tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74219883552874503992024-03-19T16:32:54.439+05:30Exploring my country ... exploring myself (Travel India)Not always I walk to reach a destination ... sometime I walk just because I love to walkSurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-51663035617859232712015-05-05T16:50:00.001+05:302016-11-08T15:38:27.323+05:30Tumling: A beautiful hamlet close to Indo-Nepal border<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tonglu Trekkers Hut</td></tr>
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<blockquote>
In platform number eleven of Howrah station I was staring at the train helplessly. The tail of Shatabdi express was slowly moving away from me and I knew all the prayers of my wife and Shantanu went in vain. For the first time in my life I missed the train. Immediately after filing the TDR I went to current reservation section but it seemed a conspiracy is going on to spoil our plan, no ticket available.<br />
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When plan A failed we opted for the plan B. Took a cab and went straightaway to esplanade, the bus depot. It is never as comfortable as the train journey but at least the bus journey saved our holiday plan. A fourteen hour bumpy ride and we were at the bus stand of Siliguri. It was raining.<br />
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18th July, 2015: On our way to Tumling </div>
We took a shared cab for Ghoom occupying the middle seat. Our voyage got delayed as the taxi driver was waiting to fill his quota of ten people. Thanks to the beautiful road of Rohini it was a pleasant journey. We stopped for a while to fill our stomach with some momos and the journey continues to Ghoom.<br />
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Reaching Ghoom our first job was to get a cab for Manebhanjan. In this part of world that is no big deal. Thanks to the yearlong presence of tourist in that area cabs are available in numbers. So many people earning their bread as a cab driver and that is one of the preferred occupations for the local people.<br />
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After getting into the cab I could hardly see 5 feet in front of us, the visibility level was so low due to cloud formation. We could see the locals wearing warm clothes and we also took out our woolen from the bag. Our journey began with a threat of cloudburst.<br />
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Proving our prediction wrong it never rained heavily during the journey to Manebhanjan and only after we took shelter in a hotel the downpour started. We didn’t have a plan to stay in Manebhanjan though. That was a temporary break just to do the lunch and meet the monster. The monster was standing just outside our hotel ignoring the heavy rain, waiting for its next destination. The 70 year old LAND ROVER, was no less than a monster.<br />
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Another journey and the last one for the day begins with Pasang, the very able driver of that land rover. At the very beginning of the ascend we had to stop. Another land rover was having some problem and Pasang went there to help the troubled driver. We were not really unhappy with the break and had a walk through the pine trees until the cumulative effort of Pasang and other driver brought the land rover on track.<br />
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We took our next break near Chitrey, a small village. By that time the sky was little clear and we could see Darjeeling from there. Something serene about that place attracted us and we spent some good time there taking photos and strolling. Later we revealed that it is a cremation center that falls in the trek route of Sandakphu. <br />
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After this point the actual journey begins and there is hardly any road beyond this point. It is more like off-roading and the monster was making it’s way over the paved boulders what they call road. The roller-coaster ride continues still Lamedhura where we had a tea break and a chance to check if our organs changed position. By that time we lost track of time. The wrist watch seemed to be one of the most useless things on earth and the journey continues. <br />
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When we reached Tumling, it was already night. It is a small hamlet situated actually in Nepal and not many accommodations are available there. We went to Shikhar Lodge directly. It was a cold night, no way to guess that it is mid of April. I was surprised to see tap water available in the lodge. The lodge is more like a halt point for the Sandakphu trekkers and we were not expecting anything luxurious. Not specious but clean rooms and a clean toilet – it provided what we were looking for. They served the dinner quickly, mix of Chapaties and Rice with egg curry. I wouldn’t say that it is the best dinner I ever had in a home-stay or trekkers hut but good enough. Just after having the dinner we went to bed with another round of prayer offered to the weather gods / goddesses.<br />
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19th July, 2015: And the weather god granted ... </div>
It was early in the morning ... so early that I consider that time as night but not when I am in Himalaya. the golden hour is something that I don't want to miss. the first ray was yet to be there, I just moved the curtain a little bit and had a glance from the glass window. Sleeping Buddha was smiling ... the Kanchenjunga family so close as if could touch them. Without delaying much I went out to find two guardians, waiting outside to greet me, two full grown Tibetian Mustangs. <br />
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SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com0Darjeeling, West Bengal, India27.0360066 88.26267510000002426.9228561 88.101313600000026 27.1491571 88.424036600000022tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-20514001831158464142014-07-08T16:22:00.002+05:302015-07-08T04:03:02.929+05:30Darjeeling during Monsoon <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darjeeling - During Monsoon (June-July)</td></tr>
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<blockquote>
The cab driver was screaming "aap pakarke baitho ... mai jaldi se bhagata hoon"
(hold tightly .. I am going to drive fast). At the back seat of that "eco", I was trying to guess the situation, as I was completely unaware what is happening there on the road. Then something hit the vehicle. Our car stopped and I could see the pale face of the driver. Then again after that momentary pause, our car starts running but in opposite direction. In front of my eyes I could see the mountain falling. Hardly 10 kilometers away from Sevoke we were trying to escape those rocks, few big, few not so big, with the help of back gear. I wish if it was a nightmare! But it was not!
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It all started a couple of days back when we took the train to NJP (HWH to NJP Satabdi). A pure family trip and the plan was to relax. We had our hotel, Uttaran, pre-booked in Siliguri via one of my friends. The location was good, near Bidhan market with basic facilities available. Our requirement was for a one night shelter and that hotel fits there perfectly. A clean bed, clean toilet and SONY SIX running in a portable TV (difficult to catch the scoreline from bed though!) - we were happy with that.
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Accommodation at Siliguri: Hotel Uttaran<br />
Double Bed room rent: Rs 600.00<br />
Tel: 9832493533</div>
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6th June, 2014
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We started the day in search of a cab. We went to the taxi stand near Bidhan Market and without much effort we had found a Sumo in good condition. From Siliguri to Darjeeling the rate is 1400 Rs.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road to Darjeeling during Monsoon</td></tr>
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It took us a while to get ready and by 8:30 AM in morning we were out for our destination. It was a cloudy morning but not really threatening to spoil our trip. The comparatively new road towards Karsiyang is beautiful and in good condition. We halted once to have our breakfast.<br />
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Once we reached Karsiyang, it started raining and the road condition also was not that good. To our surprise, the two toddlers inside our car were completely unaffected by the change in condition. I had noticed, during the journey most of the time they slept. It took us around two and half hours to reach Darjeeling and by that time there was no sign of rain.
We went without a pre-booked accommodation. So, once we get out of the car, my first concern was to get a shelter before the weather god changes his mind. Dodging few local agents we went to the most tranquil part of "The Mall" in search of a hotel. After checking the tariffs and rooms of a few we decided for "Hotel Dreamland". Later we realized that was a good decision.
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Cab driver: Rajen (From Siliguri to Darjeeling)<br />
Phone number: 9800783017<br />
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Accommodation in Darjeeling: Hotel Dreamland<br />
Website: http://www.dreamlanddarjeeling.com
Room Tariff: INR 1400 for a view room, 4th floor (the rate is after heavy off-season discount, it may vary)
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darjeeling during Monsoon</td></tr>
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Rooms are not really big, but well maintained and clean. Running hot water available. They have some really good staffs. The manager was an aged Bengali person. He doesn't prefer to talk much but only answers to queries.
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The process of finding that hotel actually took around one hour and by the time we checked in, we were really hungry. Without wasting much time, we ordered our lunch. It was a simple menu - rice, dal with chicken curry. The dining space was not very big and it can accommodate hardly a dozen at a time. Food quality was good enough. Supportive hotel stuffs helped us a lot by taking care of the very demanding toddler in our team during lunch. We had our lunch in peace while they were playing with that 1.5 year old baby boy.
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SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com5Darjeeling, West Bengal, India27.0360066 88.26267510000002426.9228561 88.101313600000026 27.1491571 88.424036600000022tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-84468555068822010832013-06-09T01:42:00.001+05:302014-05-05T18:36:32.012+05:30Mulkharka Lake: Another North Bengal village trek<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IkLHXcFdnF0/UbOPI_rA8VI/AAAAAAAABus/bQ7c6KchIok/s1600/Mulkharka-lake-trek-bloghead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Mulkharka Lake, Waiting for Mt Kanchenjunga reflection, Mulkharka lake trek" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IkLHXcFdnF0/UbOPI_rA8VI/AAAAAAAABus/bQ7c6KchIok/s640/Mulkharka-lake-trek-bloghead.jpg" height="321" title="The Mulkharka Lake, Waiting for Mt Kanchenjunga reflection, Mulkharka lake trek" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mulkharka Lake, Mt Kanchenjunga behind cloud - by Surajit Ray</td></tr>
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<blockquote>
"Mulkharka pokhri" or "Wish Fulfillment lake" is a natural water reservoir at an altitude of 7300ft, close to the village of Mulkharka. A place bit higher than Darjeeling and sources there confirmed - Mulkharka gets heavy snowfall during the winter. The lake situated on top of a mountain, surrounded by pine trees, bears serenity within. One can spend hours just sitting beside the lake. But the main attraction of that place is the reflection of Mount Kanchenjunga in that holy lake. We were not lucky enough to experience that though.
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Being the main water source of that area, the lake is sacred to the local Lepcha people. Naturally, there are several legends about the lake. Like, you will never find a leaf over lake water, because there is a bird and it cleans the lake by picking up fallen leaves. There are many more.
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Explore Lepcha villages nearby. Just go for a trek from one to another and enjoy the natural beauty en route. Accommodations available there are basic home-stays. There you can LIVE their life, if you really want.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/65960175@N07/sets/72157634564888454/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mulkharka Lake Photos, Lingsey Eco tourism" border="0" src="http://www.flickriver.com/badge/user/set-72157634564888454/recent/shuffle/medium-horiz/ffffff/333333/65960175@N07.jpg" title="Mulkharka Lake Photos, Lingsey Eco tourism" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mulkharka Lake Photos</td></tr>
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We were planning it since long time ago, planning for a run away. During all the breaks, that we take everyday between our work, we were discussing on the same topic. The battle that we fought everyday for survival, takes too much from us and my soul was demanding a recharge. Several hours of search effort and it brings us back to a well known track – yet another NORTH BENGAL TOUR! This time a bit different though. A trek route, if you call it a trek, which takes you to the <b>holy lake of Mulkharka</b> and later to some not-so-well-known Lepcha villages.
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Tickets were confirmed for a journey on 30th April. It was a big team of seven people at that time. Though, only three of us could make it at last. Thanks to the "weekly NJP special" train, which was actually an AC chair car, we rarely had a sleep that night. But to compensate, the train reached NJP station 30 minutes before time.
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Day 1: A long day before we've reached Mulkharka village</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LlUfFrBiN30/UcF272nSBSI/AAAAAAAABvY/C4TpdVVO5UQ/s1600/Hareswar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lingsey Shiva mandir, Lingsey Eco-Tourism, Mulkharka Trek" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LlUfFrBiN30/UcF272nSBSI/AAAAAAAABvY/C4TpdVVO5UQ/s320/Hareswar.JPG" height="240" title="Lingsey Shiva mandir, Lingsey Eco-Tourism, Mulkharka Trek" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lingsey Shiva Temple, Lingsey Eco-Tourism</td></tr>
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We went to the Siliguri bus stand, taking an auto from outside NJP station. Being in a small group of three, me, Indrada and Debasish, we decided to save some money by travelling in shared vehicles. So we opted for break journeys. First we went to Rangpo, had our lunch there in a South Indian restaurant and again left for Rhenok.
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When we had reached Rhenok, suddenly it started raining. That did not last for more than ten minutes though. After that it took us a while to find a vehicle for Lingsey – our final ‘motorable’ destination. It was a “Nano”.
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Baidu and Lalit were waiting there for us. Lalit served as our guide for the next few days and we were really lucky to have Lalit in our team. He is a real gentleman, a true friend, with vast knowledge of woods. His knowledge mostly came from his experiences in that area and partially from Bear Grylls, thanks to Discovery!
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<b>How to reach Lingsey:</b><br />
1. Shared car to <b>Rangpo from Siliguri</b> (120 Rs/person)<br />
2. <b>Rangpo to Rhenock</b> (50 Rs/person)<br />
3. <b>Rhenock to Lingsey</b> (200 Rs) --- it was a "NANO", my first experience</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KvZFMx1yBq4/UcF26X-__zI/AAAAAAAABvQ/aEjGh1EasqU/s1600/Lingsey+Sanskrit+School.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lingsey Sanskrit Vidyalaya, Lingsey Eco-Tourism, Mulkharka Trek" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KvZFMx1yBq4/UcF26X-__zI/AAAAAAAABvQ/aEjGh1EasqU/s320/Lingsey+Sanskrit+School.JPG" height="240" title="Lingsey Sanskrit Vidyalaya, Lingsey Eco-Tourism, Mulkharka Trek" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lingsey Sanskrit Vidyalaya, Lingsey Eco-Tourism</td></tr>
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So from <b>Lingsey</b> it was a team of four. We started our journey visiting the Siva temple of <b>Lingsey</b>, the biggest temple of that area. Considering the construction, I couldn’t say it is an architectural wonder and far behind from being one. The built up is hardly 10-12 years old, the sculptures are work of novice hands. But the temple is very special to the local people. Adjacent to the temple, there is a very unique school "Sanskrit Vidyalaya". From sources we came to know, the Sanskrit school of <b>Linsey </b>contains many old manuscripts in its library. As the school was closed, we were not able to check that collection though.
