It was not the first time, but enjoying Sikkim in winters has a charm of its own! Even though my financial condition was very weak after the latest Arunachal trip, I couldn't prevent myself from making another trip during the shutdown time at my office. So having ample time in hand to plan a trip of 7 days, the next question was what should the place be? I had different options – 1. Doumali (Odisha, 5950 feet.), 2. Zuluk and Nathang valley, 3. Rishop and Lolegaon, 4. Sandakhpu (not a 2WD destination). In that case I could ride to Tanglu at the most and then after that I needed to trek. Secondly, when I visited the Old Silk route in 2013, I was with my mom and dad, so I could not spend the night at Nathang, which was my desire. But going to Zuluk had a problem - that of getting a permit. As my wife could not get leave, my brothers-in-law were going with me this time. I heard that the permit might be an issue as we had different last names. So I had a plan B in my urn, which was that if I could not get the permission to the Old Silk route then either they need to arrange a separate car or we abort that plan altogether and go to Rishop and Lolegaon.
Every year just days before shutdown, something happens. And as usual, one big issue came up on 24th December 2015 at 2:00 PM. So, all my plans seemed to be in jeopardy. My brothers-in-law was pinging me continuously, "What is the plan? Where are we going? Are we going anywhere at all?" etc. Actually, I did not have any answer for them and they were joining me for a road trip for the first time. Anyway, I continued my work to solve the escalation and thankfully it was done by 3:15 AM on 25th December. Maybe my zeal to drive had helped me complete the work. After resolving the issue, I saw that everyone was fast asleep but they were done with their packing. So, I decided to have a power nap and start afresh in the morning.
Day 1 (25th Dec 2015) Kolkata – NH2 – NH2B – Suri – Dumka – Bhagalpur – Purnia - Siliguri
25th Dec 2015, 6:00 AM - After a 2 and ½ hour deep sleep, my wife who was going to her office, woke me up. Feeling fresh, I asked the others to be ready within 15-20 minutes and we were ready by 6:30 AM and started rolling.
Somewhere near Dumka
I always try to avoid NH-34 during the daytime. The only reason being the local traffic, which takes up lot of one's time. We drove fast till Dumka and anticipated reaching Siliguri by 10:00 PM. But unfortunately, there were several trucks broken down between Dumka and Bhagalpur and the terrible road conditions (60 km) took up a lot of time. We reached Dalkhola by 9:00 PM, completed our dinner as we would be late to reach Siliguri and didn’t know if after that we would get dinner. By 11:45 PM, we entered Siliguri. In the meantime, on the way, I called one of my friends to do a quick booking for a hotel in Siliguri with a proper parking.This was required so that we would not need to take out all the baggage from the car and would save time for next day's early start.
Day 2 (26th Dec 2015) Siliguri – Rangpo - Rongli – Phadamchen - Zuluk
Now, the trial day had arrived. The most uncertain part of the journey with the big question, "Will we get the permit for Zuluk?" To avoid lame excuses of late arrival, we chose to travel via the shortest route to reach Rangoli. I had it in my mind that I will be able to solicit the officers to grant the permission. This was the reason that we chose the route via Rangpo, otherwise we could have chosen the Gorubathan - Lava - Rishi road to enjoy the tea gardens and forest areas. Keeping our fingers crossed, we met the SDPO for the permit to the Silk Route. The very first thing he mentioned was about an accident that had happened just 2-3 days ago due to snow fall and the driver was from outside of Sikkim. Hearing the story my heart sank. He said he could not take the risk to give the permission to a driver from the plains. It was tough for me to convince him that I have already driven on the same route before and had the experience to take on such treacherous roads. After some more conversation and requests, he finally agreed to give the permission for all four of us. It was a moment to rejoice and at this moment, I was feeling more confident about my convincing power. Thinking that I will be able to spend a night at Nathang, I was overwhelmed. We felt as if the journey had just begun and thinking of the plausible adventure, moved towards Zuluk. Just before Padamchen we found a newly built homestay along with a restaurant for outsiders. We couldn't stop ourselves from having food out there as each one of us was starving.
