My Indian Escapades: Sikkim's Breathtaking Sights

October 25-27, 2009

Never in my wildest dreams to experienced a very cold place in India. After enduring 6 months of scourging heat in Kolkata, I finally set my feet on the icy cold Darjeeling Hills and smelled the breathtaking landscape of Sikkim’s mountains and waterfalls. With equally adventurous and brave volunteers, Noel and Mable, the trip made a lot more exciting!

Our first destination was Gantok, Sikkim. Gantok is just along the border between West Bengal and Sikkim states. Our train from Kolkata ends in Siliguri, and from there we rode a 4x4 wheeler jeep to Sikkim. We chance upon meeting 2 British tourists and became our buddies riding up to the mountain ranges of Sikkim. Going inside Sikkim, we have to process our permit which was quite easy and cost nothing from our pocket since we have residential permit from Indian Government as Volunteers. Just a little smiling and showing our faces and documents and it was all fine. Our tourist friends were charged with 1000 rupees for their entry permit.

Traveling up to Sikkim was uneventful. A wide river flows downwards from the top of the mountain, flowing against the upward route of our vehicle. It’s a breathtaking sight with emerald green colored water trails below the narrow road going up to the town of Gantok. Along the cliff, gazing at passing vehicles, are the little monkeys sitting by the cement blocks and roadside rocks and some are hanging on the thin branches of bamboo trees that act as meager protection from the steep slopes of the narrow road.

It still felt warmer at 4pm when we arrived at the terminal of the town of Gantok. Alighting from vehicle reminds me of the Baguio of the Philippines where similar atmosphere and temperature permeates the air. Yes, Gantok is like Baguio of the Philippines. Chinese, Korean, & Japanese looking people scattered all over the hilly town. Amazing, how the buildings and houses look so picturesque and seemed like plastered on the walls of the hills, hanging like small structures stuck on the slopes of the mountains. Felt so different, however, it is still a little bit of general India because there still some garbage dumpsites along the sidewalk and endless trails of shops along the roadside but the landscape and the color of the people are extremely different.

Thukpa, momos and chicken fried rice were the best food I thought I had ever tasted in my entire life in India. Those are only in Gantok! I could never get enough eating them during breakfast, lunch and dinner. Learned also some cocktails "mixed drinks with no umbrellas", after spending some nightcap with Simon and Paul. Never knew the rum with cola tasted so good, and there existed Goa’s ‘cashew peni’, with a refreshing flavored taste. Hmmnnn…nightcap is badly needed because of the freezing temperature of the Gantok nights.

feeling queen of the Gantok waterfalls

There were seven (7) sights scheduled for us to visit and I already forgot the names of the places but could vividly picture them in my mind for many years to come. Well, first we visited a waterfall and across it was a Chinese garden with Chinese gazebo. Felt so nice posing for some pictures there since there were no other people but us in these beautiful sights. The waterfalls was exotic, it beckons all the gods and the goddesses to bathe in its glorious and sparkling waters. I regret not bringing my bathing suit, on second thought, people would think I'm crazy taking a dip in a freezing temperature?!...The second is Ganeshtok, a Budhist temple hanging on a cliff, great pictures there with the icy mountain alps behind me, ahhh What a bliss! The third was another garden, with huge tall trees behind like we are in a haunted trail. Nothing extraordinary about this garden, except for some exotic flowers and colored bushes. It might be more exciting to visit this garden during the night. The fourth is a military campsite with a telescope on the edge of the cliff, where you can see closer the great peaks of the second or third (?) highest mountain of the world. There, we bought some souvenirs of cute Tibetan porcelain dolls, Tibetan ‘goodluck’ scroll, antique painted knives and some small wooden carvings of the Dalai Lama. The fifth was the cable car. Going there we were dropped off by our very nice driver on the wrong entrance going up a steep slope. We were like having a small trekking exercise with no proper gadgets and appropriate costumes for the dangerous trek. I almost gave up seeing the steep slopes and crossing a cliff with only a dried bush Noel handed to me as a rope. I made it, thankful to the thin, dried bush leaf that kept me sane (or insane?) crossing the steep side of a cliff. When we got the cable terminal we found out there is a much safer and proper entrance to the terminal…Crazy! The cable car is very slow and only for a short distance. There, we can see the mountain ranges and the buildings and the streets of Gantok. Not so exciting as compared to our dangerous, unplanned little trek going up the cable terminal. The sixth sight is a Budhist temple, met monks wearing red sarees with clean shaved head. It’s interesting to know that monks are allowed to carry a cellphone and wear a branded shirt behind their red sarees. The last sight we were able to visit is the Gantok museum. It is full of religious artifacts and paintings dated way back 11th-18th centuries. On the second floor situated numerous books written by monks and by Dalai Lama himself. Wish I could stay further to learn some ancient wisdom of the holy monks.