Gangtok sight seeing
We had planned for local sight seeing in Gangtok on this day and it was a Sunday. First started off by visiting Ganesh tok and Hanuman tok which are nearby and you can awesome views from there.Then went to Tashi view point. We need to climb up stairs to have a look at the 360 degree view of the place. There are many small restos in the foothill and many shops also there. And then our driver took us to Flower exhibition centre which had many beautiful orchids in different colours, truly a photographer's delight. Though a small place we spent quite a time there clicking pics. Then to Ranka monastery to view Golden Buddha within serene atmosphere. The architecture is unbelievable to note that it is one of the oldest monasteries.
As it was Sunday the zoological park and handicrafts museum was closed.So we went to the rope way cable car.We had to wait for nearly an hour here. This was the first time for us in a rope way and we all enjoyed it thoroughly. The entire Gangtok city can be viewed and also the beautiful valleys.From all the view points we can have the glimpse of Kanchenjunga but since it was cloudy we could not have a clear view of the peak :(
That day there was a local strike in Gangtok,so all the shops in MG Road were closed including the eateries,sigh! So after the sigt seeing everyone were hungry, so immediately called up our hotel to enquire whether they can provide us with some food around 2 o'clock.Thankfully they accepted our request and we placed our order on phone for some rice and dal. When you are hungry and you get some awesome food what happens, the food gets over soon! We all licked our plates. I don't remember what other things we ordered together with rice and dal but we enjoyed our food that day. The one thing we all missed in the entire trip was some good curd. Being south indians we could not refrain from asking them for curd but it was not available. We even searched in the local milk parlour and super market, it was not there , not even the flavored yogurt kinds. But we brought some bread and mayonnaise and some other bites for the trip next day to Lachung.
One place to not miss in Gangtok is Cafe Tibet. Myself and my hubby did the search for the curd and were pretty tired.In fact we went till MG Road for some bank purpose and then on our way back we spotted this place. We stepped in to have some coffee. The bakery was so empty, all the things had vanished from shelves owing to the strike! But yes the coffee was superb here.
After some time we again went back to MG Road to spend some time there.Even though the shops were closed the crowd was there. While planning for the trip i came to know about the famous puchkas and kaati rolls of Kolkata. So i wanted to try Kaati rolls if possible here. To my surprise there was a small shop which was selling vegetarian rolls(without egg) along a small lane down the MGRoad. There was also huge crowd there. We all had a chance to taste them and they were super delicious.
And also had some light dinner at Sai Kripa to end the day.
Day 8 & 9: Travel to Lachung
The day was very cloudy with light showers and we were ready to leave after having break fast to Lachung. Lachung is in North Sikkim and from there we need to go to Zero Point or Yumthang Valley, the highest altitude point. Usually the itinerary is to stay in Lachung and from there go till Yumthang and return to Gangtok the next day. But we had booked our rooms in Mangan at the Planter's Home.So owing to the distance and the climate we had a dilemma whether to continue the travel next day or not. Finally decided to stay in Mangan itself and have a break and enjoy our stay there. But the downside was we were missing our chance to be there in snow clad mountains.Yes, Yumthang valley would be covered in snow till May and being in snow was one of our high points of this trip as none of us had experienced being in snow or seeing snowfall before.
But i would say we had made the wisest decision to not continue the travel. First it was raining and we came to know of a landslide on the route. With such a distance landslide means we would have increased our travel time. But we enjoyed our stay at the Planter's Home with nice food and ambiance. So this was a rest day for us after traveling without any rest all these days. So we decided to leave to Gangtok after having our lunch. So after reaching Gangtok went to shopping in MG Road for some artifacts and fancy jewellery. All excited about our trip next day to Nathula pass to have a view of snow at least there. What we didn't do was to pray that there should be no rains at least the next day. But nature had something else planned for us.
Day 10: Tsomgo Lake
We were all set to leave as early as 9 o'clock but the travel agent did not take the special permit to visit Nathula pass. So lost time there in arranging some more documents to be provided. Finally our vehicle came by 10:30 am and we started. But the worst thing was it started raining!
There was a huge lineup of vehicles and the rain made the scenario worst :(
Since we were climbing high up the altitude and the area was in remote border the roads were bad. In fact the driver should be well trained to drive in these terrains. Have never ever seen such roads before. But hats off to the army people who guard these places . The move day in and day out in these roads that too with such huge vehicles. If there is a landslide they help in moving out people.
So from slight drizzling the rain picked up and we could see water flowing down in all directions in one side and deep valley with river flowing on the other side. Truly indescribable in words. And i'd call it an adventure in itself to travel in these roads. Sure a lifetime experience.
As we neared the Tsomgo lake we could see that all the snow was melting down and there was nothing left in the mountains. So it altered the mood of everyone especially the children. By this time they wanted to see snow somehow!The weather making the scene even more bad, the chill was getting unbearable. Before reaching Tsomgo lake you need to purchase some rain boots,umbrellas and mufflers to protect your feet and ears for rent.There were yaks there, so you can go for a ride.
Near the lake it was pouring down, so only the children, my husband and Sil got down to take some pics at least. By this time some chill water had entered my younger son's boot and he couldn't control the frostbite and he was shivering.So we had to go down till the shops where there was a fire place. There we had to climb some rocky steps to reach the shop. Our driver seeing the pain of my son immediately took him in his hands and ran up towards the shop near the fire place. We are thankful to him. By this time there was news that the route to Nathula pass was also closed due to rains which we had already decided to avoid! We had some hot maggi there in the shop. Which was awesome owing to the cold weather. We were praying to reach Gangtok safe. Slowly the rain also stopped as we reached Gangtok. By evening the clouds were permanently clear and we could see sunset from our room.
So the two expected destinations were not covered by us which was a huge disappointment. And next day we would be returning back home.
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