May 8 | Met ‘Luckhpa’ the smartest and coolest driver one could have for a journey like this

Being a weekend, it was not just the tourists who were getting out of Gangtok, but the locals as well, hence it was a little fight for our friendly travel agent to find a cab for us, though later we found out the cab he assigned to us was his own, so don’t know what the fuss was about. Anyway, the permits also took sometime, so we were asked to report at Vajra Stand only at about 10:30AM. So after another good breakfast at Baker’s Cafe, we reached the stand in time only to end up waiting another hour for all to be fixed and packed and the departure.

Here we meet Luckhpa, our friendly driver cum guide on all matters of Sikkim, Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal and the cultures of each of these places. We would guess he is about 27-29yrs old but with the wisdom and experiences to share of someone who’s over 40yrs. In the start he had realized that we were already late, but he needed to get his tyres checked, he rerequested and added, “don’t worry, i know we are late, but i’ll make sure we cover everything you want to watch” his confidence was striking and we almost knew that he would either be an asset showing us around or a talkative burden we’ll have to live with.

Along the way, Luckhpa had stories about most of the places and solutions to any of our problems, be it the need of an ATM or a quench for thirst, he would almost instantly fix the problem. He told us about various landslides that had happened on the way and how things were different on the road when he was at the same place the last time. On the way he gave us short notes about each of sights that had anything worth watching. He even told us about all the formalities that go into getting a permit and how far we could go on our bike without the permit. All this information was good, but Sushant seemed to be bored with all the waterfalls and overwhelmed crowds around these falls, so he asked Luckhpa to take us someplace that had fewer people but was a good scene to see. The solution had already popped in Luckhpa’s head and he knew where he would take us as a offering to our request. We continued on the roads watching the various waterfalls, one of them was the ‘Seven Sisters’, these are basically a single stream falling off a high cliff but falling on flat beds and falling over again seven times, which means there should’ve been seven falls in a single line, though we could spot only four, but still it was a good stop. Even in between, we kept stopping and sometimes just passing places that the others stopped at. Finally, just as we were reaching ‘Chamthung’, Luckhpa stopped to show us the construction of the dam across the River Teesta and the scale of the constructions was mind blowing. We can see why people didn’t generally stop here because to them this was hardly a scenary, but we, he realized would appreciate the scale. Its here he told us a lot about the original Sikkimese being the Denzongpas and the Bhutias, all others had either migrated or were offshoots of others who had migrated earlier.

The last 10kms Chamthung were probably the worst stretch in the entire journey. But once we crossed Chumthang, the drive was amazing and would be an even better ride. Again on the way, we came across more falls, a few discovered and a few others that were still virgin. All along the route we were moving along the river Teesta and other rivulets that eventually join the Teesta. When one would peep in the valley looking at the stream of water, it would look like a small stream of water surrounded by mammoth giant mountains covered in very thick garbs of trees, to which Sushant commented “This would be how Cambodia would look” and it reminded him of the movie Tropical Thunder where the choppers move along the valley. On the way we had stopped to flash our permits, where Luckhpa suggested we stock up on refreshments and water because all the things are twice as expensive at Lachung.

We reached Lachung around 7:30PM, the rooms were the kinds that we did not want to stay in when we reached Gangtok, but then it was just a night here and we did not want to make any fuss about it. When we had gone to the travel agent to book ourselves for Lachung, we wanted just the vehicle, and he said that we would not get rooms because all are always assigned to one travel agent or the other, so we should go for the entire package, but a mistake we made was that we did not go to the bigger agents, they probably would’ve been able to put us up at better places and just to find if there are any better places we ventured out and came across a Mayfair Hotels’ property. The place was lavish and looked expremely cozy from the outside so we went in to check on the tariffs and also spend sometime at the restaurant. To our surprise, the rooms were all full and they explained to us that because of the hotle being full they will not be able to servve us at the restaurant and that we look for another place, it was surprising how a hotel could refuse guests to the restaurants instead of suggesting a waiting period, but anyway, guess we understood and would not blam them.

Just taking a walk on the main street, we came across a small hole in the wall run by a man who was over 60yrs old. He seemed to be retailing the general store stuff and also alcohol, but we did not need the bottle, we just needed a drink or two, so we asked if he would serve us a drink outside and also organize two chairs to sit. He obliged and trust me it was a beautiful evening to sit out and sip on an Old Monk in the chill of the evening. Not in the first drink that he served but in the second, we realized, each of his large was basically a double of a large, a Patiala Peg! We were happy very soon and started to feel extremely hungry so requested for something to eat and were served Omlette. We requested the owner of the shop to sit and have a drink with us and he said that he would just stand behind the counter with his Chang (the local alcohol made from fermented millet seeds) but he told us a lot about how earlier he was into farming, but a lot of his land was taken over by the army to set their base here, it was difficult to judge if all he said was right so we did not want to take sides or form opinions. By now, we had completed our second drink and were joined by an officer from the Sikkim Police who had earlier served in the Army and the ITBP (Indo Tibetean Border Police) he was part of the contingent that came with some minister and part of the contingent was also the PSO and a few other officers. We had a general and entertaining chat about why our first guest left the army and eventually joined the police and what he intends to do once retired. It was a good and entertaining evening with the locals. But in the whole session, we forgot to eat enough food and drink lots of water and this would eventually catch up with us on our way to Yamthung tomorrow.

Morals: Local cab drivers very often have great stories to tell, so always befriend them and find out more about the place. No need to rush and reach Lachung, there’s nothing there, its a place to just go and crash, so rather soak in the scenary and other places on the way. Visit bigger travel agents if you are fussy about the room that you have to stay in, the ones provided are not extremely comfortable. If you find a place where you want to have a drink or spend sometime, ask the owner of the place, do not hesitate, the locals will most often oblige, even welcome you into their homes to make you comfortable.

May 7 | If groomed well, Yaks can look really elegant and cool

A visit to almost any part on the North of Sikkim needs a permit provided by the Tourisim office at Gangtok and since we wanted to head to Tsomgo in the afternoon, we headed to the tourism office early morning just to realize that the office opens at about 9AM. We then just peeped into the travel agent’s to see if anything can be done, and as all travel agents there are, this one too was enterprising and said, he’ll make it happen but leaving in the afternoon is not an option, we’ll have to leave by latest 10:30 and we agreed.

