This trip didn’t get a good start. Firstly the driver got lost and the really bad road that I experienced going to the border, I had to experience another couple of times. We spent 90 more minutes going back on ourselves. We finally reached Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim but before that I had to register and get a special permit to enter Sikkim. Sikkim is a restricted area and foreigners must have this special permit. Plus I am not allowed to enter North Sikkim as I am travelling alone. If I was with another traveller then they would let me enter. A bit weird so I managed to visit most of Sikkim except the north.
I wasn’t too happy about the hotel. It was off season and they liked telling me this a lot. Every time I asked for something or ordered something that was the excuse they gave for not being able to provide it. Then why not just shut up shop and not take my booking.
Then the tour started the next morning. We visited all the usual points of interests. I had to have a chat to the guide after the 2nd stop as I had to explain to him the job of a guide. It was a polite enough conversation. I asked if he was qualified and if he knew what a guide does. He asked me where he made his mistake and I told him. After that he was fine and all the places we visited was interesting. I even went on their only cable car built just for tourists. Before that we went to the flower exhibition, a couple of monasteries, stupors and a Ganesha temple. We also had a couple of viewpoints. Then we walked to the main high street and then into the local market. This was my favourite part.
Sikkim is a state part of India which is in the North East. The main people from Sikkim are Bhutias and Lepchas, the rest are from Nepal and Tibet. My guide was born in Sikkim but is actually Nepali. The east of Sikkim is bordered with China and the Nathula Pass is also forbidden to tourists like me.
The following morning I had a new guide as my old guide probably never wanted to see me again. But this guy was better and he explained more things and actually had a conversation with me. We headed towards Pelling which was in the West. The drive there was amazing. The hair pin bends, the roads that are not road worthy made the drive a lot more interesting. My favourite part is when the driver makes an emergency stop at a bend as another vehicle comes racing towards us. I also love how two large vehicles can manoeuvre in a narrow road and pass each other without the car on the outside falling down a great big cliff or ravine. That is expert driving and I felt safe at all times.
I had my first experience of leaches this morning. I had my flip flops on and I felt something cold and slimy on my feet. I looked at it and just thought it was a worm and then my brain started to work and alarm bells rang. It was a huge leach and it was obviously trying to latch on to my feet but it failed. After that I was always checking for leaches after every stop. It made me a little paranoid.
After our stops we finally made it to the eco lodge just outside of Pelling. I had the best room with disco lights as the electricity kept going off and the generator kept coming on. Lights on and off for a while. Especially when I left the room to go for dinner and the lights went off and I was stuck as I forgot my torch. I couldn’t see my hands in front of me. I was yelling but nobody heard me luckily the generator came on and I was able to see where I was standing, near the pond!
The next morning we were leaving Sikkim and heading for Darjeeling. The drive again was awesome and we had two stops before we left. We visited one of the oldest monasteries. This is significant because this is where I got my first leach bite. This time I wore my pumps so my feet were covered. But again I felt something we on my ankle and when I looked there was a long dark line about an inch long on the back of my ankle. Again I didn’t think it looked like a leach but the guide pulled it off straight away. I then felt a small bite, like a mosquito bite and then it started to bleed. I had to take a photo. It was my first ever leach bite. I was so thrilled.
Then we stopped at the last check point as I left Sikkim and headed into West Bengal to Darjeeling. I must say that the best part of this trip has got to be the drive. You are surrounded by the most amazing scenery and landscape. The roads are not good in the mountains although they try to maintain them but with big lorries coming through all the time it will never be good. They come thundering down the roads when going downhill, like they have no brakes and then inch their way up uphill blocking the way for every other vehicle. But the thrill of going really fast and then suddenly stopping because another vehicle has come hurtling towards you without realising there is space for both is just awesome. Very exhilarating but with a good driver it’s just fun.
