Sikkim Sojourn Part 3 - The First Segment Ends

Our ride to the town of Gangtok from New Delhi took us around 45 hours (delayed by almost 17 hours). We checked into our Hotel for a couple of hours (the original booking was meant for a day) just to freshen up for the long trip ahead to GuruDongmar Lake.

Despite being very tired the anticipation of having the trip of my lifetime kept me in high spirits. In this expectation Sikkim did not disappoint and gave me memories which I would cherish throughout my life. Here are some snapshots from my hotel room – 

 A sneak peak of the Palzor Football Stadium(The only sports stadium in North and East Sikkim)

 Gangtok

The hills around Gangtok

MG Marg at Night (Mobile)

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Pictures from the North East Express

Some of the other pictures I took while on my way from New Delhi to Gangtok are -     

At Anand Vihar Railway Station. Notice the aligning of the shadowy part and the sunny part

A solitary station in the middle of nowhere

The landscape struck me. Could see no trees apart from the one close by.

A picture taken from my mobile. The train stood here, at Begusarai (Bihar) for about an hour and a half.

When I got down at the New Jalpaiguri station it was breaking dawn. We had booked a cab to take us to Gangtok. The pictures below were shot while we were on the move as the fatigue of a 42 hour long journey was too much to handle. The road to Gangtok has been made right next to River Teesta which gave us a birds eye view of the River which was quite breathtaking to say the least. But to get near the River Teesta we had to cross the Mahananda Wildlife Reserve which is popular for elephants. Here are the snapshots - 

Driving through the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary on my way to Gangtok

On the move with the forest passing by

 

A sneaking glance of the River Teesta (The lifeline of Sikkim)

 

River Teesta runs parallel to  the road to Gangtok which ensures you get to see a lot of breathtaking sights

 

Throughout the road one can hear the dull roar of the River water gushing down the mountains heading to Bangladesh. Over here you can see a bend of the river (beyond the leaves)

The River Teesta (notice the sand bar in the middle)

 

The River passing through an ‘S’ shaped meander. (The shade of the car window also appears in this picture)

(to be continued)...

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Sikkim Sojourn Part 2 - My Rendevous with the Ganges

My trip to Sikkim started at Anand Vihar Rly. Stn. From where we had to board the North East Express. Apparently that was the only train suitable to our time preferences and was proving to be economical as well. But the very first lesson of this trip was taught to me by this very train.. and that was never compromise over quality as it might cost you big ! The best trains which can help you reach there(New Jalpaiguri) on time(as we realized later) are Rajdhani Express and Purvottur Sampark Kranti.

Well the train(North East Express).. Believe it or not.. was 17 hours late ! It completed the trip of 25 hrs in a total time of 42 hours. Moral of the story ? Never book a train without researching over the internet if it is running as per schedule or not.

But that said, I came across really interesting and striking sights on my way to New Jalpaiguri(the transit town for Darjeeling, Gangtok e.t.c.). But the highlight was crossing the River Ganges at Bihar. Let me explain them with pictures :-

 

The huge and mighty River Ganges in Bihar - 1

Notice the row of boats at the bank of the River

The huge and mighty River Ganges in Bihar – 2

The huge and mighty River Ganges in Bihar – 3

Notice the Riverine Island. The River has numerous such islands in its entire course.

Water.. Water.. Water..

Fishermen returning with their haul

Flood Plains of the Ganges

(to be continued..)

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