(Long post ahead - proof that I'm the biggest chatterbox you ever had the misfortune to read)
The 4 hour drive from Darjeeling to Gangtok was awesome beyond words. Like I've mentioned somewhere before, the color of an unpolluted stream of water surrounded by green valleys is, indeed, aquamarine. The Teesta starts its journey from some glacier up in the Himalayas (or so I think, my laziness reached new heights of late so it prevents me from even googling or Wiki-ing this piece of information - beg your pardons!) and keeps us company all the way up to Gangtok.
Aquamarine Teesta!
Gangtok is the capital of Sikkim. Remember how we used to falter when we had to mug up the state capitals of the North-eastern states? Tripura-Agartala, Nagaland-Kohima? I forgot Manipur, sorry. Anyway, Sikkim shares its borders with 3 other countries - China, Bhutan and Nepal (Tibet is part of China, you see), so the Indian Army is omnipresent. It has 4 districts - North, South, East and West - and the reason I know this is thanks to our taxi-driver-cum-tourist-guide, Lama. I was so appalled with myself when I didn't even know what language they speak in Gangtok that I asked even the most silliest of questions (like what do you guys eat?) to know more about their culture and life. Oh, most people speak Nepali by the way and the staple food is rice and noodle-like things. And no, there is no language called Sikkimese.
We stayed at the Royal Plaza in Gangtok - and we got a room with a view! True star-hotel standards including the expensive food and no seperate non-smokers dining area (which I feel is a horrible horrible thing 'coz I cannot stand cigarette smoke).
Room at Royal Plaza, Gangtok
The view from our room was absolutely amazing. We could see the tiny brook (Teesta, again) flowing between two valleys and also the cable car between two hills.
View from our room, and the tiny brook is the Teesta
We took the 20 minute cable car ride, mostly over part of the valley and a busy city street. Not as scenic as the rides would be in Darjeeling (which they have now discontinued), but for a first-timer like me, it was still neat. I told you it was a trip with lots of first-times!
Cable car ride over Gangtok!
There are two main tourist spots that are must-see when we come to Gangtok - Changu Lake and Nathula Pass. Changu Lake is at a height of around 13000ft above sea level. It's a beautiful lake surrounded by snow-clad mountains and during peak winter, the entire lake freezes over. 2kms upward from Changu is a place called Baba Mandir. Now, don't mistake it for a religious place - it's nothing like that, it's also totally bizarre and in a way, spooky. The temple is dedicated to an army officer who died sometime around the Indo-China war in the 70s and who's spirit (yep, spirit - ghost - atma - whatever you wanna call it!) still guards the regions surrounding the Indo-China border. He still gets his pay from the Indian Army, he goes on vacation for 3 months in a year, there's an Army jeep that picks him up at his home everyday and drops him at his post and brings him back in the evening. And no, he is not alive!!!! Well, when our driver told us this story for a minute my husband and I looked at each other not knowing if this person was indeed dead or alive!
Baba Mandir
The biggest, most awesome part of this entire vacation was...SNOW!! Ok, for all you folks who live in places where snowfall is as common as sunshine, well, not so for me. I live in South India where even rainfall is a big deal. So, ladies and gentlemen, I have now officially touched snow. Yeah, took me this long, I know. There was snow around Changu lake and Baba Mandir was entirely covered in snow, rather ice 'coz the snow had melted and frozen back! That kinda made it too hard to play with, so my plans to build a snowman a-la Calvin unfortunately did not materialize! :-( Well, there's always a next time.
Snow clad mountains - the lake on the right side is Changu
Apart from the usual parks (and a greenhouse!) and view points (Tashi view point - for a view of the Kanchenjunga), the other highlight of Gangtok is the Buddhist monastaries. There are two main monasteries - Rhumtek and Lingdum. The former is the biggest in terms of number of monks and the latter was gifted by Jackie Chan! Nice, no? Now, our taxi driver also told us a lot about Buddhism and how the monasteries work. Did you know that every Buddhist family has to - has to - send one male child to the monastery to be a monk? Yeah, it's not like how it is in Christianity - its not voluntary. The children are as young as 3 or 4 yrs old when they are sent. Also, when an elderly person dies in the family, the family then has to go to a monastery and bring back a child monk and pay for his upkeep and studies. I guess it brings about a whole of community-dwelling kind of feeling in this religion.
Rhumtek Monastery, Gangtok
Lingdum Monastery was bigger in size than Rhumtek and the surroundings were more newer. The monasteries get their funds from the Govt. for their day-to-day affairs and also as donations from patrons. They contain the prayer halls, classrooms, living quarters and cafeterias for the monks. It was a very englightening experience to see a different culture and religion that we only hear about!
Lingdum Monastery - the monks were doing a kind of dance to the accompaniment of music!
We spent 4 days in Gangtok and that was more than enough - we even had a day off where we didn't do much of sight seeing. The weather was very very pleasant (as in not bone-chilling-cold) and the city was really nice. Hey, did I mention we watched Dhoom - 2 there?! Yay, we did! There are 2 movie theatres (only) in Gangtok, and one belongs to Danny Denzongpa! Our taxi driver was really sad that Sikkim's only claim to fame were Danny Denzongpa and Bhaichung Bhutia (who unforunately was 'bought' over by Bengal!).
