10th April, 2008

At 6.30 am I was staring at the ceiling, thinking should I get up or just laze away my fat butt for some more time after all. It was like day 5 of our vacation in heaven, and for once we were in no hurry to get out on the road. The only worry that we did have was the absence of a geyser sure meant that we could be in some cold water after all. But Rob boy did have us covered on that one.

As we had feared the previous night, the strike had just begun in West Bengal & there were some rumors doing the round that it could even be an indefinite one. Well Kalimpong was cancelled for sure after hearing this news & I for sure was a lil glum over this (I did prefer Kalimpong for some inane reason over Darjeeling). So we were back to the discussing board with Baichung over the phone, & a new plan was charted to head over to Pelling & stay for the night over there. As for tomorrow, well we were just mumbling under our breath that the damn strike gets called off so that we could get done with at least Darjeeling & Mirik.

So we were back to Gupta’s for our breakfast & while Panda was playing with the local children & Vineet was hogging his bread & butter toast (it’s real rare that you get to see this sight), I was busy feeding a dog (whom I decided to call CHARLIE BOY). At 8 am after stuffing ourselves we decided to check out & bid adieu to Yuksam (this had by far been a REVELATION of sorts). As we got out of Yuksam & got onto some tar road, our butts were finally able to get some rest. Plus the genius within us had come out with another amazing trick since the last day.

As we were had been traveling from one place to another since the previous day we were not exactly able to get our towels dried. And in one of those moments of the bulb lighting up your head some one amongst us (sorry for my bloody memory) suggested hanging the towel on the window of the passenger seat as we drive on. End result was that we had ever dry towels (some engineers we sure turned out to be). Getting back to our tourist exploits the first pit stop for the day came in the form of the Kanchendzonga Falls.

Now don’t get me wrong on this, but at Sikkim with each water fall we kept running into, we just ended being more spell bound than the previous one. So here we were again running to get snapped at the falls (not me in particular cos I have always felt that I came out real bad in those bloody snaps). Well for once we were not bothered about the ongoing strike & were more reveling in the picturesque beauty of the Kanchendzonga Falls.

After having some tea, we resumed our road trip at 9.30 am & pretty soon our happiness about the whole tar road had evaporated & we were doing the swaying act inside the Scorpio. As for the ambience within the vehicle, Vineet was as usual in his ever eloquent & charismatic pose for the camera. On the contrary Panda & Ramesh were gossiping all the way to glory. As for me, while I was not penning down these crappy notes, I would chip in the gossip sessions once in a while.

Khecheopalri Lake or the wishing lake, which happened to be our next stop, was a holy lake when it came to the natives over there. According to myths (which I picked up from their tourist board right before entering the lake) it is believed that the lake is in the shape of the Goddess Tara’s footprint when she had descended from the heavens above. Unlike the other lakes & falls this one did have an atmosphere more in lines with a monastery (considering the fact that it was sacred too). And if you weren’t caught up with the spiritual atmosphere, then you would definitely be blown by the view it had to offer you, especially on the wooden board flanked with the traditional Buddhist rolling bells (or something like that) on either side leading all the way to the lake.

The only blemish in the entire beauty of the Khecheopalri Lake didn’t come from it but from an outside source. While we were done capturing the beauty of the lake on our cameras & decided to return back to our vehicle, there was this arse who decided to take a leak on the side of the path. This especially after there had been many public urinals right at the entrance. Some bastards just continue to remain the same way.

We were out of the lake premises at around 11.30 am after a round of tea & snacks (our regular high octane tea diet as usual). Our Scorpio came to a halt next at the Sewaro Rock Gardens in Rimbi. It wasn’t just that our vehicle took us all the way to the garden. We had to descent some steep distance (by now we were really getting accustomed to this routine for sure) & then we stepped into this beautiful garden built alongside the local river. Adorned with rocks, trust me when I say that this picture sure is something that is going to be imprinted for a real long time (not unless some hot Brazilian babe decides to walk in a small bikini – that would be some picture). But getting back to rock garden, Vineet & Panda decided to take some timeout playing in the water, while I decided to focus my attention on the activities of a fisherman (Oh yeah also on his catch too).

