was good.
So we retire for the day for the sight seeing on next day. See you soon!!!
