With love...from Sikim

We reached New Jalpaiguri Station at about 10:00am in the morning. No sooner than you step your feet on the platform than touts will hunt you down with their tour packages. We booked a package which included journey from NJP to Gangtok and back, local sight seeings, one day trip to Tsomgo Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathula.
It's a 4-5 hour journey from NJP to Gangtok. The cab stopped only once at Teesta Bazaar where you can have some snacks and enjoy the mesmerizing view of the Teesta River from a very close proximity.
We already had our hotel booked at Nam Nang Road. In the evening we took a brisk walk in the mall viz M.G.Road and discovered a cafe named 'The Coffee Shop'. You shouldn't miss the hot chocolate there.

Next day we went for local sight seeings. Gangtok provides you with a wide range of flora-fauna, monasteries and ranges. We started with a flower exhibition nearby. Next we went to Enchey Monastery. There is a thing about monasteries whenever you enter one a mystical serene ambience captivates you...lightens you up. After Enchey we visited Ganesh Tok followed by a plant reserve and a waterfall. Then we moved to Tashi View Point. I would mention this place as the most beautiful view point of Gangtok. The mighty Himalayas stand tall beneath a layer of fog and if you're lucky enough you get a wonderful view of Kanchenjungha as bonus. We had our lunch at Tashi. A place called Tashi Snacks Corner. I'm adding a photo of this place in particular being one of my favorites. From Tashi we went to Gonzeng monastery which is equally mesmerizing. Finally we visited the Tibetian Institute to end our days trip.

This was the most awaited day of the whole trip. Tsomgo Lake is 34 km from Nam Nang Road. Height of Gangtok is around 6000ft and Tsomgo is 12,400 ft high. From this you can very well understand how steep the route had been. Slowly you feel the decreasing temperature and oxygen. After 10,000ft the greenery of the Himalayas get replaced with snowcapped roofs and barren cliffs.
Just outside the main entrance there is Tsomgo market where you'll get stalls for food and extra clothing if needed. It's preferable to take shoes from them to walk over the snow.
Because of overnight snowfall the roads ahead were blocked so we could not go any further to Baba Mandir and Nathula. Slightly depressed due to this reason we entered through the main gate and what we saw was enough to cheer us up. Such experiences create memories which we cherish throughout our life. After a walk around the lake and spending some quality time we returned to the stalls to have lunch.
Alert: Don't keep much expectations regarding the taste.
After lunch we we're all set for return when to our very surprise it started....snowfall. Experiencing snowfall at Tsomgo in broad daylight is once a blue moon event. I consider myself very lucky to have experienced that specially because this was in my bucket list.
Finally when it got over we headed back towards Gangtok. On the way we took a by-route to Hanuman tok which happens to be the highest point of Gangtok. View wasn't much clear up there due to excessive fog.
After returning it's better to take rest for the day and visualize the memories gathered or grab a few drinks with your friends.

This was the day of return and we set off quite early. One thing about Sikim...she's a lover...you'll feel a deep negative vibe while leaving her. When you look back you'll feel the hill station is inviting you for a tight hug and would want to go back and stay there...maybe forever.
Some facts about the place:
1. Keep enough cash with you...most places accept only cash.
2. Drink to warm yourself....don't get intoxicated
3. November end is actually not a good time to visit Sikim