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Re: LOST in Sikkim
LOST for words !.
Awesome travelogue .
Keep it coming .
LOST for words !.
Awesome travelogue .
Keep it coming .
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Re: LOST in Sikkim
Superb travelogue!Posts on xBHP Jaisalmer Longewala --- Why Nandi Hills make me smile --- Matheran solo ---- Rajmachi Lonavala
Blog: BudgetYatriComment
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Day 7 | 25 Dec 2015 | Pelling to Gangtok
Day 7 | 25 Dec 2015 | Pelling to Gangtok
Route: Pelling - Khecheopalri Lake - Yuksom - Tashiding - Ravangla - Gangtok
Distance: 178 kms
Road Conditions: Good roads overall with occasional bad stretches
Stay: Cherry Guest House, Church Road
The day began with blessings from the rain gods in form of slight drizzle, couldn't have asked for more while sipping early morning tea and enjoying the view of our bikes which had overnight dew settled nicely. Pelling sure was a very charming place to stay surrounded by evergreen forest and less populated too which makes it a very quite and peaceful, something which every traveller will appreciate. It’s a small town filled with hotels, restaurants and other general shops. What makes this a great stopover for travellers as it is closeby to some great sightseeing places. Pemayangtse Monastery, Rabdentse Ruins and Khecheopalri Lake among the few to name which are beautiful in close vicinity.
We had a long day with lot of things planned so we made our first move as we rode towards Pemayangtse Monastery which happens to be the oldest monastery in Sikkim built way back in 1705. Now that’s a long way back if you ask me, we are talking about something that’s 3 centuries old. So yes, it was a historical location and as soon as we set foot inside the monastery we got bedazzled by the colorful walls and paintings present inside the monastery. Photography was strictly prohibited inside however we got lucky to witness the morning prayers of all the monks. It was music for the ears and it was spell bounding. When close to 20 monks sang and played different types of instruments in sync we were left speechless. All of us stared in appreciation outside the main door when one of them called us inside and told us to take a tour of the monastery which we did. The architecture was astonishingly beautiful and craftsmanship of the various artwork would leave many frozen in time and I only wish if I could understand the history behind it.
We later bid adieu to Pelling and moved towards our second location for the day - Khecheopalri Lake. This lake is surrounded by forest, it’s not too big nor the best looking yet there were 1000’s of people walking up to the lake enjoying their time and it looked like one big fish market where everyone has their personal agenda which makes me wonder, Will we ever change? The lake doesn't look special however it’s famous due to the legends and myths surrounding it and truly this must be the only reason why the place has still retained the peacefulness and charm which attracts people in number of thousands to come and visit. I have to say Khecheopalri would have been an awesome experience minus the number of people present there. Battling the good, bad and ugly roads of Sikkim we rode all the way to Gangtok with the last 65 kms of the ride being covered in dark. A scary moment I remember while riding in the dark was when we were descending an extremely bad patch full of slush where a truck got stuck in a huge crater in the road and it’s rear wheel was suspended entirely in air way above my bike’s height so you can imagine it like a truck in a frozen stoppie position blocking one way traffic entirely. Being on bike has its advantages in traffic and we were able to navigate it leaving behind the poor cars which might have been stuck there for god knows how many hours. Another scary moment of riding was after we reached Gangtok we had decided to stay in Cherry Guest House as per recommendation however we took the most pathetic road to reach there. This road was such a steep ascend and completely broken that my heart was in my mouth the entire time. No kidding, 1st gear half clutch smoothest throttle and climb baby climb is all I said as I reached to the top of the ascend waiting for my wife to come as she decided to walk this one
We met RPM group (Riders Per Mountain) in Gangtok and our agent, Bhushan Lama who had arranged our permits for visiting East Sikkim and North Sikkim. We dined at Hotel Hungry Jack (not that great) and called it a day. Today was eventful as it was our first stint in exploring Sikkim and we covered some parts of West Sikkim which were fabulous. It was time to enter the white world of Sikkim tomorrow - The East!
Pemayangtse Monastery, Pelling
Last edited by Sachinnair; 02-23-2016, 12:50 AM.Comment
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Re: LOST in Sikkim
Some pictures look straight from Paradise!A bike on the road is worth two in the shed.
