Month: April 2010

Sikkim Day 5 – Amitabh Falls and Feats at 17100 ft

This was the big day, the day we would visit the lake at 17100 feet – Gurudongmar. The driver said that the earlier we started, the better. Our versions of ‘early’ obviously didn’t match, and we left, with me still in REM mode, at about 5 AM. For the record, that’s practically the day before, not early morning.

But the views of the sunrise, as we moved past heavily wooded mountains was worth the early start. We stopped at Thangu for breakfast – eaten in a tiny ‘hotel’, as we warmed ourselves next to the stove. Breakfast consisted of Maggi noodles with loads of chilies. Thangu also serves as the first loo break. I use the word ‘loo’ very loosely here, it is a shack with a hole in the ground, hopefully with some moving water way down that will ensure that you don’t get to know the intricate details of what the previous occupant had the day before. Thangu also has a military camp, and a tourist guest house, where, the driver said later, he had picked up a trio of Dutch cyclists a few days back. (they cycled till there from Chungthang!!)

The next stop was at Gaigong, where the military guys checked our papers, and warned our driver to refrain from using his army fatigues style jacket. They didn’t notice my umbrella. Immediately after Gaigong, we noticed some yaks having their breakfast.We moved on, and gave a lift to the yak owners. We dropped them off a while later, at a place which offered no shelter from rain or sun. The driver said he pitied them, because they were refugees from Tibet, who hadn’t even seen Gangtok. They survived on yak milk, and provisions the army sometimes gave them.

The terrain was barren, but breathtakingly beautiful, literally. The driver advised us to munch on popcorn we’d purchased at Thangu, as its smell apparently boosts the metabolism. Ok. We raced with another cab and had fun climbing the last 1000 feet.

I asked the driver where the name Gurudongmar came from and characteristically, he gave me his own bizarre explanations. I was tempted to give it right back to him with an equally bizarre ‘Guru -Dong – Mar’ version, based on ‘Tehelka’, the Bollywood film. (featuring Amrish Puri as Dong, and Dilip Dhawan – ‘Guru’ in Nukkad. Amrish Puri actually kills him after this song. Mar. Note that the film also deserves credit for the first use of the Avatar hairstyle in Bollywood)

Gurudongmar is quite a beautiful place, and has many stories associated with it, as I learned from the military camp at Gaigong later. Drinking the water from the lake is supposed to help women conceive. Also, one part of the lake, apparently marked by the Guru in question at the behest of locals who needed drinking water, remains unfrozen even in the coldest winters. The lake is at 17100 feet, and you tend to struggle for breath sometimes, but if you have erm, enough airs, you can take a walk around the lake, while watching most people participate in a puke fest. I was afraid for D, but she seemed strict about her retch workout timings.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCH9r08i4G0

The return journey was relatively uneventful, though we detoured a bit for the Chopta Valley view. Photography is prohibited in military areas, and the driver raced ahead when I asked for a single shot of the ‘café at 15000 ft. We got back to Lachen by 1.30, and after lunch, immediately set out for Lachung, 50 odd kms away. Bollywood refused to leave me as the stereo played a remix of ‘Saat samundar paar’ from Vishwatma!! Awesome! The only tourist attraction was Bhimtala falls, according to the driver, who also said it was more popularly known as Amitabh Falls, because of its height.

We reached Lachung by 5.30, and settled ourselves in a room with a view, and I started reading “Chasing a monk’s shadow”. Dinner was significantly better though D refused to the chicken, after her nocturnal adventures of the previous two nights.

April 27, 2010
Sikkim Day 4 – Seven Sisters and the Houses of Lachen

Before we left Gangtok, we thought we’d take another shot at the rope-way. We reached there, sharp at 9.30 -opening time, and as should be expected from any self respecting government run set up, they claimed that routine maintenance would ensure that it opened only by 10.30.