Permit
Way to Zuluk
"People say that man cannot see the beauty of places in their own surroundings and hunt for it elsewhere" or in other words it can be also said as "the grass is always greener on the other side". However, we met a person and the narration of his conversation with us will justify that the phrase is so feckless in his case. I will come to that story later. But before that, let me finish the account of the journey to Zuluk.
Before Padamchen - we stopped to have some food.
It was already afternoon when we crossed Padamchen. I was in a bit of a hurry as I knew that watching the sunset from Zuluk helipad is simply awesome, and I didn't want to miss it. Just few kms from Zuluk, we saw that either side of the road was covered in snow. We checked into the homestay as soon as we reached Zuluk. We hurried to keep all our belongings inside the room and ran towards the helipad. I have raved about the beauty of the sunset and the pictures will justify it all. I have tried to capture some phases of twilight, but believe me, in reality it is much better than the captured snap. After the sunset I told my buddies that our time for enjoyment starts now. No hurry, no plan, no phone, no calculations - we have 3 days and should try to spend the time like we have nothing left to do in the world.
Our drive for the next day
Reached Zuluk at 4:30 PM
Some snaps of the sunset from Zuluk helipad
We came back to the homestay. As usual they served some tea and pakoras. Sitting on the metal dinner table, we saw that a light snowfall had started. So what was next? Should we spend the evening sitting at the dinner table or else a good plan would be to have a perfect bonfire under the sky in the snowfall? Finally, it was more than our expectations. A perfect bonfire, humble homestay owner, roasted chicken and the story I was talking about.
Our host
Stranger: Can I join you guys?
Me: Why not? I always like to spend time with local guys.
Stranger: Actually, I have a question? I was watching you on the road, saw your number plate if from outside of Sikkim or Siliguri. So where are you from?
Me: I am from Kolkata.
Stranger: Road trip?
Me: Yes Sir.
Stranger: Oh Great! So how are you enjoying the weather?
Me: It's good. Rather very good. May I know your name please?
Stranger: Samir, I am a school teacher in Darjeeling District and drive my own tourist car during the winter holidays. You do business or service?
Me: Service, probably the most boring IT service.
Samir: IT! I went to Kolkata for studying IT-Engineering. Took admission in June and came back to the hills in July as I could not bear the heat of the place. Then again, took admission in Bangalore as I had heard that the weather out there is very good, but even that could not hold me for long time. So, I thought it better to complete B.Sc. and teach in a local school.
Me: So, after that have you ever been to Kolkata?
Samir: No man, I love the mountains, I love snow and I love the weather out here. I stay in Darjeeling District for 9 months and from mid-December to mid-March I always try to stay in Sikkim. This is the reason why I drive a tourist car in the winter holidays.
Me: Don’t you feel bored seeing the same places, same mountains, same people and roads from the childhood? By that time we have already shared some snacks with Samir, Samir’s friend-cum-cousin and the owner of the homestay.
Samir: Have you ever felt bored during Durga Puja? No right? It is the same here. Every time I come to the Silk route, I take so many pictures that even then when I go back to Darjeeling, I wish a tourist would once again rent my car for the Silk Route - "Ji nahi bharta".
Me: You are mad, man! There are so many beautiful places in Sikkim. Then why Silk Route?
Samir: Because I like the curves. Ha ha ha.
This way we spent the evening, munching on chicken and sharing some food for thought. It was an amazing experience. We sat in front of the bonfire, just near the homestay, which looked like a dome because of the fire and not to forget the thin sheet of snow surrounding us. We finished at the dinner table with some delicious food served by the home-stay.
11:00 PM - I came down to my start my car and generate some engine heat, which would keep the fuel tank warm for some time. So that the diesel inside the fuel filter does not freeze. Otherwise, the next day it would be near impossible to start the car in the morning.
To be continued ...