Sikkim
is located in North-Eastern India, but, it is not a part of the 7 North
Eastern states. It is accessible only from West Bengal. On the other 3
sides; Sikkim is surrounded by Nepal, China & Bhutan. I decided to
go during winter as I have always wanted to experience the Himalayas
during winter. Sikkim is nestled in the Himalayas; so what better place
than that? I took a flight from Bangalore-Delhi-Bagdogra (in West
Bengal). From Bagdogra airport, I drove to Gangtok (Sikkim does not have
an airport). I travelled all across the state. At the end of the trip,
due to strikes in Darjeeling; I had to leave Sikkim in a hurry (before
the WB-Sikkim highway got blocked). So, unexpectedly; I spent the last 2
days of my trip in Darjeeling.
There
are people of various origins, living in Sikkim; in absolute harmony.
The original inhabitants are Lepchas; now a protected tribe. Then, there
are the Nepalese and Bhutias (of Tibetan origin). This is one of the
rare states that has no caste or religion issues. Nepali & Hindi are
fluently spoken across the state. The Lepchas & Bhutias speak their
own languages as well, in addition to this. The people are extremely
soft spoken. I don't remember hearing a raised voice, even when somebody
is scolding anyone. They have ready, warm smiles for everybody; even
total strangers. That's one thing I missed as soon as we got out of
Sikkim - very few people smiled back at us! Sikkimese address everyone
as 'bhai' & 'bahini' - that's brother & sister.
Sikkim
is one of the cleanest, safest & friendliest states that we've been
to. Peoples' doors are open throughout the day. Also, except in
Gangtok, we noticed that most people never lock their car. Initially, we
were really paranoid; checking if the car was locked every time we got
out. After a couple of days, we relaxed. But, we would still carry our
valuables around with us (wallets & camera) at all times....guess we
couldn't believe the supposedly zero crime rate.
The
people there are good at heart & honest. To a lot of them, it does
not even occur to cheat / take advantage of a situation. When we wanted
to buy the Sikkimese spicy chilly 'Dolay', we went to the local market. We chose fresh chillies & asked the old woman selling it to give us 1 kg of dolay.
It cost 200 rupees. She told us to refrigerate it to keep it fresh for
longer. When we told her that we were travelling & would reach home
only after a week, she immediately asked us not to buy it now & took
the chillies back. She told us to buy fresh dolay on the day of
our departure. She could have easily sold us the chillies & made her
money; we wouldn't have met each other after that day....but, she
didn't.
Our
guide Arjun & driver Dorjee would remember all the little things we
would say during our conversation & then, get it for us - like the
local beer 'Tongba' or Yak cheese 'Churpi'. They refused
to accept any money from us, for it. Our hosts in Dzongu gave us a huge
bag-full of fruits when we left, because, a couple of days ago; we had
enjoyed eating the fresh oranges & guavas. They also gave us 2
containers-full of the home-made snack 'Khapche' because we said we liked it. We got it back to Bangalore & ate it on weekend afternoons, with tea.
These are just some of the kind gestures that people made.......
Sikkimese
are courteous drivers. They respect the mountains & follow the
rules. Else, it is difficult to drive on the narrow, winding mountain
roads, without accidents. Vehicles can easily plunge into valleys due to
one rash move. They stick to their lanes & follow 'right-of-way'.
And, if any vehicle has broken down; every vehicle passing by will stop
& offer to help. I am paranoid about long drives; but, I was totally
at ease in Sikkim. We really enjoyed driving through the mountains
& by the rivers, listening to some catchy Tibetan music. The
instruments they use are very different & their voices are so
mellifluous; it really added to the ambience as we drove across North
Sikkim in our jeep; with the windows rolled down, smelling the trees
& feeling the breeze against our face. The youngsters listen to a
lot of Hindi and English music. Sometimes, you can also hear Nepali
& Tibetan music.
