Gangtok Trip – Day 6 – Enroute to Tsomgo Lake
April 16 - Day 6, 10.30 am, Enroute to Tsomgo Lake
This post is being typed on my Sony Ericsson P1i while we are on our way to Tsomgo Lake, at a height of 12000 feet above sea level.
And I still have a BSNL mobile signal!
Gangtok Trip – Day 5 – Local Sightseeing
April 15, Day 5, 9.00 pm:
Local Sightseeing.
The entire day today was spent in local sightseeing. Pema, the manager of Mintokling had booked a taxi for us yesterday and Kiran Chettri, our driver for the day, arrived with his Maruti WagonR well before the allotted time of 9.00 am. I got up early in the hope of catching a glimpse of Kanchenjunga from the hotel windows but was disappointed by the cloud cover. Any the good thing was that I was able to get breakfast started with tea brewed in a glass of water with a small immersion heater, sugar cubes, milk powder and tea bags 
yea i know how to cook! Or at least make tea, coffee and omelets.
We managed to be ready to leave just before 9.00 am, no small feat with 2 small kids to be dragged out of a warm bed and fed breakfast after they brush their teeth and take their baths. We packed my bag with a water bottle, some snacks, binoculars, spare clothes for Bablu, silk scarfs for the kids and Padmaja, and two folding umbrellas. I of course had my camera bag as well as the camera tripod in it's case.
We met Pema 'upstairs' and were introduced to Kiran, our driver for the day. We went over our agenda for the day and asked for a few modifications. Essentially added the Ban Jhakari Waterfall (10 km from Gangtok) and the Ling Dum Monastery (about e4 kms from the waterfalls, in the same diection. Also added Hanuman Tok and Tashi View Point to the itinerary. The price agreed upon was Rs. 1200/- for the deal as against the original Rs. 800/- for the original tour plan of the following:
1. Enchen Monastery 2. Tibetology Institute 3. Handi crafts and Handlooms Exhibition 4. Flower Show 5. Ganesh Tok 6. Stupa 7. Ropeway
We first visited the Enchen Monastery.l, a beautiful place festooned with prayer flags and located at the top of a hill opposite the TV tower. Photography is allowed outside the temple but not inside. We went in and sat for some time behind the monks chanting prayers.
On the way to Enchen we crossed the Flower Show and realized how close it was to Mintokling. Padmaja and I talked it over and decided to drop the 'points' inside the city of Gangtok and visit the waterfalls and Ling Dum. The price went up to Rs. 1400/- for the whole day.
Kiran then took us to Hanuman Tok and there we got the best treat of the day - a clearing of the clouds shrouding Kanchenjunga and our first glimpse of that mighty peak. I have taken photographs, both with the digital as well as my SLR with the telephoto. Can't say how they will come out till I reach Bhubaneswar on Monday. Hanuman Tokk was beautiful with a great view of a part of the Gangtok valley.
After that we visited Ganesh Tok. Again a small, modern temple perched on a hill top, with a fantastic view of the valley. Kiran pointed out some land marks including the old royal palace nestling on top of the same hill as our guest house, Mingtokling.
After Ganesh Tok we visited the Tashi View Point, a hill commanding a good view of the surrounding hills and valleys. There is a souvenir shop on the road side which seems to be organized by the army, or so we were told. Anyway the prices on the regular souvenir trinkets was the best we have seen so far. We also had good veg Momos and Paneer Pakodas at the small fast food stall next to the souvenir shop. Padmaja bought a ton of stuff at the souvenir shop.
From Tashi we started for the Ban Jankri (spelling?) Waterfalls. We had to cross the valley and the roads to the falls are in poor repair. They are maintained by the local PWD while the roads around Ganesh Tok etc are maintained by the BRO, the Border Roads Organization, an Indian Army entity.
The waterfall is a beautiful area. Deep in the forests, the area is beautifully landscaped to show off the natural terrain and to highlight the local tribal population. Ban Jakri (spelling?) is how the tribal medicine man is called. There are walkways that allow you to approach the foot of the waterfall. I have taken many photographs and will use them to describe the area once I get back to Bhubaneswar as I have no way of transfering the images from the camera to my phone for uploading.
A word of caution:- Don't eat at the veg restaurant on the first floor of the Energy Museum building. The food is BAD! And the service is so pathetic that I would rather not talk about it.
From the falls we went to the Ling Dum (spelling?) Monastery. This monastery is closer than Rumthek and is not as old, being only about a 100 years old. It is a beautiful place and colourful. Also they allow photography inside the shrine whose walls are covered with beautiful paintings of the life of the Budha. The large idol of the Budha dominates the shrine.
Outside there is a small garden and a eatery that makes nice veg Momos. They charge the same for a cup of coffee as a plate of Momos, Rs. 25/-
After the Monastery we returned to Gangtok and stopped at Lal Bazaar to buy me a jacket for the visit to Tsomgo Lake tomorrow. The bazaar has some good bargains.
After dropping off Padmaja and the kids at the hotel, I walked down to M. G. Marg to pick up something for dinner. I stopped at the Square restaurant for fried rice, chicken curry and chowmien. I had some of Danny's beer, Hit, while I waited.
Tomorrow we are to visit Tsomogo Lake and must start early.
Gangtok Trip – Day 4 – Gangtok!
April 14, Day 4, 2.30 pm:
We arrived in Gangtok at 2.30 pm. Had a little trouble finding the Mintokling Guest House but our driver was up to the challenge. He stopped other cab drivers and got his directions.
Mintokling Guest House turned out to be a very pretty house built on multiple levels with the entrance towards the top of the house and the ground floor lower down the hill side. The enclosing garden is terraced and full of flowers. There is a lawn at the nottom of the garden with a small gold fish pond, benches and more flowers.