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From there, luckily, we had another "NANO" to help us a bit along our journey. It took us to the "Sherpa Monastery" of Linsey. A halt of few minutes there and we left the monastery towards <b>Mulkharka Village</b>. We found many companions in a group of young students, returning from their school. Due to their presence, the walk was never boring. It didn't took us long to reach Mulkharka, and we were there in the village, well before sunset. A homestay was our shelter for that night. It is managed by a young lady - Purna Kumari, we call her "Purna Bahen".
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<div class="infoBox">
<b>Where to stay at Mulkharka:</b><br />
Being a remote place, there is no hotel available. If you want to stay at Mulkharka, you will have to stay in Purna Bahen's homestay and that is the only option. To avoid extra expenses, you can contact Purnima directly and trust me that is one of the best home stay I have ever lived in.
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<strong>
Purnima Homestay - Mulkharka Village<br />
Contact No : 9749060593, 9609020434<br />
</strong>
Lalit works as a guide in that area and probably he is the best person to have as a guide. Contact No. 9832681259
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We had the best food of our journey at Mulkharka Village! Purna bahen was almost always serving us something to eat and everything pure organic. We had "Thumba" - local wine, with Pakora, home-made butter and a superb dinner.We didn't expected it to that cold but at night it was around 12 degree celsius and for me that is comfortable. Me and Debasish, we were sharing a double bed while Indrada was in another room - so that he can't disturb us with his snoring ;-).
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<div class="paraHead">Day 2: The lake Mulkharka</div>
Another lazy cloudy morning! We wake up late and due to the cloud it was not possible to have a glimpse of Mount Kanchenjunga. So we had our breakfast and then left for the lake Mulkharka. It was an easy 20-30 mins hiking from Mulkharka village. There is a football ground over the hill just beside the lake. The same ground is used to organize local carnival and that left behind signs of civilization in plenty.
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</div>SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-67296269411767813012013-04-07T18:18:00.000+05:302014-05-26T22:44:58.073+05:30Makaibari to Darjeeling : following Tea trails <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ghoom, Batasia Loop</td></tr>
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I could see the mountains are getting bigger in front of my eyes, I had occupied the window seat of the bus, watching everything on the way with with my curious eyes. After every hair pin bent there was a new mountain to produce a set of questions in my mind - <i>"Is it Darjeeling? How far we are from Darjeeling? How long it will take ...?"</i>. That was long back and I was travelling with my parents, my first Darjeeling tour, actually my first visit to Himalaya. 20 years passed after that, I have been to that part of world several times, but never ever went to Darjeeling after that.<br />
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day 1: Makaibari great food
Day2: early morning visit to the tea factory, after lunch dow hill -> darjeeling
day 3: Darjeeling full day
day 4: Return via Mirik
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</div>SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-54126544474111910272012-11-08T23:51:00.001+05:302013-05-29T00:01:38.575+05:30Barmek - Off Beat North Bengal tour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Barmek - By Surajit Ray</td></tr>
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<blockquote>
Barmek is a small village near West Bengal - Sikkim border famous for Cinchona plantation. Tourism as a business started there just a few days back (22nd October, 2012) and options available there are two home-stays.
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It is a nice travel destination near Siliguri - hardly 2:30 Hrs drive. If you want to follow a path less traveled, opt for Barmek. The best part of Barmek - it is not a well known travel destination.</blockquote>
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It seems like an infinite loop ... North Bengal - Sikkim area became an integral part of my travel itinerary. When Subhash asked me to arrange a trip a month ago I was not sure we will be able to make it. Shelly, my wife, had broken her leg and with that big plaster over her left leg that plan seemed to be an distant dream at that time.
Time passed so quickly and our departure date arrived in no time. We did a "tatkal" booking in Darjeeling mail and with the end of Bengal's biggest fest, "Durga Puja", our journey started. It was 24th of October, 2012, just two days before my birthday.
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<div class="paraHead">
<b>A traveler's loop: Night halt at Sillery Gaon: </b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yxa5I3Vf7IU/ULRyGbOTVtI/AAAAAAAABds/-AueQGPf_TY/s1600/DSC00604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The main road - Sillery Gaon, Darjeeling district" border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yxa5I3Vf7IU/ULRyGbOTVtI/AAAAAAAABds/-AueQGPf_TY/s320/DSC00604.JPG" title="The main road - Sillery Gaon, Darjeeling district" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The main road - Sillery Gaon, New Darjeeling</td></tr>
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Man! It is difficult to plan a trip during Holidays. Rates of hotels and rented cars increases beyond imagination and even after paying you are not certain to get good service. You can't just avoid rush during the holidays and it is so difficult to get a place completely serene and far away from the madding crowd. That defies the main purpose of my travel.
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After reaching Siliguri, I didn’t want to waste any time resting. We went to meet Sudipta as per our earlier plan. After having breakfast there, we (me and Sudipta) went out to get a car for us.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lKarc4YP3f4/ULRyFi78t6I/AAAAAAAABdg/bXg1i2oRIwA/s1600/DSC00595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sillery Gaon homestay, accomodation" border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lKarc4YP3f4/ULRyFi78t6I/AAAAAAAABdg/bXg1i2oRIwA/s320/DSC00595.JPG" title="Sillery Gaon homestay, accomodation" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is where we had stayed in Sillery Gaon</td></tr>
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We tried earlier but failed to get booking at any of the know places in Dooars. So we had to put Dooars in the canceled list. My budget was stiff, and I was not after any luxurious resort. I was searching for a decent place where I could spend a few days with my childhood friends without getting robbed. And even google failed to help me regarding this. Again I had to call Dilip Tamang for the solution. Dilipji assured me that he can arrange two rooms for that night in Sillery Gaon and the next day he will send us to an unexplored place where tourism just started a few days back. We opted for Sillery Gaon, as I was not mentally prepared to waste a day in Siliguri.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6Ab-MJLfIFE/ULtkYjE_Y9I/AAAAAAAABg8/hIDBzqlvsmE/s1600/DSC00138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6Ab-MJLfIFE/ULtkYjE_Y9I/AAAAAAAABg8/hIDBzqlvsmE/s320/DSC00138.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barmek - The main road</td></tr>
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Sudipta’s 2 years old son and 6 of us, that team started from Siliguri in a Toyota Innova. The driver took INR 3700, that is a bit expensive, almost 1000 bucks extra. But that was during festive season. We started late as it took long time to get that vehicle. Travelling along the same old route, I was not expecting any drama, but I was wrong. The road to Sillery from Algarah gets deteriorated after my previous visit. Almost everyone suffered due to that. Pritha, Sudipta’s wife, suffered the most. It was late when we reached Sillery Gaon. I was surprised to see so many tourists. It was difficult to find localites among them. Dilipji arranged our stay in his brother’s house. Kazi Tamang, his brother, I remember him from my last visit. He is as good a person as his brother. Having 7 children makes life difficult and that is why Kazi also started following his brother Dilip to make some money out of tourism.
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The food of Sillery Gaon is one of the main reasons behind my intense love for that place. I believe, my friends also enjoyed the food there. After having Roti and chicken that night, we were out there in the courtyard to have a walk in the memory lane together. Old days are gold days!
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<div class="paraHead">
Barmek, North Brngal -Found a place to hide from madding crowd</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aWtBU0s2zb4/ULtj8wDcq1I/AAAAAAAABgw/nlC92ROeXXM/s1600/DSC00151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aWtBU0s2zb4/ULtj8wDcq1I/AAAAAAAABgw/nlC92ROeXXM/s320/DSC00151.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barmek - Our Shelter</td></tr>
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The day started on a negative note. Sudipta's wife, Pritha, was not feeling well, neither Piku, their son. Taking that into consideration, we decided to go back to Siliguri. Halfheartedly we tried to arrange a cab for Siliguri, but due to the rush at that time, no vehicle was available in Sillery Gaon. Realizing that nothing we can do now, we had our breakfast and went out for a walk. Meanwhile Dilipji arranged a vehicle for us. With Dilipji himself guiding us, we left Lava for Barmek in a Bolero. It was a 40 mins drive.
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All of a sudden, the situation started favouring us. Piku was as agile as before, Pritha - much stable. We had three rooms side by side and a BIIIIG balcony - that was the best part. It was clowdy. But we were able to see Teesta from our balcony. We had reached Barmek early, so the whole day was there to explore that place. Barmek is not as remote as Sillery Gaon, our resort was just beside the main road, a road between pine trees. Mini stores are there in case you need some snacks, bottled mineral water etc. But there is no ATM nearby.There are several mountain trails you can follow. After a while we followed such a route. After a walk of an hour we came back to had our lunch.
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<div class="paraHead">
Leaving Barmek, Lava, Dooars on the way</div>
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TK24UHJ6SB37SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-8387605958604359642012-10-03T11:50:00.002+05:302013-04-10T00:45:05.827+05:30A four day Chhattisgarh trip - Time travel to explore ancient India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jGY8LKAWRYY/UVLxSsAA0eI/AAAAAAAABjc/afs1LOVKSFI/s1600/Chhattisgarh+Blog+Head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Amazing Chitrakoot waterfalls at Chhattisgarh" border="0" height="219" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jGY8LKAWRYY/UVLxSsAA0eI/AAAAAAAABjc/afs1LOVKSFI/s640/Chhattisgarh+Blog+Head.jpg" title="Amazing Chitrakoot waterfalls at Chhattisgarh" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing Chitrakoot at Chhattisgarh</td></tr>
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<blockquote>
It was a short four day Chhattisgarh trip, so this time we had to plan a bit. Chhattisgarh has so much to offer. Some of the most dense forests in India, rich in flora and fauna, covering almost 40% of the state. Remains of ancient civilizations, many of them are yet to be excavated. And of course some of the finest waterfalls in India. We wanted to cover this much variety of Chhattisgarh in a four days trip. Quite a task in hand!
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Sayan made it at the last moment ... the train was about to leave Howrah. This time it was four of us, Me, Sayan, Amarjit and Indrajit Bose. Of course we were missing mama (Aparup), I believe soon he will be fit enough to join us. With 4 of us on-board, the Howrah- Porbandar Express left Howrah around 11 PM, leaving behind the busy city "Kolkata" towards Raipur, The capital of Chhattisgarh.
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<div class="paraHead">
Day1: Sirpur - The lost city of temples</div>
The train was one hour late. Just outside the station, there was a giant screen, set by Chhattisgarh State Tourism Development Corporation. It was showing all the famous destinations in Chhattisgarh as well as the rich cultural inheritance of that state. That served as an introduction to the beauty of that place and made us more excited about the next few days of our stay there in Chhattisgarh.<br />
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<b>How to reach Sirpur, Chhattisgarh:</b> Sirpur can be easily reached from Raipur (78 KM), the capital of Chhattisgarh. There are several buses available. Take a bus to Mahasamund and on the Raipur- Sambalpur road get down at KOHARI village. From there Sirpur is just 17 KM away. Or you can book a cab from Raipur, the rent will be 1500 INR approx.</div>
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After reaching Raipur, our first priority was to get some food. The local marketplace is under "Marwari" influence. Almost all the hotels serve "Thali", similar to a "Rajasthani Thali" or "Gujarati Thali". The food quality was good and the rate was nominal. It took a while to decide our next action after we had our lunch. Our first destination was the "Medieval city of Chhattisgarh - Sirpur", known for the famous Laxman temple and other Buddhist/ Jain Stupas.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9p70_xIH03o/UVLhlg0dXhI/AAAAAAAABi8/KVCFgQfjuDs/s1600/Laxman+Temple+Sirpur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Laxman Temple Sirpur Chhattisgarh" border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9p70_xIH03o/UVLhlg0dXhI/AAAAAAAABi8/KVCFgQfjuDs/s320/Laxman+Temple+Sirpur.jpg" title="Laxman Temple Sirpur Chhattisgarh" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laxman Temple Sirpur</td></tr>
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To save some money, we took a bus towards Mahasamund from Raipur bus stand. That bus took us to the Kohari Dam stop. From there it was long waiting. Not many options available from Kohari to Sirpur other than bus and the frequency of bus service is low. Amarjit and Indrada were a bit confused, whether to go to Sirpur or to return back to Raipur. I was not. So again from Kohari we took the last bus to reach Sirpur around evening.
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In the form of temples and stupas, Sirpur carries the assets of great medieval Indian artwork. All of those worth a visit, but due to time constraint we directly went to the famous Laxman Temple of Sirpur. A Vishnu temple by nature, Laxman temple is a wonderful example of "Terra cotta" artwork. There is an adjacent Museum having great collection of sculptures and inscriptions of that time. Though I couldn't spare much time to have a good look.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7kUV5WTPLc/UVcszCrNUlI/AAAAAAAABjo/NAUn-xg24JA/s1600/Sirpur+Laxman+Temple+idol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Laxman Temple Sirpur Chhattisgarh" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7kUV5WTPLc/UVcszCrNUlI/AAAAAAAABjo/NAUn-xg24JA/s320/Sirpur+Laxman+Temple+idol.jpg" title="Laxman Temple Sirpur Chhattisgarh" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vishnu Idol inside Laxman Temple</td></tr>
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Soon it was dark. As we went there by the last bus, we were bound to find another mode of transport to return back. With help from caretakers of Laxman Temple, we found one Martui Omni. A local doctor owns that and the vehicle was available for hire. We booked it for our return and went to visit another famous temple of Sirpur – The Gandheshwar Temple. Situated on the banks of river Mahanadi, the famous temple of Gandheshwar (Siva Temple) looked really blessed. In the temple courtyard, there was a big and beautiful sculpture of Lord Buddha under a banyan tree, as if he is still meditating there.