After a good breakfast at ‘Baker’s Cafe’, we headed to Vajra Stand at Gangtok which is where we had to meet our friendly travel agent who will put us onto the vehicle that will take us to Tsomgo. There are basically two options, either you take the sharing system, with which they charge a very reasonable INR250/300 per person, but they pack 10pax in a single Sumo/Maxx. We decided to make this comfortable so hired the vehicle to ourselves and the two of us paid an amount that they would make off 10pax, we did not regret the decision. We were given a nice clean, new Sumo Victa and the driver who called himself Kailash.

The drive to Tsomgo is everything other than not bumpy and safe. A distance of about 38kms takes more than 3hrs to cover. There’ve been multiple landslides int he past and the BRO is working hard on mending them and at the same time they are also widening the roads. So most of the journey feels like roller coaster ride in the mountains. But most of this discomfort is compensated with what you see a few feet away outside your window. The valley is beautiful and full of greens with roads tucked in between the foilage somewhere. The air in general is cold but not freezing, so it was pleasant but the smoke bellowed by the hundreds of tourist vehicles bothers. The attempt there is to connect the Gangtok ropeway to Tsomgo, that’ll make the journey much more comfortable and quicker as well. But come to think of it, i’m not sure if the place will remain as beautiful as it has remained even after the gross invation by over thirty-five chai and noodle stalls. A comfortable ride to this place means a lot more people, which means even more stalls, which means more of the scenic space taken over by even more stalls selling chai in plastic cups that’ll eventually land up in the lake killing the beauty and serenity of the place. Then is it still a good idea to make the ropeway? I would think it may be a bad investment, because without the serinity of the place, the lake has nothing else that is spectacular and once the hoards of people and stalls have killed the place, people would not want to travel there anymore and hence the investment by the government in the ropeway may be a dead investment!

Irrespective of what the future holds, we had a beautiful day to Tomgo, 4040mtrs above sea level. One can either walk the cobbled stoned path along a part of the lake or mount oneself on the giant decorated goog-looking Yaks who will take you to pretty much any part of the lake for a price. The two of us trekked much higher up into one of the surrounding mountains, high enough to have a nicer view of the lake. The ide was to go all the way to the top to see the valley on the other side, but mist started coming in which meant neither will we be able to see anything on the other side nor will we be able to see path back down clearly. On the desent down, we met the guard who was getting the people to leave because if the mist came in too heavy, the roads will become even more difficult to negotiate. It had been drizzling for sometime, but now it started pelting, which was the other reason to drive the tourists down the mountains beacuse roads get even further roggered with heavy rains.
Kailash our driver was to meet us at a specified stall, which we later got to know is run by his cousin, so while he’s waiting for his guests, he helps out with some work at the stall, so when we got there, we got a kind of special treatment. When we went there for chai and momos, Kailash sneaked us into an inside room, which had a fireplace in the centre area covered with tin and a chimney taking the smoke out of the room. The room was super cozy and the table was nice and hot. Sushant’s tees were soaked so he got it out and laid it on the table and it pretty much dried in sometime. After a quick chai, Kailash asked us to rush out because the rain seemed to get from bad to worse and that would not be good news for the roads downhill. Just as we were leaving the lake parking area, it started snowing while it was raining. We could see that it was not hail but snow and the worse part was that because the snow came down with the rain, we could not really feel the snow, but only see it crashing against the windshield.

On thedrive back we agreed that in the extra day that we have, we should make a trip to Lachung, its a beautiful little place tucked in North Sikkim. In the evening, we stepped out to find out the details and again landed up as another friendly travel agent who booked us a cab to Lachung, Yumthang and Zero Point along with accomodation and food as a complete package. Apparently, all agents there prefer people taking packages for obvious reasons.

Morals: If possible, plan a trip after checking if the Nathu-la pass is open for public because it’s not just the pass that one misses if the road is shut but also the ‘Baba Mandir’ and a beautiful lake close by. Unless you are really low on budget, take the cab all by yourself, its important to have a comfortable drive on these roads and space becomes crucial. Carry rain sheeters, it rains pretty much anytime of the year. If you see mist setting in and the rain persisting for long, please head back, the roads are not safe when wet and low visibility. There are patches of snow at places and if you want to play with it, it may be a good idea to carry water-proof gloves along.

May 6 | Would rate today as the worse day of my trip

We had a great stay here at the Red Palace, Yuksom and now was the time to head out for Gangtok. In the morning after a decent breakfast, we wanted to check out. Since we stayed here two nights and ate all our meals here, our bill ran into a few thousands and we realized that we were not carrying as much cash. But than considering this is one of the best hotel in Yuksom and also it looked it, we felt they would accept cash. And that’s when they told us that they dont and nor are there any ATMs in Yuksom nor are there any other establishments in Yuksom that could convert plastic to money.

To be frank, it was embarrassing to an extent and more so for me because just a day or two before we came to Yuksom, Sushant had told me its better to carry more cash when on trips like these rather than visiting ATMs regularly. I’ve always avoided carrying too much cash in the wallet because i’m not too good had holding one wallet or phone for a long time but this time it worked badly for me. Eventually we spoke to the owner of the place Ms Daichen Wangchuk Bhutia who was very cordial about the whole mess and provided the solution. We had to ask someone to deposit cash into the hotel’s account. Once done, we left but it was a somber start for the next destination, Gangtok.

On the way, we were further convinced that Sikkim is one of the more beautiful states in the North-East. The terrace farms, the umpteen suspension bridges along the rivers, the dense forrests on each of the mountains and most importantly the people. All put together the state made for a great road trip, the roads are mostly driver friendly and what you see around only makes the drive/ride so much easier. Most of Sikkim is at a height, so the weather overall is pleasant, again another reason to take off on the road anytime of the year. But do look at the seasonality of the places you are visiting before taking off.

