Visit to North East India: Gangtok

Dibrugarh to Guwahati

After having a good time at Tinsukia, I started to my next destination Gangtok on 1st May.

There was no direct flight from Dibrugarh to Bagdogra (Nearest airport to Gangtok), and worse there was no same day connectivity from any of the intermediate airports. Hence had to make an over night stop at Guwahati. Took 6E571 from Dibrugarh and after about 50 min in air landed in Guwahati at 14:50.

The view of Brahmaputra just after takeoff was great.

I had booked Rains Inn hotel for the night stay. Took a prepaid taxi for Rs 540 and reached hotel in about 40 min. Airport was about 20 km from the city center where the hotel was located. There were many hotels in this area, close to the railway station. Near the airport there were two hotels which were expensive & not so impressive, so chose this even though it was far, This was a chance experience another city.

In Guwahati

Hotel Rains Inn, Guwahati

 Pros:

  - Good Budget hotel.

  - Proximity to the city center.

  - Clean rooms with nice shower in the       

    washroom.

  - Very good Restaurant with good ambiance      & food. 

  - AC in the rooms quite good. 

Cons: 
- Small Lobby & small elevator to the rooms. 

- Area around the rooms in each floor do not    match up to  the ambiance of rooms.

- Proximity to the station & market makes the surrounding area congested in the evenings (This can be a positive thing if you want to explore the city)

Its a decent hotel for the price, about Rs 1890 for one night. Located in the heart of city with local market close by & walking distance to the railway station. 

It was already 4pm and considering the early sunset in north east India I had not much time to go around the city. 

"India has a single time zone of +5:30hrs. Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, are ahead of Indian time. But Tinsukia & Guwahati both being east of them,  follows +5:30 time zone. Tinsukia has the same longitude as Myanmar" 

With not much time left, I planned to go to the Brahmaputra river bank. Google maps pointed out, it was not far. Before leaving I ensured that the hotel confirmed my cab to the Airport drop for the next day. The flight to Bagdogra was at 10:55 am so arranged the cab at 8 am.  Took an auto ride to the river bank. The most popular point along the river bank in Guwahati was the river boat cruise boarding point which the auto driver mentioned also had a park.  

    

It turned out to be a disappointment. The "cruise with on board dinner" didn't look at all attractive including the river boat itself. The park was not close to be called as one. It was neither clean, nor had any signs of maintenance. There was a walk way along the river bank for a short distance but then it moved on as a pavement beside the main road which was not so nice.  

Here the river width gets a bit narrow (Still is 1.5 km across) as it passes in between two small hills and then gets back to its normal width of around 10 km. The cruise boat moved off and the pilot skillfully used the flow of the river to turn and go down stream without even starting the engine. How about that for fuel saving if not safety. 

Guwahati city has about 20 km of river bank, and with the water in the river most of the year, has the potential to be made into a spectacular waterfront, which could bring in lots of revenue with tourism. Unfortunately it does not look like, its going to happen any time soon. 

The main attraction of this city is the Kamakhya Temple. An important Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Kamakhya. It is situated on top of a hill with great views of the river and also surrounding hills. I didn't have the time to visit it as it was already getting dark. I waited till Sun set across the river behind the low hills and returned back to the hotel in an auto.  Had a nice dinner in the hotel restaurant, and called it a night. 

To Gangtok

 Had a good breakfast & took the awaiting cab at 8 and reached airport by 8:50. There was heavy traffic already at the outskirts of the city due to a overpass construction. The check in formalities were over quickly. (Again there was baggage screening before check in). Flight took off on time and reached Bagdogra after 50 min at 11:50. The airport was small & quickly I was out of the airport to the waiting taxi sent from Hotel Central Hill Resort Gangtok, where I had made reservations. It was sunny and very warm in Bagdogra quite a change from the weather in Guwahati & Tinsukia. 

    Gangtok was about 125 km from Bagdogra and as per the driver it would take about 4 hours. Bagdogra airport which is in the state of West Bengal, doubles up as an airforce airport, and while landing I could see many defense fighter planes, choppers parked on the opposite side of the civilian terminal. This airport is of strategic importance to India as it is close the borders of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan & China which is under 100km by air. 

    Started off at 12:30 from the airport. Soon entered into a massive traffic jam in the town.  A freeway was under construction & it was completely chocked with traffic till the exit out of the twin town of Siliguri. The 15 km stretch took more than an hour. Siliguri town is another gateway to Gangtok which is connected via rail network. 

Teesta River along the highway.

Had lunch after an hour at a small eatery, which was not so good, but had limited options on the way. The road condition was not good and at places it was completely gone. After 3 hrs and 85 km later reached the town of Rangpo which is the border of Sikkim. From here on the road conditions were better, also striking was the cleanliness. Teesta river accompanied along the road almost till Gangtok. Finally reached the hotel in Gangtok at 5:50pm. Time lost due to the traffic jam and the bad road condition for the first 80, 90 odd kms. 