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The vehicle we booked, picked us up from there and within half an hour we were in Kohari. We took a bus from there and reached Raipur around 10 PM. All of us were very hungry by that time. Near the Raipur bus stand, there is a very good restaurant - <b> Rajgharana</b>. We took "Rajgharana special thali" and the food quality was superb. We finished our dinner and came out of Rajghara to see a deluxe bus is leaving for Jagdalpur - our next destination. It was a sleeper class Volvo of Mahendra Travel's and I must say the journey was comfortable enough.
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<b>Where to stay in Sirpur :</b> The best available accommodation in Sirpur is the P.W.D rest house and for that an early booking is required. Other than that there are a few free "Dharamsalas" available.
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<div class="paraHead">
Day2: Chitrkoot Waterfalls - Feeling the power of nature</div>
It was early morning, around 4:30 AM and we were already there in Jagdalpur. We tried a few hotels there, but luckily none of those really appealed to us and we got a better option later in that day.
Chitrakoot Waterfalls, "The Niagara of India", is the biggest (Not the tallest) waterfall of India. I shoot this video of Chitrakoot during my trip to Chhattisgarh. Mesmerizing beauty!
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<b>How to reach Chitrakoot Waterfalls, Chhattisgarh: </b></div>
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Day3: Kanger valley national park - A place where the time freezes <br />
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Day 4: The Temple of Bhoramdeo - Life depicted over stones
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SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com11Chhattisgarh, India21.2786567 81.866144217.493976699999997 76.812433199999987 25.0633367 86.9198552tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-87239866005985706602012-03-23T13:46:00.001+05:302015-08-28T00:23:21.890+05:30Nathang Valley - East Sikkim: First trip after my marriage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z9L8buCfPZk/UWG3L9l4esI/AAAAAAAABmY/QLICkB7iRgo/s1600/Nathang+Valley+blog+head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Amazing Nathang valley during winter, East sikkim" border="0" height="249" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z9L8buCfPZk/UWG3L9l4esI/AAAAAAAABmY/QLICkB7iRgo/s640/Nathang+Valley+blog+head.jpg" title="Amazing Nathang valley during winter, East sikkim" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nathang Valley - East Sikkim, By Surajit Ray</td></tr>
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<blockquote>
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This time I was extra cautious ... My first trip with my wife. First time I had to plan before I leave. I had called "Dilipji" (Dilip Tamang), my old friend and asked him to make the arrangements in Sillery Gaon for our first night. I wanted to travel along a known track. My friend Kaustav and his wife Sonia were my companions this time. Sonia did the reservation for us in "Darjeeling Mail". 16th March, 2012 is "The day we caught the train" from Bardhaman Jn. for a special trip what everybody reckons as our "Honeymoon".
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<a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/46052965@N03/sets/72157629316630282/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="nO One ... nObOdy - View my 'Nathang Valley - Silk Route' set on Flickriver" border="0" src="http://www.flickriver.com/badge/user/set-72157629316630282/recent/shuffle/medium-horiz/ffffff/333333/46052965@N03.jpg" title="nO One ... nObOdy - View my 'Nathang Valley - Silk Route' set on Flickriver" /></a></div>
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<div class="paraHead">
Day One: Back to Sillery Gaon </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silley Gaon Road: By my wife</td></tr>
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Life is changing after marriage! I started my trip with shopping! My wife didn't have the necessary gear to fight the chill at high altitude. First thing I did is to buy a pair of shoes as she had only sandals with her. This time we had our lunch at Siliguri and left for Sillery around 12:30 PM.
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We had booked a car - a diesel one, that was not good but cheap. The journey was pretty slow because of the vehicle. We didn't take a break before Algarah, only a few kilometers away from Sillery. After having tea there we started again. It is a bumpy 4 kilometers ride along the poorly paved road towards Sillery. Soon, it was clear to all of us, including the driver, that it is too big a task for our car to complete the journey in a single piece along that road. We left that car midway and I called Dilipji for rescue.
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<b>How to reach Sillery Gaon:</b><br />
There are several options available from Siliguri.
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1. Book a car, ideally an SUV, that will directly take you to Sillery Gaon. It will cost you 2500 INR approximately. <br />
2. Go to Kalimpong by a shared Taxi and book a car from there. The cost will be around 1000 INR. <br />
3. Go to Algarah by a shared Taxi from there you can trek (around 4/5 KMs) or optionally can book a car. Costing around 700 INR.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flower, Sillery Gaon </td></tr>
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We were enjoying that unplanned break while Dilipji appeared with a SUV. The driver was shouting "Welcome to Sikkim!", come-on! We are still in West Bengal! Within half an hour we were in Sillery, sipping hot tea with "pakoras". The weather was comfortable, not too hot, not too cold. I didn't even have to bring my sweater out. That evening, not many options were there before us to pass time. Dilipji arranged an old guitar for me, and I played that for a while.
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It is after our dinner, when we started planning for upcoming days. I suggested we should stay a day in <b>"Nathang Valley"</b>. It was my sweet memories of that place, from my last visit, that compelled me to take that decision. Everybody were in accord with my proposal. So, we just called Dilipji and asked him to arrange a vehicle for us.
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<b>Where to stay in Sillery Gaon:</b><br />
No Hotel/Restaurant is present and the only option is a home-stay. Dilip Tamang leads the business while several others emerging out. The rate is 500 INR per person per day all inclusive. Contact Dilip Tamang - +919635005318.
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<div class="paraHead">
Day Two: Nathang Valley, itz snowing man</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VgcfrkhnaAk/UAu4uzoi-tI/AAAAAAAABYQ/TOyI88kD0bY/s1600/WP_000061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VgcfrkhnaAk/UAu4uzoi-tI/AAAAAAAABYQ/TOyI88kD0bY/s320/WP_000061.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reshi Khola - By Sriparna Ray</td></tr>
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It was a foggy day. I didn't feel any urge to leave the bed early as I was sure Kanchenjunga will not be visible until the atmosphere is clear. I just opened the window to verify ... I was right. Tea got served around 7 AM, and only then I lifted myself out of my bed. Kaustav and Sonia, already out there for a walk, were a bit upset as the view was not clear. We had planned to leave Sillery Gaon early, but the driver came late. He had a companion with him - his friend. After having our breakfast together we left for <b>"Nathang Valley"</b>.<br />
We got a TATA SUMO this time. Not in good condition though, the door locks were not working properly. But it was still manageable. We decided to go reluctantly, there was no reason to hurry. We had our first break in <b>Reshi Khola</b>. We spent good time there shooting photos and walking along the <b>Reshi river bed</b>.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tin Chuley, near Sillery Gaon </td></tr>
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Our next big break was in Rongli. We had to stop there to arrange the permit for <b>Nathang Valley, Kupup, Tsomogo and Gangtok</b>. Rongli is the last chance for you if you need cash on that way. There is no ATM available after that and all your credit/debit cards are useless after this point. Our wives went for some shopping there in the local "<b>Haat</b>". Sriparna, my wife bought a down jacket, that served as a real protector to her during our stay in Nathang Valley.
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ak-WZ30cHnQ/UAu5C-ErGQI/AAAAAAAABYs/-mIzRIghqeU/s1600/WP_000072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ak-WZ30cHnQ/UAu5C-ErGQI/AAAAAAAABYs/-mIzRIghqeU/s320/WP_000072.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During journey- By my wife</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When we had reached Dzuluk, we had a bad news waiting, that turned to be a good news for us. The driver was talking with a local person in Dzuluk and that person informed that due to heavy snowfall we may not be able to reach Nathag Valley. Our crew got excited. "Ahh! that means it is snowing". We were traveling along the famous zigzag road, it was not possible to see anything though as the road got vanished in fog. After we had crossed Thambi view point everything was covered with snows. Ours was the only vehicle in that road. It was first "snow" experience for Sriparna and Sonia.They got excited. We stopped thrice between Zuluk and Nathang Valley to feel the ambiance.We did slide over snow, threw snowballs, shoot pictures and did whatever we wanted to do. That situation brought out the child in us.
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OwCuTEMUZQw/UAu8qHsRnBI/AAAAAAAABY4/ZcXdQ4XOdRw/s1600/WP_000106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OwCuTEMUZQw/UAu8qHsRnBI/AAAAAAAABY4/ZcXdQ4XOdRw/s320/WP_000106.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nathang Valley- By my wife</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Around 4 PM we had reached Nathang Valley. Again warm tea and pakoras were waiting for us. Everything was covered with snow ... the roads, the roofs, stairs. There was only another group staying in Nathang at that night. So it is obvious, Nathang Valley is not yet a very popular destination among tourist. But it should be because of it's breathtaking natural beauty. we opted for room heaters, and that is a good option to have. Nights in <b>Nathang Valley</b> are really freezing. We had a blanket and a bed-quilt to fight that. I had a wonderful sleep that night.
<br />
<div class="paraHead" style="clear: both;">
Day Three: Frozen Tsomgo (Changu Lake) on our way</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N6WLPn2T8_Q/UE4-Qky_eGI/AAAAAAAABZU/uLwwn8YEj6I/s1600/WP_000137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nathang valley" border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N6WLPn2T8_Q/UE4-Qky_eGI/AAAAAAAABZU/uLwwn8YEj6I/s320/WP_000137.jpg" title="Nathang Valley" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near Kupup Lake - By my wife</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I wake up early this time. Still it was foggy and no sign of Kanchenjunga. I left the resort with my camera, others from my team were getting ready. People from plane have great attraction towards snow. I am not an exception either. It seems magical every time. Gazing everything with my "greedy" eyes I was walking down the streets of Nathang Valley. That kind of atmosphere always brings out another "me" from me.
<br />
<br />
There is a war memorial in Nathang Valley carrying the memories of "Tukla War". It raises the question that how can a human mind even think about bullets and guns in such a place. But to face the reality, it is till a military zone. There exists a "Vishnu Mandir" and a "Buddhist Gumpha" in Nathang valley. That suggests people from both communities are living there. There is also a school in Nathang valley, providing education in one of the remotest part of India. Great efforts.
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Hu-jVu98dk/UE4-mns-AZI/AAAAAAAABZc/d4VjRqICNHQ/s1600/WP_000141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lake Kupup, Elephant Lake" border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Hu-jVu98dk/UE4-mns-AZI/AAAAAAAABZc/d4VjRqICNHQ/s320/WP_000141.jpg" title="Lake Kupup, Elephant Lake" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kupup Lake - By my wife</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After having breakfast we left Nathang Valley around 10:30 am. And at the very beginning we had experienced something that might have ended up as an accident. We were providing lift to some local people in our vehicle. During a stiff climb, while our driver applied break, the vehicle started sliding. Our driver was trying his best to control the vehicle but failed. The pedestrians joined the rescue operation. One of them threw a big boulder to jam the wheel, missed first time but lucky second time and he saved us! Our hearts were pounding heavily, but nobody really screamed or had shown any sign of panic. Real kudos! The road was so beautiful, soon tension and fear disappeared, and everybody became normal again. Soon we have reached "The elephant lake", popularly know as "Kupup lake". That was my second visit to that place and this time the lake was fully frozen. Our next major break was in "New Baba Mandir". We didn't spend a lot of time there but left for Changu.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FaAvR9Z7uzg/UE4-yD7yGeI/AAAAAAAABZs/y96fYI4Ct4U/s1600/WP_000152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="New Baba mandir" border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FaAvR9Z7uzg/UE4-yD7yGeI/AAAAAAAABZs/y96fYI4Ct4U/s320/WP_000152.jpg" title="New Baba mandir, Sikkim" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near New Baba Mandir - By my wife</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When we had reached Changu, it was very cloudy and the temperature was falling. I only had a sweater with me and it was so cold that I had to borrow a shawl from my wife. A very common thing for the Changu visitors is to take a "Yak ride". But looking at the angry eyes of those creatures I felt it is better to trust my own legs.<br />
<br />
It is not allowed to walk over the frozen Changu. I tried once, but as soon as I placed my feet over the icy surface, the security persons started shouting, so I had to give-up. After spending about an hour in Changu, we decided to return back. The journey was long and we were really hungry. We had our lunch with wai-wai and momo. At one point of time we become a bit restless ... "how long it will take? How far we are from Sillery Gaon"? These questions were arising inside our heads. Effect of a long journey. As I told, our car was not in good condition, the break was not working properly and in search of a short-cut route our driver ended up with a crash with another vehicle. Luckily nobody got hurt. It was 8PM when our journey ended in Sillery.<br />
<br />
<div class="paraHead">
Day Four: Again Sillery Gaon</div>
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SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com41Nathang Valley, Sikkim, India27.3186083 88.833502827.3045008 88.813761800000009 27.332715800000003 88.8532438tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-33831274920082806522012-02-29T12:09:00.000+05:302013-07-06T00:28:44.792+05:30Sillery Gaon and others: Exploring the Silk route<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Zig Zag road near zuluk, Sillery Gaon - Silk Route Tour" border="0" height="259" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f-caHEsCu7I/T3HkBc8vXaI/AAAAAAAABS4/tpl7MBCOi6c/s640/bloghead-silk+route.jpg" title="Zig zag road near Zuluk, Sillery Gaon - Silk Route Tour" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zig Zag Road near Zuluk - By Surajit Ray</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It is a fact that I don’t plan much during my trips … but this time I didn’t even have the destination in mind. We had booking for Siliguri. From Siliguri so many destinations open up. So we were sure that we will be able to decide about a destination on our way. We didn't have direct reservation to Siliguri. First we had to reach Maldah and from there Siliguri. I was searching for destinations using my mobile internet while waiting inside the Maldah station. At that time I came to know about Sillery Gaon and found the number of Dilip Tamang. Without wasting much time I called him. That was a wise decision.<br />
<br />
<span style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/46052965@N03/sets/72157628674576435/"><img alt="nO One ... nObOdy - View my 'sillery gaon' set on Flickriver" border="0" src="http://www.flickriver.com/badge/user/set-72157628674576435/recent/shuffle/medium-horiz/ffffff/333333/46052965@N03.jpg" title="nO One ... nObOdy - View my 'sillery gaon' set on Flickriver" /></a></span>
<br />
<div class="paraHead">Day1: Kalimpong, always expect the unexpected </div>
After reaching NJP station we confirmed Dilipji that we are coming. Without any booking amount our booking was confirmed just with a phone call. Now it was time to move. It was difficult to get a transport as not many people were aware of such a place named "Sillery Gaon". I had a map with me, that didn't help either. At last, after searching we had found a driver with a Maruti Omni who agreed to drive for us. Four of us, a driver and a helper, our journey fro Sillery Gaon begun. <br />
<div class="paraHead">Day2: Sillery Gaon, hidden treasure of West Bengal</div>
<div class="paraHead">Day3: Zuluk, Nathang Valley, Kupup</div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="paraHead">Day4: Time to go</div>
</div>
</div>SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com0Sillery Gaon, West Bengal, India27.1395556 88.580385827.137789100000003 88.577918300000007 27.1413221 88.5828533tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-61084576183744431812011-08-29T21:01:00.000+05:302012-11-18T03:26:15.459+05:30Rajasthan - Land of kings, camels, desert and folk music<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Jaisalmeer fort Rajasthan, The sonar Kella" border="0" height="182" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lP_ge5PYnlo/TlqJiS8hnQI/AAAAAAAABBY/7syfZ5rSfdY/s400/DSC_0327.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Jaisalmeer fort Rajasthan, The sonar Kella" width="500" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sonar Kella, The Golden fort of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan - By Surajit Ray</td></tr>
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<blockquote>
Our flight was about to leave Kolkata … still it was hard to believe
that we are really going there! “Yesssss we are going to Rajasthan” –
the place we always wanted to visit.</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/65960175@N07/sets/72157627377873159/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="jit0ray - View my 'Rajasthan' set on Flickriver" border="0" src="http://www.flickriver.com/badge/user/set-72157627377873159/recent/shuffle/medium-horiz/ffffff/333333/65960175@N07.jpg" title="jit0ray - View my 'Rajasthan' set on Flickriver" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="paraHead">
Day1: Desert calling</div>
We hardly had a sleep last night …
last minute packing and excitement. With no specific plan in our mind we
are going. We had our flight at 7:30 AM and we had reached airport
almost 2 hours before. The flight was not delayed. After the take-off
Kolkata started to look smaller and smaller from the window and at last
disappeared behind the cloud and only then I felt Rajasthan is not far
away!<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/65960175@N07" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hawa Mahal, Jaipur , Rajasthan" border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ccr6_m2Eyu8/TnOCXwrPYcI/AAAAAAAABDw/DELGfUHAlcQ/s1600/HawaMahal.JPG" title="Hawa Mahal, Jaipur , Rajasthan" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hawa Mahal, Jaipur, Rajasthan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
A short flight of an hour and 40 minutes and we were
there in Jaipur. At the same point of time the city amazed me and
disappointed me. I was amazed to see the Jaipur city from sky and from
ground - a totally planned modern city. I was disappointed ‘coz I had a
different picture in my mind.
