Gangtok Part 2

One of my favorite travel websites is cleartrip.com. That is ‘coz, they give the rankings of all the hotels in a place, along with the pros and cons. One added advantage is that they publish the unedited comments of the travelers as well, who have actually stayed there. Sometimes, you also see, the hotel owners responding back to some of the adverse comments posted by unhappy tr

avelers. One such comment posted by the owner caught my eye. One of the travelers had posted a comment about a chipped mirror in the hotel room. And surprisingly, the hotel manager, Krish had responded back saying, “Chipped mirror has been replaced and the inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.” I was bemused. This was truly exemplary. Then I started reading all the comments, posted for that particular hotel. Came to know that, it had the best view of Kanchenjunga in the town. The USP of the hotel being, the terrace rooms. In the 2nd floor, all the rooms opened to a huge terrace, with had the uninterrupted view of the valley below, dotted by the settlements and the magnificent Kanchenjunga mountains. One had the option to have breakfast/lunch out in the terrace as well. One of the travelers was even kind enough to mention the room nos. to go for. There and then, I decided this is going to be my abode, for the stay in Gangtok. And true enough, I was not disappointed. In fact, I was delighted with the beautiful rooms and artistic décor and the night view of the hills, so much so that we decided to have dinner in the terrace, the evening we arrived at Gangtok. It was surreal experience, truly memorable. The clouds had descended below on the valley and had borrowed the bluish, pinkish hues of the night. And above them stood the majestic peak of KJ, glistening in the moonlight. As if saying, “I am there to protect you.” No wonder most of the pahaadis (Mountain-dwellers) worship the mountain. I was transported to another world, far far away from the maddening crowd. The cab ride from Siliguri to Gangtok was the most beautiful drive ever. For the entire stretch of the route, the mighty Tapti river was cruising along with us, though hundreds of feet below. And the roads on the mountain were so narrow, when another vehicle came from the front, we were almost hanging from the edge! Had I thrown a stone, it would have vanished in the crushing waves of the river. The din created by the river and the mountains made us feel so small…in the overall equation of things created by the almighty. …to be continued

Wanderlust

Wanderlust… I have an OCD for meticulous planning and organizing of things. Every little activity has to be minutely planned in advance so that things move with clock-work precision. My friends point out that I am missing out the fun in life, the fun in letting myself go, the fun in enjoying the disorganized chaos of life. Maybe they are right…may be they are just tired of hearing me say, “I told you so!” every time…maybe they just want me to be humane...make some errors and enjoy the roller-coaster ride of life. That was the premise or the background, with which I planned my trip to Gangtok. Hence, only the first day and final day were planned. With the aim of “Letting go”/go with the flow, for the intermediate days. The first thought that struck me, as soon as I landed in Bagdogara, was “OMG, how clean is this place!” Absolutely no litter, anywhere in sight! The hills and valleys were just like picture postcards, and the air….so fresh! No smoke and no pollution of any kind. The cab-ride from Bagdogara airport to the sleepy Siliguri town was filled with picturesque views of tea-gardens and hills. As my cab was zipping past the views, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, when I caught a signage. “City centre”-KFC. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Such a small town on top of a hill, where accessibility itself is a major hurdle, boasts of a KFC!!! And my city, the so-called aspiring IT hub, BBSR has been yearning for a KFC ever since I passed out of college! And still continues to be an elusive dream. Anyways, I thought to myself, now that I am in Siliguri, let me not miss this golden opportunity to dig my fingers into a creamy bucket of fried chicken….yummmm. But I had to save the KFC trip for the later part of the trip, as we were in a hurry to reach Gangtok before sunset. Because the hillside roads were too risky for night drive. …To be continued