   The drive was tiring but the weather at Gangtok made up for it. There was a surpise at the hotel. A major fault caused Power failure to several parts of the city since one day and they had to power back up for such long duration. The hotel was in darkness with just candles for light. I thought well, at least I was not going to need AC or fans here. just the light was the problem. I checked in and a hotel boy lighted up some candles in my room. 

About Gangtok

Gangtok located at 1660 meters height, is the capital of Sikkim. The nearest airport is Bagdogra but I was informed by locals, that another airport about 3o kms away from Gangtok is under construction in a valley. 
This hilly State shares its borders with Nepal, Bhutan and China. Hence it has many restricted areas for tourists, particularly foreigners. 

Foreigners are required to obtain a permit called Inner Line Permit to enter the state of Sikkim. This can be applied online. The filled up application print out is to be taken to be stamped. This can be done at any Indian Missions in various countries, Sikkim tourism offices at major cities in India, at Bagdogra airport. Better to get it done at the Indian missions before travelling to India. A copy of passport, Visa and couple of photographs are needed to get it done and is a straight forward process. This ILP might be checked & stamped at Rangpo border check post as well. 

Nepali is the most common language spoken followed by Sikkimese, Tibetan. But English & Hindi are spoken well by every one and tourists would not have any problems. Gangtok was surprisingly a very clean city as compared to other hill stations & cities in India. I learned that the govt imposes a Rs 2000 fine for any littering. And more importantly the people themselves maintain their city clean, & feel proud about it. Some thing to be learned by other cities in India. 

Another interesting thing I found in Gangtok was the respect and preference for pedestrians. Even though there was a space crunch due to the hilly terrain, the government made sure that every road has a dedicated path for pedestrians which was well barricaded. Many over passes were constructed to help people cross the roads, also they were decorated to add to the beauty of the city. Traffic police were present at busy intersections for people to cross where no over pass was present. Pedestrian management of the city should be learned from, and implemented in other cities of India. Like in Delhi, pedestrians have last priority .

Being a hill station Gangtok has its share of traffic problems too. But It was very efficiently managed by alert traffic policemen. I found them every were, anticipating a jam and clearing it withing minutes. Strict rules are enforced to have a free movement on the roads. There was a dedicated taxi lane, and taxis were not allowed to stop just any where to pickup passengers. To take a U turn also they had to go down hill to a predefined  turn. I was quite impressed by the Strict implementation, management & self awareness of the rules.

The major attraction of this city is the road to China border at NathuLa Pass (4310 m), which is just one of the two border trading posts open between India and China. This was also part of the ancient silk route. Changu Lake, also known as Tsongmo lake  (3754 m) is on the way to Nathula pass..  Foreigners are not allowed to Nahula pass, entry is only upto the lake. Special permits (additional to ILP) are to be obtained for both Indians and Foreigners. These are arranged by the hotel from authorized travel agents. A photo id  and two photographs are required and in case of foreigners passport & visa copies are required. These restrictions are probably one of the reasons for very few foreigners visiting Gangtok compared to other hill stations in India.

In & Around Gangtok
I had just over two days to explore Gangtok. After settling in, Then walked up to M.G road - the city center, which was less than a km from hotel. MG Road was for pedestrians only. A very lively place, with many tourists & locals walking along. Restaurants & shops selling sovereigns lined up both sides of the road. Vintage style lamps were hung from poles in the center making it a very pleasant picture. It was relaxing to spend some time walking in the cool weather. 


Had a good dinner at one of the many restaurants and returned to hotel where there was still no power. It was cool in the night and I was too tired & went to sleep. Some time in the night power came up. 

Next morning, 3rd May. I had a quick breakfast at the hotel, & got into a taxi arranged by the hotel for day tour of the city at 1o am.

1. Ban Jhakri falls:  This was a some distance away & quite a bit downhill from the city. Entry ticket cost Rs30. The falls were hidden, reached after a few minutes of nice walk through a paved path surrounded by thick foliage. Water was falling from over 20 meters into a pool. A bridge across the stream gave a good view of the entire fall. 

2. Gangtok Ropeway: Took a return ticket for Rs 80. The ride was short, 8 min each way, but the veiws of the city from the cable car were rewarding. Could see the lane discipline of drivers on the road clearly from the vantage point. The ground falling away to a beautiful valley beside  the city was picturesque. 

3. Dro-Dul-Chorten Stupa: Built in 1945 this stupa  had 108 prayer wheels. A little climb leads to the Stupa. 

4. Namgyal institute of Tibetology museum: An interesting collection of Tibetan culture surrounded by beautiful views. 

5. Tashi View point: At 1800 meters, This vantage point offers beautiful views of the valley and a supposedly spectacular view to Kanchenjunga peak. The clouds played spoil sport as kanchenjunga was not visible. But the views of the valley were beautiful. Had lunch at a restaurant which also boasted of the same view while eating delicious food. They were right.