The month of May being a peak holiday season, making a hotel booking in advance is a sensible thing to do, but since we were not sure about the dates of our travel, we did not. The manager at our previous hotel ‘The Red Palace’was helpful, he connected us to someone who could get us a room. Once we reached, we did contact him but the tariff at this stage seemed steep, so we went looking around. We went to many properties, a few nice a few decent and a few bad, and unfortunately, only the bad ones seemed to have a room available, so eventually decided to take the first contact but after we saw the room, we just had a feeling that we should try a little more and that’s when we came across ‘Sonam Delek’ on Tibet Road, i would strongly recommend the deluxe rooms here, they are reasonable on tariff, have a clean hotel, a spacious neat room with a balcony and a nice view of the sunset. We settled in and called a few friends to find out the best way to spend the evening and the two places that came up were ‘Live and Loud’ on Tibet Road and ‘Little Italy’ at Deorali. Since the prior was closer, we went there first but the band who was scheduled to play that eve, cancelled last minute, so we headed to Little Italy. Its a sweet place, where one could feel like in Goa while in Gangtok because of the decor and the ambience in general. Reasonably priced, the place serves decent food with live music, would recommend anyone in Gangtok to visit there once. But one caveat, if you are staying anyplace other than Deorali (which is a suburb of Gangtok and where Little Italy is) than either make sure to leave the restaurant before 9PM or else book a cab to take you to your hotel later. I would not recommend the first option because 9PM is when the band would’ve finished warming up and will now play the real stuff and for the second option, bargain with the cabs.

A bad start but a good end to the day. Tomorrow we had assigned to some looking around the city and probably visit Tsomgo in the afternoon. The Nathu-la pass is shut because of land-slides and reconstruction of roads hence its just the lake that we are visiting.

Morals: ALWAYS cary extra and enough cash while you are biking around, if necessary stash it in different places in the bag, but make sure you have cash, especially while visiting smaller places. If travelling is peak season, try to make prior hotel bookings in major cities/towns you are visiting. Always find locals to tell you the best place to spend for evenings and if you are a music person, look for the place that has live performances, it’s always interesting to watch local talent. Almost anyplace except Delhi and B’bay i realized shuts shop early and a few places even very early, so if you are headed to someplace that’s not walking distance from your place of stay, make sure to book a cab in advance (Can’t be riding after the drinks!).

May 5 | I wished everyday was like today

We were craving for clear skies and that’s just what the weather had to offer after a heave downpour yesterday. The plan was to look around Yuksom and experience the places and the weather. Our guide and also the manager at the hotel suggested a small lake called ‘Kathok’ also just close to that is also the ‘Coronation Throne of Norbugang’ where the three Lamas met in 1641.

Yuksom which means the meeting place of the lamas was the first capital of Sikkim but it has nothing that can qualify to be even a tier two town now. The roads leading to the Red Palace can be really tough on the tyres so we wanted to avoid the bike ride on them often, so we just took off on a walk after breakfast.

Our first stop was the Kathok Lake, well, when we first saw, it didn’t look like anything great but we decided to generally hang around and then it started to rain and then it just got more and more beautiful. Make sure to spend time chilling here, it’s superbly peacful under those trees looking at the lake. From there a stone’s throw distance is the Coronation Throne, again nothing great to look at but has a great historical relevance.
Another place to visit is the Monastry, but that requires one to hike and frankly both of us were in no mood to exert so we decided to take it easy for now, get lunch done and then decide about the trek or plans for the afternoon and eve. We called for a few beers and followed that with lunch and but obvious, we were all lazy, but then the weather gave us the sign that today is the time to chill at the hotel just sipping on some alcohol and looking into the oblivion. The skies were scary black but a sight to look at, just sitting there i was thinking “What a day and way to spend the day, i would love to do this more often” The eve went past just relaxing and looking at the skies while the skies threw dark clouds and rainbows at us. We crashed early today because we will have a long ride tomorrow heading to Gangtok.

Morals: Have chill days like this planned in every trip, it completely rejeuvenates you for the next round of the trip. While chill days are important, we missed a good trek, make sure you take the trek to the monastry, or the place where the Goechala trek begins, both the places are beautiful and not to be missed.

May 4 | The colors here are striking.

The window in our room at the Phamrong over looked the Kanchenzonga, well that’s what was told to us when we checked-in, but this morning, we witnessed it. The elusive Kanchenzonga showed up once more but again, in parts, covered in mist and extremely difficult to identify one peak from the other. I clicked and clicked trying to get a good shot, but the mist really killed what the camera could see from what i could see with the naked eye.

For breakfast we went to ‘Kabur’, the same place we went for dinner last night. Last night’s meal did not convince us enough to blindly go with the local cusine and instead we had continental, but after the experience, we would recommend you just go with the local sandwiches and noodle soups. The first half of the day was assigned to places around Pelling, not many but a few that come well recommended by travel guides and locals alike.

We first went to the ‘Pemayangtse Monastery’; it’s the bigger of the two monasteries at Pelling. There are three floors that are open to the people, the first and second are predominantly ancient paintings on the wall, idols of ‘Manifestations of Lord Padmasambhawa’ locked in class cabins and hundreds of scriptures wrapped in silk and sandwiched between wooden planks, but the third floor has something more majestic; it’s a 15-20ft tall structure full of intricate carving which enumerates the learning and life of the Gods. One could spend a lot of time just staring into the structure and discovering interesting details. Just another 10mins ride downhill and we reached the ‘Ruins of Rabdentse’; the erstwhile capital of Sikkim has been declared a site of national heritage and maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. A hike of about 500mtrs along cobble-stoned paths leads to the ruins which have been immaculately maintained.

After checking-out of the hotel, an hour long ride intermittently interrupted by potholes brought us to the ‘Khecheopalri Lake’ (1800mtrs above sea-level), held sacred by the people of Sikkim as the wish-fulfilment lake it is surrounded by trees and mountains on all sides. It’s not just the lake, but there’s an option of a 2.5hr hike up the mountains that leads to Duphuk Caves (2400mtrs above sea-level), we could not do this due to paucity of time, instead we just paid our visit to the lake and wished for a safe trip. Among the ones who visit the lake are not just tourists but birds as well who move within the mountains and the lake. Also, the place is full of locals who are anytime willing to talk about the lake and other topics like which one of the two has better muscles. After this we were on our way to Yuksom. Again, the roads were beautiful, packed with greens with sights of roads and mountains on the other side of the valley and rivulets flowing at every major bend, but with a few roadblocks and bumps on the way. While on the way, one of our pit-stop was the ‘Kanchenzonga Waterfall’, i still wonder why it’s called that, but it has its little settlement of people hawking chai and nick-knacks. Yuksom was just another 9kms away, so we took it easy here. A 2min hike up the stairs and you see the water gushing from about 50feet and falling into a small pond. Suzy and i picked droplets just falling off the edge and followed it till it entered the pond, it kept us busy for a while.