<br />
The old Jaipur city – “The pink city behind the wall” is almost 14 KMs away from the airport. The airport is smaller than I expected. We had hired an auto from outside
the airport for 150 bucks. The auto rickshaw driver took us to some
hotels. Almost all auto drivers do that to earn some extra bucks as
commission. But I had a plan to stay in a heritage hotel. So we went to
Diggi palace. Though the normal room rent was beyond our budget, but we
had the advantage of traveling during off season. At last it was a good
bargain and in the end I must say it was a good choice too.
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a alt="Albert Hall,Museum, Jaipur, Rajasthan" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/65960175@N07" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Albert Hall,Museum, Jaipur, Rajasthan" border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1TNImap94zc/TnNtGVPtZHI/AAAAAAAABDo/A0DPtd9OQGI/s320/Albert_hall_museum.jpg" title="Albert Hall,Museum, Jaipur, Rajasthan" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Albert Hall,Museum, Jaipur, Rajasthan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I expected Jaipur to be hotter than Kolkata, but the temperature and
weather is quite similar, at least it seemed to be so, at the time we
had visited. When we left Kolkata we were annoyed as it had been raining
for almost two weeks. When we had arrived at Jaipur we are surprised to
see the clouds followed us there too. The rain was not continuous and
we had enough time to watch Jaipur closely.
<br />
We were not in a mood to relax, and we wanted to explore Rajasthan as much as
possible. So soon after checking in and having a bath we left Diggi
Palace for a walk. I had map of the city with me, which I got from the
hotel reception. With the help of that map and local people we started
to explore Jaipur depending on our legs. Nahargarh* fort was visible
from the road. The first fort we saw in Rajasthan. We decided to visit
it by walking. Asking a few people and with the help of our map we have
reached the fort.
<br />
We had the best panoramic view of the pink city from this place. We spent a couple of hours there before coming back. During our way back we visited the famous “Hawa Mahal” and “Albert Hall Museum”. It was a hectic walk, almost around 20 Kms. When
we came back to our room we decided not to stretch it anymore.
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/65960175@N07" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nahrgarh Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan" border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kqkD7IJMfQ8/TnOCciDTJXI/AAAAAAAABD0/tEp1iIQMMhI/s320/nahargarh_fort.JPG" title="Nahrgarh Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Aparup, Nahrgarh Fort</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The arrangement that night was really good. It was a full moon and a special day for Hindus – "Rakhi Purnima". Hotel management had arranged a cultural program on that occasion, folk music, folk dance and puppet show. A beautiful girl was dancing with rajasthani folk music. She was so damn beautiful that my total concentration was on her. It was a long night. I also had a good time with the singers. Folk music is one of my interests and Rajasthan is famous for the folk musician. Sufi, Ghumar, Kawali, Kalbelia - we had too much of the folk flavors that night. We went to bed around 1:30 A.M. <br />
<div class="paraHead">
Day2: Moving around Jaipur</div>
It was late when we left our bed next morning. We hurried to finish our breakfast, had a shower and checked out from the hotel. We directly went to the bus stand in search of a bus to Jaisalmer to find out there is only one bus and that departs from Jaipur at 11:59 PM. That was good for us as we decided to spend the day exploring other parts of Jaipur. We took an auto again for hire and for 500 bucks we had a city tour.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-byy-ylQ36WU/TnOSOUfkRqI/AAAAAAAABD4/Z2Avi5klFzs/s1600/Jantar_Mantar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, Rajasthan" border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-byy-ylQ36WU/TnOSOUfkRqI/AAAAAAAABD4/Z2Avi5klFzs/s320/Jantar_Mantar.jpg" title="Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, Rajasthan" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, Rajasthan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We started with Jantar-Mantar. The next was city palace, but it was so crowded that we decided not to enter the palace. From there we went straight to Amer Fort. Amer is obviously the biggest and most beautiful fort of Jaipur, expanding around 5 KMs over Aravalli Mountains. The artwork is stunning, architecture is wonder. We didn’t have a clue how hours passed away within the fort. On our way while returning back from the fort, we went to another famous place of Jaipur, Jalmahal – “Lake Palace”. <br />
We went back to the bus stand after the tour. We we really hungry at that time and we decided to try something typically Rajasthani. So for the first time we had "Dal-Bati-Churma". Then it was a was a long waiting. We decided to go back to the walled city to pass time.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AEgaaLGFGAY/TnOSmQsuSxI/AAAAAAAABD8/UiezQf3hZ_0/s1600/Jal_Mahal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="173" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AEgaaLGFGAY/TnOSmQsuSxI/AAAAAAAABD8/UiezQf3hZ_0/s320/Jal_Mahal.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jal Mahal,Jaipur, Rajasthan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Returning back to the city, we went to a football ground near the “Albert Hall Museum”. It was around 9 PM, a gentle breeze was blowing. I put my backpack down over the ground, put off my shoes and light a cigarette to enjoy that moment. Suddenly I couldn’t believe my ears! “Someone is talking in Bengali” … and I was so surprised to see almost all the people present there are talking in Bengali! At home feelings for us!
<br />
We left that place around 10 and went back to the bus stand. Again some wait and we were inside a Volvo bus. The condition of the bus was not really good. But we were so tired that the condition couldn’t disturb our sleep that night.
<br />
<div class="paraHead">
Day3: A night in the desert, Safari inside desert national park</div>
It was almost dawn when I opened my eyes. The
terrain was different and I started to feel the desert. I was still in
bus we had reached Jodhpur. The bus journey was a bit boring. Though you
can enjoy beautiful Rajasthan from a window seat but it takes too long
to reach Jaisalmer from Jodhpur, almost 12 hours.<br />
<br />
Our
uneventful journey ended at Jisalmer around 12:15 P.M. and it was a kind
of relief for me. Avoiding the annoying auto rickshaw drivers we left
the bus stand. Due to heavy raining in last few days it was difficult to
get a car there. After trying several times we got a vehicle in
reasonable rate and we left for Khuri village.<br />
<br />
A road
among deserts, many wind mills, not many people during the journey –
seems like a western movie. It took us almost a hour to reach Khuri, 44
KMs away from Jaisalmer. But we really have enjoyed that journey.<br />
<br />
In
Khuri we had a booking in “Badal’s house”. Badal Sing is a very nice
person and In Khuri “Badal’s House” is one of the best options to stay. He
charges 300 Rs per day including the food. That is quite good. We had a bath and had our lunch with "Bazre ki roti".
</div>
</div>
SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com4Desert National Park, Rajasthan, India27.0773979 70.883343426.8511864 70.5674864 27.303609400000003 71.1992004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-28301530844134425992011-07-18T00:14:00.000+05:302015-01-20T15:21:22.162+05:30Varanasi - A city older than time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Kashi - Varansi from Ganges" border="0" height="345" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cPJPTMvBbiE/TiMsaVRXfII/AAAAAAAAA6E/Rgwf0vW9gIg/s640/varanasi_head.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" width="640" xaa="true" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good Morning - Varansi from Ganges</td></tr>
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<blockquote>
I can't help quoting Mark Twain(Following the Equator) here - "<i>Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together</i>". Ofcourse there is something special about this city!
<br />
Varanasi or Benaras is one of the oldest living cities on earth. The ancient name of Varanasi was Kasi. According to the "Vamana Puran", the Varuna and Assi river originated from the body of the primordial person at the beginning of time itself. The tract of land lying between these two rivers got the name Varanasi, one of the holiest pilgrimages.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/46052965@N03/sets/72157627054926707/"><img alt="nO One ... nObOdy - View my 'Varanasi' set on Flickriver" border="0" src="http://www.flickriver.com/badge/user/set-72157627054926707/recent/shuffle/medium-horiz/ffffff/333333/46052965@N03.jpg" title="nO One ... nObOdy - View my 'Varanasi' set on Flickriver" /></a>
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<div class="paraHead">
Day1: Why Varanasi - Well, you need to find it yourself!</div>
It raised a few eyebrows when I told my friends that I am going to Varanasi ... "Why Varanasi?"<br />
... I did not answer. But I knew for what I am going to Varanasi. Varanasi got colors of life ... colors of my country ... India.<br />
We had our reservation in Mumbai mail - the train departed from Howrah in time. In its route the train touched my hometown. Sweet Home!! I know this route so well!!! We were traveling along a well known path.<br />
I never had a problem sleeping in trains ... neither this time. Actually I feel comfortable with the mild rocking journey.<br />
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<div class="paraHead">
Day2 : Varanasi - See with your mind, not with your eyes</div>
Mughalsarai, at 8:20 a.m. - surprisingly the train was not delayed. Just outside the station the auto rickshaw drivers almost started the third world war just to get us as passengers! Never thought we are that important.
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We decided for an auto rickshaw at last, and for Rs 200 it took us to the gate of the Kasi Hindu University. We had some food there and crossed the BHU gate to have a look at the Campus. Very soon we understood that we are too tired to walk and the burning sun is too much to tolerate. So we returned back to the gate within ten minutes and took another auto to the Dasaswamedh Ghat, arguably the most famous of the ghats of Varanasi.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46052965@N03/sets/72157627054926707/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5zBBNtPy1Pq9pDXfUzH2vAxN50v-0FvukbxHc2OZcYY0kqvphyphenhyphen0V_H6S2E1fEnop-0mzgD1YcAVXSNP9ym_qw0S8pw22bgB7IRpbyTljvutjtTiFye5c-btk3Apkk4PMKiXjTFAsmRar/s320/DSC_0076.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The famous lanes of Kashi, Varanasi</td></tr>
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I can’t say I was really impressed with Varanasi at a first glance, was just trying to match with the pictures in my mind. It was not love at first sight.<br />
After leaving the auto soon we found ourselves in the banks of river Ganges – The Holy River. We didn’t have any booking as usual. I instinctively followed a gali - narrow lane, to find a shelter. We didn’t have to search much, and we were more than happy to see what we are getting. Two young lads are managing that Hotel – Rinku and Gaurav. We had a good time with them. The name of the area was pretty interesting, “Bangali Tola”, so it was a bit “at home” feelings for us.<br />
We didn’t want to waste much time, so after having a bath we left for the two most famous temples of Varanasi, <b style="background-color: #ffe599; color: yellow;"><a href="http://man-with-no-name.blogspot.com/p/details.html">Kashi Vishwanath Temple</a></b><span style="color: yellow;"> </span> and Annapurna Temple. In most of the temples photography is prohibited. We had our lunch inside Annapurna Temple. It was a free lunch :P!<br />
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In the evening Rinku had arranged a boat ride for us. First we went half an hour against the tide to “Harishchandra Ghat” and then we came back to “Dasaswamedh Ghat” to watch the famous Ganga Aarti from the river.