Weekend Rides Around Kolkata
My Ride To Sunderbans - Hemnagar & Samsernagar
Saagar Kinare - Bakkhali Calling
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Re: LOST in Sikkim
Beautiful!!!Comment
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Re: LOST in Sikkim
Beautiful collection of pictures.... Waiting for more updates... :-)Comment
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Re: LOST in Sikkim
Thank You! The next update will come this week itself and it's gonna be WHITEOriginally posted by Dexter Malakar View Post
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Re: LOST in Sikkim
Good pics again....Comment
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Re: LOST in Sikkim
Cant wait for the next part , very interesting !Comment
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Day 8 | 26 Dec 2015 | Gangtok to Lingtam
Day 8 | 26 Dec 2015 | Gangtok to Lingtam
Route: Gangtok - Changu Lake - Nathu La - Zuluk - Lingtam
Distance: 105 kms
Road Conditions: Careful of black ice on road (very difficult to spot), snow and slush at random places.
Stay: Hotel Lingtam Residency
With a hope of getting permit to Nathu La we began yet another chapter of our Sikkim story. Our permit agent, Bhushan Lama had arranged permits for entire trip apart from Nathu La since Nathu La permit are only granted by Army and some of us would have to visit Army office to try our luck. With all our documents, Deepan and Shreyash approached Army officials only to come back with a sad news that Nathu La permission was denied. I don’t know whether it was because we were riding or because they wanted us to take to tourist vehicle only as they were permitting 4 wheelers to visit Nathu La. Either ways, sad state of affairs as I see it because the weather was clear. With our slightly gloomy faces and a very heavy heart we decided to begin our journey towards Zuluk as it was getting late.
On the way, the first sightseeing point we approached was Tsongmo Lake or famously known as Changu Lake. A beautiful lake which was fairly large in size and completely frozen by thick sheet of ice. There were yak rides and the place was crowded as it is a famous spot for people who come to East Sikkim. We too spent some time here enjoying the frozen lake view and clicking some nice pictures before we continued the ride towards Nathu La. Before reaching Nathu La, we had our brunch at a local stall where few ladies were serving hot maggi with omelettes. A few cakes, biscuits and chocolates were gulped just ensure the lions don’t become hungry again anytime soon. We reached the gate of Nathu La where Army officials check your permit and allow you to visit the Indo - China border site. After trying to convince the officer for 30 minutes we had to accept it with a pinch of salt and skip it since neither were we given permit by Army nor allowed at site by the official.
Keeping aside the Nathu La fiasco, the journey today was extremely special as we encountered the white beauty of Sikkim for the first time. East Sikkim was completely different experience from West Sikkim which is predominantly surrounded by greenery. There was snow everywhere and we were all shouting inside our helmets, ****! Wow!! Beauty!!! Ohooo ho hoo!! Our quench for feasting our eyes on white Sikkim finally came to rest as the snow peak mountains and white aura laid the charm of this beautiful state on us. Full marks should be given to BRO (Border Roads Organization) for keeping the road in East Sikkim so well maintained but nothing can beat the challenges thrown at you by mother nature. No matter how well BRO has maintained the roads but if there is presence of black ice and snow on the road you are in for the most challenging and adventurous ride of your lifetime. It’s a magnificent sight to ride on the serpent road with plush laid tarmac.
Post Nathu La, we got a chance to take blessings from the most well known temple in Sikkim with the most heartfelt story as to why it was constructed. Yes, I am talking about none other than Baba Harbhajan Singh Temple. The story goes that ghost of Harbhajan Singh guards the Nathula pass which is the Indo China border. He passed away as he slipped and fell in a nullah post which his body was recovered three days later. It is said that he appeared in dreams of one of the soldiers asking him to build a samadhi for him. It’s also a famous belief that the water kept at Baba Harbhajan Temple is capable of curing people. Hence, people keep bottles filled with water for ailing people which is then used by people who are sick. Another fascinating belief is that Baba Harbhajan warns Indian Army in advance in case of attacks. Even at the Chinese side one seat is always kept vacant for him and this truly proves that faith is a strong driving factor in our lives.