At 2 pm when we did manage to get back to the Scorpio (panting of course), Vineet was given a chance to get behind the steering wheel. After whizzing for a while, he returned the wheel back to Ramesh (seems like Ramesh got scared with Vineet’s driving – a nice joke). But yeah Ramesh sure did turn out to be one good source of entertainment through the ride. Later at 3.30 pm we checked into the Dafla Gang Hotel in Pelling.

Later at 7 pm we decided to walk through the roads of Pelling & we even got to have some nice rounds of cocktail (read that as I) at a trendy resto-bar by the name of Taatopaani. They even had a live band performing (most of them being the staff & Ramesh’s friends too). But since there was a power loss problem going on we quite couldn’t enjoy their performance (Panda however did get to have herself clicked with the guitar though).

At 9 pm we got back to the Dafla Gang & dined on some nice fish curry (prepared by the hotel proprietor Mr. Shankar Basak). We did call up Baichung to have a confirmation for the next day’s set of activities (Yeah there were talks of the strike being called off) & then head off to get some nice winks of sleep. After having another of those picturesque days, I was real sure that the Zzzz’s would be real smooth tonight.

9th April, 2008

At 5.30 am the morning light of Gangtok awakened me. Our honeymoon at Gangtok was drawing a close, but our trip was still far from over. By 8.30 am the three of us were all dressed & raring to go. Yumthang the previous day had been kind of disappointing, so we were really wary of our coming days. While we feasted on a quite heavy breakfast, Ramesh arrived with a new plan. While I called up Baichung for the confirmation of this, I was informed that Pelling was chucked out from our itinerary & a place called Yuksam was inserted in its place. I hadn’t come across this place during my ground research before starting with this trip, so naturally I was kind of skeptical about the whole thing.

Finally a 10 am after bidding adieu to Kishen & Vinod (the proprietor & room boy respectively) of Pandim, we were on the road with our entire luggage stacked in the Scorpio this time. Panda had decided to reminiscing about her days of goonda gardi & entertaining the entire group. At 11 am we passed through the village of Singtam & in this process entered South Sikkim. As we were passing through all those hair pin curves, we had started playing the age old game of Antakshari (again courtesy Panda) & were belting out Hindi numbers in our rugged tunes.

At noon we made a small snap stop at the beautiful Temi Tea garden. After like playing for a while through the tea fields we decided to continue with our journey. At quarter to one, we stopped at another small hill village of Ravangla for lunch. Right after lunch our first pit stop was at the Yung Drung Kundrak Ling Bon Monastery in Kewzing. It was picture of serenity & spirituality. It was the only Bon monastery in the entire Sikkim. Once we alighted from the monastery we had a little snap timeout at the Rangit Dam.

While I & Vineet were snapping at the river, our playboy Ramesh was making hay all the while with the passing local belles. He sure turned out to be one smooth operator. As we crossed the Rangit river, we entered into the West Sikkim territory of Tashiding & our Scorpio was back to traversing through the hair pin curves. Panda was busy in waving at the local school kids (some didn’t wave back, but the major ones would flash back a huge smile along with their waving hands) & as for us we were just stunned & gaping the scenic marvel that was unfolding along the way.

Just before entering Yuksam, we happened to stop at the Phamrong Falls. This happened to be one huge mother of a waterfall & we had provisions of a stair all the way till the summit. The cigarette intake sure had fucked my stamina, but that didn’t prevent me from climbing those stairs (in fact I beat Panda & Vineet to the summit too). Atop after taking some time to catch some breath, we began to be amazed at the sight from there.