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWHF588691KJDvO76HUi_m3pqpjI-6oK1ZqsheGMB-OUdD5E0EseBIj3ba350wz4N6VHjnEbrDhf4bRKSLN9MPqjoPU5vYbrqTOKoLSdb7WzwLWUyHV_nvqXiuxAF1a592sWwxfd9Tv41/s1600/DSC_0185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWHF588691KJDvO76HUi_m3pqpjI-6oK1ZqsheGMB-OUdD5E0EseBIj3ba350wz4N6VHjnEbrDhf4bRKSLN9MPqjoPU5vYbrqTOKoLSdb7WzwLWUyHV_nvqXiuxAF1a592sWwxfd9Tv41/s320/DSC_0185.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Kite Runner - Sunset from Varanasi</td></tr>
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With the passing time I started to feel it. Yes you need to feel Varanasi – the people there, the Galis the Ghats and above all the culture originating from there. I had heard so many stories about the fraudulent people of Varanasi. But surprisingly none came to my sight in the whole trip. I felt the exact opposite way about the Varanasi people. They are living with their cultures and beliefs. Until and unless you hurt their sentiment, they are good.<br />
In Varanasi, finish your dinner before 10 PM or it will be difficult to find a good restaurant or hotel. Although there is an old saying “Banaras mein koi bhukha nhi sota” – “Nobody sleeps with empty stomach in Varanasi”, but it is up to you that you believe it or not.<br />
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Our first night in Varanasi was amazing. Ganga Arrti, colourful people from all over the world, Old Havelis, narrow lanes, temples everywhere and finally a sound sleep – everything was perfect.<br />
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<div class="paraHead">
Day3: Sarnath – the beginning of Buddhism</div>
In my daily life no one can blame me as an early riser, but during my tours I don’t miss sun rises or sunsets. I missed it this time! It was already 7:30 AM when I wake up. Others were still sleeping and I left with my camera. Every moment so many incidents happen there in the ghats of Varanasi. I was sitting there on stairs, just watching, with the camera packed inside the bag. No click! The life continues to flow in <b>Varanasi</b> with me there as a silent spectator.<br />
Rinku also arranged our trip to <b>Sarnath</b>. On our way we saw a few more temples – I don’t even remember all, except the Durga Mandir and Original Bajrangbali Mandir. Leaving Varanasi first we had moved to <b>Ramnagar fort</b>. Just beside the river Ganges Ramnagar fort is quite picturesque. We spent good time there.
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From there we went towards <b>Sarnath</b>. I had a problem there. My contact lens got displaced and I lost it inside my eyes. The irritation stayed until I had removed it at the night.<br />
We had our lunch after returning back to <b closure_uid_u9226v="199">Varanasi</b>. It was late. Rinku stayed there with us during the full trip.We had a bad news after our lunch. A friend called and told that Kalka mail had gone through an accident and co-incidentally we had our return ticket booked in Kalka Mail for the next day. Several people died in that incident. We were not sure that the train is going to run for the next day or not.
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Throwing all these thoughts out of mind I went to the see the Arrti again in the evening. As I missed out earlier so I wanted to have a few real good shots of that event this time. At the end I was not disappointed.
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<div class="paraHead">
Day4: Seems Varanasi don't want us to leave</div>
I remember the day we came to Varanasi, never thought we are going to enjoy Varanasi so much. It was an amazing experience to walk in the narrow lanes of Kashi, to enjoy the breeze sitting idly on the stairs of ghat, to watch the dancing sunlight over the waves, to watch the flow of life, which may have been flowing the same way, as it used to flow some 5000 years back. It is place where the line between myths and reality become thinner. Where mind tends to believe the existence of a power that drives this universe, drives us all. A never felt before spiritualism starts running inside the mind. Only Varanasi can make someone feel like that. <br />
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The best place to enjoy sunrise in Kasi is from river Ganga on boat. I was in time to catch the first rays but a cloudy sky was threatening to ruin our plan. With confusion in mind we started our boat(<b>"nao"</b>) journey and after playing with our mind for a while the Sun came out of the clouds.
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We were preparing our mind for the return ... We had our lunch inside the temple again. We didn't have much option to spend time, so we took an auto rickshaw and went to the "New Kashi Viswanath" temple inside Kashi University. Not many visitors during afternoon and we took a nap there. Before leaving Kashi we went to the "Ashi Ghat". The 80th and last of the ghats. The atmosphere was magical. We waited there till the sunset... then took an auto from there to Mughalsarai. The train was almost 7 hours late ... and how we spent those hours in station is another story, story of our sufferings. But this is not the right place to share that experience. </div>
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SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com10Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India25.3176452 82.973914425.2028177 82.8159859 25.4324727 83.1318429tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-42199580098317408322011-06-14T23:14:00.000+05:302013-04-07T14:08:05.078+05:30Tadong - The unexplored paradise near Rinchenpong - Kaluk (West Sikkim)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f-sohK9pRdE/UWBV-N5TCbI/AAAAAAAABkg/8JS0TkY8N20/s1600/Tadong-Rinchenpong-Kalul+blog+header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="View of Kanchenjunga from Tadong - Rinchenpong - Kaluk, West Sikkim tour" border="0" height="260" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f-sohK9pRdE/UWBV-N5TCbI/AAAAAAAABkg/8JS0TkY8N20/s640/Tadong-Rinchenpong-Kalul+blog+header.jpg" title="View of Kanchenjunga from Tadong - Rinchenpong - Kaluk, West Sikkim tour" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Mt. Kanchenjunga from Tadong - Rinchenpong, West Sikkim</b></td></tr>
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<blockquote>
<b>Tadong</b> is a small place 2 KMs away from <b>Kaluk bazar</b> and 3 KMs away from <b>Rinchenpong.</b> It is not known as a tourist place. No hotel or resort available to stay there and only option is <b>Tamu Home Stay</b>. Mt Kanchendzonga is visible from every part of Tadong and there is no particular view point for that. To enjoy the place have gentle walk along the hidden pathways and pak-dandis amidst lush green slopes. There are so many things to explore and the best among all is "<b>Resum Gumpha</b>". A small trek from <b>Rinchenpong </b>will take you to the abode of God.
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/46052965@N03/sets/72157626847171394/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rinchenpong - Kaluk - Tadong Photos, west Sikkim tour photos" border="0" src="http://www.flickriver.com/badge/user/set-72157626847171394/recent/shuffle/medium-horiz/ffffff/333333/46052965@N03.jpg" title="Rinchenpong - Kaluk - Tadong Photos, west Sikkim tour photos" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tadong - Rinchenpong - Kaluk Tour Photos</td></tr>
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<h1 class="paraHead">
Day 1: Feeling like nomads ... it feels good</h1>
There is something inside my head and it always bugs me in a while to go out in search of <b>SOMETHING </b>- that something I can't explain in words. This time I was in search of a lesser known place, and I found <b>Rinchenpong-Kaluk-Barmiok</b> while Googling and a nice partner, Sayan, in my office (this one without Googling). It was one bright sunny Friday and we left for Siliguri. We did the booking earlier. So the journey was comfortable but uneventful. <br />
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Traveling by train always gives you the option to interact with different people and that is why train journey is never that boring. We spent some time talking with co-passengers then had a sound sleep. May be it sounds odd, but I really enjoy my sleep during train journeys. <br />
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<h1 class="paraHead">
Day 2: Tadong - A Surprise near Rinchengpong</h1>
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The train was late …we were really hungry by the time we had reached NJP. But at that time it was much important to find a transport to <b>Jorethang</b> than to fill our empty stomach. So ignoring our growling belly we left for Siliguri.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UY6_5l5frf4/UWBdXEMv_VI/AAAAAAAABlI/uNv24_iBmLQ/s1600/Kaluk+Bazar+West+Sikkim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rinchenpong - Kaluk Bazar, West Sikkim tour photo" border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UY6_5l5frf4/UWBdXEMv_VI/AAAAAAAABlI/uNv24_iBmLQ/s320/Kaluk+Bazar+West+Sikkim.jpg" title="Rinchenpong - Kaluk Bazar, West Sikkim tour photo" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaluk Bazar, West Sikkim</td></tr>
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We had got a shared Taxi, two of us and two other families. The journey started along the same old paths around 10:30 am. We were on the front seat beside the driver and I believe that is the best place to enjoy the journey.<br />
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We had reached Jorethang around 12:45 PM, there we came to know one of the two families, is also going to Rinchpong. We decided to go together. We took lunch break in Jorethang, before we left for <b>Rinchenpong</b>.The family – Avikda, his wife and two children - Riju and Titli joined us for lunch.<br />
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Soon after we had completed our lunch we left for <b>Rinchenpong</b>. We had booked the car before our lunch and the driver was waiting. Our journey was good and without any trouble. We had enjoyed a lot with talkative Titli and game playing Riju.
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When we reached <b>Rinchenpong</b>, both of us decided not to stay there because the place seemed to be crowded. So in the same car we went to <b>Kaluk bazar</b>. Avikda had a booking there in some resort and we said goodbye to them in <b>Kaluk</b> and went in search of a place that is a bit isolated - and we found <b>TADONG</b> - a hidden gem of West Sikkim.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NaR0si8Tz0M/UWBgFssKZnI/AAAAAAAABlQ/RW0gPwD5tDU/s1600/Kaluk+Rinchenpong+West+Sikkim+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="View from Kaluk - Rinchenpong, West Sikkim" border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NaR0si8Tz0M/UWBgFssKZnI/AAAAAAAABlQ/RW0gPwD5tDU/s320/Kaluk+Rinchenpong+West+Sikkim+2.jpg" title="View from Kaluk - Rinchenpong, West Sikkim" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Kaluk, West Sikkim</td></tr>
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It was raining in that part of world, but not heavily. We were talking with the local people to find a place that matches our criteria. A wine shop owner told us about <b>Tadong </b>at that time. He told us there is no resort or hotel in <b>Tadong</b> but we can stay there in <b>TAMU HOME STAY</b>. We decided to go there and check our luck.<br />
It was almost 2KMs away from <b>Kaluk Bazar</b>, not a long distance and we wanted to sense the new place, so we started walking. At that time it stared raining very hard. Again we had a local companion to show our way and he helped us to find <b>Tamu Home Stay.</b><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vEH5HN8ukNk/UWBhJlkFj0I/AAAAAAAABlY/eSABMLZ7xXA/s1600/Night+view+from+Tadong+Rinchenpong,+West+Sikkim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Night view from Tadong, West Sikkim" border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vEH5HN8ukNk/UWBhJlkFj0I/AAAAAAAABlY/eSABMLZ7xXA/s320/Night+view+from+Tadong+Rinchenpong,+West+Sikkim.jpg" title="Night view from Tadong, West Sikkim" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Night view from Tadong, West Sikkim</td></tr>
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When we saw that place I told myself - "yep, this is the place and we are going to stay here". It was not really cold or warm - the weather was soothing and the best part was a big balcony from where you can get the panoramic view of <b>West Sikkim</b> and on a sunny day the snow covered peaks of Himalayas are visible from there.<br />
We went for a walk just after checking in and went to <b>Kaluk</b> again to visit our newly made friends - Avikda and his family. We spent about an hour with them and came back to <b>Tadong</b>.
