A window-side view of the Himalayas
A classic summer vacation, a trip to Sikkim with family and friends and how it was relaxing and thrilling at the same time.
The Destination
With the summer vacations of kids going on and our resolve to travel a lot more this year, we set out to finalise our next travel plan. We had narrowed our choices to Sojha in Himachal, the North East and Darjeeling & Sikkim. Sojha involved a 12hour road drive from Gurgaon, which would have been a bit too much with the kids. And North East was already done by a few of us. Hence we finalized on Darjeeling and Sikkim, which later got changed to Sikkim (more on it a bit later…).
The Planning
The planning for the trip started almost a month and half before the travel date, and during this time we traversed from areas around Manali to NE to Gir and Kutch in Gujarat to the ever favourite Goa to Andamans and even abroad to Dubai and HongKong. And during this to and fro our travel group also got trimmed from three families to two. Post the dust settled, we were ready to book our travel and for the first time in my travel experience we decided to book a Holiday Package. So here I was booking an online holiday package with MMT. We decided to break our bookings by family to maximise the discounts that were available. (What happened after that to unify the bookings and customizing the packages and finally getting the vouchers a day before travel is material for another story). But the big twist was yet to come — the reason why the trip changed from 2 nights Darjeeling and 3 nights Gangtok to 5 nights Gangtok — Darjeeling erupted with unrest for a separate Gorkha state. Here the MMT Holidays team was really helpful and at a short notice our package was redesigned and all the alterations made.
The Trip
The trip started on 14th June and we followed a very touristy plan sticking to the itinerary decided. We did not use any travel apps, rather relied on information from locals when ever required. We visited places like Ganeshtok, Flower Show, Do Drul Chorten, Rumtek Monastery and Ban Jhakri falls (all were enjoyed by the kids).
The Big Day
We kept 18th reserved for the big excursion to Changu Lake and Natu La Pass. The day started with a bad news, our vendor could not arrange for the permit for Natu La and this would have been a massive disappointment. But the tourist inside us would not give up. We managed to pull some string and manage the permission to visit Natu La and it was worth the effort (both pulling the strings and also the treacherous road journey). Have earlier been to a few other Indian borders, but this one is very different — you could actually walk up to the Chinese side and shake hands with the Chinese soldiers, you don’t feel the aggression the way its there in Wagah, may be its something to do with the lack of Oxygen and the steep climb to reach the border. It makes you to stand there and take notice.
The Twist and Adventure
The road to Natu La was scary at places but the scariest part of our journey came on the last night of the trip. We got to know that the situation in north Bengal has worsened and the roads to Bagdogra airport are going to be cutoff. Which would mean we would be stuck in Gangtok. Here the MMT team along with the local vendors swung into action and we were whisked away 04:00 in the morning for our 16:25 flight, thus avoiding any trouble that brewed later in the day. The only loss being we missed out on the elaborate Hotel breakfast :).
The Things We Loved and Didn’t Love
The things we loved the most were Changu lake for the beauty and photo opportunity, Ban Jhakri falls for the fun the kids had and Natu La for the experience of the place and the road journey. Natu La is something I will like to do again when ever I am back to Sikkim and this time it would be self driven. But on top of all this the best experience was the fresh air and the quality time for yourself with practically no connection from the outside world. One thing that added to our experience was the resort that we selected — The Bamboo retreat in Rumtek. It was a bit far from the popular Hotel spots in the main town around MG marg. Unlike those hotels our resort was nestled in the natural greens and had ample open spaces. MG Marg in itself was a big disappointment, its same as any market in any town in India. We also had our worst food at MG Marg at Baker’s Cafe (although it had a fantastic view of the Himalayas).
The Strange Fact
The state of Sikkim is geographically sharing is borders with Nepal, Tibet/China, Bhutan and West Bengal. But surprisingly the only way in and out of this state is through Bengal. We realized this really strange fact when we were planning our exit strategy on the last night of the trip, incase the route via Bengal is blocked. So if that route is closed you CANNOT enter or exit Sikkim. (There is this Kailash Mansarovar yatra route via Natu La, but that is only for the pilgrims).
A small tip: One should travel really light if you are planning to visit Sikkim in Summers. Over all the temperatures were in moderate range except at Natu La, where the temperature was around 1 degree. But here we had shops renting out Jackets (clean and in good condition) for a paltry Rs 100 per piece. We had definitely over packed our bags.
The Next Destination
Now with this trip over its time to figure out the next destination. Will it be Dubai or HongKong or any of the destinations discussed in our planning. Or would it be something slightly more off beat like Laos or Cambodia :).
