Gangtok: Burrry Burrry Cold!!!

Am back from a trip to Gangtok and Darjeeling. We had been planning for a "year end special" vacation since last several months and had considered several locations, including Mauritius, Malaysia, Lakshadweep and Kerala. Finally, we zeroed upon Gangtok and Darjeeling as we really wanted to go to the eastern part of India.

For the people who bunked the geography classes, Gangtok is in Sikkim. Fans of Indian football (endangered species) would know the place as Baichung Bhutia comes from there.

If you are planning to visit Gangtok, do not go over there with expectations of a happening holiday. It is a quiet place but is a must if you want to get away from the noise of the bigger cities. It is a small town but very neat and clean. The best thing about Gangtok are the people. They are very friendly and respectful (another endangered species). For the shutter bugs, Gangtok is a paradise as it presents a breathtaking landscape.

Interesting places at Gangtok are Rumtek monastery, Hanumantak, Tsomgo lake (pronounced as Changu lake), Nathula pass and Baba Harbhajan ka mandir.

Now to tally the balance sheet, let us talk aout the liabilities (weak points). You should have the legs and more importantly the lungs to really enjoy Gangtok. Everywhere you go, you will have to hike or climb stairs!!! People pay money to test the tolerance limit of their lungs!!! I must have climbed a billion stairs over there.

Getting a vehicle is not difficult but getting a motorbike or a vehicle sans a driver is not possible. Now, that is a big limitation. You cannot enjoy Gangtok from the passenger seat of a Taxi. You must have your own vehicle so that you can stop wherever you want to and take pictures or simply enjoy the beauty.

Another problem is that Gangtok is not connected with other cities through rail or flights. The nearest airport is Baghdogra, which is 124 kms away and it takes close to 4.5 hrs to reach Gangtok. Nearest railway station is New Jalpaiguri which is equally far.

If you do not manage to get a vehicle for yourself (without a driver), two days are sufficient at Gangtok. You can cover a "10 point" tour which includes a few monasteries, a botanical garden, couple of temples and a ropeway ride. On the second day, you can go to Nathula pass which is around 56 kms from Gangtok but is much colder since it is 14,400 ft above the sea level. It is the India-China border. Nothing much to do over there bit it still is worth a visit as the landscape is beautiful and the journey is amazing. You can see the Chinese post and the roads, which are much better in shape. On the same day you can go to Baba Harbhajan's mandir and Tsomgo lake. At this time of the year, the Lake remains frozen. We also enjoyed the Yak ride near the lake. Quite understandably, my yak was not in a very good mood as my weight must have been close to his!!!

You can spend another day at Gangtok to pick some souvenirs from the market but you will get bored if you spend anything more than three days over there. But ya, if I would have got a bike, I could have spent a month over there!!!

Please note that Gangtok remains very cold in December and January. A few small pegs (huhahahaha) of vodka really helps. Needless to say that the more the better!!!