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The dinner was ready for us - chapatis, chicken and the local wine <b>thumba </b>or <b>chang</b>. I really had enjoyed Thumba. We went to bed early just because we didn't want to miss the sunrise and early morning Kanchenjunga.<br />
<h1 class="paraHead">
Day 3: Following mountain trails to old Resum Gumpha (Monastery)</h1>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yKIUAdxnwNE/UWBXFPEk8BI/AAAAAAAABk8/kvz48Dmz5-0/s1600/Kaluk+Rinchenpong+West+Sikkim.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Window view, Tadong - Rinchenpong - kaluk, west sikkim tour" border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yKIUAdxnwNE/UWBXFPEk8BI/AAAAAAAABk8/kvz48Dmz5-0/s320/Kaluk+Rinchenpong+West+Sikkim.jpg" title="Window view, Tadong - Rinchenpong - kaluk, west sikkim tour" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Window view, Tadong - Rinchenpong</td></tr>
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Sayan wakes me up in the morning. It was a bit cloudy and Kanchenjunga was hidden behind the clouds.<br />
It was so amazing to sip the morning tea, looking at the picturesque Tadong from the balcony and thanks to Tamu Home Stay for providing us such warm hospitality. Tamu Home Stay is own by Raju Gurung, His wife looks after the business as Raju remains busy with his job. Their two daughter, Pranita and Sahikala helps them to manage the business and amazingly without hampering their studies.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Am4pQecqgH0/UWEUMmHZSrI/AAAAAAAABlo/AJnnFY-fBtY/s1600/Good+Morning+Rinchenpong,+West+Sikkim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="sunrise Tadong-Rinchenpong-Kaluk, West Sikkim tour" border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Am4pQecqgH0/UWEUMmHZSrI/AAAAAAAABlo/AJnnFY-fBtY/s320/Good+Morning+Rinchenpong,+West+Sikkim.jpg" title="sunrise Tadong-Rinchenpong-Kaluk, West Sikkim tour" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good Morning Tadong, West Sikkim</td></tr>
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We had a plan ... to not plan anything in this trip. Avikda & family joined us in the morning. We had many options but we decided to explore the locality following the mountain trails. Pranita and Sashikala was there as our tour guide. We started our journey by knowing their kitchen garden.The main crop they grow is "makai" or "bazra". Sashikala bring us some pitch and we were munching those whenever we were feeling hungry during the walk.<br />
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First they took us to a view point over the nearby hill and from there to the "Singabahini Mahakali Temple". I particularly like this temple because of the ambiance. An old "pujari" was there. He stays there in the temple to do the "puja" everyday.Here in Sikkim you will find people of every religion are staying together happily. You will find a mandir beside a gumpha and a gumpha beside a church.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dfo_SAaHjtU/UWEWJjGW1NI/AAAAAAAABl4/nVkzHiEDBv8/s1600/mahakali+mandir+Tadong+Rinchenpong+West+Sikkim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rinchenpong Kaluk Tadong tour, West Sikkim" border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dfo_SAaHjtU/UWEWJjGW1NI/AAAAAAAABl4/nVkzHiEDBv8/s320/mahakali+mandir+Tadong+Rinchenpong+West+Sikkim.jpg" title="Rinchenpong Kaluk Tadong tour, West Sikkim" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mahakali Mandir Tadong, West Sikkim</td></tr>
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Our next target was a nearby gumpha that was visible from there. After visiting that we returned back to Tadong. It was an wonderful afternoon. We had our lunch together. Then it started raining. We were sitting there in the balcony ... gossiping ... waiting for the rain to stop ... and when it stopped there was a gracefull rainbow just infront of us as if we could touch it from the balcony!<br />
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We went back to Kaluk bazaar. Avikda told us about a monastery - "<b>Resum Gumpha</b>". We were not aware of that. We decided to visit it. We left that family in Kaluk and started walking towards Rinchenpong. In the midway we got a car ... The driver was an young lad. After reaching Rinchenpong his friend joined us. When we told them that we are going to visit Resum ... they were surprised.<br />
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"Aap log char nhi paoge ... 300 siriya hai udhar, andhera ho jayega" - you will not be able to reach there, there are 300 stairs and it will get dark soon.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F4u7LmLGIrA/UWEXOHorw7I/AAAAAAAABmE/H575sjiF-ic/s1600/British+Bungalow+Rinchenpong+Resum+Monastery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Resum Monastery Rinchenpong, West Sikkim" border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F4u7LmLGIrA/UWEXOHorw7I/AAAAAAAABmE/H575sjiF-ic/s320/British+Bungalow+Rinchenpong+Resum+Monastery.jpg" title="Resum Monastery Rinchenpong, West Sikkim" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British Bungalow, Near Resum Monastery</td></tr>
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Actually the guy was wrong ... there are over 1000 stairs you need to climb to reach "<b>Resum Gumpha</b>".<br />
Anyway, they had agreed to drop us near an old forest Bungalow for 100 bucks, from where the trail starts. We left the car there and spent some time in the garden of that bungalow. Then our journey to "Resum Gumpha" began. When we had reached the gumpha, both of us were breathing heavily. But we made it before the sunset<b> - </b>it took hardly 30 mins to reach <b>Resum Gumpha</b>. The place looks so old ... it seemed that nobody visited that place recently. There was an old stupa (they call it "Mane") and I was taking a few shots there. From there when we had reached the main gumpha, only a few steps ahead, it was already dark. There, suddenly Sayan screamed. Following him, what I saw was amazing! Now we know why the Buddhist monks selected this place for their living. The beautiful Himalayas was clearly visible from there.We were not feeling like leaving that place ... addicted ... mesmerized ... that place is really an abode of God.<br />
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<div class="infoBox">
<b> How to reach Resum Gumpha:</b>Resum Gumpha is almost 4KM away from Kaluk bazar. The road is not motor-able and you need to trust your legs to reach there. trust me it is not difficult to reach Resum Gumpha and if you are in Rinchenpong it is a must visit place. For someone starting from Rinchenpong, there is a British Bungalow nearby and the stairs towards Resum Monastery starts from there. You don't need a guide for that trek, just ask local people and they will guide you. I have a <a href="http://man-with-no-name.blogspot.com/p/the-tourist-map-of-rinchenpong-kaluk.html"><b>guide map</b></a> of Kaluk - Rinchenpong area to share.
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3JJRLg9bYIU/UWBWvP6nQ4I/AAAAAAAABk0/D5EMZfRlUC0/s1600/Resum+Gumpha+Monastery+Rinchenpong+West+Sikkim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The photo of Resum Gumpha, Rinchenpong, West Sikkim" border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3JJRLg9bYIU/UWBWvP6nQ4I/AAAAAAAABk0/D5EMZfRlUC0/s320/Resum+Gumpha+Monastery+Rinchenpong+West+Sikkim.jpg" title="The photo of Resum Gumpha, Rinchenpong, West Sikkim" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Resum Gumpha, Rinchenpong</td></tr>
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But we had to, at last. It was already dark, and much so inside the forest. The deemed light of our mobile is all we had to see and descend down the slippery steps. When I left Resum, I felt something is entering my shoes - I knew that feeling,I knew what it is but I completely ignored that due to the lack of light. After coming back to Rinchenpong I had to remove those 7 leeches from my feet. Both of my feats were covered with blood. Sayan was lucky enough, not to get any of those creatures. It was kind of an adventure indeed.<br />
It was around 7:30 PM and we were unable to get any car back to <b>Tadong
</b> from Rinchenpong, so we started walking. In between we stopped by a shop to clean my legs and get some band-aid.The shop owner was a nice young lad and he managed us a car to <b>Tadong</b>. There everybody was waiting for us and they were bit worried. Raju was surprised to know that we went to Resum Gumpha after dusk. "Udhar to bhoot hai ... There is a ghost there". Then he gave us the description of that ghost ... a creature with two horns that looks like human otherwise.
Raju served us the dinner that night, it was late and his wife had fallen asleep. After dinner we had a few sips of chang and went to sleep, the cosy-comfy bed was waiting for us.<br />
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<h1 class="paraHead">
Day 4: Back with sweet memories</h1>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ISSHIcVITf4/UWBWEhjew7I/AAAAAAAABks/LzB27lloWK8/s1600/Kanchenjunga+from+Tadong+Rinchenpong%252C+west+Sikkim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mt. Kanchenjunga, Tadong - Rinchenpong, West Sikkim" border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ISSHIcVITf4/UWBWEhjew7I/AAAAAAAABks/LzB27lloWK8/s320/Kanchenjunga+from+Tadong+Rinchenpong%252C+west+Sikkim.jpg" title="Mt. Kanchenjunga, Tadong - Rinchenpong, West Sikkim" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. Kanchenjunga, Tadong, West Sikkim</td></tr>
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We were pretty tired due to the walking we did last day. But somehow my eyes opened around 4:30 am and I must say I was lucky. The sky was clear and the finest artist of this universe was creating magic on her canvas. I saw Kanchenjunga many times before - but every time it brings new surprises for me. I was so eager to share it I almost forced Sayan to wake up, and I bet he is not angry for that. It was like a gift from mother nature.<br />
We had our tea looking at golden yellow Kanchenjunga and then left for a walk. The weather of West Sikkim during May - June is very comfortable. Seldom I had my sweater on during the whole tour. Most of the people avoid West Sikkim during monsoon but I cannot agree with them. The greenery during rainy season adds to the beauty of that place.
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SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com28Tadong, Kaluk, Sikkim, India27.2443474 88.269760627.131411399999998 88.1118321 27.3572834 88.4276891tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-90261093644512721162011-04-27T21:53:00.000+05:302012-11-18T04:01:49.650+05:30In to the wild - my trip to Jainti (a.k.a Jayanti), Buxa Duar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46052965@N03/sets/72157626572241190/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sunset from Buxa - Jainti, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Dooars" border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2aNkwFXCD18/TbhGbhlCSpI/AAAAAAAAA1U/TQVqdTpklCg/s400/blog-header.jpg" title="Sunset from Buxa - Jainti, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Dooars" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset - Buxa Jainti, Dooars - By Surajit Ray</td></tr>
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<blockquote>
I had a dream of wilderness ... Dooars
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The last month was not good for me. I had chicken pox, was bedridden for a few days and at that time I was frequently dreaming about wilderness. So once I am fit and fine again, I decided to visit our very own Dooars - Jainti / Jayanti forest.
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I decided it on Wednesday ... and left on Thursday, so no question of railway reservation and I had to opt for bus. It seems there is a relationship between my tour plans and rain. As soon as I left for my journey it started raining heavily. I took a private bus from Esplanade bus terminus. It was a long journey. Though I had a friend, Binoy accompanying me, we didn't have much options but to sleep and pass the time. It was 21st April, 2011.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/46052965@N03/sets/72157626572241190/"><img alt="nO One ... nObOdy - View my 'jayanti-buxa' set on Flickriver" border="0" src="http://www.flickriver.com/badge/user/set-72157626572241190/recent/shuffle/medium-horiz/ffffff/333333/46052965@N03.jpg" title="nO One ... nObOdy - View my 'jayanti-buxa' set on Flickriver" /></a></div>
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Jainti(a.k.a Jayanti) Forest - The dream is real now, I can feel the wilderness</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8JhsDOjM11A/TbskBRixSvI/AAAAAAAAA1w/_tAw6IInK1Q/s1600/DSC_0067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sunset from Jayanti a.k.a Jainti river bed, Jainti, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Dooars" border="0" height="211" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8JhsDOjM11A/TbskBRixSvI/AAAAAAAAA1w/_tAw6IInK1Q/s320/DSC_0067.jpg" title="Sunset from Jayanti a.k.a Jainti river bed, Jainti, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Dooars" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fist evening in Jaint, Buxa Tiger Reserver </td></tr>
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We had reached Siliguri bus terminus around 9:30 am. It was difficult to walk after such a long bus journey, so decided to go to our next destination by train. We took a train for Alipurduar, it was almost a 3 and half hours journey. Luckily the train stopped at "Raja Bhat Khawa" and we left the train as "Jainti" was very near from there.<br />
We got a bad news on arrival. The forest officials told that due to Supreme court order the Buxa jungle safari has been stopped. But still we had the option to stay beside the forest and feel the beauty of Dooars. So after getting the permit we took an "auto rickshaw" and left for Jainti forest. The auto rickshaw was the only option at that point of time for us.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46052965@N03/sets/72157626572241190/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The ruins of a bridge over Jainti, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Dooars" border="0" height="211" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I0eeKcA8Gw0/TbskLfCVigI/AAAAAAAAA10/HrYiGct_f_8/s320/DSC_0049.jpg" title="The ruins of a bridge over Jainti, Buxa Tiger Reserve, Dooars" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ruins of a bridge over Jainti River</td></tr>
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The road was between the dense Buxa Reserve forest. We were chatting with our auto drivers to gather information about the place. We crossed a river in between - "Bala river" they call it. It was totally dry and no sign of water. I took a few snaps of that place. Jainti is about 17 kms away from Raja Bhat Khawa. We reached Jainti in the afternoon. We didn't have any booking so our first job was to find a shelter. <br />
It didn't took long to find one. The lodge was good and clean, and it is just beside the Jainti forest dormitory. There is no network coverage in this place ... so we were disconnected from the outer world. We left our drivers, had tea and went to the Jainti river bank. There was not much water in the river, so we were walking on the river bed, taking photos and listening the birds whistling and other sounds that forest produces. Night comes quickly in the forest areas. So around 6:30 pm there was none but two of us enjoying the river. We went back to our lodge with a bottle of whisky. There was a power cut for an hour or so. It was a beautiful experience to enjoy the darkness of a dense forest with a few shots of whiskey in candle light. We were walking along the memory lane ... it was so beautiful. We had our dinner early as we had some plan for the next morning.
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Trek to Buxa Fort</div>
I left bed early in the morning, it was around 5:30 am and went to the river bank. We had a plan to visit the Mahakal Temple. It is a 6 kms trek route from Jainti. We mate a local guy in the river bank. I asked him about the route to mahakal. He told us just to walk along the river bed. So our journey started ... I thought it will not take long to reach Mahakal as it is only 6 KMs away.<br />
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There was a dog following us. It was nice to have a local companion. Walking down the road we came to a point where the road devided into two. We took the right turn. The way was beautiful. <b>(Contd)</b><br />
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Trek to Mahakal Cave - Jainti</div>
It was the last day and we didn't want to miss the <b>Mahkal cave trek</b>. I knew it is going to be hectic but it worth that effort.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46052965@N03/sets/72157626572241190/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline ! important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Inside The Mahakal Cave, Jainti, Buxa Tiger Reserve , Dooars" border="0" height="211" m="m" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MqjtvwIBCpU/Th8lquKn6LI/AAAAAAAAA54/Ss5JJVt16E0/s320/DSC_0203.jpg" title="Inside The Mahakal Cave, Jainti, Buxa Tiger Reserve , Dooars" true="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside The Mahakal Cave, Jainti, Buxa Tiger Reserve </td></tr>
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<p>
After leaving bed early in the morning I was just roaming inside the village. I always feel, to know a place you need to know the people living there. Enjoying scenic beauties, architectural wonders are parts of traveling but knowing different people and their cultures, being a part of their life is the real thing. I remember so many people from this trip. The tea stall owner near the old banyan tree – whom we took to the Buxa fort with us – and believe me it was his first visit to that place! Our sumo driver – who was happily sharing his love story with us and he invited us to his marriage ceremony next month! Our guide to the<b> Mahakal cave</b>, Monoj Mahato, a person to get information about the forest. There are many other people and all of them were so good. I believe this is the effect of the forest where they are living.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46052965@N03/sets/72157626572241190/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline ! important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hanging Bridge, Near Mahakal Cave, Jainti, Buxa Tiger Reserver, Dooars" border="0" height="211" m="m" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-No1vbB9MQ98/Th8l-vC6wlI/AAAAAAAAA6A/05bjwQuxHU4/s320/DSC_0236.jpg" title="Hanging Bridge, Near Mahakal Cave, Jainti, Buxa Tiger Reserver, Dooars" true="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging Rope Bridge, Near Mahakal Cave</td></tr>
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From the previous day’s experience we decided to take a guide this time. Our lodge owner asked Manoj to guide us. This is his part time job. He works as a labor to build road in that area. We left lodge after breakfast. Manoj asked me to take a torch and I had to buy one (better to carry one in this type of trips). There was no stiff climbing until we got to the gate of <b>Mahakal </b>and thereafter the hiking began. It is not a tough one and I believe anyone can manage to reach the top.<br />
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The beauty of the place was breathtaking. A beautiful waterfall, a mountain river flowing between gigantic rocks, a hanging rope bridge – all contributing to the beauty of that place.<br />
Inside the cave it was really dark. The torch helped us a lot. There was a naturally built "SIVALINGA" inside the cave. After the visit we spent long time beside the river. I also had a bath in the river and it was really refreshing. It was a very hot day! We had return to the lodge around 2:30 and did the pack up in a hurry.Au Revoir <b>Jainti</b>, but this is not the last time for sure. Soon I will be back there, I am in love with <b>Dooars</b>.
