Saturday 11 July 2015

Road to Sikkim : Look Mama I made it

It's just after19:00 (Standard Indian Time) on Saturday 11 July 2015 and I'm in Gangtok. I left Johannesburg ten days ago with a backpack and a vague plan to get to Gangtok. I stopped in four cities /towns before I got here. It hasn't been  an easy journey but here I am ♡

DARJEELING TO GANGTOK

I had stopped at Darjeeling to get a permit to be able to get to Sikkim province where Gangtok is. Sikkim is close to the indo-china border and strict controls exist for foreigners. One gets a 15-day permit that can be renewed three times, effectively giving one a maximum of two months in the area.

Getting the permit

I met two American young men who were also on their way to Gangtok and needing a permit in the hotel. The hotel arranged that we travel together to get the permit. The permit office was a 7 minute walk from the hotel. We got to the office just after 10:00.

The office opens at 10:00; however it was a different story when we got there. We were told to wait for a few minutes for the government official that's responsible for the permit. He arrived just after 10:30 (see, it's the same even in india) and he issued us with a form that he stamped after registering our passport and visa details in a logbook. The form required  that we sign that we will not go to Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan once we are in Sikkim. After signing this form I was even afraid to think #FreeTibet. But I sure want to go to the Kingdom of Bhutan. Bhutanese people are ranked the happiest people on earth.

Armed with a stamped form, we were sent to the Darjeeling district municipality office on the other side of town. It took about  15 minutes to get there. I wondered why the permit application didn't take place in one place. Perhaps it's some segregation of duties control to mitigate the risk if collusion? Our passports were stamped and a permit issued and we were  ready to leave.

Rain! Rain! Go Away!

We decided that we would have lunch before leaving for Gangtok. We went to a beautiful vegetarian restaurant (I haven't had meat since last Thursday by the way) where we had a rice thali with dahl and chickpeas. It was very tasty.

We went to a tea shop to get some tea. One can't be in Darjeeling and not taste their tea and possibly buy some. I, unfortunately, didn't buy any. I still had plans to carry my bag as hand luggage and deplane in Nairobi upon my return. While having tea it started raining. We decided that it was time to head to Gangtok.

We tried looking for a shared jeep to Gangtok and we were told to come back the following day. The last car leaves Darjeeling at around 13:00 and because of the rain it was best not to even get a private jeep. And just like that we had  an extra night  in Darjeeling. It was good for me to just sit there and enjoy the rain.

Windy-windy-windy

The rain bucketed nonstop for the day and still went on in the morning. We checked out of the hotel at 09:00 and went straight to the jeep stand where we bought 5 seats (3 for us and two for the bags and legroom). And off we went!

Darjeeling is about 6 700ft above sea level and Gangtok about 5 200ft. Gangtok is on the Eastern Himalayas as well.  I was happy that we weren't going higher since I got  sick when I got to Darjeeling. We unfortunately had to zigzag downhill then wind around the hill to the top again. The trip felt much better than the one I had taken two days earlier. I was more  relaxed.

Unfortunately the same can't be said for the Indian family of four that we were travelling with. They were heading to Nepal to see a doctor for their youngest daughter. The entire family had motion sickness! I felt so sorry for the dad when he got it. He looked like he was in pain. Luckily they had brought sick bags for the road. They were quite sweet. We exchanged a few words during the stops. They couldn't speak much English but my international sign language helped a lot here. They took a picture with us when we got to Gangtok.

On our way we were met by a landslide - this is expected, given the rainfall. Traffic was backed up for a couple of kilometres while we waited for the police and the roads agency to fix the road. We must've waited there for about 40 minutes. I'm glad that there was help nearby and that no one was injured. It finally made sense why we weren't allowed to travel late in the day from Darjeeling in the event that there's such an incident.

FINALLY IN GANGTOK

The trip took a total of six hours for 112 km... I was happy to finally arrive in Gangtok. I was happy that I set myself a goal to reach this place and I did. There were many times when I wanted to go back home instead of enduring the pain that came with the travel plan.

So why Gangtok?