The rooms are spacious, with wooden floors and ceiling. A wardrobe, two single sofas, a bedside cabinet, a wall mirror with shelves below, a small TV on a cabinet with storage complete the room's furniture. Very comfortable.
We had asked for an extra bed and that turned out to be a mattress thrown on the floor with a bed sheet and two blankets.
The lady in charge, Pema L. Pulger, is very nice and efficient. We quickly checked in and were taken 'downstairs' to our third floor room.
We ordered lunch from room service while we all took showers. The food was tasty but in very small quantities. What we expected to feed the entire family was barely sufficient for the two kids.
After a late lunch I went 'upstairs' to the office to meet Pema and inquire about local tourist spots and arrangements to visit them. She had multiple options available to cover the entire day. She has a tie up with a local taxi service and offers good prices. These options include a number of 'Points'. For example Ganesh Tok, Flower Show are two points. A day trip consists of 7 or more points and are priced accordingly. You can take a standard, pre-defined set of 'Points' or customize your own itinerary. The price will have to be negotiated of course. We told Pema ro book us a 7 Point trip the next day. We also asked her about Tsomgo Lake and were told that it would cost Rs. 2000/- for a Maruti WagonR with driver and that the trip would take a whole day. There could still be snow on the roads beyond Tsomgo Lake. That means the Baba Temple and Nathula Pass are inaccessible.
After that we walked down to M. G. Marg. Every city in India has a Mahatma Gandhi Marg!
M. G. Marg is easy walking distance from Mintokling. We took the alleyways or rather the stairs between houses to Tibet Road. From there it is a easy walk downhill to M. G. Marg. The marg is a cobbled street with flowers in pots and flower beds dond the middle. Large ornate lamps lit up the entire road. There are tour operators, cafes, fast food joints, grocery stores, banks, pharmacies, restaurants, souvenir shops and hotels on this road. There arw cast iron benches along the central verge. All in all a beautiful place.
Our first stop was the tourism office to ask about Tsomgo Lake trips. The gentleman there was very helpful and told us that permits are required and that rhe tour operators would handle all the details. It would cost about Rs. 1600/- to hire a car and driver. For the permits we need photocopies of some 'ID Proof' like A PAN Card, Passport or Driver's License. Also required are two passport sized photographs of each person. There are a number of photography shops on M. G. Marg and it cost us Rs. 60/- for 4 photos of Mamli and Bablu, i.e., Rs. 30/- each. Photocopies of our PAN Cards cost Rs. 2/- each.
We had pastries and coffee at a Bakery cum Cafe before approaching two different tour operators. After negotiating with both we took their visiting cards to the gentleman at the tourism office for his opinion. He told us that the negotiated price of 1600/- to the lake was fair and the operator who had offered that price was dependable. We went back and booked the tour, giving an advance of Rs. 500/- and all the documents.
After that we backed back to Tibet Road and the Tangerine Restaurant for dinner. Tangerine is located on the ground floor of a Hotel which means it is 4 floors below road level. The food was delicious and inexpensive. A meal for 4 with Chicken Momos, Rice Noodles with oyster mushrooms, Chicken fried rice and a country chicken curry cooked the Sikkimese way cost me Rs. 360/-.
By the we were done it was 9.30 pm and the streets were deserted. We managed to find a taxi who charged us Rs. 50/- for the 1 kilometer uphill drive to Mintokling. We were very tired and fell asleep soon.
I am hoping to get a glimpse of Kanchenjunga tomorrow morning. Will try to wake up by 5 am for that chance.
Gangtok Trip – Day 4 – Last Leg, Silliguri To Gangtok
April 14, Day 4, 10.30 am:
We left Kolkata by Darjeeling Express, leaving Sealdah station at 10.05 pm. Did some shopping at Shree Leathers, Lindsay Street and the footpaths of Esplanade.
The train was a hour late, arriving in New Jalpaiguri at 9.00 am. Mr. Chaudhari of the local LIC office picked us up and took us to their guest house in Silliguri for breakfast.
Padmaja had booked a taxi to take us to Gangtok. SAIL has a marketing office in Suliguri and she called the local branch manager. He got her in touch with their travel agent / cab operator. As a result we didn't have to worry about finding a taxi in New Jalpaiguri.
Our driver is a Nepali who thinks he is driving Formula 1. He also has this annoying habit of braking suddenly in a way that leaves ones stomach about 18 feet behind. Also he manages to jerk the car very badly every time he changes gears.
We should be in Gangtok in about 4 hours. I want to send this off while I still have a GPRS connection.
Will post again from Gangtok.2.
April 13, 2009, Day 3 – Kolkata
April 13, 2009, Day 3 - Kolkata:
Falakunama Express arrived on time at Howrah. My uncle's driver, Mandal-da, was there to pick us up and we drove actoss the old Howrah bridge to Park Street where my uncle and aunt have a flat.
I had saved my previous two emailed posts as I was getting an intermittent signal in the train near Kharagpur, my old college. At my uncle's flat. I tried connecting and received a rude shock. GPRS no longer worked! That is when I realised that what I had taken for dropped connections on the train was actually the loss of GPRS when I entered West Bengal.
I spent a frantic hour trying to figure out what was wrong. My aunt didn't have a BSNL directory and I went looking for a PCO who might be able to at least give me the local BSNL Call Center number. I did get the number but I somehow kept getting the Karnataka call center instead of Bengal. Finally gave up in disgust and went for a shower morosely contemplating a week without internet access. Till we crossed back in to Odissa again.
After my shower I found that GPRS service had been restored! Well, I am not complaining!
I am not sure what will happen when we cross over from West Bengal in to Sikim tomorrow morning but I am keeping my fingers crossed. If that happens I will continue to post but they wull appear in a rush when I get my connection back in Odissa.
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