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SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com0Jainti, West Bengal, India26.7 89.626.473032 89.284143 26.926968 89.915856999999988tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-23504573303731300802011-01-09T01:26:00.000+05:302013-03-31T19:13:43.502+05:30Trek to Maenam, Ravangla, South Sikkim<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zBWcsJb-fbY/ULnELiPQzEI/AAAAAAAABfA/Dh1BeJp-3k0/s1600/Ravangla+blog+head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Reyong Sunrise point in Ravangla, East Sikkim" border="0" height="188" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zBWcsJb-fbY/ULnELiPQzEI/AAAAAAAABfA/Dh1BeJp-3k0/s640/Ravangla+blog+head.jpg" title="Reyong Sunrise point in Ravangla, East Sikkim" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reyong Sunrise point in Ravangla</td></tr>
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Ravangla or Rabong,situated at South Sikkim, at an altitude of 7400 ft. Nice and peaceful place far away from pollution and madding crowd. The highest point of that area is the Maenam Hill top - from there you can have a view of majestic Kanchenjunga range.
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18th December, 2010, At last , after a long break, again I am out ...
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I was in a hurry to leave office. My bus was on 7:30 PM. We were six, myself, two of my friends and three family members of one of them. I was first to reach the bus stand. Bus was late as usual.I slept in the bus throughout our journey. It was not an event full journey.I just wake up around 7:30 to see we are in Siliguri.
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The day of trouble: On our way to Ravangla</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Tista river bed, on our way to ravangla" border="0" height="212" n4="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TTRb8fwtLxI/AAAAAAAAAtI/UP7EIC0GxdU/s320/tista-3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Tista river bed, on our way to ravangla" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tista river bed, on our way to Ravangla</td></tr>
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It was a small team. Six of us, me, Aparup, Kaustav and his brother with their wives. My plan was to get a shared taxi for our journey, but I forgot to take it into consideration that This is more or less a honeymoon trip for Kaustav. Such a fool I am :). So our venture to find a suitable vehicle started.<br />
Beware of travel agents near the Siliguri bus stand! Did I forget to mention that earlier! They had Kaustav's brother in their trap. The deal was, if we do hotel booking through them, then only they will provide us transport. Everybody else was happy with the deal, but not me. I don't trust any of the local travel agents in Siliguri. Anyway, we did the hotel booking through them but the transport never arrived. At least three hours we spent in Siliguri bus stand waiting for the cab and after that we were so irritated, we demanded a refund of our booking amount. Though it was not easy, but we managed get it back but after a little fight and the next moment I was out to find a cab for ourselves.<br />
It was an Maruti Omni. The petrol version is not a bad choice, so we booked it. The driver charged us 2600 for the trip - not a bad deal. We halted once in "36 miles" to have our lunch. The river "Teesta" is very near from there. So we went to the bank and had a walk there. In the meantime our driver get drunk-ed and when we started again he was driving very roughly. We almost had a collision with two bike riders. The bikers stopped our car and they were so furious that they almost beat our driver. We lost some more time there.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/46052965@N03/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chinthang hotel at Ravangla, accommodation in Ravangla" border="0" height="212" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TTRcMoGMQOI/AAAAAAAAAtM/CIrEBeegTAs/s320/hotel+chinthang.jpg" title="Chinthang hotel at Ravangla, accommodation in Ravangla" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hotel in Ravangla - Hotel Chinthang</span></td></tr>
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When we were in Singtam, some police officials stopped our car and asked for the permit (WB drivers need permit to drive in Sikkim) from our driver. AGAIN ANOTHER SURPRISE FOR US, our driver didn't have the necessary permit, neither had he the driving license!! He got fined there. We started again, and after some time we came to know that our driver doesn't know the exact way to Ravangla. It was already around 6 PM, he tried to convince us to go by another vehicle. By at that time we were pretty much annoyed. We started shouting at him, and forced him to drive again. He was driving furiously, but our only concern at that point was to reach Ravangla ASAP. Around 7:15 our journey ended in Ravangla. But some more surprises were waiting for us. The next day Buddhist guru "Dalai Lama" was coming to Ravangla, and all the hotels were packed and in the remaining hotel the rent was sky high. We had chosen "Hotel Chinthang" after trying a few and it was a good decision. We were really tired. So we had our dinner and went to the hotel after booking a car for the next day tour.
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Day 2: Feeling the beauty of Rabong - Ravangla: Spent the day roaming around</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ravangla - Maenam East Sikkim Tour" border="0" h5="true" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jHkDbkkuZ-o/TVWKF-LSllI/AAAAAAAAAzg/CJib7OB5JR8/s320/reyong+sunrise+point3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Ravangla - Maenam East Sikkim Tour" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Sunrise in Ravabgla</td></tr>
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Early morning ... and we were ready for site seeing, but our driver didn't arrive at time. We went out in search of him. We found him at last but by the time we had reach the sunrise point it was a bit late. But couldn't blame the driver for that, it was a cold morning :). The weather was perfect, no cloud, and we were able to see the distant snow cladded peaks of Himalaya and of course the beautiful "Kanchendzonga".<br />
We came back to our hotel from there to have breakfast. It was a super busy day in Ravangla. Buddhist saint "Dalai Lama" was visiting the place for inauguration of local "Buddha park". The people were almost crazy to see him. From our hotel we also had a chance to have a glimpse of the saint and we waved at him. It was a nice experience, a bonus in the trip.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Temi Tea Garden</td></tr>
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We went out for site seeing around 10 AM. It was a bit late but we couldn't help it as due to the visit of Dalai Lama the securities blocked the roads. After leaving Ravangla we went to the "Temi Tea Garden". Did some photo shoot there. I had some trouble with my camera. The mount point of the lens was broken (i am yet to fix it :-( ...) . It was challenging for me to adjust my camera and I was extra cautious to make sure that I don't break the lens itself.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Char Dham - Sikkim</td></tr>
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From there we moved towards Namchi, to visit <b>Char Dham</b>.<b> </b>Actually it is an replica of the famous "Char Dham" of India. These four Dhams are as 1) Sri Badrinath at North, 2) Sri Dwarka at West, 3) Sri Jaganathpuri at East and 4) Sri Rameshwaram at South of India. The purpose is to give the flavour of the original places (actually located in different parts of India) in a single visit. I didn't really enjoy that place. Because I believe when it is about arts, ancient India was 1000 times ahead of current India. This is just an imitaion and travelling to this place is a waste of time in my opinion. but my friends were interested to go so I accompanied them.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guru Rimpoche, Sandruptse </td></tr>
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We had our lunch in Namchi while returning. <b>Namchi</b> is the capital of the South Sikkim. A very clean city really. After lunch we went to <b>Samdruptse</b> - which means <b>wish fulfilling hill</b> in Bhutia. There is a beautiful stature of <b>Guru Padmasambhaba</b> a.k.a <b>Guru Rimpoche</b>.<br />
The sun was already setting down when we left Samdruptse. Our next target was Ralang Monasteries - the old and the new one. Our driver was a bit worried and soon we came to know why! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbLUhKUGPcwHzHTf6dD9YklNNxNcN_4yH5CirZ_rLE2fFWDEbtf-aeRwoab6L45YS9PrLDSmf-KEJe9Lb2M-EIwRputJtzUpFXtr5abhyphenhyphenm4vbH2PZz9CYcp5Enixg2egDiPqATmzje0Y/s1600/_DSC0437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="New Ralong Monastery Ravangla" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbLUhKUGPcwHzHTf6dD9YklNNxNcN_4yH5CirZ_rLE2fFWDEbtf-aeRwoab6L45YS9PrLDSmf-KEJe9Lb2M-EIwRputJtzUpFXtr5abhyphenhyphenm4vbH2PZz9CYcp5Enixg2egDiPqATmzje0Y/s320/_DSC0437.jpg" title="New Ralong Monastery Ravangla" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Ralong Monastery</td></tr>
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The road condition was adverse. Seemed there was a land slide in recent past and BRO yet to fix it. Our SUV was moving slowly towards the destination. First to the Old ralang monastery and next to the newer one. While returning I decided to get out of the vehicle just about 4 KMs away from Ravangla. It is always a pleasure for me to walk along the hilly roads. I had a chance to took a few pictures of that place from top.<br />
At night there was a little crisis of food as too many people were in Ravangla to see Dalai lama and the supply was not enough. Somehow we had managed to have our dinner in a resaurant. Before we call it a day another bad news was waiting - our driver told it will not be possible to get the necessary permission for Maenam trek as in weekend the office will remain close.<br />
<div class="paraHead">
Day 3: Trek to Maenam Hill - Ravangla</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0yTZEC-ioqv7wltwrmNHJAUavykIT1nCxDr0KgVG739BL45TOyoI37GDX7cM83_7d7F8DFKswfaG7ZyD-rFF7Oqt9vOlmxwHgIgAYxKVdeeAetlrZvMdhG0ZAnbj3j4jS5HqbNHt-Csc/s1600/_DSC0495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Maenam Hill Top from Ravangla, Rabong, South Sikkim" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0yTZEC-ioqv7wltwrmNHJAUavykIT1nCxDr0KgVG739BL45TOyoI37GDX7cM83_7d7F8DFKswfaG7ZyD-rFF7Oqt9vOlmxwHgIgAYxKVdeeAetlrZvMdhG0ZAnbj3j4jS5HqbNHt-Csc/s320/_DSC0495.jpg" title="Maenam Hill Top from Ravangla, Rabong, South Sikkim" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maenam Hill Top from Ravangla</td></tr>
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When the day started I had no plan in my mind. Sonam (our driver) told me that the forest office will be closed as it is a Sunday and it will not be possible for us to get permit to enter Maenam. I hated those words. That was the main purpose of my tour, to see the snow covered Himalayan peaks from the top of Maenam. It was around 9:30 AM, and I was unable to decide what to do. At last I made up my mind to give it a try. I took a cab and went to the forest office. There I saw Mimah.<br />
Mimah told he is the official guide for Maenam, and he is working for the forest department. He arranged for the permission and we took him as our guide. I had to return back to our hotel before we can start climbing. I hurried to the hotel, informed everyone and brought them back to the forest office gate where Mimah was waiting for us, and our journey to Maenam started<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiL89Bu9tdI0u0gE5JcNNWXczo9kKl05EVO2xBZlSYuCFDMyKzo-ngqHChd02kZlIj8Hs3WFnIjKnt6fzsbxjnrWNeUUn8hthKFvHQTlaRZXzJntbwbxZc-70NH58COz7scxzZWbnmnA/s1600/maenam+gumpha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Maenam Hill Top, Ravangla, The Gumpha, South Sikkim" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiL89Bu9tdI0u0gE5JcNNWXczo9kKl05EVO2xBZlSYuCFDMyKzo-ngqHChd02kZlIj8Hs3WFnIjKnt6fzsbxjnrWNeUUn8hthKFvHQTlaRZXzJntbwbxZc-70NH58COz7scxzZWbnmnA/s320/maenam+gumpha.jpg" title="Maenam Hill Top, Ravangla, The Gumpha, South Sikkim" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maenam Hill Top: The Gumpha</td></tr>
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None of our team had any previous hiking experience. But they were very excited about that. The trek route is not very stiff but the distance is almost 24 KMs up and down. There are 4 resting points on the way. When we have reached the 2nd point half of our team was not willing to move anymore. So they decided to go back from there and three of us continued our journey to the peak.<br />
It was around 3:30 pm when we reached the peak. Normally the trek shouldn't take more than 3 hours but my friends were too tired and it took us around 5 hours. Over the mountain there is a small old gumpha.We light some incense sticks there and created a stone memento. It was too cloudy and the greater Himalayan range was not visible from there.<br />
We had to hurry back downwards as we wanted to get out of the forest before dark. We made it within 2 hours. We had nothing to do that evening. There was a power cut and everybody was so tired.<br />
<div class="paraHead">
Day 4: Time to say adieu to Ravangla</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhca6VWOlojG68C6Lq2dRK54kv8jRVe4c6tJlEcWnwIo1Oe2nlIWPnWlD-rgKgGgGCaqpokmRcZA7Rwram1hURt9_8b29ssOamaU4GUwIRqCOKEYEu1V_7FA_rIdfNUD5z-iJ9PIJ31iUc/s1600/_DSC0494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="View from Ravangla, South Sikkim" border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhca6VWOlojG68C6Lq2dRK54kv8jRVe4c6tJlEcWnwIo1Oe2nlIWPnWlD-rgKgGgGCaqpokmRcZA7Rwram1hURt9_8b29ssOamaU4GUwIRqCOKEYEu1V_7FA_rIdfNUD5z-iJ9PIJ31iUc/s320/_DSC0494.jpg" title="View from Ravangla, South Sikkim" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Ravangla, South Sikkim</td></tr>
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When you are in this part of India, get prepare for a very common phenomenon – "STRIKE"!! It may happen any time without any prior notice. I have noticed that people here also enjoy it like a holiday. There is no real industry in this part of world and the routine life doesn't really get affected due to the strike. The only problem is that – if you are in plain you will not be able to go up and vise verse.<br />
Our plan was to leave Ravangla early in the morning, but due to the trek yesterday my friends couldn't wake up early for both of them it was the first trek. So I decided to ramble around the place. It was a clear day and Mt Kanchendzonga was clearly visible. After a while I halted for a tea break in a roadside tea stall. A sweet little girl was serving tea there, her uncle run the shop. We had some discussion about the place, the visit of Dalai Lama to Ravangla. There I came to know about the strike. He told me that today no transport will be available to reach the plain – Siliguri.<br />
At that time I had reached hotel everyone else were out of their bed and they also came to know about the strike. We were a bit worried as it was the last day of our vacation. We tried hard to arrange a vehicle and for that we searched almost every part of the village. Around 1:30 PM we got one for Damthang. There are two possible ways to reach Siliguri from Ravangla, Damthang or Namchi. From there transports are available. Ravangla, being a small place not much options available there. We packed in a hurry and left hotel. <br />
I am going to get back there again. So many things remain unexplored there, I am yet to spend a night on top of Maenam, Missed the Tendong Hill trek due to lack of time and I am yet to see the famous red panda!</div>
</div>
SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7421988355287450399.post-31771494237862244852011-01-04T23:57:00.000+05:302012-11-22T01:11:38.998+05:30Lava, Lolay gaon, rishop/rishyap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="myContent">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSNp8gMi7cI/AAAAAAAAAq4/41wj8PL7TmQ/s1600/canopy%2Bwalk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Canopy Walk, Neora Valley, Loley Gaon " border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSNp8gMi7cI/AAAAAAAAAq4/41wj8PL7TmQ/s400/canopy%2Bwalk.jpg" title="Canopy Walk, Neora Valley, Loley Gaon" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canopy Walk, Loley Gaon - By Surajit Ray</td></tr>
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<blockquote>
Lava, Lolay gaon(lolegaon) and Rishop, are three small villages of Himalaya in West Bengal, India known for their natural beauty.