Once we were done with our timeout at Phamrong, we started our journey to Yuksam. At 4 pm we entered Yuksam – which happened to be the first capital of Sikkim. Well one thing which comes up your radar when you enter Yuksam is the fact that there ain’t any roads over here. But then once you get to see the place all that takes a backseat. The amazing view & the peaceful atmosphere over here just make you go completely gaga.

There were plenty of foreigners who were just sitting at the local restaurants & sipping beer & coffee – seems like Yuksam is also a place that is a favorite for trekkers. We checked into Hotel Demazong & met up with the proprietor Rob. By then we even heard some distressing news about a strike that had occurred in West Bengal. Since Kalimpong, which was our destination for the next day, happened to be in West Bengal we sure did have some worries. But for the present we decided to do some exploration of the village. But before we decided to walk through the village, we decided to get our tummies stuffed at one of the local eatery.

Once we were done hogging at Gupta’s restaurant (that happened to be one of the happening places in Yuksam) we walked off to a nearby lake. The Kathog Bla Tsho (Tsho it seems meant Lake in the local language) was a mystical lake & we were the only souls present at the lake when we entered it. After toying around there for a while, we headed for the Coronation Throne Norbugang, which was supposedly the birth place of Sikkim. Maybe it was the evening but the trees that surrounded the coronation monument sure were a lil creepy.

While I & Vineet were landscaping the surrounding areas, Panda had made company with the local children & was yapping on & on (the children in Sikkim sure were real independent). At around 6.30 pm we had to pry away Panda from the children & since it had already gone pitch dark we walked back to our room. Later that night we went over to Gupta’s once more for dinner. I was glugged in a couple of beers & then later we were joined by a sweet lady named Rebecca all the way from Atlanta, USA. Well we did carry on our debate over India (we were trying to tell her that Sikkim was still a part of India) way past the usual time in Yuksam (which closes down by 8 pm) & I was blushing every time she kept complimenting me for my Kerala looks (I swear she did). We said our goodbyes to Rebecca & proceeded back to our hotel. Before hitting the bed, we decided to do one more round of cards & as usual we thrashed Panda once again. Considering how the day had shaped up, I was quite sure tonight I could go easy with some nice sleep. Yuksam sure had bowled me all over.

8th April, 2008

One of the other pains that we have to endure during these vacations is the fact that at times we have to sacrifice our nice cozy sleep. Today was one of those days – we got up at 4.30 am & were all set to start for the day by 6 am (gosh on a regular day this is the time when I shut down the alarm). Today we were supposed to be traveling on a real long journey to North Sikkim where we were supposed to check out the Yumthang Valley.

On the way as part of our high octane tea diet we stopped at the Tashi View point, & yeah we also got some glorious views of the Kanchendzonga range. From there we continued with our foray into North Sikkim. There were plenty of waterfalls & bridges throughout this stretch & we even got ourselves snapped in some of these. North Sikkim came as one of those wild stallions which are amazingly beautiful yet hostile. In North Sikkim’s case its beauty lay in its picturesque landscape, while its hostilities were the road conditions.

The roads were bumpy & there were some patches when it was purely treacherous. But it was still heartening to see the BRO come out with signs such as INCONVENIENCE REGRETTED. Our bladders had taken quite a toll & we were on the search for public restrooms every now & then (especially the lady). However we didn’t have much work to do here, since there were public toilets maintained for your disposal at most of the areas.

I had decided to keep track of the villages that we were passing & had come real good with a list which started from Phodong, Namok, Mangshila & Mangan. However at Mangan we faced our first real test of patience since getting on that plane from Hyderabad. What started off as a routine Police Check post thing stretched all the way to hours together. While Ramesh had gone over to remit some cash & get a bank receipt, we went out shopping in the local market, came back & started playing cards, checked out the police women (who I must say were really HOT). Plus since Mangan was at a low altitude, the sun was pretty much in our faces.