It was almost 4:30 PM when we made it to Thambi View Point, the most beautiful viewpoint to get a glimpse of the mighty loops of Old Silk route. We clicked as many pictures as possible here in the short span of time as sun set had already began. It got dark when we moved from here and it was biting cold to say the least. Zuluk was still some 10 odd kms and the ride was extremely challenging due to the presence of black ice in multiple sections. Shreyash leading the group on his Ninja 650 became the first and only victim of black ice as he lost traction while navigating one of the hairpins. Ninja 650 is a heavy bike and its weight can be felt on tight hairpins and there’s no way one can get it back up in case you lose your balance. Thing about black ice is that it's very difficult to be spotted and there’s absolutely no grip on such surface as you are literally riding on ice. We all had to take each other’s help to cross this section as it way too risky to attempt it on your own. Now, we don’t want a broken gear lever of Ninja 650 or a CBR650F in East Sikkim, Do we
Somehow someway we made it till Zuluk however the place had no electricity or any decent homestay for us to stay. Being situated at high altitude, the cold was not very inviting either. We decided to continue riding for another 25 kms till we reach Lingtam which is where we had originally planned to night halt. Luckily the black ice stretches and snow filled roads diminished as we went further down from Zuluk. We stayed at Lingtam residency and spent the night with loads of funny talks and discussions for what we experienced today along with a nice supper served by the hotel owner. Zuluk was one of the major highlights of the trip and it’s truly a place I would love to ride again and again.
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Re: LOST in Sikkim
Amazing captures Sachin!A bike on the road is worth two in the shed.
Weekend Rides Around Kolkata
My Ride To Sunderbans - Hemnagar & Samsernagar
Saagar Kinare - Bakkhali Calling
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Re: LOST in Sikkim
Mesmerizing pics followed by nice and crisp write up. Following this religiously. Ninja is looking super awesome.
Are you using triumph gloves???
Waiting for rest
Regards,
Aniruddha.Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast !!!
My Ladakh JourneyComment
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Re: LOST in Sikkim
Again nice pics....Comment
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Re: LOST in Sikkim
Yes, I did not have winter gloves so borrowed it from a friend who rides Triumph Tiger.Originally posted by Aniruddha Shinde View PostComment
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Day 9 | 27 Dec 2015 | Lingtam to Gangtok
Day 9 | 27 Dec 2015 | Lingtam to Gangtok
Route: Lingtam - Rorathang - Pakyong - Ranipool - Gangtok
Distance: 75 kms
Road Conditions: Decent roads with bad stretches on occasions.
Stay: Cherry Guest House, Church Road
It was time to return back to base (Gangtok) to prepare for our journey towards North Sikkim. It was also time for one of our friends, Nikunj riding the Honda CBR650F to begin his return journey. Due to shortage of leaves, he could not do the entire trip with us and had planned to return after exploring Darjeeling, West and East Sikkim. Zuluk would remain as his most fond memory of this trip and how we wish he could have done the entire ride with us. He rode back to Siliguri today and had a good ride as far as I remember. He met his friends who planned to return with him and they had a joyous East coast ride back to Mumbai.
We rode back to Gangtok and were ready to experience the heavenly gates of North Sikkim which would lead us all the way to the majestic Gurudongmar Lake. Our day in Gangtok was spent lazing around followed by preparation for the ride to North. We bought Jerry cans from local shop to carry extra fuel as we were told there is no fuel pump after Mangan. The entire North circuit was more than 300 kms without any fuel stations so to be on safer side we carried extra fuel from Gangtok. Now we were ready to face the music, unknown roads and unseen challenges which were waiting for us. Not to forget the harsh cold weather which would make our lives difficult. It was time to meet our fate. Tomorrow, North Sikkim it is.
Early morning be like this
Say Hi to Snowy - A Playful Pet
A final adeos from Nikunj as he started his return journey from Lingtam back home while we moved on to North Sikkim
I still don't know why they hang corns outside their houses
On the way back to Gangtok
Meet the superstar of the day - Shreyash signing some autographs for the kids in Sikkim
Kids sure like big toys
Gangtok City
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