The final ride to Yuksom was watered down with heavy showers and it continued like that for the rest of the evening and part of the night that i was awake. We checked ourselves into this new property called ‘Phodrang Marpoo’ also called as the ‘Red Palace’, just 7months old, it is set on the outskirts of Yuksom but the quality of rooms and serenity of the place worked in its favour and we did not think twice. Once in, we experienced the best service till now. Once the bell-boy (Karma) carried our bags in, he even undid the covers and used them to wrap the bike safe because it rains heavy here, we were impressed. The property is owned and run by Danny Danzonpa’s elder Sister-in-law and they even pointed the house in which young Danny spent his early years. The walk/ride up to the hotel comes through some dense growth, hence it is recommended to keep checking yourself for any leech or other insects, just a precaution.

The colors that one watches along the journey; be it the Monasteries, the flora and fauna, the lake, the people or even just the ride is beautiful and one to watch out for. The Monasteries will show you the most jhatang reds and yellows, the ride and lake soothes the eyes with the greens and the flowers, especially the orchids come in the most brilliant shared of pinks, whites and reds. Sikkim till now is feeling like a color pallete where we have lot more to discover by mixing and matching the shades from each of the above.


Dinner was a basic meal but before that, we were served ‘Seychang’, it’s the local brew made from Millet Seeds and served in a big flask with a bamboo straw jutting out draw the brew into the mouth. It’s a warm liquid that draws its flavour from the seeds that have been earlier soaked and dried in jute bags next near a fire. It’s an acquired taste hence not all will relish it, but definitely worth a try.

Morals: Pelling and Yuksom are very small towns, don’t expect much variety in places to stay or the food. Khecheopalri Lake is quite a distance away from Pelling town, keep enough time to spend there, the trek to the cave could be an interesting experience. Try the Seychang, if you can handle warm alcohol, you will love it. Beware of leech and other insects while walking around.

May 3 | We experienced the fastest decent from an altitude

Darjeeling had been a great experience, the food at Kaventers, the music at Gllenary’s, our first view of the Kanchenzonga and a lot more but now was the time to head out. Our next stop would be Pelling, which means we will be crossing state border today, from West Bengal to Sikkim. Our guide suggested a route that went back to Ghoom and take a detour from there to reach Teesta Bridge, then Jorethang, Legship and Pelling. We intended to take the route but generally asked at the Tourist Lodge receptions if there’s a quicker route and there were the many drivers who have spent years driving through these routes and they had an alternative, but the caveat was that while the route is much shorter, the ride will b tougher because the inclines are tough, but we were up for the challenge.

We lave from Darjeeling at about 8:30AM and decide to take the shorter route. This route basically cuts short the trip to Teesta and instead reaches Jorthang from a back route takeing a detour before Lebong. It started just as we were exiting Darjeeling, just near the North Point school, which is a beautiful school, we had to take the left that brought us down at lightening speed, even with breaks and the engine in the first gear, it was not easy and this continued for over an hour. The incline were mind blowing, each hair-pin bend brought us down about 20mtrs in altitude and this does not include the stretches of roads which were equally steep. But with the steering handle in the able hands of Sushant, we cleared this stretch safely.

On the way we passed many locals carrying the days pluck of tea leaves to the small ‘Mandis’ where they would offload and get their day’s wages. We are sure the work must’ve been extremely strenous because one could make that out from the build of the women, they almost looked like men. Further down the road, we came across the Rangeet River passing us and a little ride closer to the river was difficult to resist. Nothing great about the river, just a large stretch of deserted land with the river flowing and some activity happening at a distance. From here on, the cruise got more an more pleasant; we passed a small village where a lad was trying to practice playing the guitar, kids generally fooling around and the surrounding got more and more picturesque. Further down the road, we crossed the Rangeet to reach the Sikkim Border. While we did not get asked for it, but foreigners definitely have to register their pasport and visas here. Even Indians are asked where they are from and if the replies seem suspecious, papers could be demanded, but nothing like messing with the tourists aimlessly, these are the rules set by the Sikkimese govt because Sikkim shares it outer border with Nepal, Bhutan and China.

We just touched Jorethang and headed towards Legship, a beautiful ride i must admit, the lush greens in Sikkim were a different hue from most that we have seen on the ride in the past twenty days. Also, as soon as you cross over from WB to Sikkim, you will start noticing that the roads are better marked with milestones and directions, it helps and goest to show how a better managed BRO (Border Roads Organization) functions. There were few stretches where getting the bike across was tough, but those were negligible and were made up by the extremely friendly locals who never fell short of waving to us. It was sweet!

We had a grub at a restaurant called ‘Trishna’ at Legship and from there moved towards Pelling. Again a land of umpteen schools and beautiful campuses, you must keep looking out from the school buildings, it’ll make you wish you studied there. The stretch is covered with vegetation with people growing maize, potatoes and a few other crops. Being mountains, it’s beautiful to see the step farming in action, it makes the mountains look so organized. Sikkim is a land of monastries and on every stretch after regular intervals, we found these long flags hoisted on bamboo, not one but many in a row, these are to protect the people and the land from eveil forces from across worlds and borders.
Pelling is a small town that has recently started inviting tourists, so there are no big names there but smaller lodges. We looked at Kabur, Green Valley and Phamrong, while it was the steepest, it had the best view and clean rooms so we settled at Phamrong. Later in the night for dinner, we went for a walk around the town and found that 80% of the shops or buildings there are restaurants or hotels, which is the clear sign of a tourist city. The roads, except the main junction did not have lights and we had to use the phone flash to direct us, it would’ve been nice to have carried our torch. On the way there are a few other hotels we found like the ‘Residency’ and ‘Chumbit’ which looked decent but now it was too late. Eventually for dinner we came to ‘Kabur’ a quaint little place with a lot of local art displayed all over the restaurant. We tried some local food and ordered for ‘Thukpa’ and ‘Geythuk’ which are pretty much the same gravy but different type of hand made noodles. The portions were extremely large, ideally one between the two of us along with some momos would’ve done just fine.