So like after enduring all this for like 3 hours & having ourselves entertained with Panda’s histrionics (she sure was the entertainment box for this trip), I decided to go in the search of Ramesh, & ended up finding him waiting in a never ending queue in the Bank of Sikkim. I was left aghast & then accompanied him to the local police station where I met up with the officer in charge. It was from him that I learned that other than the Inner Line Permits that was required by us to travel into North Sikkim, it was also a local rule that tourists could not travel in cars having private registration of SK-02. They were only supposed to travel in SK-04 & SK-06 registered vehicles (don’t ask me why). So after pleading with him, he sent an officer with Ramesh to the bank to get the receipt. At last after 4 hours of wasting time at Mangan we resumed with our journey north.

After Mangan we could see the change in the vegetation on the road. The river Tista was still visible over here & the trees were growing thicker on either sides of the road. We even ran into one of a military tank. Well that was the last thing I remembered before I went of for a quick doze. When I got up I came to know from Vineet (who was awake & snapping furiously) that there we had passed 3 such tanks.

In Phenong we passed the Indo-Tibet Border Police camp & later passed through another border village in the form of Chung Thang. Finally at around 3 pm we pulled into Lachung. By this time we were already related to some dead log. We got into one of the hotels of Baichung’s acquaintances. We decided to go on to Yumthang & then return to have our lunch. Yumthang happened to be just like another 30 minutes or so from Lachung. But when we stepped out of our Scorpio at Yumthang we were left really disappointed. We expected a lot from Yumthang – which was termed as the valley of flowers. Don’t get me wrong, the snow covered mountains on one side & the Tista River’s branch flowing on the other side can be a treat at times. But when you endure for like 4 hours & then go through all those bumps & curves we certainly do expect a lot. And that’s where Yumthang failed me, Panda & Vineet all alike.

We started our descent back with pretty much gloom within the Scorpio, stopped at Lachung & had our lunch & began with our return trip to Gangtok. At 9.30 pm after an uneventful drive back (except for a bit when Panda tried humorously to play cards & ended up spraying the cards all over the place) we pulled into the parking lot of our lodge. Dreary, let down & sleepy eyed we just couldn’t wait to get to our sacks. I did make it a point to call up Baichung & give him a piece of our mind. To sum it all we had a real torrid day & as I type these last words, I am seriously hoping for a better tomorrow.

7th April, 2008

The alarm buzzed at 7 am & I was wondering Oh god not again. But then it hit me, wait a sec I was in Sikkim & I didn’t have to be in front of a computer keying in random engine serial numbers. Not today – today was meant for excitement. After a sumptuous breakfast at 9.30 am we were aboard our Scorpio with Ramesh (who was all looking bashing for the day) & started our day’s travel. The flavor for the day was the Tsomgo Lake which was the highlight of Gangtok. Another thing which has to be mentioned over here is the fact that Tsomgo happens to be one of those areas where required the Inner Line Permit to make a foray into. Luckily for us, Baichung had this covered & we were through the army check post after showing our documents. The Army is seen through this area, since ahead of Tsomgo happens to be the Nathula Pass which forms the border to India & China.

Initially Nathula was also a part of our plan, but due to the ongoing China-Tibet conflict, we decided not to take the chance to get stuck in an ACCIDENTAL crossfire. Anyway once we started our ascent after the check post, we ran through an amazing scenic route. The roads were cut on the mountain sides & even though they were a little bumpy in patches, all praise should be given to the Border Road Organization (BRO) who was responsible for these roads.

At a village called Kyongnosale, we halted to click some snaps along a beautiful waterfall. Since it was a tiny tourist spot, there were plenty of tea stalls (we were on a high octane tea diet these days). But another point that has to be highlighted over here is how the people over here have been quite sensible enough in trying to make their tourist spots clean to the core. Everywhere you halt you can see a dustbin at your disposal. But again it is left to the common bloke to follow up by dumping his/her trash in this.