It
was funny to see how omnipresent 'Tata-Sky' was! Be it a small town or
remote village, a high altitude settlement or an army camp.....it was
always there, perched on roofs. We had consciously tried to avoid
staying in places with a TV, but, we realised that we could not escape
it! We were really happy that our mobile service provider had very poor
network in most of Sikkim. It was bliss to spend so much time without
answering phone calls or checking e-mails. Our mobiles merely served the
functions of being a clock, our morning alarm, and, during our nightly
walks - a torch.
There
is heavy army presence along the borders, especially the China border.
When we travelled to high altitudes, we saw a lot of army camps. It was
difficult to imagine living in such seclusion in remote areas, in such
harsh weather conditions. Most of the army men, like you & me, are
from the plains. Yet, they brave this climate & stay far away from
their families, to protect our borders. Our admiration & respect for
these men & women has increased even more, ever since we saw the
difficult life they lead; even when there is no war.
The
army (Border roads organisation - BRO) maintains all roads in the
border areas of Sikkim. A lot of tourists complain about the 'bad
roads'. Yes, the roads are bumpy & windy. Some roads are even icy
& slippery. In some parts, there are no roads. But, when you realise
the challenges that the people there have to face, dealing with forces
of nature like snow, avalanches & land-slides so very frequently;
you realise how lucky you are. It makes you feel thankful for not having
to deal with roads that are blocked every now & then, making people
walk for kilometres together. Hats off to the BRO & other
organizations who work so hard in Sikkim, to clear the roads quickly;
allowing us access to paradise!
Environmental concerns:
Sikkim
is a plastic-free state. People are very environmentally conscious.
But, tourists are big culprits in dirtying Sikkim. They carelessly throw
plastic packets & water bottles all around, wherever they go.
Places which are not on the tourist path are so much cleaner! It's
disgusting that people can't even take the effort to carry a garbage bag
with them in the jeep, to dump everything till they find the nearest
dustbin. It was extremely sad to see yaks at high altitudes, trying to
munch a soda can thrown by a callous tourist. A lot of them fall sick or
choke because of this. But, I guess; it's too much to expect this of
people who are so used to throwing garbage outside their own homes.
Dzongu:
Unfortunately, our central government is constructing a massive
Hydel-power plant here, to tap the energy generated by the river Rangit
that flows through this region. The astounding amount of power generated
by this will be sold all over the country, to other states. But, one
big fall-out of this exercise: the government is drying up the entire
river & taking it into a tunnel underground! I find it hard to
imagine life in Dzongu, without the river. People; who for ages have
been living by the river, and whose daily lives revolve around the
river, will now be deprived of it. They protested & went on hunger
strikes, but, it was shushed by the energy ministry. Those who went on
strike have suffered damage to their health & are now in an
extremely bad state. Their protest was against the river going
underground & the damage suffered by the fragile ecosystem due to
this project.....but, when money is involved, who cares about sentiments
& the environment??
Brief information about the places we visited:
Gangtok
- Our first stay was here, for 2 days. It's the capital of Sikkim. A
nice, small city, with winding roads and lots of things to do for at
least 3 to 4 days. Its central road, MG marg, is fully pedestrianised;
with paving stones & benches. An awesome place to hang out during
the day and at night; when it is lit up & the fountains are turned
on. You can just sit on a bench, watching all the nattily dressed
youngsters stroll by like a fashion show; or window shop or have hot tea
& snacks. MG marg is extremely clean, as is most of the city. We
went to Tsomgo Lake from Gangtok, and to some monasteries. The famous
Nathu-La pass at the China border, is also near Tsomgo Lake. But, we
weren't too interested & so, we skipped it. From North Sikkim, we
returned once again to Gangtok, in time for the Sikkimese New Year - Losoong. We went to the Enchey monastery in Gangtok to see the famous masked dance, called Chaam.
