Believe it or not, Indian films have somewhat influenced my choice of travel destinations in India. I enjoy watching Indian films (with English subtitles, of course) but would like to quickly add that I’m not inclined towards Bollywood masala films. Thanks to a Bengali friend living in Delhi who introduced[…]
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When in Gangtok, your guesthouse host or local driver might mention about 3-point, 7-point or 10-point interests. The only 3-point I know is the 3-point turns when I drive! Later I learnt that the x-point interests meant the number of places (points) of interests to visit 🙂 My host suggested that[…]
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A visit to Gangtok would not be complete without seeing the mountains. Views of the mountains are easily seen in the city but to get closer to the mountain range requires a half day excursion out of Gangtok. The half day excursions are typically visits to Changu Lake and Nathu La[…]
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One of the standard sightseeing tours (3 point, 7 point & 10 point interests) offered by local taxi drivers in Gangtok is a visit to the Directorate of Handicrafts and Handloom (DHH). I know some of you probably cringe at these touristy visits but please try not to resist it because Sikkimese people[…]
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The first site that I visited in Gangtok was Rumtek Monastery. Rumtek Monastery is situated about 24km southwest of Gangtok, and is the main seat of the Karma Kagyu lineage, also known as the Black Hat sect. The Karma Kagyu order was founded in Lhasa, Tibet, in the 12th century[…]
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The first time I heard about Sikkim was in 2006. I was having dinner with a former colleague from Delhi who came to Kuala Lumpur to accompany her husband who was attending a conference. She had mentioned about her December holidays in Sikkim and showed me her photos. That was[…]
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When I was researching about Sikkim, I had thought the only things that I needed to read up on were places of interest, accommodation and transport logistics. Easy peasey, right? Typical travel planning stuff. However, right from the get go, every travel article on Sikkim mentioned about having a permit[…]
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It’s 8am. I could hear some noise from the kitchen which was next to my bedroom. Breakfast was being prepared and I could not wait to start my day. I had arrived in Darjeeling the day before, and my homestay host, Mr Pradhan had been sharing with me the various activities[…]
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I have always been curious about Darjeeling, Queen of the Hills. In fact, I have never been to a hill station (or hill resort) in India before. Many Indians have talked to me about the hill stations in various parts of their country which they often visit either during a[…]
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If you only have 48 hours in Kolkata, what would you do? On Day One, my friend and I had visited a museum, two synagogues, a coffee house, the river ghat, and walked along the prime commercial district in the city. A bit much? Well, our original list was much[…]
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