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 w
e 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. Wh
at 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 thei
r 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!!!
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 w
e 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. Wh
at 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 thei
r 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!!!
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