<br />
Lava is situated at a height of 2350 meters. It is around 101 KMs from Siliguri via Kalimpong. <br />
Rishop is almost at the same altitude as Lava. It is around 5 KMs from Lava by trek route and 12 KMs by car. <br />
Lolay Gaon is situated at 1850 meters, located 59 KMs from Kalimpong and 25 Kms from Lava <br />
From Kolkata it is actually a 3-4 Days trip to cover Lava - Lolay Gaon and Rishyap.
</blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/46052965@N03/sets/72157626609263470/"><img alt="Lava - Loleygaon - Rishop photostream" border="0" src="http://www.flickriver.com/badge/user/set-72157626609263470/recent/shuffle/medium-horiz/ffffff/333333/46052965@N03.jpg" title="Lava - Loleygaon - Rishop photostream" /></a></div>
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<div class="paraHead">
<b>Day 1: Leaving kolkata and it is raining!</b></div>
At last my backpack is ready, or I think so. Because in past so many times I started missing things soon after I left for a tour. Packing - I am not really good at it. It is raining heavily still now. But who cares. Once I made up my mind to go then I need to go.<br />
<br />
Will not be able to update during the trip mainly due to connectivity issue and I hate carrying laptop everywhere. Though it is so nice to think that no one will be able to disturb over phone with some foolish promotional plans :).<br />
<br />
Tomorrow morning I have a date with Himalaya and that thought is making me crazy. Just hoping for no landslide.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="paraHead">
<b>Day 2: No spoiler rain, and it started well (Lava)</b></div>
Our bus was 4 hours late. 4 hours! and yes we went to Siliguri by bus. It is not a wise decision though. We had to go by bus because we didn't have enough time for reservation. But it is far better to travel by train(budget) or to fly. Anyway that wasted half of our day. we reserved a car after reaching Siliguri and left for Lava. The weather changes dramatically in this part of world. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSizcHoP5uI/AAAAAAAAArQ/eBsTbMwdMEM/s1600/lava%2Bmonastery5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lava Monastery, 4 days trip to Lava lolaygaon rishop" border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSizcHoP5uI/AAAAAAAAArQ/eBsTbMwdMEM/s200/lava%2Bmonastery5.jpg" title="Lava Monastery, 4 days trip to Lava lolaygaon rishop" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lava Monastery</td></tr>
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<br />
When we started it was a sunny day and during halfway it started raining, though not heavy rainfall. It took 4 hours to reach Lava, mainly because we halted many times during the trip just to feel the beauty of the place and to fill our lungs with some fresh air, which is so rare in city life!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSizEdFMuOI/AAAAAAAAArI/r55pUkH9Txk/s1600/lava%2Bmonastery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Road to Lava Monastery, 4 day trip to Lava lolaygaon rishop" border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSizEdFMuOI/AAAAAAAAArI/r55pUkH9Txk/s200/lava%2Bmonastery.jpg" title="Road to Lava Monastery, 4 day trip to Lava lolaygaon rishop" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road to Lava Monastery</td></tr>
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<p>
In this region, the night comes so quickly. So just after checking in I went out for a survey (that was my first trip to Lava). The Lava village is not big. The main business is tourism and some timber related works. There is a beautiful monastery in Lava </p>
<p>
On our way to Lava. The visiting time ends at 5:30 PM, and I stepped in just around that time. So I was in a hurry. There, just outside the monastery gate, I found a local boy, around 10 years old. He served me as a guide. He took me to the monastery with him and told me about their rituals and cultures. Off course, I was interviewing him. I forgot his name, but I am really thankful to him for being there with me that day. </p>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSizvG39hRI/AAAAAAAAArY/_L3MBZQkJMg/s1600/lava%2Bmonastery2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSizvG39hRI/AAAAAAAAArY/_L3MBZQkJMg/s200/lava%2Bmonastery2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lava Monastery, Top view</td></tr>
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<p>
During all my trips I found that the best way to know a place is to interact with local people. People in Lava, they are just too good. I interacted with as many people as I could, They speak mainly Nepali and broken Hindi or English( In that way increasing my Nepali vocabulary :P ). Many of the people doing business there, are not local. They came from different parts of India. Almost all the shopkeepers are from Bihar. It is a fact, "There is a bit of Bihar in every part of India" :)).
</p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi0GgzQUuI/AAAAAAAAArg/TDm1zsVqEnw/s1600/lava%2Bmonastery4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi0GgzQUuI/AAAAAAAAArg/TDm1zsVqEnw/s200/lava%2Bmonastery4.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside Lava Monastery </td></tr>
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<p>
My friends joined me after some time and we started wander inside Lava. We were walking through the clouds! It was difficult to see something even just a few feet away. The temperature was around 7/8 degree Celsius and we went from a place where the temp remains around 40 degree during summer! So I was enjoying the weather. But what I didn't enjoy are the leeches of Lava. I was aware of the fact that we are going to meet a few leeches as leeches are very common in this type of places. So when I felt there is something inside my shoes I was sure that it is nothing but leech </p>
<p>
I found 4 leeches, 3 from right and 1 from left shoes. It was not really difficult to get rid of those creatures and leeches are not really harmful!<br />
I forgot to recharge my camera batteries before the trip so I couldn't take much shots in day one. That is the only thing I regret.<br />
<br />
It was around 10:30 and the whole Lava village was sleeping except three of us. We decided to go back to our hotel room for dinner and some rest.<br />
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<div class="paraHead">Day 3: Trek route from Lava to Rishop (Rishyap)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi0o83Fx0I/AAAAAAAAAro/ehDY14sMaNI/s1600/trek%2Brishyap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi0o83Fx0I/AAAAAAAAAro/ehDY14sMaNI/s200/trek%2Brishyap.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trek to Rishyap begins!</td></tr>
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<p>
One of the most difficult thing in life is to leave the warmth of bed in a cold morning! But early morning is the best time to feel the tranquility and serenity of Lava. I bought a new set of batteries for my camera and went out on a road between clouds. Everybody in the monastery was also awake. I took a few shots of the monastery and the monks living there. I had a good conversation with a few monks. They were curious about photography. I roam around the place almost for three hours, taking photos , talking with people, sometime taking tea breaks.<br />
</p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSnrtS1h14I/AAAAAAAAAtA/7sqlrOxQ--M/s1600/trek+rishyap2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSnrtS1h14I/AAAAAAAAAtA/7sqlrOxQ--M/s200/trek+rishyap2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During Lava to Rishyap trek</td></tr>
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Around 10:30 AM we said goodbye to Lava and went out for the trek to Rishyap. The condition was overcast and as soon as we started it started raining, no heavy rainfall till then though.The road was around 5 KMs, and over 3 KMs of that through "Neora Valley National Park" following "pagdandi" <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi1d_xf_VI/AAAAAAAAAr4/DLjY3BRgVb8/s1600/trek%2Brishyap3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi1d_xf_VI/AAAAAAAAAr4/DLjY3BRgVb8/s200/trek%2Brishyap3.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neora Valley National Park</td></tr>
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That experience was amazing. The forest was calm and serene as usual. And I love walking in the forest and I love walking in the rain too! During midway it started raining heavily. No shelter inside the forest and I didn't have any protection. But I enjoyed it really. Our journey continues for one and half hour. It took that long because we were enjoying it inside the forest and wanted to spend time inside.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi33Y4sUuI/AAAAAAAAAsg/aoVe1bGokN0/s1600/rishyap2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi33Y4sUuI/AAAAAAAAAsg/aoVe1bGokN0/s200/rishyap2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rishyap or Rishop</td></tr>
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We didn't have any plan to stay in Rishop as due to overcast condition it was not possible to see "Kanchendzonga" or other snow clad peaks of Himalaya. So after reaching Rishyap we keep walking and did a survey of the place as well as the forest near Rishyap. When we stopped for Lunch we got drenched in rain to our skin. The good thing was that I didn't get any leech in the Forest of Rishyap ;).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi4A51DbCI/AAAAAAAAAso/DeaCT2mRk5o/s1600/IMG_1415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi4A51DbCI/AAAAAAAAAso/DeaCT2mRk5o/s200/IMG_1415.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Lolay gaon is almost 25 KMs from Rishop. So we hired a car from the car syndicate in Rishop. It was around 4 when we left Rishop. The road to Lolay Gaon was not that good in condition, so it took longer than usual. That was not a problem for us though, we were not in any hurry and were enjoying the roadside views. We reached Lolay Gaon around evening. Our driver took us to a beautiful resort - "Resort Tree-Fern". All the arrangements were so good there and it was very clean <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi4zz_8iDI/AAAAAAAAAsw/-34qZxBMY-8/s1600/rishyap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi4zz_8iDI/AAAAAAAAAsw/-34qZxBMY-8/s200/rishyap.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
We didn't waste much time in room though. Just after getting refreshed we went out again for a walk in neighborhood. There was a very good family just beside our resort. We spent a lot of time talking with the members. It was a nice experience. There is nothing to see during night time in Lolay Gaon. So after roaming around for a while we returned to our room, had our dinner<br />
<div class="paraHead">Day 4: Adieu, Time to say goodbye to Lolaygaon</div>
The first thing came to my mind after I wake up is "We have to leave today ... ", damn!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi1qQQWA9I/AAAAAAAAAsA/CD64mr-XRgE/s1600/lolay%2Bgaon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi1qQQWA9I/AAAAAAAAAsA/CD64mr-XRgE/s200/lolay%2Bgaon.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neora Valley, Loley Gaon</td></tr>
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<p>
I had a wonderful sleep the previous night. The resort was really good. We took some time to get ready. I was sensing the neighborhood, so calm! There was a dog near the resort. After we arrived at Lolay gaon it never left us and went with us wherever we went! We canceled our plan to go to sunrise point, Jhandidara (3Kms), as it was really cloudy. In that trip I was not able to see the sun even for a few minutes.</p>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi2rslUuBI/AAAAAAAAAsY/jMJUz4hiL5k/s1600/lolaygaon2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Neora Valley, Loley Gaon" border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PmYJ-eD-rwg/TSi2rslUuBI/AAAAAAAAAsY/jMJUz4hiL5k/s200/lolaygaon2.jpg" title="Neora Valley, Loley Gaon" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lolay Gaon</td></tr>
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<p>
So we went to the Heritage forest to spend some time with nature. There we got unwanted company of thousands of leeches, but the atmosphere was so beautiful we completely ignored those creatures. After spending good time there we came back to the main market place of Lolay Gaon. There is an Orchid park, but not many varieties of orchids left there. After a photo session there we went for our lunch. We checked out immediately after reaching our resort and took a cab for Siliguri.
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SurajitRayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04056912615985654050noreply@blogger.com41