Remember Miley Cyrus’s ‘it’s a climb’ from the movie Hannah Montana? Don’t…I do (Ya I am still a kid).
Now if you got to realize it in real life, go to Gangtok…a city with an altitude variation of more than 1000 feet.
From every pathway to the other, it really is a climb…even the crossings are.
And how could it miss to make you realize ‘A walk in the clouds’…bliss it is when you wake up someday and right next outside the window pane is a cloud…cool…white as snow.
…on my last (and also the first one) trip of college life with my friends I expected to experience CHINA at Indian expenditure, but tantalized I was to discover that whom I anticipated to be ‘Chyng Mey’ or ‘Myang Pe’ was actually ‘Sumit’…a truly Indian whiff.
The servile people who would not fleece you (much) just because you happen to be an outsider tourist if found anywhere in India, it really is this place…Sikkim. (Rare occurrence ;))
FIRST HOOKUP:
After a cringing deliberation on where to go, we finally consented to revel in the north east. Our cohort was 11 which finally trimmed off to 4.
Dhanbad to Bardhman was holy shit in the dearest Black Diamond express. It was kamakhya express (I guess) from there on. The next morning in Siliguri seemed to be the high point as nothing such had been witnessed in 8-9 months…rains…greens…and all this in May.
Now Siliguri is typically Indian with populace being sleazy dacoit. (Exaggerated)
But really, their ways of making profit are unpalatable and untenable. From there, started the joy ride in a TATA Sumo with a packing fraction of more than one. (Sarcasm)
The excitement was building as every vista that unfurled was more ravishing than the previous. Finally we were in GANGTOK. Even the taxi driver there was smarter the all of us (at least by looks)…and even Imran Hashmi.
It was 7 when we finally stretched out on our beds to let lose the crams.
DAY-2:
Next day we scaled 14,200 feet…Nathula Pass.
Never in my life had I experienced snow and this was it. Limpid white saw the entire region with china border around the corner. An inch more and we would have been in china. Breathing was the rub and the battered (old) did really shatter. Café 14000 was the relief serving delicacies…though not scrumptious. I would here attach a pic of snow across the window-pane.
(Hail the brawn of our soldiers who survive in even harsher conditions.)
The day ended with the thoughts of leaving the trip right there considering the exertion of day 1. But then, crosin has always been there and will always be.
Day-2:
When most intelligent people would settle with a 1night 2day tour package to Yung-Thang valley and zero point, we chose the omnibus…2night 3days trip to yung thang valley, zero point and Guru Dongmara Lake.
With our dud bodies, the willy-nilly trip seemed to be a survival trip, but until we reached Lachen…the place we had our first night stay…a little upbeat town with serene views from everywhere.
The next day started at 4:30 AM…the time when a usual day ends.
With all of us air-jacketed, the journey started and after 7 pathetic hours (Someone tell them to construct roads), we finally were there….Guru Dongmara Lake…the most lovely sight I have ever witnessed with open eyes.
If it were a girl I would have described her as:
Her…the best epithet to femininism.
She was a compliment to the ‘salwaar-kameez’ she was clad in. Ingenuity dribbled round the periphery of her delectable face. Her gracious ways of carrying herself presaged the saga of her elegance. Her supple body and frugal ways hark back to saira bano of 70’s. Innocence seemed to be a mere replica of her.
Aah…awesome it was.
Our drive back to Lachen was again the rub. These road trips seemed to be god’s own punitive ways to resurrect our deeds.
Motion sickness had taken over bad. But dude, it wasn’t the end; post lunch started another lap…to Lachung this time.
By night we ascended by some 2000 feet to each Lachung.
I was aching, chocking, breaking and everything.
Day 3:
Day 3 was scheduled to start at 6:00 AM but didn’t till 7:00…curse us.
An hour drive and what segued was again the near most beautiful sight. Really, even the figment of my imagination doesn’t go that far. Valleys, I have rarely seen and this one really was a compliment to beauty.
Finally only two out of four survived to visit zero point…and proudly I was not one among them ;)
…sometimes it’s better to leave a few things for future.
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We were back to Gangtok.
About Gangtok I would only say that it is one of the most sophisticated cities in India I have ever visited. India is lucky to have north east as a part of it.
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Our Spacio stretched out of Sikkim and a feeling started sinking in…a feeling of loss. Four years it had been with these lovely people who were then sitting beside me. And in a few hours I was to bid final adieu to them….to a few I had already bade.
Next morning I was in Dhanbad.
…my train was at 10 PM.
My dearest friend JIGYASA (Abhinav Sinha) served us so well on the last day that I could never forget. I still retain the taste of ‘ghar ki puri sabji’ that came as a bolt from the blue on my last day (thanks to him)…happy ending.
In the evening when I finally bade good bye to him, I had tears in my eyes after a long-long time (Miss u Buddy).
…it was 19th of July, 2007, coincidently my B’day, that my journey for ISM had started and it was 19th of May, 2011 that I bade final goodbye to the dearest phase of my life.
…
P.S.- thank you Abhinav Sinha, Supreet Srinivas, Divyanshu Srivastava, Shankar Agarwal, Faraz Khan, Rajendra Prasad, Mahesh Khicher, Abhishek Upadhyay, Puneet Saraswat for being the best part of this best phase of life…
P.S. - …i wrote this because the loveliest lill gal on earth asked me if i still blog and i said yes...its for u dear :)
