Thursday, December 22, 2016

Warm up! Sikkim ahead

Early winter, touring Sikkim was on the cards with the adventure side shining. Sikkim as of now does not have an airport or a railway station. The only way to get there is by road or heli (this is just what I heard. Not sure on the helicopter services). We choose to reach by road from the near by railway station New Jalpaiguri. This is the place where the Himalayan railways run their narrow gauge too.   
A pleasant morning at New Jalpaiguri railway station, we were rushing with excitement to reach Gangtok. Lets go go go ….. was the motto when the friendly taxis at the station greeted us with a No .. No .. No J Well it was the start day of the friction between West Bengal and Sikkim for the vehicle permits. A little knowledge, West Bengal allows Sikkim taxis to run around but Sikkim does not allow the ply of West Bengal vehicles and hence West Bengal was on a strike for getting permits to Sikkim. With no clue on the friction as we arrived it was not pleasing to hear a "No way to go to Sikkim". Some of the tour operators suggested we alter our trip to visit Darjeling instead. We headed to Siliguri, a small place away from New Jalpaiguri to try our luck. Fainted luck with cab, we were in a snail paced long long queue at the at the bus station. Quite a few tourists like us were there who just wanted to get a way to go to Sikkim. The long wait paid off as we managed to get the tickets in the last row of the bus. The route was mostly uphill in the dense forests. Finally we reached Gangtok! A sense of achievement for the start of the trip. A warmup to make a good memory!


Gangtok to me seems to be thriving on a mountain. Roads with heavy inclinations and basic living is the Gangtok signature. There are several narrow, sometimes shabby public staircases between 2 roads at different altitudes. This is the pattern all over this place. There is a lot of exercise for people there. We were in a hotel close to the main market but at a different altitude. Not easy on the calf muscles. We went to MG Marg the reputed market place to be astonished at the organized world class look. A broad tiled road with plantation divider and seating benches. Shops lined up on both sides. It is a very cool hangout place as there are no vehicles here.  

 Sikkim is not low on charm. A state of art to line the sides of the roads with trees, trees from the below deco up the roads above. Kudos Sikkim!



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