Once our Scorpio pulled into the make shift parking lot in Tsomgo, we all were left gaping at the scene that was there in front of us. Ok so we have seen snow before & lakes too & they have been beautiful too, but yet this one did make us still go OOOOOOHHHH. At 12,400 ft above sea level, & frozen partially Tsomgo Lake was worth every single bump we drove over the way. Surrounded with shops on a side & so many yak ride hawkers, the lake & the snow mountain behind it could beckon anyone with ease. So we made Panda climb a yak (we got some gear like a boot & jacket for Panda & gloves for all of us from one of Ramesh’s contact’s shop) & started off to the snow mountain. Along the way we saw many folks slip on the snow & as far as I was concerned once again I misjudged the cold & was left clattering my teeth at times.

After playing in the snow, getting our butts chilled & even making a makeshift snowman, we decided it was time that we get back to some good old mud before ending up frost bitten & numb. Once we returned to Shop 15, we returned the gears & feasted ourselves on some delicious mommus. After stuffing ourselves to the hilt we decided to get back to our abode on Gangtok. So at 2.15 pm we started our descent & with the exception of a light doze of dizziness for Panda, we made it back within an hour.

After taking some nice rest, we decided to do some city touring in the evening & around 7.30 pm we got off to MG Market. This market is supposed to be the most happening market in Gangtok & I figured out more than that after our foray into one or two shops here. The stuff here is like shit expensive & some of the brands they have at display I haven’t seen then even in Hyderabad. But that apart my opinion still remains the same, if you want to do shopping, Gangtok is not the place for that. After doing all the window shopping (Panda managed to walk through a market for the first time without purchasing anything & all credit was to the great Vineet) we decided to have a final tummy refill & got into one of the restaurants on the same market road. On the way we bumped into Baichung & confirmed our next day’s plans too.

After dinner we walked back to the lodge (the walk sure got our food all digested) & decided to hit bed by like 8.30 pm (though we did at only 10 pm). To sum it up, the day was an absolute cracker & if things were headed in the same league, then boy oh boy we sure had something on our hands. I know I definitely can be such an extravagant bloke at times. Time to hit the sack.

6th April, 2008

In my 27 years of existence, in which I must have started my train journey sessions like from the age of 17 or so, never has once a train pulled into the scheduled station on the dot. So it wasn’t weird for me to get mighty impressed when the Darjeeling Mail pulled into NJP station on the dot at 8 am like it was scheduled too. Oh I forgot, this was our second day & today our entire tour itinerary was going to shape up for final. Only problem was to catch hold of the driver that Baichung had promised would be at NJP holding a WELCOME ASHISH board.

One more tragedy (later to be found as a blessing in disguise) that occurred to us was that both mine & Vineet’s mobile connectivity flew out of the window as soon as we stepped into NJP. Panda was the only one who was mobile now & we thanked the heavens for that. After some rounds of searching here & there we finally met up with Ramesh – our chaperone (pronounced as Romesh) & the black Scorpio which was enlisted for our entire trip. Once we started off for Gangtok (which is 4 hours from NJP) we passed through a forest in the military camp of Sevoke. The fragrance that came from this forest was just pure seduction (it was supposed to come from the Lotus flowers that had been growing in the lake within the forest).

The route to Gangtok was filled with curves & breathtaking scenes (it happens to be alongside the river Tista). The panoramic view came to a halt for a while when we entered Rangpo (the entry port of Sikkim) at 11.30 am. From there till 12.30 pm (when we had our first glimpse of Gangtok) there was a trickle of drizzle & a steady decline in the temperature too. Finally we checked into the Pandim lodge (an economical & scenic lodge). Once I & Vineet freshened up, we decided to do some locale study (Panda was taking her sweet time in freshening up).