Honestly, I don't know. True story! I woke up on 24 April 2015 and decided that I will not be going to  San Francisco anymore and I was going to india. I was inspired by the words of the Dalai Lama - once a year go some place you've never been.  I booked a ride to Mumbai with Kenya Airways and left it there. In the middle of June I realised that I had to find some place to go from Mumbai. I thought of heading South to Goa for a few days to rest. That was a solid plan until I read that it was monsoon season. 

Again, one night I woke up and remembered a book I read a long time ago that spoke of Tibet. I knew it wouldn't be easy to get to Tibet so I started reading... Gangtok is known as the Gateway to Tibet. Many Tibetans are said to have passed by here when travelling between India and Tibet. Gangtok is about  54km from the Tibetan border so many people would  rest here overnight before heading to Tibet. This town is as Tibetan that india could get. So I thought to myself... why not! Oh, and my trip to india was inspired by the Dalai Lama! Double Whammy!

Did I mention how proud I am of myself? No? Well I am!

Remember to follow me on instagram @me_l7 for stories behind the pictures and more pictures.

1 comment:

  1. WHAT DID THE FIRST CHRISTIANS BELIEVE? BY STEVE FINNELL

    THE CHURCH OF CHRIST HAD ITS BEGINNING ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST 33 A.D.. WHAT BELIEFS AND ACTIONS DID THE THREE THOUSAND CONVERTS TO CHRIST HAVE IN COMMON? DID GOD APPROVE OF EVOLVING BELIEFS, DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS FOR SALVATION? IF THAT WERE TRUE, THEN WOULD IT NOT BE FOUND IN THE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES?

    Acts 2:41 So then, those who received his word were baptized; and there were added about three thousand souls. Acts 2:47....And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

    All three thousand believed the apostle Peter's message and were baptized in water. Then they were added to the Lord's church by the Lord Himself. The Lord did not add the unsaved to His church. They had to believe and be baptized in water prior to being added to the body of Christ.

    1. Acts 2:22 Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know---

    All three thousand believed Jesus was a miracle worker.

    2. Acts 2:31-32 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.

    All three thousand believed in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

    3. Acts 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ---this Jesus whom you crucified."

    All three thousand believed that Jesus was Lord and Christ.

    4. Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

    All three thousand repented in order to have sins forgiven. (repentance meant that they made the commitment to turn from their unbelief and sinful lifestyle and turn toward God).

    All three thousand were baptized in water in order to have their sins forgiven.

    All three thousand received the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit after they believed, repented, and were baptized in water.

    5. Acts 2:40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, "Be saved from this perverse generation!"

    All three thousand were saved after they believed Peter's message: They believed, repented, confessed, and were baptized in water. (Mark 16:16, John 3:16, Acts 3:19, Acts 2:38, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 8:35-38) THEN THEY WERE ADDED TO THE LORD'S CHURCH! (Acts 2:47)

    WHAT THINGS DID PETER NOT PREACH AND WHAT THINGS DID THE THREE THOUSAND NOT BELIEVE.

    1.Peter did not preach that men were saved by grace alone.

    2.Peter did not preach that men were saved by faith only

    3.Peter did not preach that God had selected a few to be saved and that all others would go to hell.

    4. Peter did not preach that water baptism was not essential to salvation.

    5. Peter did not preach that Jesus was just one of many Saviors.

    6. Peter did not preach that once you were saved, that you could continue in a sinful lifestyle and still be saved.

    7. Peter did not preach that God did not have the power to give us an inerrant translation of the Scriptures.

    8. Peter did not preach that God would provide hundreds or thousands of different Christian denominations, and that they would teach different ways of being saved.

    9. Peter did NOT preach that you had to speak in tongues as evidence that you were saved.

    AS BELIEVERS IN CHRIST, MEN SHOULD USE THE BIBLE AS THEIR GUIDE FOR SALVATION. Looking to man-made creed books, Bible commentaries, denominational statements of faith, and church catechisms, is looking in all the wrong places for the absolute truth!


    YOU ARE INVITED TO FOLLOW MY BLOG. http://steve-finnell.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete