Vacations Diary: Kolkata and Eastern Himalayas

Visiting Kolkata during Hot and Sultry July is never fun and the humidity levels make you feel even worse. But this was different.... And it had to be fun and I guess nothing else. Kolkata was the starting point for our Annual Vacations 2010 which also included four cities in Eastern Himalayas namely Kalimpong, Gangtok, Pelling and Darjeeling.

Day 1: 9th July 2010.

I hate these early morning flights and esp. when they supposedly start a vacation. The very noise of that morning alarm clock and rush to the airports when you want to catch that extra sleep makes you question the very concept of vacations. But then time is always a premium now days and we want to reach out holiday spots as early as we can. Drive to New Delhi Airport was pleasant and so was the Indigo Flight to Kolkata.

This was my second visit to the City of Joy in the last year or so. Kolkata looked good with the cloudy sky and warm early morning temperature and the humidity was bearable. All in all a perfect setting for what would be an eventful next two days.

We were in Kolkata to attend my B-School Room Mate Vishal Singh’s (From Now On Dada) wedding. Dada incidentally was my first friend in Symbi and my room mate. Probably because of our same cultural background as well as mother tongue we quickly became friends and in next two years that friendship became even more stronger.

The drive from the Airport to Ballygaunge where the Hotel Guest House is located was pretty boring. The Eagerness to meet old friends might be one of the reasons, Kolkata Traffic another. Once we reached the Guesthouse we got fresh and went straight to the Dada’s ancestral house some where near Jadavpur. Meeting other Symbi friends was as much fun as much meeting some new acquaintances there. Dada was extremely delighted meeting us and so were we. The hospitality was excellent and to be honest Dada’s close chums made us feel extremely comfortable.

The welcome drink was Kingfisher Beer (I could not have imagined anything else either) and the party started almost immediately. Smoke n Sweets and Food n Liquor kept on flowing and we kept on meeting Dada’s close family and his friends. The Lunch was a true Bengali Delicacy and the Betki Paturi was the highlight.

In the middle of it I met my old Symbi friends in Pari, Sankha and Yash. Campus Jokes were cracked again and old memoirs re-visited. It almost made us feel that we were back in 2002-04 campus days.

The evening function at Punjabi Bradree was elaborate and it was really funny to see the groom reaching the place much before the other Barati’s did. After the ceremonial pictures and exchanging pleasantries the whole gang of ours went to a near by pub Aqua and had a nice time over the drinks. Part of the gang was Symbi and the remaining half was Dada’s Kolkata friend circle. It was amazing to feel how quickly we all came to enjoy each other’s company.

Day 2: 10th July 2010.

Next morning both Shonali n me rushed for a quick byte in Flurry at Park Street. I specially love the Elaborate Breakfast which Flurry offers and it has been one of my rituals over the years I have visited Kolkata. Post that Breakfast and calling on a few family friends we went back the Guest House. It was nice to see my B-School Gang finally woken after the last night long party.

When friends meet they usually gossip, they drink and they have food. Lunch was done at China Town in one of the many restaurants in that narrow lane. My first visit to that place in Kolkata and must confess the food was really yummy and the drinks went well with that. Beijing is a recommended place there and serves good Fish as well as Chicken Delicacy’s in Oriental Style.

Back to Hotel and after catching up with an afternoon nap it was time for the Reception Party which was arranged after the wedding. The Tolly Club in Kolkata is one of the finest places you can be and as expected the event went on very well. The food was good and so was the liquor and we had a fantastic time. The hospitality extended by Dada’s close friends was extremely delightful and I really appreciate that.

Pari and Yash decided to stay on there for some more time while Shonali and I along with Sankha decided to go back to hotel for different reasons. I had to catch that morning flight to Bagdogra while Sankha wanted to enjoy the Third Place Play off Football Match between Uruguay and Germany. You cannot keep a Bong away from Football Match and hence inspite of the fact that I had to catch a flight early morning I still managed to watch the match. Uruguay you played really well and by far were the most improved team in this World Cup. Forlan, you were magical. I could have loved every thing about them if only Suarez had not got that “Hand of God”.

Day 3: 11th July 2010.

Kolkata has always been fun and for two days it was even more. It was time to pack your bags and head to Eastern Himalayas. A lot of travel agents call the visit to this sector as North East Visit but honestly it is not North East but Eastern Himalayas and should be called like that.