Tomorrow the plan is to vist a few local places and then head for Yuksom.

Morals: Check the bike, brakes and tyres before taking the route to Jorethang from Darjeeling. There’s not much on the way, so carry grub and a bottle of tang, it helps in those times. Be cordial and willing to talk to the cops at the Sikkim border, they are not there to harrass but just doing their duty diligently. When moving around in Pelling and other small towns, always carry a torch along. Portions at Kabur are huge, order with caution.

May 2 | Thoughts on Steroids

It was the first time where we had the whole day in the same town, until now, either early morning or sometime later we would take off for our next destination, today felt relaxed. But even with a whole day in hand, we were feeling the paucity and were working hard to plan well enough to not miss anything important.

The plan was to head to Tiger Hills at 4AM or earlier (yes, if one has to lay their eyes on the sunrise, this is the time to leave) but we did not go because it was raining outside and the sky was heavily overcast, which meant we would never get to watch anything from the point. After staying tucked in for an additional few hours, we were now ready to gorge on some good food and scavenged through the place for a good breakfast. But before that we needed some bed tea and when the guy came to serve, he told us that the Kanchenzonga range is visible right now, we rushed out of the room into the lawns and laid our eyes for the first time on the elusive range. It’s difficult to describe it in words what it is to look at those mountains. While we could not see the entire range, we kept guessing which one of these is the Kanchenzonga and which are the others. It was a window of about 20mins after that the clouds pulled their curtains on the range leaving nothing more to watch from the hotel lawns. But while watching the range sitting there on morning tea, my thoughts went wandering about how it would be to be there, it was as if my thoughts were intoxicated and could not take a break.

Kaventers came highly recommended for cold cuts and English breakfast, so that’s where we headed. We had taken the bike along and faced some serious issues to find parking, but later when we went up to the cop, he asked us to park at a place where the board suggested, it was meant for Govt Officers and when we pointed that out to him, he asked “Do you want to park or no?” We sheepishly agreed.

Darjeeling is the hub of the Gorkhaland agitations and it’s very often that political rallies with a cavalcade of cars will pass through the narrow lanes of the city. These are normally boisterous young lads who are not there to harm the people in anyway, they are just asking for what they want but a little more loudly than most of us would have. If you do come across a rally, halt and let them pass. Even we came across a rally, though this was something more religious, but what was insane was the length, we did exactly as i told you should be done and ended up waiting and waiting and waiting!

Kaventers has slow service, may be because a few of the servers also cook the order, so be patient, they are generally a nice bunch, just a little overworked sometimes. They have a dish on the menu that has a little of all the meat; Sausage, Bacon, Salami, Pork served along with eggs done as per your choice. The meat in a single dish is enough for two, so order accordingly. Also, remember that they shut shop for breakfast by about 11:30AM, so get there early.
From here we headed to the HMI (Himalayan Mountaineering Institute) the complex houses a Zoo, 2 museums and the institute itself. It’s definitely worth a visit. I found the enclosures for the animals much better than what you find in all other Indian zoos, they were on the incline of the hill and no cage on top with decent area to move around. Though most of the animals seemed sluggish, am not sure why. The HMI area houses two museums; the HMI museum and the Everest museum. While have not been maintained as they should have been the Everest museum is more interesting. They also have a souvenir store, make sure you check what you buy; i got a compass that stopped working as soon as i got back to the hotel.

Tea Garden was what we were looking for now. We were looking for Rangli Tea Estates, but after a whole lot of finding and directions all over the place, we finally figured that it’s really far and may not be doable today, so instead we went to the ‘Happy Valley’ Tea Estate. It’s a little difficult to spot while you are in the vehicle, but ask a few people and you will figure your way. Since it was Sunday, the factory was closed, but the Gorkha was kind enough to show us around. Make the trip it’s interesting to know how the tea that you drink is actually processed.
Sushant had an interesting insight about the bad directions here, he figured that the town is full of mini towns; as in, after every 15mins you will find an area that will have its own shopping, eating, staying, sight-seeing areas, so when anyone asks for directions, it’s always “Aagey” but how much further is for you to find out.

By now we were pretty pooped and needed to little drink to unwind, so we headed to Glenary’s again for a drink and dinner. ‘The Buzz’ today seemed pretty dead, so we went to the restaurant had our little revitalizers and grub and headed back to the hotel.

The plan is to leave for Pelling tomorrow morning.

Morals: I’m not sure but maybe April onwards is a bad time because we have been encountering sever fog and cloud cover all the time, but keep a watchful eye, the Kanchenzonga ranges come out for a sneak peak, make sure you catch them in those moments. Incase of any rallies on the road, just give way, they are peaceful rallies. Plan your meals well, restaurant have clear timings and will not serve after a certain time whether its breakfast or dinner. If you are into trekking and mountaineering, do visit the HMI, but if that doesn’t you may want to skip this place, the zoo though is interesting.

May 1 | Even Monks can be extravagant

On a strong recommendation from our hosts, we went to catch the sunrise at 5AM at the Mirik helipad, yes, Mirik does have a helipad. What made it the morning worse was that the shower did not have hot water and i had a cold shower at Mirik, at 5AM! All over the east of India, the sunrise happens substantially early and since i am from the west, it amused me that it was bright outside even at 5AM.

