Gangtok: The Final Chapter

As the name suggests, this is the last blog from my north east travel diaries! Did I just catch you heaving a sigh of relief??!! Haha!!😜 I can’t forget this trip! I loved it so much that even talking about it makes me want to go back in time and relive those days!😍

The last day was the cherry on the cake! We were to go to an altitude of 14,500ft to see Changu Lake and Baba Mandir. We embarked on the journey at 8 am. The snake shaped roads gave us goosebumps and the weather couldn’t have been any better.💜 We felt we could literally touch the clouds! Our driver was one hell of a man, all along the way he kept telling us stories and urban legends of Sikkim.

Changu lake, also called Tsomgo lake, is is a glacial lake in the East region of  Sikkim, some 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Gangtok. It is located at an altitude of 12,313 ft. The locals told us that the lake’s surface reflects different colors with change of seasons and they hold it in great reverence. The lake is surrounded by steep snow clad mountains, has a surface area of over 60 acres, which is frozen during winter. During summer the snow cover melts and forms the source for the lake. We were fortunate to see the lake cause we were told that the lake generally remains frozen till May!

Manju Lake (enroute Baba Mandir)

The Sikkimese people have put up shops near the lake, one can buy souvenirs, or shop for jackets, sweaters etc or just enjoy a cup of tea and coffee while appreciating nature’s beauty. You can also take pics with the yaks there!📷

Next on the list was Baba Harbanjan Singh Mandir, our driver told us that since everyone can’t go to the original Baba Mandir, they have made an exact replica at a lower altitude so that people who have breathing problems or are old to see the original one can see the replica!

We decided to take a chance and go to the original one! For those who don’t know much about Baba, he was a Major in the Indian army who died in 1968 near the Nathu La in eastern Sikkim. He is respected by soldiers of the Indian army and often called the “Hero of Nathula”. The army men have also built a shrine in his honour. Many believe that his spirit protects every soldier in the inhospitable high altitude terrain of the Eastern Himalayas.

Top of Baba Temple

The Indian Army has built a temple near the bunker were Baba used to stay while he was serving in the army. Once you’re near the temple, you’ve to climb 25-30 stairs to reach the bunker. There’s a golden idol of Babaji inside the bunker, his clothes are ironed everyday, his shoes are polished daily which many have claimed that he uses everyday!

As the story goes, Harbhajan Singh drowned in a glacier while trying to lead a column of mules carrying supplies to a remote outpost. As the first casualty of the 23rd Punjab Regiment in that war, a manhunt was launched to find him. His remains were found after three days and he was cremated with full military honours. It is said that it was Harbhajan Singh himself who helped the army find his body. Through a dream, he instructed one of his colleagues to build and maintain a shrine in his memory.

Indian soldiers believe that in the during wars between India and China, Baba would warn the Indian soldiers of any impending attack at least the three days in advance. Even The Chinese acknowledge his presence and during flag meetings between the two nations at Nathu La, they set a chair aside to honour of Harbhajan Singh. People claim to have discovered him visiting the camps at night. It has also been claimed that the regiment still keeps an empty bed and other items of daily use. Some sources suggest that he continues to draw a major’s salary every month till date. Sends chills down the spine, doesn’t it?

The velocity of the wind at that altitude was so high, I felt I fall down. It was quite a task not to feel dizzy there. Before reaching the mandir, I was really concerned about my dad falling sick, but it was my brother and I who were gasping for air and had to sit down! But after that it was playing with snow time!! Yay. I couldn’t enjoy Rohtang much cause my cousin threw a snow ball at me which hit my nose badly and I couldn’t breathe properly then. So I was all set to enjoy the snow here, I still remember my brother asked me to come and sit in the car cause my hands had turned BLUE cause of the snow! It was so cold and to think that I didnt want to wear a jacket to begin with makes me go hug mom who forced me to wear one!🙈

I was thrilled to be there, it was once in  lifetime experience for all of us. We stayed there for around an hour, soaking in the energy that the place has.🙌

The last place to visit was the flower show, sadly it turned out to quite  disappointment since it was off season and most of the flowers weren’t in the blooming phase yet we took a few pictures cause for me, nothing is unworthy of a picture!