Recent Aircraft disasters in India and esp. involving small airports have made you think twice about boarding airplanes when you go to places like Bagdogra. The landing of the air craft was just not ok and for a second it made you go crazy.

Our first stop was Kalimpong. Situated around 80-100 kms from the Airport this small city in Eastern Part of West Bengal is at a height of 4000 Ft. It is a small sleepy hill resort and lies within Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. With a population of about 50,000, it is ethnically and culturally similar to Darjeeling. The best part of Kalimpong is its weather which is unlike Darjeeling’s quite mild and hence much in demand away from harsh winters in Darjeeling. Cradled on a saddle between the hill features of Durpin and Deolo Hill, this town has almost everything- scenic beauty, flowers, greenery, waters, mists, clouds etc.

We stayed @ Silver Oaks a nice luxury property of Elgin Resorts. It is just 2 minutes from the Mall. Built originally in 1930, the present day building has been spruced up with multi cuisine restaurant etc. The hotel has more glass than walls which allows the breathtaking beauty of the great outdoors to fill the indoors. The room was excellent and the hospitality was great. The dinner though was a bit disappointment but I was more eager to see the Football WC Final. Predictably Spain defeated Holland but the way the Dutch played was never good for old supporters of them like me.

Day 4: 12th July 2010.

It was a late morning wake up and had to do only because we had that Kalimpong visit lined up. The Breakfast was quite good at Oaks and both of us really enjoyed that Continental Breakfast. From there we straight went for the half day trip in and around Kalimpong. We started with the Durpin Hill. This place has the famous Zong Dog Palri Fo- Brang Monastery which belongs to the same Buddhist sect as the present Dalai Lama. It is situated at an altitude of 1402 meters which offers breathtaking views. This is an observatory point about 3 km from the town from where a breath taking view of the Himalayan ranges can be seen. Durpin Dara is the highest point in Kalimpong accessible by car. It offers a finest view of the plains and the mighty Teesta River. We also visited few Hill Points namely Jelapla View Point, Pine View Point. The view from these points was more or less good but the very fact that this is monsoon time meant that clouds covered the mountains more often than not. We also went to a near by beautiful Cactus Farm in Kalimpong. This Farm had more than 1000 different varieties of Cactus Plants. They charge Ten Bucks for entry there but you do not mind that because you get to see something really good. We skipped the Mangal Dham Temple and went straight to Kalim Temple where we offered prayers. Dr Graham's Homes complex with its historic church & well maintained grounds founded in 1900 by Rev. Dr. J A Graham, a Scottish missionary serves as a boarding school these days and is a good watch. Finally the famous Delo Hill of Kalimpong (5556 ft) appears to be the roof- of- the- world, is the highest point in Kalimpong are must watch and should be done with good time in hand as you need to trek for about half an hour to reach there.

Post that we went to Gangtok only stopping at Rangpo for our Lunch. Rangpo is a small town just at the West Bengal – Sikkim Border and offers limited food options. We took a quick bite and drove straight to Gangtok. Quite surprisingly you get to eat only Veg Food here.

The journey from Kalimpong to Gangtok takes around three hours and is quite photogenic and pleasant. Gangtok @ 5500 Ft is the capital of Sikkim the Land of the Pristine and unspoilt natural beauty with alpine landscapes and thick luxuriant forests, rivers in torrent and peaceful lakes.

We stayed at The Norkhill - the erstwhile Guest house of the King of Sikkim, a Heritage Property. With rich traditional interiors, a Kanchenjunga view, Multicuisine Restaurant, there is no better place where one can experience a mix of Culture-Modern lifestyle-Natural beauty in the ambience of History. Though Mayfair Resorts situated downhill is shade bigger and perhaps even better in contemporary facilities, its location is big deterrent and that is why I would suggest Norkhill in Gangtok.

We went for an evening walk in the near by M G Road. The place is beautiful and looks quite out of India. It is an extremely busy market more so because at that time the Queen’s Baton Rally for Commonwealth 2010 was been held. The walk across the lanes is a good experience and if you want to have a quick bite then Cacao’s Café Shop is recommended The Cafeteria serves you good English Food and Snacks and is known for serving one of the best beverages in the town. Evening dinner at Norkhill was splendid. They had specially done Continental Food for us and as expected it came out really well. The Grilled Chicken and the Pineapple Soufflé were just terrific. After a long day it was time to unwind and needless to say it was much awaited.

Day 5: 13th July 2010.

After breakfast we proceeded to Tsomgo Lake or Changu Lake (12,210 Ft), a 40 km drive which takes three hours up and another three hours down. This lake is located very close to Nathula Pass which is the entry point to China termed as the “Silk Route" & remains frozen for most parts of the year. Legend has it that the Lamas use to forecast the future by studying the color of the lakes waters.

The place does not have any other place to visit and is mostly frozen during winters. Shonali did try the Yak Ride there and it was indeed quite fun. The constant drizzle was a bit of disappointment though. The food there at stalls were very basic and we tried the Wai Wai noodles. On our return we did stop at one of waterfalls (Kyongsnosla Waterfall) and it was really big and majestic. The very reason that we were in that part of the world during monsoon made us view innumerable waterfalls on the way.

Back in Gangtok by the evening and it was again to relax in the Norkhill. We went for an evening stroll to the market but then came back early as we wanted to catch some much needed rest. We went for an Indian Dinner and as has been the case the food was extremely good.

Day 6: 14th July 2010.

After the early Morning Breakfast and we headed to Rumtek Monastery, 24 kms from Gangtok was built in 1960 by His Holiness the Late 16th Gyalwa Karmapa and this is a replica of the original Kagyurpa Monastery in Tibet, a must see for every visitor, the seat of the “Kagyu Order” . Behind the Monastery is the lavishly decorated Karmae Nalanda Institute of Buddhist Studies which attracts students from the world over. Here one can find the most unique religious scriptures & art objects of the world

We skipped the Nam Nang VP/Ropeway but did manage to visit Do-Drul Chorten (Stupa) which is one of the most important stupas of Sikkim, built by the head of the Nyingma order- Trullshi Rimpoche in 1945. It contains rare details of Dorji Phupa, Holy Books, and Mantras and is encircled by 108 prayer wheels. Also the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology built in 1958 in traditional style, a renowned worldwide centre for the study of the Mahayana Buddhist philosophy & religion, a treasure house of rare “Thankas”, statues, over 200 Buddhist icons and prized objects of art. Our visit to the Sikkim Energy Park was also very good. This place is one of the new tourist spots which has come up in this city and has one of the best falls in Gangtok.

Post this visit we went back to Hotel and started for Pelling. Pelling @ 6800 Ft is a 5 hour journey (112 kms) via Ravangla (6800 Ft) , a small township and transit point to various destinations in South & West Sikkim, situated at the base of Meenam Hill (10300 Ft). We had our Lunch at small restaurant at Ravangla. The food was good and pretty reasonable. That place has host of Tibetan Food Joints offering almost the same cuisine. Ravangla incidentally is the same village from where Indian Soccer Icon Bhaichung Bhutia comes from. People love him there and are extremely passionate about soccer.

Post our Lunch we made a visit to the Tibetan Refugee Settlement Camp just above the town which houses the Kheunpheling Carpet Centre where one can buy fine Tibetan style woollen carpets and a fleeting visit to the Bon Monastery at Kewzing, 5 kms from Ravangla which is one of its kind in Sikkim, a symbol of the determination of the community to preserve their religious traditions.

After five hours of extremely tiring journey we finally reached Pelling and checked in at Elgin Mount Pandim. This Resort is located at one of the closest points to the Kanchenjunga range & one can see it up front touching the sky from Pelling. The scenic view from the top of the resort scanning across the deep valley, to the mystic heights of the Kanchenjunga range is something to be cherished & etched in memory. As with other properties of Elgin this one was also a heritage property and had twenty five rooms decorated tastefully. To our surprise we were the only guest staying there at that time. This resort was located in between the deep dense forest and it is part of a wild life zone. Post our dinner we enjoyed a cup of tea and that was it for the day.

Day 7: 15th July 2010.

The sightseeing route of Pelling is extremely bad. May be because of the monsoon or perhaps the very nature of terrain there the journey becomes extremely difficult most of the times. Our First stop that morning was the Rock Garden. To be honest I did not find anything interesting there and decided to let it go. Our next stop was the Khangchendzonga Water Falls. This by far was the best waterfall we came across in the entire stretch of seven days in that part of the country. We then went to Khecheopalri Lake also called the “Wish Fulfilling Lake”. It lies in the middle of deep dense forest surrounded by prayer flags and hills. The entire stretch is good two hours walk and it is suggested that you need to have a guide to help you find the way. Also there is definite danger of wild animals so it is always better to be in groups. Our next stop was Yuksom (5800 Ft). This is the first capital of the Kingdom of Sikkim & the coronation site of the first Chogyal. Evidence of the enthronement ceremony can still be seen in the form of stone seats and the footprint of the Head Lama on a stone. The stone throne constructed for the great event stands today at Norbugang which has been declared a Heritage site. If you have the time & energy, trek up to the Dubdi Monastery at Yuksom. This is a 30-35 mins trek into the forest negotiating steep slopes. It was built in 1701 after the consecration ceremony of the first Chogyal. It is an ideal place for Lamas seeking meditation and recluse. Dubdi means “the Hermit’s cell”. We skipped this particular part of the trip.

Though you visit only a few places but the distance in between the spots and the terrain makes the entire event of at least five to six hours. By the time we arrived at Pelling there were few more guests who had arrived in the resort and for a change it was better to see some crowd.

Day 8: 16th July 2010.

It is more than a week since we have left Delhi and the trip is nearing towards its end. Our next stop was Darjeeling but before we reached there we did make a short visit to The Pemayangtse Monastery (7021 Ft), 2.5 kms from Pelling. Built during the late 17th century, it is one of the oldest & most important monasteries of the Nyingmapa order of Buddhism in Sikkim. Even today, it is only the monks of this monastery who enjoy the title of ‘Tasang’ or pure monks. The monastery follows the Mindroling tradition & has 108 monks. The main attraction of the monastery is the wooden replica of Zangdog Palri, the celestial abode of Guru Padmasambhava, built by Serdup L Dorje Rinpoche in 1971.

The journey from Pelling to Darjeeling crossing Sikkim – West Bengal Border in the middle of those huge tea gardens is dangerous. The roads are single lane and become extremely narrow during monsoons. My personal suggestion is to avoid that route. Darjeeling @ 7100 ft is seventy two kms drive taking around three hours, Darjeeling is often called the” Queen of the hill stations”, its name derived from “Dorje-Line” which means the place of “Dorje”, the mystic thunderbolt. After a very scenic drive through the mountains, tea gardens etc., we reached Darjeeling by late afternoon & checked in at “The Elgin”, Darjeeling.

The Elgin – a 120 years old property, now given “Heritage Status” is located at 2 minutes walking distance from the mall. The Snug & Cozy feeling, Burma teak Furniture, Wooden floorboards and paneling, crackling log fireplaces, well thumbed volumes at the library, candle-lit dining tables with soft strains of the melodies wafting from the piano…. each has a story to tell. We went for an evening walk to mall and had snacks at Keventers. In case you want to buy some memorabilia this place has lot of shops selling the same. The stuff is good there and priced pretty reasonably. In case you want to buy some tea Golden Tea Tips is a suggested place.

It is Shonali’s Birthday today. We had a small celebration in the Hotel in the evening. The dinner was elaborate and it was really a good way to end a nice day.

Day 9: 17th July 2010.

Early morning trip to Tiger Hills was a casualty and we skipped it as we already had seen the Kanchenjunga range from Pelling. We also skipped Mirik a small town near Darjeeling known only for a lake. Instead we entered Nepal through the Pasupati Fatak and did shop around in the local market there. The shopping is just ok and you get basically pirated goods and T-Shirts mostly imported from China. I was looking for some Tibet Message T-Shirts but I could not come across the same in any of the shops.

The afternoon lunch was at Kugna near Keventers in the mall road. The food there was a passé. The pricing there was reasonable and the quantity they serve is more than one person can have at one go. This is one of the places where they serve authentic Tibetan food but for some reasons we did not like the cuisine. May be it was too bland or perhaps we were already full. Later during the evening Shonali did try Horse Riding at the Chou Rasta and it was fun to watch her on that pony trying her skills on that misty evening. We did buy Tea from the GoldenTeaTips Shop though. Being a Tea Lover it was amazing to note the various types and taste of tea these guys offer in and around that place.

We returned to hotel early and went straight for the dinner. We had to pack our bags because we had to check out of the Hotel early morning. A week long trip to Estern Himalayas was coming to end with bunch of memoirs forever in our minds.