The helipad was right next to the Model Hotel that we had gone to yesterday; actually it’s a huge clearing and tarred circular area on the peak of the hill. Once again, the sky was heavily clouded and we ended up seeing nothing at all after having been there for over an hour. But from what uncle told us, this is a beautiful view if the skies are clear. Returning back, we got some chai back at the lodge and headed for the ‘Bokar Ngedhon Choekhor Ling Institute’ which was essentially the monastery we had tried going to yesterday to get a place to stay. It’s a red building with golden roofs that make the building easy to identify from any distance. Inside it has the main prayer hall building that houses the body of the monk who first came to Mirik to establish this monastery. They open that room only on very auspicious days and today is not one. Apart from the main building there are classrooms and living quarters for the lamas, smaller temples, admin block and open areas. The main prayer hall is open for all to see and we witnessed the Morning Prayer with about sixty lamas sitting around on benches with a senior monk leading the prayers. Kids as young as four and five are enrolled here and can’t be blamed if they are not the most attentive lot i have known. Even here the back benchers are still the naughtiest. We also went to the living area, where the lamas lived a very simple life but the prayer hall was nothing less than opulent with intricate painting on walls, ceilings and pillars.

It was time to leave and this time to Darjeeling for sure without any more detours. We were hoping that the skies are clear and we can see all that we missed yesterday. In the start we passed by a few tea gardens, the biggest of them all was the Goodricke Gardens. On the way de decided to just take a stroll on in one of the gardens that did not have a fence. It was a good walk with greens around us.

Passing ‘Fatak’ we noticed many cabs around a particular junction, a little curiosity and decent eyes took us to the board that read ‘Photography Prohibited. Nepal Border’. For us it was just overwhelming to be at a border in such proximity. Curiosity and kiddish excitement made us get the bike and camera registered to enter Nepal. The only papers required are the vehicle RC papers and driving license, if you have these you are eligible to enter another country. But once we got ourselves registered at the India side, we were asked to go with a similar drill on the other side as well. These guys were more inquisitive about the bags, but we were in no mood to open them incase they ask us to, so we decided to retreat.

Another point on the way is where one can look across the Nepal border, but again, we could not see anything. But another interesting incident happened here; we met two other bikers, another Delhi-B’bay duo. One of the guys, Donny works with MTV and we even figured that we had a common friend. The world felt like such a small place and makes the ‘seven degrees of separation’ so much more believable. Donny was headed to Bhutan after a few other stops and promised to let us know the details, i’m sure we will catch up once back in B’bay.

Sukhia onwards the air was again fogged and we could not see anything beyond 10-15mtrs. A careful ride and we were at Ghoom from where it’s just 8kms to Darjeeling. Being the weekend, it was even more crowded and entering Darjeeling felt like entering a city except that the roads were all inclines. The traffic’s quite a mess and one needs to be patient because the roads a not wide enough to allow overtaking. It was about 4PM; we looked for the Tourist Lodge and parked ourselves here before heading out to grab a bite. Our guide book suggested a few places and we landed at ‘Glenary’s’ which is very close to Chowrasta. The place had three layers; the first floor was the restaurant, ground was the bakery and we could hear some good music coming from the basement which was the pub called ‘The Buzz’. The pub with its window opening into the Mall Road and decent interiors was a hangout for the local musicians, there was no single band playing but people from the crowd would come up to play. It was a good evening.

For dinner we had booked ourselves at the ‘Windamere Hotel’. It had a common dining hall with a fixed menu. It was a beautiful setup with candle lit tables and extremely formal looking service, but we felt out of place, we were looking for a beer place with good food, but this was more like the place that one may want to come with his girlfriend. So we went scavenging the city and landed at Dekevas where we had steaming thukpas (noodle soup) which was mind blowing. After which we retreated back to our room and crashed.

Morals: There will always be places to visit and sometime they would be best only with a clear sky, but just because its overcast don’t miss the place because you don’t when the sky clears or you find something else that is as interesting. Randomly go for a walk in any tea garden, it’s a little hot but worth it. Always carry personal identification and vehicle papers at all times, keep them handy. North-east has a great talent in music; always make it a point to visit the local pubs to catch the action. Most small towns shut by 8:30PM and so does Darjeeling, so plan well to make sure you have a meal for yourself.

April 30 | Met the sweetest Lodge Hosts ever!

The plan was to head to Darjeeling and since that was not too far, we thought; why not rest till a little late this morning. We got up at an easy 8PM, and after some decent English breakfast at the Tourist Lodge restaurant, we took off for Darjeeling. Since a friend from B’bay, Shyamal Sinha who has done this route in the past told us to visit Mirik; we thought we’ll go there on the way and then head to Darjeeling.

We started the journey anticipating about a 35-37kms ride today because that’s how much Darjeeling is from Kurseong, but the road had something else in mind for us. When we reached the junction at ‘Ghoom’ which is 8kms from Darjeeling, the signboard suggested ‘Mirik’ as 35kms from Ghoom! We were now confused whether to visit Mirik at all, so we asked around about what’s there to watch at Mirik and everyone seemed to suggest a beautiful lake, so we decided to go there and drive back incase the city is boring.

But guess, the weather gods were not favouring us today as well and threw in heavy fog on the way, this substantially slowed us down. Instead of an average of 30-35kmph, we went down to less than 10kmph on this stretch. The fog was dense enough to afford only about 5-7mtrs of visibility add to that the roads were potholed and narrow and there was heavy traffic on the opposite side. Since it was not very cold at Kurseong, we had worn light warms but after Ghoom, the nip grew and so did the pelting, we were both cold so even with the hardship of having to open all the plastic covers of the bag and repack, we stopped at a little shelter by the road to get a few more warms and also put the camera in a more safe place. Shelters like this can be found across the route at regular intervals.

On the stretch there are two important villages; Sukhia and Fatak where you will find some people and food if necessary. We stopped at Sukhia which is about 10kms from Ghoom and had hot chai and steaming momos served with soup at this hole-n-the-wall called Emmanuel. Someone told us that fog will recede after Sukhia, but that did not really happen so we continued inching towards Mirik, by now our expectations from Mirik were mounting. After Fatak though, after losing some altitude, we could see much more clearly. The stretch from there is quite full of Tea Gardens with lush green shoots ready to be picked. We did not really stop because we felt that else it would get dark and we’ll not be able to enjoy the view at the Lake.

But after reaching Mirik’s famed lake, we were grossly disappointed, so much so that we didn’t even get off the bike to walk around it. Also by now it was already late and going back to Darjeeling was not a possibility because with the road like the one we came from riding in the night would be dangerous. Since our experience at the Tourist Lodge was good at Kurseong, we looked for one here as well but unfortunately they were all booked for a conference. The guy there suggest another Govt Tourism property called Model Hotel which he pointed out to us and it looked just the kind of place we were looking for, one with a good view. But there was no water supply in this property so even they left us still looking. But before that, let me tell you that this Model Hotel if functional is a good place to stay. We went down to a few more hotels and checked out the rates and rooms, we eventually had one place where we could stay.

Riding through the city, we had noticed a huge monastery over the hill and casually thought to ourselves that it would be quite an experience to stay in a monastery for a night and this made us go and check at the monastery if they’d let us stay there. It was our NEGA (for those who don’t understand this, it is a Negotiations Course at the ISB) at its peak; Sushant would keep pushing the monk to check and get back even when the monk said they don’t allow, but unfortunately they refused so we decided to come back to the hotel where we had already identified a room. Don’t know what really struck Mirik, but suddenly all the properties were full, we were just not finding rooms. Eventually we came to this lodge called ‘Buddha Lodge’ run by an old couple Mr and Mrs S. K. Tamang. When i asked for rooms while Suzy was waiting outside; before anything else, aunty asked me who will be staying with me, male or female and when i said male she was perplexed and looked like she wanted to ask if we were going to do anything wrong. That’s when i got it and told her a little about us and re-assured her about our characters. From there on, she was a sweetheart. Even uncle when he came out he was super nice and helped us with a lot of stuff and made a personal recommendation of the room we should select, i went with his recommendation.

Just as were about to leave for dinner, the lights in the town went-off and uncle said that this does happen often. The recommended restaurant didn’t seem too appealing because we were looking at a drink to go with the food but could not really say that to the couple. So we went on the lookout and decided to go with ‘Jagjit' is one of the only decent restaurants there, the food was decent and not extravagant.

Getting back home, we just showered and crashed.

Morals: When in these areas, never assume anything about the weather, it can change in matter of minutes hence don’t pack your warms while leaving for journey. Always check your lights before the journey, in times of fog, lights work efficiently to warn the ongoing traffic of your being in front. Small places on the road can sometimes serve great food and also provide a breather, so keep experimenting on the way. If you have found a room but need some time to check a few other properties, make sure you request the hotel to hold the rooms for you while you get back.

April 28 | I wish i was a better writer.

The plan was to leave early morning and reach our next destination, Siliguri by late afternoon and figure our way ahead from there. But unfortunately, it was pouring at 5AM when we planned to leave, so we had to hold on. With some decent breakfast, we took off at about 10AM.

Our map suggested that Siliguri was 65kms, but when we started the journey, the milestone reflected 172kms! We kept going on. Since it had rained the same morning, the weather even on the way seemed damp and clouded, but as boring as it may sound, it turned out beautiful. We were following the NH31 which passed through thick jungles on both sides and peppered with many nature parks, we took a short detour to one of these. The South Khaibari Nature Park’s entrance was 2kms off the main road that we were travelling on but the road was beautiful. We planned to reach the gate, look around and then take off, but on the way it started getting too dark and conspicuous so we just turned around after about a km.

I’m not a writer but had i been one, i would’ve been able to explain what we were getting to see on our ride. These were lush green forests on both sides, sometimes with a drizzle or a pour from the sky and pleasant, clean breeze flowing into our faces. There were times when it looked like bodo militants sporting guns will just pop out of the jungle, but then off course none did. Being on the bike with large bags and heavy gear, we got a lotta stares, it was difficult to make out if they were friendly or otherwise, but if i have to go by my belief, all people are good unless they prove themselves otherwise, so i did wave at a few and sometime was returned with a smile or a perplexed expression.

Being the second day of the ride, it was a little more stressful to ride, but the weather really made up for all the stress. What added to the stress were the roads, initially the stretch from Alipurdwar to Siliguri was quite bad, and the later stretch though was awesome. At many moments, the roads were good enough to cruise at 100kmph, which was almost impossible earlier.

Entering Siliguri, we encountered some traffic because road was being constructed, but this should be done soon. Once in, we had to look for a good lunch and the place to sit and decide if we are taking off further or sacking here at Siliguri. After a few suggestions from friends, we decided to leave for Kurseong, this is a place half way from Siliguri to Darjeeling which is about 35kms.

Just as we started our ride over the mountains, we saw the last toy-train for the day coming back from Darjeeling to Siliguri. As you would know, this has been declared a world heritage site and while just looking at it is not much of a pleasure, sitting in one would sure be fun. The ride here on was uphill, which meant, it’ll be Suzy riding all the way from here. We started the ride at about 5PM, expecting to reach by 6:30PM. But the roads weren’t kind, we were doing an average of about 15-20kmph! Potholes and construction all over the place does pull one back.
Since in the east, we expected the sun to set by about 5:30PM, but luckily it stayed fairly lit till about 6:30PM. It would’ve been a good idea to take off a little earlier and complete more of the journey in light because the sites on the way are brilliant and not to be missed. There are ample of photo-opportunities and quaint little tea stalls on the way that one would like to make a stop-over at. The entire stretch is full of small villages along the way, but just at the beginning and the end of many villages, there are sweeter and less commercial places, which would be our recommendation for chai breaks.

After dark, it did tend to become a little more difficult to ride and this was accentuated by the innumerable trucks and cabs along the way. But if you ask Suzy, he loved the ride, it was quite an experience for him to ride in this terrain.

Kurseong is a town full of schools, apparently hundreds if you have to believe the locals so by the time we reached, it was quite dead. While looking for a hotel, we came across the Tourist Lodge and all about it just worked for us. It wasn’t outrageously priced, it had a balcony outside the room that looked over the valley and it had a decent covered parking area for the bike.

The day was long and tiring and nothing could’ve been better than a good dinner along with a few drinks. The bar at the lodge was this nice (almost) sauna looking room with walls of wood. They shut shop by 8:30PM, so we had to make our orders asap. While just sipping our first drink, a certain Mr Thapa came by to talk. He seemed happy high and claimed that he was an officer with the RAW, while we never bothered to speak any further about that, we did have a great evening with Mr Thapa. He was well travelled and knew a lot about both B’bay and Delhi.
This is when we crashed for a good night’s sleep.