Our little walk took us through steep alleys & more curvy roads. What I came to find out was that all the Sikkemese folks were in possession of some well built physique (the babes were like MUWAAH) & pretty soon I figured out their secret too. The damn roads & walkways are so freaking steep that it had not only me panting for breath but the usually unmoved Vineet too breathless. Being the lazy bum that I am my next stop was my bed in the room. Soon Baichung came over took us to a nearby Flower show, where Panda & Vineet went by their ways exploring the flora at display. During this while I & Baichung sat down & worked our itinerary accordingly. After some while of nodding left & right we finally arrived at a conclusive plan. After all these days of cutting & writing FINALLY we had a PLAN.

Then we headed off to a view point in the form of Ganesh Tok (Tok happens to mean Hill). On our way back Vineet was handed the steering wheel & was mighty delighted in doing some Mountain Driving after all (he had completely ruled out his chances of driving in the mountains before this). Once back to the room, we paid of 10 grand as an advance payment to Baichung & resumed our card game (Panda was getting thrashed left & right).

We had asked our lodging people (who had a cute restaurant on their balcony) to leave some dinner for us, & then we embarked on the only slight blemish of the entire day. Panda had bought a pub dress & was yearning to shake a leg in one of the local pubs. So after doing all the necessary enquiries we three braved the cold (which we found out was quite chilly) & walked to the nearest Pub. Once we reached Escape (spelled as Xcape) we shelled out 400 bucks (cos there was an entry charge of 200 Rupees per head & none for ladies), & went in with great expectations. And then what came across not only sank our hearts, it even made our knees go weak. The pub was a neat place, but the crowd was all men & for them the only source of excitement just entered in the form of Panda. So for all pub aspirants heading to Gangtok, one word of advice, keep the pubbing reserved for your big towns. Off we scurried back for our room & within 30 minutes or so all of us were Zzzzing our ways to glory. In short it was quite a nice way to start off. One day gone & 6 more left. Not bad!!!

5th April, 2008

After a night of frustrations, packing, unpacking & repacking the day of reckoning had finally arrived (ok so it is a little exaggerated). At around 1 am I somehow managed to wake up from my slumber remembering that I was supposed to book a cab to the airport for the next day (a special note of thanks has to be mentioned to Panda darling over here). Once I was all set with the cab, I decided to get some wink of sleep.

Next day by 7.30 am we were all ready (Panda had come over to our place & we had decided to go over together) & the cab was also waiting outside. Ever since the new airport had opened in Hyderabad, there has been much of a hullabaloo over its distance (a little over 40 km from our place) & the time it takes to reach there. So we had planned to avert any delays & decided to start a tad early for our flight which was scheduled at around 11 am. Today was a different day – everything was just going to happen real early & we got our first omen for this in the form of next to zero traffic on the roads of Hyderabad. The net result – we were like 2 hours early & ended up checking out the new airport.

Now for all the guys out there, here’s a little tip, next time you guys want to ogle, the airport is a haven. There were like too many oomph out there which we usually never get to see on an ordinary day in our town. So I & Vineet were having a feast out there. Panda even ran into one of her juniors whose name she did have a little trouble in recollecting. We sure were growing old.

At 10.55 am our flight started off to Kolkata. The day was bloody well & the next omen was when we were the first ones to board the flight. What a way to get started. After a small cameo in Vizag, our Deccan flight (WOW, Deccan sure has come a long way since the old days – Hats off to Mallya), we touched down in Kolkata at 2.20 pm. Our next travel was at 10.55 pm from Sealdah & we had like ample time on our hands to kill.

So off we trotted in the search of some nice retreat in Sealdah (we had already checked in our luggage at the cloak room). And man even if Kolkata is like cramped up & the roads are narrower than any of the other metros in India, it had its essence. Over here what blew me was the variety of snacks that was at offer even in the small lanes. I was left drooling at most of the outlets & we all were pumped up getting a tummy refill. Then we headed off to a nearby park from wherein Panda & Vineet were kicked out because they didn’t have any kids.

