Holiday Diary Day 7: Trip to Tsangoo Lake

Day 7:

Good morning Gangtok. Great to wake up with the air cool and nippy. It was just around 10 degrees C.

Today is our first full day in Gangtok and we were leaving to Tsangoo lake. We were supposed to visit Nathula Pass, Baba Mandir and Tsangoo lake. but the first two were closed due to snow and bad roads and we were allowed to go only upto Tsangoo. We need a pass made for visit to these areas and we'd given each one's ID proof the previous day along with 2 passport photos of each person. These are border areas and heavily regulated and passes are given only on certain days of the week. And even on that day, depending on the weather and road conditions, the authorities decide by 9 am that morning to issue the passes.

We were told that there wouldn't be any good food available till we return around 4 p,m so we took sandwiches from the hotel to fuel ourselves. From our hotel we took a cab to the Tsangoo Stand where the cabs to Tsangoo are stationed. We took off around 9:30 am and passed through some breathtaking scenery.

Everyone is headed out to tsangoo lake

The roads are just rubble because of frequent landslides that knock away whole sections of the road and the army (BRO  - Border Roads Organisation) is always busy repairing what nature is taking away on a daily basis. This is an inhospitable region and our troops are risking life and limb to protect them and give tourists a chance to see nature's beauty.

Can you see the long snake of vehicles lined up along the road? Yesterday a boulder had rolled down and knocked someone dead. last week this road was closed due to a landslide.

 We were thrilled to finally see our first glimpse of snow and couldn't stop clicking snaps.

Army trucks are a regular sight in this region along with construction equipment of theirs, repairing bridges, patching up the damage to the road done by rain, landslides, snow and more.

We finally reached a spot where we stopped to pick up boots and coats for the snow that was ahead of us.

 Our first sight of the yak, the native cow, mule, horse and donkey all rolled into one.

The kids happily climbed up the slope to play in the snow. People were slipping, falling, sliding on their backsides and generally doing silly things playing in this area. Everyone was reduced to a child. And Akshaye didn't want to come back in the allotted half hour and we spent almost 1.5 hours there. As we returned the pain set in for Akshaye and we found that his hands were almost frozen and close to frost bite. His feet had got wet due to the snow going in and we had to rub them hard to restore the circulation and get him back to near normal. A hot cuppa tea and maggi noodles did help a lot more and we tottered back to the vehicle to return back to our hotel and civilization.

 There was this lovely water falls on the way where we stopped for some foto ops. But only Anand had the energy and took the below snaps of them.

 On the way back the clouds started coming down heavily and we headed back fast back to Gangtok before the rains beat down on the already slippery roads.

We reached Gangtok at 4:30 pm and we were so beat after this adventure that we literally hit the sack on arrival. A few hours of sleep restored us for dinner and we turned in early.

Tomorrow was a day of rest in Gangtok and we were looking forward to a day of lazing about.

Holiday Diary Day 6: Entering Sikkim, the mountain state

Day 6:

Our train reached NJP around 8 am and we had ample time to socialise with a family travelling with us. This kid had the roundest eyes, chubby cheeks and was fascinated with Alfie's fotos on my phone. He is very well behaved generally till he is about to be fed and then all hell breaks loose. His mother just needs to put on the towel around his neck and he tries to run out like wonderboy in Incredibles 2. His father catches him and pins him down while the mother downs his porridge down his throat. Good entertainment for us but a torture for the parents.

Our travel companion

NJP (new Jalgapuri) station is spanking clean and has a board proudly proclaiming "Child Friendly Station" The pathways and crossings are spic and span and wheeled luggage and wheel chair friendly. So I assume it is child friendly too. best railway station i've seen till date.

Very comfortable to use wheeled liggage

clean and green place

We stepped out thinking we'll get one of these shared taxis to take us to Gangtok which is a 4 hour drive from here. On the way out we were accosted by several people who offered taxis but we succumbed to one such person who promised us that for 125 per head we'll get dropped in a share taxi comfortably with middle seats. We followed him with trepidation, wondering whether we are being conned and determined not to get hustled into a bum deal.

We are taken to a proper travel and tours agent's office and I was wondering what the catch was. I'd assumed he's one of the returning taxis who's giving me a sweet deal while here I was being brought into a regular tour operator's office. The catch was soon revealed when the agent wanted to know how many days we were staying and whether we had done any bookings already for hotels, etc. We bristled saying that we came only for the cab and for nothing else and was not willing to share any info. The agent cajoled and coaxed and we were not willing to divulge any info. he said that he price was valid only for those who booked packages with them and not for general.

But my eye caught on to the packages they were offering and the North Sikkim package seemed cheaper than what I'd seen on the net and at similar facilties. So we sat down to discuss and found that I could do all the areas I wanted to see at a reasonably cheaper rate than if I booked directly. After a lot of thought gave in to take up the package and made a small advance.

Grabbed breakfast and took off to Gangtok by shared cab.

The shared cab was far more uncomfortable than we imagined because they pack 4 people in each row so we were bumping into each others elbows and shoulders all the time.

But first a little bit about Siliguri. This seems to be bustling city with lots of trucks in them. Oil trucks, heavy carriers and what not. IndianOil seems to have big presence here and most of the trucks seems to be contracted to them. There was also quiet a few army trucks perhaps there is a sizeable detachment here.

The main road has all the brands that we're familiar with dotting the retail landscape. But soon as we left the plains, the scenery outside the window was cooling to the eyes.

We stopped at a place enroute to grab some refreshments and I saw this place which would have Anand salivating.. but he didn't get to see it since he didn't leave the cab.

check out the menu

This is the place where we stopped for a break

After that we entered into Sikkim which has a beautiful border post. I didn't get to click there, so I've borrowed a picture from the net to show you how beautiful it is.

This state seems to have a lot more planned development happening in it and it's visible from when you enter it. Lots of buildings under construction and many of them owned by the state itself.

We soon entered Gangtok and found our way to our hotel to cool off after this long journey.

our home for the next 3 days

We were happy to be on firm ground again and plonked ourselves down on the beds. After a nap and bath we were as good as new and ready to explore this new city.

We are 5700 ft above the ground and though its summer the air is nippy during the day and cold at nights. Temperature range from a high of 22 C during the day to around 10 C at night. Perfect for a madrasi who is escaping the agni nachatram (dog days) at Chennai now.

Dinner was at a lovely restaurant that didn't have anyone else but us. We'd seen 2 more like that before choosing this one, wonder where the people eat, but the food here was thankfully good and we were glad to eat a decent meal after several disasters earlier on this trip.

Tomorrow we are going to Tsangoo lake, nathula pass was closed and we can only go up to Tsangoo.