The Yak on which we sat for a while.See its still alive:
Traffic Jam at 13000 ft :
Cafe @ 14000 ft:
River path:
Rumtek Monastery:
Foggy sign board:
The Indo-China border:
Long long long ago, the author made a promise. The holiday season and so has the trip season has started. Every other day the mail box is spammed with out of office & (OOO)replies and yes we have once again stared making plans for travel from Goa ,Kerela to Egypt, Amazon (in dreams)……..50 places to visit before u die types.
All this reminds me of my last trip of which there has been only promises and no posting.
The round trip : Hyd-Delhi-Binagudi(Siliguri)-Butan -Darjeeling-Gangtok(Sikkim,Nathula pass)- Binagudi -Delhi –Hyd, Phew!
Time:-Around April 2008
The travel above and across Binagudi to * was done in a car.
All I remember is that we were just cruising round and round across the mountains with a faint fear of -one wrong move and we all end up in the valley with no left over’s.
Bhutan visit was mostly border area markets and monasteries, of where I was literally caught by a kid lama for clicking photos. I was made to delete all shoots or was asked to forgo my cannon baby.
Binagudi-Darjeeling was a peaceful ride. From plains to mountains . we were made to change the course (and missed an amazing lake on the way)cause of road -blockage- havoc caused by rains.
Places visited :-
1.Himalayan zoological park –with major attraction -endangered species like clouded leopard, red Panda.
2.Mountaineering museum.
3.The street market- full of peppy clothes n shoes , of chinky chicks n dudes , hazzar crowd on that steeply terrain skimpy route and yes , there was room for a mall as well. Our own Big Bazaar.And my “Shabji” watchman -Agam is proud of the mall at his home town.
This hill station is highly commercialized.
Darjeeling –Sikkim was a bumpy ride to the ass, but man! what an eye candy treat to the eyes. Such scenic route it is. Small villages, rain forests. Thick, plush and green is what I remember.
Places visited:-
1.Gangtok- Rumtek monastery.
2.Nathula Pass.
We moved on to an Army camp named – 5 miles to halt for our major destination –Nathula pass -14000 feet above sea level. This travel was the most dangerous and gory. On the way we saw multiple waterfalls , some of which happily took the road way like a trail of pedestrian crossing the narrow mountain road. On the way we camped at Changu lake for yak ride, hot food n tea.
Finally, we trekked to Nathula pass in the freeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzing cold.
Hurray moment!. victory flag was hoisted , border shake hands were exchanged, photos were clicked and we all felt like king and queen of the world in spite of low levels of oxygen. Breathlessness prevailed for a while .On our two legs we descended back to our four wheelers parking.Sipped hot coffee in “café coffee day” ..yes even here there was room for a cafeteria . Apparently this café site is highest in India.
Sikkim to Binagudi :The ride was across mountain alongside a river from source to almost destination.
We saw river Teesta from birth to middle age .There was some gyaan dan of jungle jadibuti and stuff on the way back owing to nauseated sickness of one of our helper. The driver , a localite stopped the SUV somewhere in the middle of the jungle to hunt for teetapatti which on rubbed smelling cured the helper.
kanchanjangha:
Some Monastery @ Darjeeling
Teetapatti, The Herb:
Mountain Beauty:
P.S1: Weekend trip to Papikondalu.
3 comments:
Thanks for 20% Road-Coverage (sounds familiar :P) of the whole, but you know you are supposed to make it >60% to get good bonus/appreciation :-).
Yet Thanks a tonn for the 20%, you reminded me of many things: Chhangu lake, Teesta river and bumpy yet awesome ride from Darjeeling to Gangtonk :-)
So when can we expect the rest of it :-), or can we expect at all ;)
The Yak pic - was it taken before you sat on it? :)
@Abi-W:Feel lucky for that 20 %. If I attempt to describe the remaining , it shall carry forward into four more such posts.
Let it be short and sweet. Let the pictures speak thousand words.
@Mini-T:What do u think?
The Yakky dear does look tired and exhausted…..
But u have seen the pics in which I was on it.Yakky looked all happy.
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