We couldn’t wait, for this was the day we began our journey to North Sikkim…with a driver who went by several names.. and surnames – Bhutia, Denzongpa. In turn, he was confused by our itinerary, until we told him, we’d pay extra for our trip to Zero Point later.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItOVTAtJY30

The first stop was Tashi view point, from where, on cloudless days, one could see Kanchenjunga. Dark clouds loomed in the horizon, literally, and we saw the gurudwara at Gangtok, less that 10km away through a telescope, for Rs.10. And from there began the ‘Bone Awareness Drive’. The roads, which even on their best days, wouldn’t offer much solace, were more like rivers thanks to the rain. The Mahindra Maxx waded and bounced across them, introducing us to new sights and hitherto undiscovered bones at every turn. D reminded me that we could end up with a Wonderla experience. My back wished I was back in the hotel bed, but the scenic view made up for all of this.

The rain meant that the tourist’s attraction was more for the toilets provided at the scheduled tourist stops. The next stop was the ‘Seven Sisters’ waterfall. Our own waterfalls cost us Rs.2 each, the dowry has to be paid for, after all, I grumbled.

Phodong monastery was relatively more peaceful, with monks munching away at the local version of Lays. This guy seemed to have some food for thought though.

We had lunch at the Hotel Kanchendzonga, so named because they took a fancy to it, not for any view. Simple, but effective meal. Mangan was the next break, but the erm, tourist attraction was the garage, where our driver had a few repairs done on the brakes. Then came the Naga falls. Falls count anywhere as tourist attractions, it seemed, judging by the crowds, though the roads practically served as waterfalls anyway. We got lucky at the Singhik view point, beating the rain by a few minutes. Amazing view.

By the time we reached Chungthang, it was 6.30. From there the road split – left to Lachen, and right to Lachung. We’d left Gangtok for Lachen, so we began the climb with the fast setting sun as our companion. The 30 km took us about 2 hours.

The driver discussed how tourists were spoiling Sikkim’s ecosystem by littering and not even acknowledging the ubiquitous garbage disposal bins. From there we moved on to philosophy, the pace of life and respect for human lives in cities, and how even cows were now contemplating why they were crossing the road at night. The last one was important, because they chose to do so in the middle of the road, and narrow roads meant we had to coax them to finish the job and then contemplate. Horn vs. horn.

Lachen had homestays disguised as hotels. We reached there at about 8.30, and had a simple meal, right in the kitchen, followed by sleep in a strictly functional room (with clean loos) I stretched out and completed ‘The Immortals of Meluha’, while D woke at 2.30 and chose to retch, such was her gall.

April 26, 2010
Sikkim Day 3 – Tea, Gangtalk, and the legend of Pawan Chamling

The alternate plan we chose consisted of the tea estates in South Sikkim, and the Padmasambhava statue in Namchi. Our driver was the same, and that’s when we figured that we still didn’t know his name. Our expectations of a unique local name evaporated at the mention of ’Prakash’. We followed the same route as the day before, this time though, Prakash offered a lift to some lady friend/relative of his. The sign on the road that said ‘Welcome to Nathula and the old Silk Route’ seemed to be mocking us.

The tea estates were actually more peaceful than Rumtek, as we watched the workers, laden with baskets, moving slowly.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7OdfkZfmsA

The rain insisted on greeting us again, and the tea estates and Namchi were shrouded in mist, just before the clouds opened. The kids didn’t seem too unhappy about having to stop their football game though. 🙂 The break meant that I even tried my hand at doing what I’ve seen Twilight Fairy and Ashu Mittal do amazingly well.

