Blogs from Gangtok, Sikkim, India, Asia - page 3

Sikkim is a small hilly state, bounded by vast stretches of Tibetan Plateau in the North, the adjoining area is called the Chumbi Valley of Tibet. It is bound by the Kingdom of Bhutan in the East, the newly formed Democratic Republic of Nepal in the West. Its accessibility is through the Siliguri corridor (also called the ‘Chicken neck area’) via Darjeeling (West Bengal) in the South. The State is stretched over 112 Kms. from North to South, and 64 Kms. from East to West. Nearest airport is Bagdogra which is about 125 Kms. from Gangtok, it takes about 4½ hours drive to reach there. The closest Railway Station for Gangtok is New Jalpaiguri which is again at a distance of around 124 Kms. and it takes around 4½ hours drive to reach Gangtok. Gangtok is ... read more

We arrived in Gangtok yesterday where I could finally get some more money changed, I had to borrow a bit in Pelling as there was no money changer. Its a much larger city here, pretty touristy but not bad, the weather is a little better, I saw some snow covered peaks today, I guess the Kanchendzonga range, which I think is the same thing as Kanchenjunga but maybe in a different language? I dunno though. Pelling was nice, a good challenging trek to the Lake and then to another little town near there. The second day reminded me of Mt. Mitchell because it was so steep, I think maybe more steep than that trail but much shorter, probably climbed at least 2000 ft though. It was a little rough because the first day we got caught ... read more

Friday 23rd May. Missed out doing my blog yesterday as our Guide, Umesh kept us so busy! Yesterday, Umesh was nasty to us, and told us to meet him at 05:00 in order for us to go to another viewpoint in an attempt to once again view the Eastern Himalayas. This time we went to Tashi Viewpoint. Unfortunately, the weather was not ideal. Nonetheless we got some beautiful views, and the dawn chorus was lovely. In addition we were treated, in the background, to a loud recording of Buddhist chanting. Initially, I thought the sound was coming from a monastery but in reality it was coming from some nearby shop speakers. Not withstanding this, the sound was quite magical and relaxing. Later in the morning, we had a tour of Gangtok which is at an altitude ... read more

Sunday 20th May. We left on the 2-hour car journey to Darjeeling at 09:00. The road was very twisty, pot-holed , and steep. After a hair-raising and ball-crushing 2 hours we arrived at our destination - not that we could see much due to the covering of mist. The mornings in this area tend to be bright and sunny but the afternoons see the heavy rain and mist, and there's not much to do at such times. We were staying in the Mayfair hotel which is quite posh but there are stairs everywhere. Our afternoon was spent at leisure so we took the opportunity to walk up Observatory Hill, and were rewarded with quite decent views of the Eastern Himalayas - even saw some snow-covered mountains. A better view-point is Tiger Hill in Ghoom but we ... read more

4 days before my wife, Alison, and I leave for a 6-week trip to the foothills of the Himalaya. We are not backpackers prefering to travel with some level of comfort. To that end we have used the services of the travel company, Audley. We have used the same company on several other occasions, and found them to be excellent. The greater expense has been rewarded by the ease from our, point of view, of having no actual arrangements to be made other than our wishes as to the areas we see. Audley's organises a route; recommends their personally-used hotels; arranges our own transport with driver plus a companion for him; internal flights and train connections; and finally provides us with guides at several 'touristy' locations. Most of the locations we have elected to visit will ... read more