Morals: Take as many break on your way to Siliguri, its beautiful. Rains cannot be predicted, so keep the bags well guarded. Have rain-sheeters and other small covers to waterproof your small belongings. When leaving from Siliguri, leave early to catch the evening skies on the way up. Tourist Lodge at Kurseong is a nice place to stay with friendly set of people to take care of you.

April 27 | We almost went to Bhutan!

The plan was to cover 170kms to camp at Bongaigaon tonight. We started at 5:45AM after a good cup of chai and directions from the manager. We reached Jalukbari, which is a prominent junction; we had to take the route towards the Bhramaputra.

I think it was in my mind, but the sheer thought that we have left on our bike-trip, everything around was looking more beautiful; the trees, the rocks, small water bodies and even the people. At such time, it was pointless to keep tuck the camera into the bag, so instead i got it out and kept it inside my jacket. This way i had the camera everytime i thought something looked beautiful. When we reached the Bhramaputra, they told us we could not click the bridge across the river, am guessing it is to protect these mega structures from attacks, so we respected the prohibition.

On the way, we kept asking people for directions, and all directed in one direction, so we continued without bothering much about looking into the map and comparing town names we are crossing. At one stage when we asked, they told us all the towns we were mentioning are on a different route. To be honest, this did cause some panic but the locals directed us to our ultimate destination. It is because of this, i mentioned earlier, do not depend on Google Maps, and buy a complete road map. We experienced at multiple instances that were seemingly crossing cities on both routes which is physically impossible. Either the maps had to be wrong or we getting the city names wrong, the latter seems a little difficult considering we are at the place asking people the name of the place where they have their livelihood.

We were assuming our average speed will be around 50kmph, but after the first 3hrs were realized that we were doing only about 30kmph. What happens is that because of the direction asking halts and bad roads, one tends to lose substantial time which we had underestimated.
The NH31 as a road is quite a mess right now, most of the stretch we covered was under construction and we had to keep taking diversions and dealing with pot-holes, it was quite a pain. By 9AM, we had covered about half the distance and decided to take a breakfast break. Our first pit stop was a small dhaba at Chandra Nagar, Pathsala that served us some omelette, paratha and chai, it was a decent meal. To wash up, we had the hand-pump to go to; initially i could not understand how to get water for myself, if i pump, water will flow while i’m not there, but then the guy from inside came to help me out. There were many locals around and a few among them were women, it almost looked like they had come to a loud party; women while at work were wearing jarring red lipsticks, it was quite a sight.

Enroute, we saw many cars and busses with Bhutanese number plates. Initially we thought it must be a one-off but later realized there regular transport services operating between the two places. This made us wonder if we can get into Bhutan from this route; it would be a detour, but a very interesting one. Reaching Bongaigaon, we immediately logged on to find out some details. We found the number of someone who operates bike tours in the north-east; he gave us a clearer picture. The route from Bongaigaon is a purely trade route. The entry from this side does not require papers but is restricted only to a certain market, if one wants to enter Bhutan; the entry is from places closer to Siliguri. So we dropped the plan, we were almost certain to go had this been a free entry point. We were only 30kms from the Bhutanese border!

Now is when the enthusiasm of the first day kicked in is. We asked a few people about things to do around Bongaigaon only to be disappointed decided to instead save a day of travelling and cover our second destination today itself. Alipurdwar was about 137kms on the NH31C, it seemed extremely doable and we were back on the road after lunch. Even this stretch was pretty messed up; diversions after diversions kept pulling our speed down which made the destination seem farther.

On the way, at about 4PM chai time, we stopped at a small village on the highway. Many truckies take a break here and so did we. After having our chai when i paid up, i was surprised to see the guy returning the change in Bhutanese currency! He told us in many parts of the North-East, Bhutanese currency works just like ours. One Bhutanese Ngultrum is same as one Indian Rupee. I gladly accepted and when he saw me take it with excitement, he got out the fresher notes of different denomination. The bunch there was super cool; when they realized we are riding for a long time and that the bike is from B’bay. Out of extreme curiosity, they asked us many questions about our trip, where all we’re headed and how’s the city like etc. We spent a good half hour generally chatting and finally took a picture with the locals and the bike.

The NH31C is almost like a straight line with an East-West orientation and were headed westwards; this made it look like we were heading straight into the sunset which was a beautiful sight. We tried clicking pictures but the asphalt on the road and the pollution made things extremely hazy. To avoid traffic and bad roads, we kept taking the half finished roads that had not been opened for traffic as yet, and till most time it did us good until once when we had a near fall. On one such stretch while i was riding the road abruptly ended. Unlike all other roads there was no soft slope of rubble at the end of the concrete block. But thanks to some insane luck, just at the part where our bike was going off the concrete, there were a few sack of rubble lying, this eased our decent from the concrete. A feet or two on either side and we would’ve had a broken fork and a bad fall to bring an abrupt end to the trip.

Alipurdwar town is much farther ahead from the Alipurdwar check-post and there is a prominent junction from where we took a left to reach the town. The drive was beautiful with tree cover on both sides of the road and traffic similar to the ones experienced in Goa. We checked into a place called Hotel Elite where we stayed in the suite! It was the cleanest option and not too expensive, Rs 1K for a night.

At the hotel, the kid who put our bags into our room was the typical super smart ambitious kids from smaller towns, just like ‘Centimeter’ in the movie 3 Idiots. With a name like Uttambrahama, he hardly looked like a boy doing odd jobs. He had ready replies to anything we asked and was extremely resourceful with whatever we needed. He earned himself a healthy tip :)

Tomorrow we leave from Siliguri in the morning.

Morals: Don’t depend on Google Maps, they can be a little wopped, its best to buy a detailed road map and regularly inquire with the locals. Get the face mask for cleaner air, the roads a full of smoke and asphalt, too much of it inside can make you sick. Keep the camera handy, there’ll be many opportunities to click pictures. Cover all bags to protect from both, dust and rain, use a tarpaulin cover, it is sturdy and durable. Remember that bike trip is recreation, so do not be in a rush to reach your destination, take breaks, it’s fun talking to locals and hearing about what they think of us travelling on bike from such distances.