Looks like someone found true love! 😛

And with that, the final chapter of our wonderful, adventurous north east trip ends! It was an experience that I will never ever forget in my life. The picturesque views, the happy go lucky people, the cold wind, everything about north east is beyond beautiful. If you love travelling and north east should be on your bucket list!

I’m all ears to know how you liked my trip and the various adventures we did!👻

Keep travelling and keep discovering! Life’s too short to be whiled away!

Love,

Aakanksha😘

 

Gangtok: Day 1

I think I have eaten your heads enough with my blogs about my trip, Hehe 😝 but just two more to go! Hang in there, the torturous ordeal is soon about to end! Haha! 😜

After reaching Gangtok, we were all so tired that we just checked into the hotel and crashed into our beds!
Gangtok city was a little warmer than Darjeeling and the roads were wider which is a given being a capital city. Once you enter the city, you do get the city vibes and oh the smiling faces! The best part about the trip to north east were the locals, I have never in my life seen people happy and chirpy all the time even at 5 am in the morning when I’m just struggling to wake up and drive all the way to the gym! 😤 The next morning we woke up to a gorgeous view. A pair of birds were sitting in our room’s balcony and all we could see were clouds and snow clad mountains! I come from a land of forts, deserts and palaces, yet when I see those I get excited like a kid, now imagine how difficult it is for me to contain my excitement when I see snow! 🙌

After golloping down the breakfast we were all set to set foot at Banjhakri Waterfalls! A  100-foot waterfall located in a landscaped park with forested area, is at a distance of about 7kms from Gangtok town. There are paved pathways and footbridge around the park which spreads across some 2-acres of land area, there’s also a man-made lake here with a dragon at the center. The entire park is themed on Shaman culture and you can see Sikkimese architecture visible all across the park. Ban Jhakri means ‘Jungle Priest’, according to a popular Nepali urban legend, the first Jhakri or Shaman acquired the power of mastering the evil spirits from the gods. However, he required to identify the right boys and teach the technique secretly in his forest cave. And after the training the boys themselves became Jhakris being able to cure anybody affected by evil spirits. Hearing this, I saw a ray of hope that my evil spirited brother👿 would be cured now! Sadly he wasn’t and still bugs me day and night! Hmmmphh 😭

I’m the craziest in my crazy family, I guess the pic says it all!

The temperatures suddenly drop when you reach the place, but you feel like you are in a different world. The chirping birds, the sound of water splashing over rocks, the wind teasing the leaves just makes you smile and forget everything and soak in the beauty of nature! We are family of nature admirers, so visiting such heavenly places makes us adore and cherish God’s glory! 💞

After clicking around 100-200 pics near the waterfall (oh you think that’s too much, haha you don’t know me at all then 👻), we left for Dro dul Chorten, which is a stupa in Sikkim.

Inside this stupa, there are a complete set of Dorjee Phurba, Kangyur relics (Holy Books) and other religious objects. Around the stupa are 108 Mani Lhakor or prayer wheels. The stupa is surrounded by Chorten Lakahang and Guru Lakhang, where two statues of Guru Rinpoche are present. The monks rotate the prayer wheels and chant along the recitation of mantras imprinted on wheels. It was such a peaceful place where you feel disconnected from the rest of the world. Everywhere I looked, I was greeted with spectacular views, young monks playing, sound of bells, a prayer area where around 200 candles were lit cleansing the aura of the place. After rotating the prayer wheel, we sat inside the prayer area. I don’t speak for everyone but when I’m inside a holy place, I feel more anchored and in sync with my soul.

We would have sat there the whole day, had it not rained cats and dogs! It started drizzling and our driver called us back and within a few mins, I could see hailstones all around me. We decided to head to the hotel as we could barely see as the car windows were completely occluded by the mist. Kudos to the driver for driving like a pro on those hilly roads and taking us back safely to the hotel.

Unfortunately cause of the rain, we couldn’t see the other two places on the itinerary but as soon as the hotel staff told us that we were to a height of 14,500 ft the next day, my brother and I had the widest grin!

The next day turned out to be thrilling adventure! But more on that in the next blog so stay tuned! Please please come back for the next blog, I promise that’s the last blog of my north east trip! Then I would just bother you with some other blogs. Hehe 🙈

Love,

Aakanksha😘