So 4 days in Gangtok, and we were back down to Bhagdogra and then to Calcutta. I wanted to keep this for last - Calcutta is the most polluted city I've ever been to! No offence to any Calcuttans, I'll never go back to the city if I could help it. It was so dirty, so polluted, the buildings haven't seen a coat of fresh paint in decades and everything was covered in dust!! To make it up to ourselves, we indulged by going to Saurav Ganguly's restaurant, Saurav's, in Park Street. Dada was busy with his Ranji Trophy, so we didn't see him :-( The restaurant was nice - spread across 4 floors, each for Indian, Chinese, Conti and a Pub-Dance-floor. Only highlight of Calcutta - apart from a visit to Victoria Palace ofcourse.
Dada's picture at the entrance of Saurav's
Phew, long post, wasn't it? Don't be sad, it's over finally! :-)
So that sums up our week long trip to Darjeeling and Gangtok. We went during the off-season, so it was a bit colder than pleasant. The peak season is around April-June and then Sep-Oct. But if you need snow, you better be here in winter!
Amazing places, totally worth the time and money spent! It's only when you go on trips like this that you realize that our country has soooooo many different cultures and climates all packed into one compact country called India!
Here goes... (long post, I wasn't joking when I said I write a bit and talk even more!)
Destination: Darjeeling, West Bengal.
Yeah, it's in West Bengal. Didn't know? No problem, me neither. The nearest airport is this absolutely nondescript, totally unheard of place called Baghdogra. Sounds funny, no? Anyway, we flew Air Deccan (which, miracle of miracles, was totally on time after the initial delay of 1 hour!) from Hyderabad to Calcutta, and from there to Baghdogra. Darjeeling is another 4 hours by taxi.
Tea Gardens, Darjeeling
Believe it or not, the tea gardens start right outside Baghdogra airport. And they vanish for a long time to later re-appear once you've reached Darjeeling. The ride up was amazing till we took the ride up (and down) from Gangtok. But that is a later post, this one is about Darjeeling.
My first impression about this cute li'l place was that it's not exactly as cute and little as you would have imagined. It's this feeling you get when you go to Ooty - too much commercialization, too many vehicles, congestion...and pollution also to an extent. At least by hill station standards, I think Darjeeling is polluted. It was colder than normal, or so I felt.
We checked in to the Fortune Central (part of the ITC Group) - the rooms were way above our expectations! But the heating system left a lot to ask for. We finally got the fireplace lit! My first fireplace ever! Heh heh. Lot of firsts in this trip, come to think of it.
Club room,Fortune Central, Darjeeling.
Tourism is, I think, the mainstay of the people here. Even more than tea and spices. Result? Every small nook and corner of the place becomes a 'tourist spot'! We were told there was a lake at a place called Mirik and it's an absolute must-see. Now, for a person who lives in Hyderabad, when I heard the word 'lake' I imagined something in the lines of the Hussain Sagar. First mistake. It took us all of 3 hours to reach the lake (the ride was entirely through tea gardens - Mirik is where the best gardens are I guess) - and the lake? It was one fourth the size of Hussain Sagar. Or even less. No big deal, no great shakes. Seemed a bit desperate on the part of the Darjeeling Tourism dept. But hey, maybe for them that qualifies as a proper lake worth being a tourist spot! No harm done.
Tall tall tall..so tall it almost reached to the heavens!
There were a couple of other such 'tourist spots' - a park, called Nightingale Park, which was actually not so bad - only, we were told its a 15 min walk from our hotel. What they apparently forgot to mention was its a 15-min walk UPslope. We people from the plains do not do so well when told to walk up hills, do we? At least I didnt. So I huffed and puffed my way up. It was almost completey dark by the time we reached there (sun sets at around 4:30PM), so we hung around for a while and watched the cultural programs that were happening there. I have no idea what that language was, could have been Nepali.
Nightingale Park, Darjeeling. (Picture sourced from Google Images)
Darjeeling is best seen by walk (ahem ahem). There is a market place with all the usual shops for woollen wear and stuff, not to mention an awesome looking INOX theatre complex. And we watched Casino Royale there!! Seems like the single most important highlight of our trip to Darj. If you ever want woollen clothes, best to buy it from here. Dirt cheap, bargains galore and the quality is not that bad either.
No tour is complete without a mention of the local cuisine. Well, Darj doesn't have any. We had the usual dal-roti-nan types of food (sob story for a genuine foodie like me).
Three places that were good and worth the while - the Peace Pagoda near the Japanese Temple, The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) and the Zoo! The pagoda was a treat to the eyes with the huge golden statues of Buddha at various milestones of his life.
Peace Pagoda, Japanese Temple, Darjeeling
The HMI is a tribute to the mountaineers of this country. At one point, this institute was managed by Tensing Norgay himself. It has a museum for the Everest expeditions and other such feats. They even have the equipment that Norgay and Hillary used when they conquered the peak. Good one.
Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling. Also home to the final resting place of Tensing Norgay.
The zoo was small, but interesting. A total kids place, and I saw a bear up close for the first time in my life - I mean really really close. The cheetahs were also up and about, and we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a white tiger!
Black Bear up close!
We spent 3 days and 2 nights in Darjeeling. And that was actually more than enough, we managed to see all the major tourist spots and got some shopping done too. Oh, did I mention we bought tea? Yeah! we did! Don't forget the Darjeeling Chai for your morning breakfast - totally amazing and you would know why its a big deal the world over.
All seen and done, we took a taxi to Gangtok for the rest of our 9 day trip. And thereby hangs my travelogue...
The Fontana di Trevi or Trevi Fountain is the most famous and arguably the most beautiful fountain in all of Rome. This impressive monument dominates the small Trevi square located in the Quirinale district.
The central figure of the fountain, in front of a large niche, is Neptune, God of the Sea. He is riding a chariot in the shape of a shell, pulled by two sea horses. Each sea horse is guided by a Triton. One of the horses is calm and obedient, the other one restive. They symbolize the fluctuating moods of the sea.
Trevi Trivia
The Fontana di Trevi is the 'Three Coins in the Fountain' fountain, the one that drenched Anita Ekberg in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita. Among those who are unaware that the "three coins' were thrown by three individuals, a current legend is reported that it is lucky to throw coins with one's right hand over one's right shoulder into the Trevi Fountain. Throwing one coin in will ensure that the thrower will return to Rome. Throwing two coins ensures that the thrower will fall in love with a beautiful Roman girl (or handsome boy), and throwing three coins now ensures that the thrower will marry that girl or boy in Rome.
Source: My travelogue
My hubbie and I went to Italy to celebrate our first wedding anniversary - and we threw just one coin each (we already fell in love and got married, so why waste 2 coins, eh?) So..we're going back some day to Rome!!
I just happened to see the pic on my desktop wallpaper and it brought back a whole lot of memories about our visit. It's one of the most beautiful places on earth (to the extent, the week after I came back, I actually looked up some career opportunities in Rome - found it was very difficult to get visas to work there! **sob sob**). The thing about Rome is that every nook and cranny in the city is filled with so much of history and art. The architecture is uniform throughout the city - be it old or new!
And Vatican City - whoa! There's a reason why they call it the City of God (apart from the main reason that it is the seat of the Holy Father). We were lucky (really really lucky) enough to meet Pope John Paul II (hubbie got to touch His hand - biggest blessing every!) - even rock-stars would feel like a nobody if they see the kind of love the people showed towards the late Pope. There were bands and people clapping shouting 'Giovanni Paolo' in a rhythm for the entire 3 hours!
The pic above is St.Peter's Basilica - rumor has it that all the churches in the world will fit inside this basilica! All the churches in the world! It looks normal in the picture, but just see the size of the people around and you realize how big it is. The statues on top are the Apostles - small? Well, if you stood next to it, you would be as tall as the statue's toe. I'm not kidding.
The above is Michelangelo's Pieta - that's Mary holding Jesus on her lap after his crucifixion. The thing to notice in that is, nowhere does Mary actually touch Christ! Amazing, isn't it?! This is inside the St.Peter's Basilica (that you saw above).
The above is a picture of the Vatican Gardens. What's the big deal? Well, whenever the Pope visits another country, He gets gifts of plants - and every single one of 'em is planted in this garden - so you'll kinda find plants from all over the world here! And it's beautiful beyond words folks, with natural water springs and fountains that would look best in a museum! And talking about museums...
This is a hallway in the Vatican Museum - that's gold you see on the pillars. :-) Rich, eh? The museum is rich - it contains the Sistine Chapel inside it, so you can imagine. It takes more than a month to do full justice to the museum and its art - we had to adjust with one day :-(
And what's Vatican City without the Swiss Guard! The uniform was designed by Michelangelo himself - if you've read Angels and Demons, in Langdon's words - 'Not one of Michelangelo's best works' ;-) And hey, don't feel bad for these guys - some of 'em drive around in a Ferrari! Vatican better pay them well for wearing that, right?!
These are called 'Sacred Steps' (Scala Santa in Italian) - supposedly the staircase from Pontius Pilate's mansion on which Christ was made to walk on his knees, carrying the cross. People still walk on their knees on those 30 odd steps as a mark of Jesus' sacrifice for mankind. And there are 4 places on the stairs that are encased in gold-framed glass - supposed to be places where drops of Jesus' blood fell. Arun and I walked up on our knees too. I cannot describe how it felt. If you're wondering how Pilate's staircase came to Rome - it did, thanks to the mother of Emperor Constantine, Helen who brought it from wherever-it-was. (FYI: Constantine was the Roman emperor who made Rome a christian state - till then it was a pagan state worshipping Roman pagan gods)
Enough for today eh? There's a lot more we saw, lot more we did..lot lot more that we experienced. And what I say to you: Go to Rome atleast once in your life. You will never find another place that has so much history and art in everyday life. There's no other city where you can walk on the same roads on which Caeser's chariots used to rumble on. Ofcourse, while you're at it, pay a visit to Florence, Venice and Pisa too - it's amazing! :-)
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