Well then it was proper wastage of time on our part (we checked out a swimming pool; park, got stuck in the rain, checked out shoes for like forever to evade the rain & ended up in the station around 3 hours before our train was scheduled to depart) & eventually after ages we finally boarded the train. At 10.05 pm our train pulled out of the station & after an hour or so all of us were snoring our ways to glory. In short it was a waste of a day, but we had better stuff waiting for us. And thus the curtains fell down on day 1 of our rollercoaster ride.

What Goes Around Comes Around

It was half past ten in the night before our scheduled departure to Kolkata, & lightning had struck not once but twice. Suzy whom I had tried with loads of persuasion to continue with our trip was the first casualty. It seemed like there was absolutely no way that he was getting leave & the new work that had somehow managed to fall into his lap right at the death of time, just couldn’t be done without his presence. Initially we even tried to compromise on trying to get him to do the Sikkim part of our circuit. But that too fell out & we were down to 4 people. I could even sense how saddened he was when he had called up to break the news to me. This did blow me out too, because we were the chaps who had cooked up this thing in a way.

If that was not enough to have gutted me, the next bolt of lightning struck me in the form of Marella. Well if it was work which had played the spoil sport in one case, here it was health. Marella got pretty sick like 2 days before the D-day, & was in no condition to do a week long trip. She tried her best in sticking along to give Pandu some company as a girl, but then we didn’t want her to have a horror trip & finally we had to pull the plug on her too.

Call it a cruel twist of fate or just a simple rendition of What Goes Around Comes Around (I had too pulled out of an earlier plan with my friends), but whatever you say, at around 12 hours before we were supposed to be in a plane on the perfect vacation, we were already down by 2 people & looming at the fear of an oversized budget too. My personal feelings were a mixture of being freaking pissed off & frustrated. But then some things are just bound to go awry. With exactly these thoughts I went ahead to pack the rest of my stuff.

Maps, Hiccups & Hope

If you ask me what has been the major breakthrough in the last decade, then in addition to the upcoming fast food joints I would say GOOGLE MAP has been a revelation. It’s like the miser’s perfect tool to get set for traveling & I was not going to change anything in this aspect.

Once we had zeroed in on our targets, all we had to do was key in the names & voila our rough map was also set!!!! And after spending 5 years in an engineering services company, to make something ordinary look like extraordinary was like nothing new. Add in a few glosses here, colors there & the final output ends up appeasing. Another of those signs of your job’s influence on your life, but hey I am not going to start a complaint box here & digress from the main theme.

Another hiccup that given a slight jolt for us was the ongoing Indo-China tensions, that had sparked off rumors of the Inner Line Permit (these are required to go into certain areas in Sikkim) not being granted anymore. If these rumors had been true then our Sikkim part of the trip would have very well been quite dull, since many areas including the Yumthang Valley & Lake Chhanggu were supposed to be accessible with these Inner Line Permits.

But once again Baichung, had put to rest these rumors, and had taken the responsibility of getting these permits for us. He had even volunteered to get our return tickets from NJP to Kolkata booked. One thing was definitely sure, Baichung sure picking up impression points amongst us. But yeah we were also worried on whether the currency value was going to hit the ceiling or what.

To aggravate things, there was a possible casualty of Suzy not able to make it for the trip. The bugger was dumped with some major work that was supposed to get into production & all those blah. Well half of them sounded gibberish to me. But some emotional blackmail, few death threats on Panda's part & I guess a couple of strong beers did wear off the little resistance that was there in him. For crying out loud, we slog out all year & work out our butts, but when we decide to take like one tiny week to just chill, that is the only time people want to offload work. And I definitely don’t want to give this blog a PG-13 rating by writing down here what sentiments I have at this time.
So there I was, 2 days away from getting on a plane with 4 of my friends, & all I was hoping were for things to go at least 75 percent close to the way I had planned it to go (though secretly I was harboring a cent percent result). Coffee was going to flow & cigarettes were going to get burned in abundance over these 48 hours - that I was bloody sure of!!!