Meanwhile, the mists meant that even the tall, all seeing statue couldn’t have had a view worth talking about. Pawan Chamling made his first appearance as the man who had conceptualised the entire statue idea. Thankfully, he didn’t do a Mayawati. Thereafter, we would behold this name on many bridges and other constructions. To borrow an old Escotel ad line “Only the rain covers Sikkim more than Pawan Chamling does”

We arrived late at Gangtok, at about 3, and were famished. We decided to drop in at Gangtalk. Though we initially got a seat inside, we managed to shift to one that offered a good view of MG Marg. By the time we got our food, it was almost 4. It turned out that they had other burning issues to tackle in the kitchen, literally. We spent our time looking at the Bollywood posters on display – Teesri Manzil, Guide, and hey, Karz. I looked at D, and she glared back. There was a raucous group at the neighboring table. A kitty party, we thought, and points were being given for the most absurd cackle that could be generated. If ever a ‘Gangtok Times’ were launched, this crowd would probably populate Page 3. My prayers, Gangtok. The meal was redeemed by a superb Khwa Sye (sic). (Khao Soi) The owners were quite apologetic about the delay, and we saw the scene enacted at many other tables. We were the last set, it meant we had a longer chat. They promised that if we returned for dinner, they would redeem themselves.

We had planned to catch the ropeway in the evening. We reached there at 4.40, and learned that though the information that it was open till 5 was right, ticket sales stopped at 4.30. We trudged back, to a place where I clicked ’the bull in the china shop’, even as D bought herself a nice handbag, and finally ended up across the street (from Gangtalk) at Baker’s Café. Mostly for the MG Marg view. We were lucky enough not to get a seat that offered the view, because the other side had an even more splendid view.. of the mountains.

Surrounded mostly by foreigners and giggly high school girls, yet another music related nostalgic journey was triggered as I listened to ‘The Power of Love’ and ‘I want to know what love is’. The girls seemed to be enjoying it much, and I wondered whether these songs would always appeal to an age in life and stand the test of time, despite other entrants in the music scene.

We arrived at Mintokling, struggling for breath, and caught glimpses of poor Shashi Tharoor also struggling to retain his post. Dinner was at Café Live & Loud, and the chilly pork was awesome. Another place with a great ambiance. They’ll probably remember me too, when they get their internet bill.

Reciprocally, D would remember them later at night too, as her cheese pizza retraced its path. I wondered if she had sampled the massively popular, Danny Denzongpa owned ‘Hit’ beer (he also owns an alcohol brand called ‘He-Man’) when I was looking at the ‘pure’ Gujarati restaurant across the road.

For now, we hit the bed.

April 25, 2010
Sufi

We first visited Sufi in its earlier location on Wind Tunnel road. That was a while back. I remember it shifted to Residency Road for a short while, and then disappeared, until resurfacing in what is rapidly becoming the mecca of restaurants in Bangalore – our very own Koramangala. As the name might suggest, Sufi serves Persian cuisine, and also sells Persian art and craft. Its quite easy to find, since it is housed in the same building as Empire, on the 5th floor. Here’s a map. You’ll need to go to the Empire Hotel (ground floor, not the restaurant entrance) reception and take the elevator.

Sufi seems more like a palatial living room than a restaurant. The ambiance, with carpets, paintings, urns, lamps, tapestries, and cushioned divans and chairs, seems straight out of some vintage Bollywood haveli. That’s meant in a nice, charming way. 🙂 Its non-a/c, though I wonder if its a temporary arrangement keeping the rains in mind, and the power cuts. The seating is well spaced, but it didn’t matter much since we were the only visitors. Meanwhile, Iranian pop (guess) plays in the background. By the time we left (about an hour later) there were about 4-5 more groups, but that still left quite a few tables free.

And now the menu. It is mostly Persian, but has an optimised Indian section too. The Persian part provides a large number of options, though I’m not expert enough to figure out if its comprehensive. There are a couple of soup choices in veg and non veg each. (Rs.85-120). The appetisers consist mostly of salads – veg and non.veg. (Rs.75-250) There’s also a Mazzeh (mini entree) section, mostly veg. (Rs.50-80). Now for the meatier portion of the menu. Kababs – beef (Rs.250-300), lamb (Rs.300-350), chicken (Rs.175-300) and kabab-e-daryayee – sea food (fish – Rs.400, prawn – Rs.550) and what must be a gigantic chef’s platter, with all of the above, at Rs.1200.

The main course options start with the Chelo Kababs – rice and kababs combination, the rice prepared in several stages, while kababs are mixed with herbs and spices, and broiled till they are juicy and tender. They are available in beef (Rs.300-375), lamb (Rs.375-425), chicken (Rs.350) and Daryayee (sea food at Rs.475)

There are also a couple of Khoresht (gravy) options in veg (Rs.200) and non veg (Rs.250), which are served with naan, and their combos with rice (Chelo Khoresht) – veg (Rs.250), and non veg (Rs.300-400). Finally there are the polo/chelo options – prepared in several stages, the rice is fluffy and tender, and saffron, xereshk, pistachio and badam are used for flavoring and decoration. Apparently, the chef sometimes uses assorted food items like yogurt, egg yolk, saffron, naan, potatoes, pumpkin and other vegetables to create a golden crust (tah deeg) at the bottom of the vessel. There are veg (Rs.200) and non veg (Rs.300-375) options. Like I mentioned, there is also an Indian section with quite a few veg and non veg options – including sea food, with the usual suspects in tandoori and gravies.

We took inspiration from the quote at the bottom of one of the menu pages, attributed to an unnamed Sufi mystic – “I’ve been on a diet for 2 weeks, and all I’ve lost is 2 weeks”, and started with a Doogh – a unique Persian drink made of homemade yogurt and herbs mixed with sparkling soda. (Rs.55). It tastes mostly like buttermilk, but what makes the difference is the soda, which adds a nice fizz. This, coupled with a mint flavor makes it worth a try. One glass sufficient for two people actually.

Since we planned on a Chelo Kabab for the main course, we decided to try a soup. The Soup-e-jo (non veg, reminded me of cup of woe..hmm) is a barley (jo in Persian) based soup with carrot, milk and boneless chicken pieces. At the risk of getting flogged, this actually tasted like sambar with chicken. 😐 You can safely give it a pass.

Our main course consisted of the ‘Chalo Kabab e Negindar’ – grilled mince meat of beef and lamb, topped with chicken pieces, garnished with vegetables and served with basmati saffron rice, and a ‘Khoresht e ghayne’, lamb pieces and lentil cooked in a special tomato gravy and topped with fried potato strips. We started with the latter, served with a naan. It had a very strong lemon flavor. I wondered why, until D pointed out that what I had figured as meat, was actually a lemon. As the description indicates, its meat in dal. I’d say you’re better off choosing the palak based gravy. The pieces were juicy and tender though, and made a reasonably good combination with the naan. The kababs were very good. D felt that the rice could’ve been flavoured better, especially since rice and kababs make a very dry combination. I survived using the butter provided with the rice, and chillies, onion and the remnants of the Doogh. 😀

To complete the meal, you could try the Persian tea (Rs.30). Its apparently served in small cups, without milk and sugar. Sugar cubes are provided though. You’re supposed to keep it behind your teeth, while sipping your tea, so that the sugar dissolves slowly and sweetens the tea. If you don’t find that weet enough, you could choose from a couple of dessert (shirini) options – sholezard, made of saffron, sugar and rice, or the ranginak, made of flour, dates, cinnamon, walnut etc. We were too stuffed to try either. And oh yes, can’t forget the hookahs, available in coffee (Rs.350) and fruit (Rs.325) flavors.

The service is decent, fast, and helps you in choosing too. All of the above cost us just over Rs.1000, including a 10% service charge and taxes. Visit once for a truly different menu and ambiance.

Sufi, 103, 5th floor, Empire Building, 5th block, Koramangala. Ph: 65901177

PS. Anniversary dinner, and also opened for me, the ‘Superstar’ badge on Foursquare 😀

April 25, 2010
Sikkim Day 2 – Mixed Signals

We began the day slightly late, since we had minimal plans. Fresh from the giant momo experience from the day before, we decided to go out for breakfast and the Sonam Delek on Tibet Road ensured that we were well fed, though they did seem surprised that someone from outside (not a guest staying there) would choose their place for breakfast.

We set off for Rumtek monastery soon afterwards. The Alto snaked its way through Deorali and Ranipool, and finally reached Rumtek, where the parking space was already full with arriving and departing visitors. A small climb got us to the monastery where the monks seemed to be having a lunch break. We were lucky enough to take a look at the sanctum before it too closed for an hour. It also meant that the silence in the small room was disrupted by a visitor shouting from the window to her companions below to come quickly. The monk in charge tried to dissuade her repeatedly and finally gave up.

We walked around a bit and took a few snaps. The title of this post has a lot to do with the scenes there. The monasteries in Leh were places which awed us with their silence. A sense of peace was all pervasive, not just in the way it was reflected in the face of monks, and the grace in their interactions with us, but in our own selves too. Rumtek seemed to be fighting a losing battle with what is popularly known as progress. Monks with cell phones, prayer wheels and satellite dishes side by side, and the way inhabitants seemed to be basking in the attention of tourists.

We stopped on the way back and D was delighted to try out a Sikkim dress at Shanti View point. Photographs and even a ‘behind the scenes’ video followed. We reached Gangtok just in time for lunch. The beef at Allen’s kitchen (opposite Dominos Pizza) was highly recommended online, and we decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, Allen told us that he had stopped serving beef since many of his clientele had objections, but the pork momos, Thai red curry combo, the chicken chowmein, and the banana milk shake in the end meant that we had no reason to complain. This wonderful place, which oozed character, was one of the most redeeming happenings in the trip. I showed Allen the print outs that extolled the beef he used to serve. He could sense our disappointment and even offered to get it for us the next day. Amazing place, and an awesome guy. If ever you go to Gangtok, make sure you drop in here.

As we stepped out of Allen’s kitchen, our biggest enemy made its presence felt. I have been in downpours in Kerala, and the ones in Sikkim match them in intensity and duration. Gangtok has this nice navigation structure, which might be common in hill towns, I guess. Though the roads loop, there are stairways between roads for pedestrians. We emerged out of one straight into the Gandhi path, okay, MG Marg, where people were busy sheltering themselves. We waited a while staring at my ‘status’ …….

….and then plodded into Lal Bazaar, several floors of everything from vegetables to apparel. A mall of roadside vendors, if you will. They however didn’t seem very interested in us purchasing anything. D wondered if it had anything to do with the way the people of the region are treated in the rest of India. I thought it had to do with their revenue coming from foreigners.

Music band merchandise (I remembered some twitter folk when I saw a ‘Lamb of God’ bag), luxury brands, all can be found here. A few hours later, we left, with my newly acquired army fatigue design umbrella, and the amazing lightness of being sheltered from the torrential rains. We dropped in at Cacao, a decent coffee shop, from where we could watch MG Marg,as they watched us.

D discovered the ‘hot lemon with honey’ and I played safe with a hot chocolate. I was still muttering about the attitude of the shopkeepers when I asked for the bill. The girl smiled and told us to wait a while, since there wasn’t much we could achieve while it was raining so heavily.

Suite Heart indeed. 🙂 We walked out a little later, and arrived panting at Mintokling. The amazing heaviness of steep climbs!! A small nap later, we were ready for dinner.

Tangerine was another place recommended on the web. It was close by, on Tibet Road again, and we reached the subterranean restaurant (3 levels below the entrance) remembering that we would have to climb up after the meal. Tangerine took me back in time with its music – Lobo, Air Supply, Foreigner etc made a decent setting, though we had to wait forever for the food to arrive. Thankfully, it was decent enough not to warrant another set of complaints. 😀

Sometime in between, our Day 3 plan got completely scrapped thanks to the rain, and we got busy choosing from alternate plans.

April 25, 2010