Lachung
- Our first base in North Sikkim. It's a small village; peaceful &
picturesque. We stayed here for 3 days & explored the snow covered
regions near the China border. We also saw beautiful mountain-scape
& valleys. The road from Gangtok to Lachung & Lachen often gets
blocked due to land-slides & avalanches. We were lucky we didn't
face either. The pretty river Teesta is the life-line of this region.
Here, the branch of the river is called Lachung-Chu, meaning 'Lachung water'.
Lachen & Gurudongmar Lake - Our next base in North Sikkim. We stayed here for 2 days. Teesta flows here too, known as Lachen-Chu.
The main reason for coming here was to go to the high altitude
Gurudongmar Lake. This lake is at 17,300 ft. That's more than half the
height of Mt. Everest, which is 29,000 ft. This lake is considered holy
by the Sikkimese & many undertake a pilgrimage here in summer. In
winter, the high altitude & the rough access terrain makes it a
difficult journey to undertake, so, there are very few visitors. From
Gangtok, we had slowly increased our altitude till we reached this Lake.
People fall sick after this trip; we were lucky to escape with mild
headaches.
Dzongu
- After all the high altitude stays, we came to a much lower altitude
to relax. Dzongu is a region inhabited by the Lepchas, Sikkim's
indigenous people. They worship Mt. Khangchendzonga (world's 3rd highest
peak & India's highest) as their mother & so, they always live
in places with awesome views of their mother peak. The area is protected
by the government, as the Lepcha population is dwindling. So, any
non-Lepcha needs to arrange for govt. permits to enter this area. We
stayed at the home of a large Lepcha family, who are trying to open
their village to people; by starting home-stays. Here, you can just
relax & live with the Lepchas & learn about them. There is no
'sight-seeing' to do and so, it will be attractive only to select
travellers. That also means that this is where we get to see Sikkimese
way of life, sans tourist trappings.
Pelling
- It is a small town in West Sikkim, famous for its stupendous views of
Mt. Khangchendzonga. This town is also the closest that we got to the
lofty mountain. The base camp for a Mt. K ascent is a couple of hours
away from Pelling. Khangchendzonga is an extremely difficult peak to
climb & has taken the lives of several mountaineers. It took 50
years after the first attempt ever made, before somebody was successful.
Climbers have said “After attempting to conquer Mt. Khangchendzonga,
climbing Mt. Everest seems like playing in a playground". Pelling also
has the famous Pemayangtse monastery. The holy Khechupiri (alternate
spelling: Khecheopalri) Lake can also be visited from here. We stayed
here for 4 relaxing days, ambling around.
Darjeeling
- We landed in Darjeeling in the midst of an on-going Gorkhaland
agitation. Anti-Bengal sentiments were running high as the WB government
is said to have thoroughly neglected this northern arm of the hilly
regions around Darjeeling. In the state budgets, apparently; a pittance
is relegated for the development of these regions, even though they
contribute significantly to the state coffers because of tourism &
Tea estates. Infrastructure in these regions has not been upgraded since
the British left. This has led to the people suffering due to choked
& overburdened drainage systems, meagre water supplies, low
electricity & horrendous, pot-holed roads. Due to on-going strikes,
the locals there were very tense & not their usual, friendly selves.
But, a smile or a kind word from you to relieve the tension & then;
they would open up.
We
spent 2 days going for walks, shopping at stores that were open and
going to the very well maintained zoo. We also went to the Himalayan
Mountaineering Institute, which is a museum dedicated to mountaineers.
They have a great collection of photographs and climbing gear & is a
good place to learn about mountaineering attempts. The famed Sherpa,
Tenzing Norgay; who was the first to summit Mt. Everest alongwith Edmund
Hillary, lived in Darjeeling. We also went to Tiger hill at sunrise. We
wanted to ride the famous toy train, but, cancelled it due to lack of
time. We brought back to Bangalore some famous Darjeeling tea & a
fully functional 'Khukri', a traditional knife used by Gorkhas
both in the kitchen & at war. At the end of our trip, we drove from
Darjeeling to Bagdogra airport, to catch our flight to Bangalore.
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