Gangtok and Tsomgo Lake, Sikkim

We drove on from Kalimpong to Sikkim on the 23rd .  The roads were of course winding and twisting, and mostly in the valleys, so the temperature was hot and sticky.  The state border crossing was almost like a country crossing, as we had to have our passports stamped, and the official made several handwritten entries in big logbooks.  

Gangtok, Sikkim

We drove on to the capital, Gangtok, to find the cleanest place yet -- a student's father arranged for his friend's inn  (Dho-Ta-Pu Guest House) to take us for our time in Gangtok.   Both the city and the inn were clean and welcoming.

On Sunday, we rode the "ropeway" and walked around the city. We visited with two different students -- both will soon be seniors next year.   We lunched at Taste of Tibet, and then they showed us the Flower Exhibition, and the old royal palace and monastery. 

We also visited one student's house for tea and sandwiches, chatted with the parents and admired the artwork.   We dined at Little Italy Restaurant (great atmosphere, and pizza), attached to the guest house.

 

On Monday, we took a guide and jeep up to Tsomgo Lake, way up at 3700meters.  There we rode yaks partway around the lake, and also hiked up and up -- those peaks must have been over 4000 meters high!
We were short of breath, but exhiliarated.
The weather shifted constantly, between mist and sun.
We returned to town by 4:30, and rested...
until the students and parents and other friends came to visit.
We talked family and Sikkim politics for several hours.
Another day in paradise.

Jeff & Chris travel east

After school was out, we spent a week catching up on email and connections, then took a taxi down to DehraDun. We stopped off at President Travel to book a plane flight for the end of our upcoming long voyage, so that we could meet Barb and Cole's flight arriving from New York!
We went to the DehraDun InterState Bus Terminal (called "ISBT) on the far side of town, waited for the A/C bus. It was surprisingly nice and easy -- the bus suspension protected us from the potholes and rough roads and sudden stops. Except for a few traffic jams right in Delhi, the ride was smooth -- we stopped a couple of times for tea. Arrived in Delhi late, about 10pm, took an auto-rickshaw to the New City Palace Hotel, near the main mosque. What a claustrophobic hotel! but the room was air-conditioned, and we slept fine, waking early for the 6:40 departure of the Mahananda Express from Old Delhi Train Station. A cycle-rickshaw found us right outside the hotel, and managed to pedal and push us to the station -- we were a heavy load, what with backpacks and all.
The train was fine -- the car was recently renovated, so everything worked well. But there was not much in the way of food service, so we jumped out at a few stations to buy chips and cookies and bread. We met a few friendly people on the train-- an army captain on leave, and a young scientist in the Indian space program, on his summer vacation also. Our colleagues from Woodstock phoned to let us know where they were staying in Darjeeling--they reserved us a room there as well, so we had a confirmed destination!
After 32 hours onboard, we alighted at Siliguri junction, amidst the heat and humidity and bustle of the lowlands in mid-monsoon... we bought a train ticket for a later portion of the trip, then asked around to find that the last bus for Darjeeling had left. So we asked around for a shared-jeep, found that across a very busy road-- Rs164 got us a couple of seats in an SUV (Tata Sumo) for a fast bumpy curvy 4-hour ride up to Darjeeling at 2100meters elevation.
Then a friendly drunkard met us, escorted us up to the Hotel Broadway (really! the nearby tourist-policeman vouched for him), where the management had a room waiting for us. And, fortunately, though the mist closed in at dusk, we have not yet had to walk in the rain.
Darjeeling is a much older, more developed town than Mussoorie...at least it seems so, with many more mountain/tourist touches.
Today we attempted to get a ticket on the "toy train", but it is booked up for days, so we revert to the cyber cafe, and then to the nearby tea plantation for the obligatory Darjeeling Tea investigation.
More later...