So I haven't written for a while.. he he lets not start like that again. Actually I did write, but for sometime this post has been sitting in the 'drafts'. Well, finally something did happen in my uneventful life that's worth writing about. I went on a holiday. I always thought holidays were getting massages, travelling comfortably, getting a nice hotel room with room service and a porter to lug your bags around.
This is exactly how my holiday wasn't. Me and a friend who has lots of experience on backpacking through the country and world, took me on a holiday to Sikkim that had none of the fancy stuff. "Let's travel on a shoe-string budget," she said and then politely refused to let me make a booking for a hotel room that cost 1000 bucks a night. My first lesson. I did give that up but there are things that a girl can't live without like my Body Shop Satsuma shower gel that I didn't :) I won that measly battle now, didn't I?
So it was fun -- a short stop at a friends place in Calcutta. Next stop Darjeeling at a 150 buck a night room, My aspirations for trekking to Everest base camp died with the trek to Hotel Aliment, an uphill walk that left me breathless. Then shopping, lots of pork (momos, sausages, bacon, ham and salami) and onto Kalimpong where a li'l forgetfulness got me a ride upto Kalimpong with a complete stranger on a motorcycle. Thank you long haired man for the ride and I wasn't travelling with a group of four or five which included guys as I led you to believe. I lied.The cool thing was all the rooms I satyed at throughout the trip were very cheap. So what if there was no room service or a bath tub showers work well!
Next I crossed the West Bengal border into Sikkim and yes I walked over the chemical carpet so i didn't take bird flu in. A friends sister(Reena) and the man she chose to marry (Pranit) were the best hosts I've ever seen. Hey guys thanks for the pork and the fish and the cheesy sauce and the steamy cups of tea and pasta and the tongba and chaang (local village wine:)) Especially for making our travel through Sikkim so easy.
From South Sikkim, Namchi to be precise we hitched a ride in a garbage truck an then got on to Pelling then onto Yuksam and then Gangtok from where we headed to Tsango lake and later met cool Colonel who gave us his jeep for the day don't ask us how that happened but it could have something to do with him being from Pune and a little homesick!
All you dirty minds stop now:)
Couldn't head North because of heavy snow but will go there some other day.
Best buys from Sikkim were those yummy home made chinese sausages and alpine cheese. Man love that stuff.
Any way it was back to cal and then home. But not before bought some cheap books fromCollege street, ate at madras coffee house, some famous roll place, rode the tram, the subway, the taxi and rickshaw, saw Victoria Memorial and partied in Park hotel. I love Calcutta There's something about a place that you can get around in for Rs 4 that makes you feel, "If I have a choice I'd move move to Calcutta."
That's all! till my next trip! Ciao
