Undoubtedly, Satyajit Ray's "Feluda" stories have been instrumental in making Gangtok, Darjeeling, Jaisalmer and many other places immensely popular among Bengalis. My 10 year old son listens to Feluda stories daily, so I thought it would be super-exciting for him to go to Gangtok. I also wanted to let him experience natural snow that had left us awestruck during our previous visit...14 years ago.
22nd February, 2025 - An easy ride
An exciting part of our plan was to board the Easy Ride bus, which we all have been longing for.
The Easy Ride bus not only looks beautiful from outside, but it indeed provides a luxurious ride with smart TV and headset attached to every seat. The twin seat upper berth is really spacious.
Our Bus had arrived 45 mins late, but we reached Siliguri on time at 7:45 a.m.
23rd February, 2025 - That Bihari Man
Holiday Besties had arranged a cab which was waiting for us at Siliguri. We boarded the cab and set off for Gangtok. On the way, we stopped at the Abhinaya restaurant on NH-10 to have breakfast. The restaurant had clean toilet, which was much needed after a long bus ride.
At the restaurant, a funny thing happened. A Bihari man missed the toilet sign and decided to relieve himself outside. When the caretaker protested, he argued threateningly without realising his own mistake.
23rd February, 2025 - Sparrow Cherry
Anyways, we continued our journey to Gangtok alongside the Teesta river. On the way, we noticed that the Rangpo bridge that separates West Bengal and Sikkim, had become much wider. We also crossed a long tunnel that was well lit with Indian flag colors.
We reached Gangtok at 12 noon. Our hotel, "Sparrow Cherry Resort" was near the West Point mall and a staircase away from the MG Marg.
We had lunch at the Agarwal's restaurant and then went to MG Marg, which is the "mall road" of Gangtok. Sweaters and jackets are quite cheap at the MG Marg market, and we did a lot of shopping.
In the evening, it rained heavily for some time and brought the temperature down by several degrees. We had dinner in the hotel itself.
24th February, 2025 - Following Feluda
The next morning was amazing. It was bright and sunny, and we could see the Kanchenjunga right from our window.
We clicked many pictures but none could capture the beauty that our eyes could see.
We had local sightseeing planned for the day. Our cab arrived sharp at 8:30 a.m. We visited quite a few nearby places, such as Tashi View Point, Ganesh Tok, Hanuman Tok, and Enchey Monastery. We also had a ropeway ride, which my son liked a lot. In the end, we visited the "Snow View" hotel where Feluda had stayed.
The weather was very pleasant, so we visited MG Marg again and had lunch at the posh "Sher e Punjab" restaurant. The food was really good there.
24th February, 2025 - The Impediments
Though we were liking everything about Gangtok, our main intention like many other tourists, was to experience snow.
During our previous visit, we had experienced snow in the month of April. So, this time I was anticipating snow even more, as it was only Feb-end. However, I was not aware of the impediments.
Firstly, to visit the snowy areas (Changu and Nathula), tourists are now required to show their voter card; Adhaar card is not accepted.
Secondly, the authorities have become much more restrictive now. They provide passes to Changu and Nathula only if the roads are completely safe.
25th February, 2025 - Blessing in Disguise
During our local sightseeing, we learnt from our cab driver that due to the previous day's rainfall, the passes were not given that day. So, we kept our fingers crossed and hoped that we will be luckier. However, the Almighty had other plans.
It again rained a bit in the evening, bringing the temperature further down. My son could not tolerate the change and became unwell at night. The next morning we learnt that passes were not given. We were upset and thankful at the same time as my son had still not recovered. That day, we couldn't go anywhere.
26th February, 2025 - Snowy Success
It was checkout time. We were upset that we couldn't experience snow, but then the good news came. The authorities had given permission to go up to a point near Changu.
We packed ourselves in our hottest jackets and woolycots, and set off in search of snow at 8:15 am. As we left Gangtok downhill, the view started improving a million times. The entire Kanchenjunga range was all out in the open under the bright sun. We were getting late, but still stopped by to click a few pictures.
The road to Changu had become much wider than what we had seen last. With snow on both sides of the road, it looked extremely inviting.
We stopped at a local shop to rent shoes and buy gloves. After a few more kilometres of twists and turns through the snow-covered millitary colonies, we reached our peak point.
It wasn't Changu, it wasn't Nathula but it was probably even more prettier. There was snow; there were pine trees, snow covered rocks, streams of clear water, and of course the Yaks. Above all, we felt the joy of success.
We clicked innumerable pictures in various poses and played with snow, trying to capture the beauty of the place in our eyes and in our mobile phones. We spent around 30 minutes in the picturesque environment.
We didn't feel like leaving the place so early, but the crowd was increasing and my son started having difficulty in breathing. Getting back from there was much more difficult as hundreds of vehicles had entered by then, making the road narrow. It took us 3 hours to reach Gangtok and another 5 hours to reach Siliguri.
26th February, 2025 - Happy Ending
We stayed at a hotel near NJP railway station. We were exhausted and happy at the same time. We spent the evening selecting the best pictures from the good ones, and updated our WhatsApp status, making our contacts jealous and probably inspiring a few to visit Gangtok on their next vacation.
27th February, 2025 - Snow to Sweat
We boarded the Shatabdi Express at NJP. The train left the station sharp at 5:30 a.m and reached Howrah station at 1:30 p.m. At Howrah, we were surprised to see that prepaid taxi has been replaced by Yatri Sathi. We booked a Uber cab and came across another suprise, but let's save that story for another post.
End Credits
This blog won't be complete without a heartfelt "Thank You" note to our cheerful cab driver Dhan Bahadur Tamang (mobile number - 7863958301), who made sure that we didn't leave Gangtok without experiencing snow, and accommodated our random demands, like following Feluda's footsteps to the Snow View hotel.