6. Enchey Monastery: It was a situated on a peak and tucked away in a corner. It was very calm and relaxing. Build in 1909, is one of the oldest monasteries in Gangtok. 

7. Handicraft Museum: Maintained by Sikkim govt, is quite large. Sikkim specific handicrafts were on display and sale. There was also an institute in the building. They were more significant as most of them were made by visually impaired people.. One of the employment schemes of the government. My admiration for the displayed handicrafts increased after knowing that.

Rumtek Monastery is another major place to visit which I could not. Built in 1700s is the oldest and most significant monastery of Sikkim, located about 50km from Gangtok. 

That concluded the city tour and I returned to hotel at 5 pm. after about an hour again went to the MG road, spent a nice evening and dinner at a restaurant called Chopsticks. quite a good one & I liked the ambiance. 

Next day- 4th May. Today I felt excited, as the plan was to Visit Changu Lake & Nathula Pass. The hotel arranged for the permits & I waited for the taxi at 8:30 am. I was told the entry would be stopped after 10 am from the check post to Nathula to enable the vehicles to come back in time before dark. It started raining heavily and had to wait for the cab which was late. I called up the agency and after I gave them my piece of mind, cab arrived an hour late and the rain also let up.  We crossed city of Gangtok and then the road climbed higher & higher with each turn twisting & turning in the hills. About 1.5 km before the check post the traffic halted. There were  almost 20o vehicles going up causing a jam as each vehicle had to get the permits signed. It took more than an hour to get to the check post and already it was past 10:30 am. I was tensed if the security would allow me to go further. But since so many were stuck behind they let every car go to my relief. As we neared the check post the driver stopped the car, ran to get the permits checked, stamped, ran back to the car. It all took just 30 secs. Finally I relaxed enjoying the spectacular views as the car climbed higher, temperature dropping sharply every few kms.   

After 30 min of climb through narrow roads. Again the traffic had halted. I saw that the road was particularly narrow and went up in a series of sharp U turns or switch backs gaining a lot of height in a short distance. At this point several army trucks were coming down and didn't have enough space to maneuver down the steep turns with so many cars going up. It took another hour for the 15 trucks to pass safely down. I took this time to enjoy the vista presented by nature.

 

Soon we were on the way crossing over the 3000 meters barrier, here the snow line started and it was cold outside. Reached Changu Lake at 1:15 pm. I got out and immediately felt the chill, fortunately I came prepared for it. I walked from the parking towards the lake and as the road took a turn I got the first view of the lake. It was fantastic, snow covered mountains surrounded the lake and clouds were lazily hanging over the mountains and touching the lake. A spectacular sight at 3754 meters. Walked in snow for a distance around to a vantage point. It was freezing cold and my watch showed the temperature of 5 degrees on my wrist. Out side it must be close to 1 degree Celsius. 

I felt I could spend the whole day here just taking in the view, but my stomach started complaining. I went down the slope from the parking where several shops were lined up in two rows looking for options to eat. One of the shops were selling maggi, which ended the search for options. Nothing like a hot maggi in cold weather & whenever you are hungry.  I settled in for a double hot steaming maggi and tea. It never tasted so good devouring them in the cold. I got back to the cab & because it was late could not go on to the actual pass, but went close to it to where the height was 4100 meters. Then returned back. Fortunately there were no holdups and reached the check post in quick time, where the permits were taken back & by 5 pm I was back in the hotel. Evening dinner was again at Chopsticks restaurant on M G road. 

Central Hill Resort Gangtok. 

Pros: 

       - A decent hotel for Rs 3000 per night.  Lobby has a good architecture.  

       - Very Helpful staff. 

       - Rooms were spacious, neat & clean with a large bath

       - Near to the city center & can easily walk up to MG Road. 

       - Free Wifi available in the lobby and on each floor.

Cons: 

       - Restaurant needs a lot of improvement. Starting from the tables which had old table     

         cloths. 

       - Quality & quantity of the food needs to be improved a lot. The breakfast had very

          limited options and taste was not good enough to enjoy it. 

Back to Delhi 5th May

Started early from the hotel after a heavy breakfast to Bagdogra. My flight to Delhi was at 3:45 pm and wanted to reach there by 2 pm atleast. looking at the condition of the road & the traffic I had coming, I wanted to risk. Just one halt for tea and I reached Bagdogra airport in 4 hrs. There was a long queue for the baggage screening and then the check in. Took 30 min to compete the check in & Security. I had lunch in the government operated canteen in the airport which was good. Flight took off on time and landed in Delhi at 6:15 pm and it was boiling hot. After a week in cool weather I was back in the heat of north India plains. 

Over all it was a good trip. I enjoyed the experience of North East India.


Ravindra
Noida
12-05-2016 Sunday 20:33 hrs.