Write a diary entry on your visit to sikkim
Answers
Answer:
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Explanation:
I travelled across Sikkim for 18 days, from 5th to 22nd December 2009, with my husband. M trip log is extremely long. I’ve also posted links to 2 albums, which are my photo logs. If anybody wants more information, I’ll be glad to help.
We decided to go during winter as we have always wanted to experience the Himalayas during winter. Sikkim is nestled in the Himalayas, so what better place than that? We took a flight from Bangalore-Delhi-Bagdogra (in WB). From Bagdogra airport, we drove to Gangtok. Sikkim does not have an airport. We travelled all across the state. At the end of our trip, due to strikes in Darjeeling, we had to leave Sikkim in a hurry (before the WB-Sikkim highway got blocked). So, unexpectedly, we spent the last 2 days of our trip in Darjeeling instead of Sikkim.
Itinerary:
The overall pace of our trip was relaxed…..we don’t like cramming too many things into the day. After all, the whole fun in travelling is to be able to do things impulsively, as opposed to the clock dictating our lives every day! Our itinerary, in brief, was:
Gangtok – 2 nights
Lachung – 2 nights
Lachen – 2 nights
Dzongu – 3 nights
Gangtok – 3 nights
Ravangla & Pelling – 3 nights
Darjeeling – 2 nights (we were actually supposed to spend these 2 days in Rinchenpong )
Our Sikkim experience:
There are people of various origins, living in Sikkim, in absolute harmony: The original inhabitants are Lepchas, now a protected tribe. Then, there are the Nepalese and Bhutias (of Tibetan origin). This is one of the rare states that has no caste or religion issues. Nepali & Hindi are fluently spoken across the state. The Lepchas & Bhutias speak their own languages as well, in addition to this. The people are extremely soft spoken. I don't remember hearing a raised voice, even when somebody is scolding anyone. They have ready, warm smiles...... for everybody, even total strangers. That's one thing I missed as soon as we got out of Sikkim - very few people smiled back at us! Sikkimese address everyone as 'bhai' & 'bahini' - that's brother & sister.
Food - As vegetarians, we could not taste some of the signature Sikkimese dishes. Though, wherever we went, we did manage to get a vast variety of Sikkimese veg food. Momos (steamed dumplings), Chowmein, Thukpa (noodle soup), salads, and steamed rice with gravies. Much to our surprise, Sikkimese are big rice eaters..... They eat it with gravies & pickle for breakfast, lunch & dinner. Rice is cultivated extensively in Sikkim, in picturesque, terraced fields. We also tried yummy Tibetan food. Sikkim is a state of avid tea drinkers, drinking various varieties throughout the day, which suited us fine :). Besides regular tea as we know it, they also make salted tea & salt-butter tea. Both are very unique & I liked them. The other local brew is a wine made using fermented millet, called 'Tongba' and 'Che'.
Sikkim is one of the cleanest, safest & friendliest state that we've been to. Peoples' doors are open throughout the day. Also, except in Gangtok, we noticed that most people never lock their car. Initially, we were really paranoid, checking if the car was locked, everytime we got out. After a couple of days, we relaxed. But, we would still carry our valuables around with us (wallets & camera) at all times.... guess we couldn't believe the supposedly zero crime rate.
The people there are good at heart & honest. To a lot of them, it does not even occur to cheat / take advantage of a situation. When we wanted to buy the Sikkimese spicy chilly 'Dolay', we went to the local market. We chose fresh chillies & asked the old woman selling it to give us 1 kg of dolay. It cost 200 rupees. She told us to refrigerate it to keep it fresh for longer. When we told her that we were travelling & would reach home only after a week, she immediately asked us not to buy it now & took the chillies back. She told us to buy fresh Dolay on the day of our departure. She could have easily sold us the chillies & made her money..... We wouldn't have met each other after that day....but, she didn't.
Our guide Arjun & driver Dorjee would remember all the little things we would say during our conversation & then, get it for us - like the local wine 'Tongba' or Yak cheese 'Churpi'. They refused to accept any money from us, for it.
Our hosts in Dzongu gave us a huge bag-full of fruits when we left, because, a couple of days ago; we had enjoyed eating the fresh oranges & guavas. They also gave us 2 containers-full of the home-made snack 'Khapche' because we said we liked it. We got it back to Bangalore & are still eating it on weekend afternoons, with tea.
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