Previously : ....We returned to our hotel at Lachein at around 3 pm for lunch. We then , marched forward towards Lachung.
On the way towards Lachung , we encountered Amitabh Bachhann Falls - but we were too exhausted to take any snaps. Some travel agency 's traveller broke down in midst of the way - other cars took the passengers to their hotels. In Sikkim, people are very helpful towards each other - the nature of pahadi areas make it a necessity as well. Finally, we got rotis to eat in Lachung. Rice is the main food here in North Sikkim.
Each of us was a different person in the group(A, K, Z) .A was emotional , passionate , childish - he had a rough time since a few months - was capable of taking the responsibility but wanted to be a child amidst his best friends. Z was a delicate , emotional person - if Z liked something, Z would end up definitely over-doing it - Z had a rough few months too. Z had the capability to get malaria even even though all the mosquitos would be dead. K was the only person whose life was sorted - was practical, energetic, happy and always wanted to do the right thing - held the band together like a parent. Each of A and Z was searching for answers /escapade from reality.
Day 4 - Lachung (Zero Point, Yumthang Valley)
We woke up early morning - contrary to the time we were used to of waking up in Bangalore. K, being the only parent ensured that each of us took high altitude medicines, goggles ,
water bottle and was ready by 6.30 AM. We sipped our early morning tea looking at the ice-laced mountains from the roof of our hotel. Breakfast was free in our hotel.
We encountered amazing views going up to Yumthang Valley. There was a check-point, where we rented jackets, bought gloves( Rs 200 per jacket) - they were preparations for Zero Point as temperature could be very low there. It had started to become chillier as we reached here - . An Army canteen was there in between - it had great samosas, jalebi and coffee. We interacted with the Army folks for a while - they were quite generous , welcoming. It was a view-point as well. After a while, We reached a barrage
of cars parked around - Yumthang Valley. In the month we visited(start of October), there were no flowers. The whole valley was surrounded by mountains. Our driver told us that when there are flowers, it feels like a garden of heaven. In the months of November, December, the whole valley comes alive with ice everywhere. There were benches at multiple places , where people sat and took snaps. After visiting Gurudongmar lake yesterday, our expectations had raised drastically - Hardly something could match its standards - Yumthang Valley without flowers was like watching Deepika after dating Aishwarya Rai. The prime motivation for today was the popular "Zero Point". There were multiple shops at the Zero Point - Momos(only veg), Magggi, Chow-Chow noodles.. The weather was quite cold here. The atmosphere was quite electric - Many persons were dancing at a Momo shop. We were inclined towards it - our driver intervened our thoughts and veered us to the neighboring shop. The Didi , selling momos, complained ," Everyone goes to the other shop. Mere Paas koi nai aata." We laughed and tried red wine. The weather had become quite chilly.
We took photos with this routine - we got our hands out, gave our poses , came back, wore gloves and jacket back again. A stretch of water flows in between, guarded by the mountains on either side of them - we had to cross a bridge to reach the other side. Standing at the bridge , listening to the humming sound water made every time it brushed rocks provided a soothing feeling to the heart. The whole landscape felt alive with a bit reddishness on some of the mountains, engulfed by the beauty of ice caps on several of
them. Civilians are not allowed beyond Zero Point - China is at a walking distance from here - Oh, We could be attacked anytime in the worst of worst of scenarios. Two weeks after , my friends found snow here - and fun got multiplied many times for them. We each took refuge on one rock amidst water and spent some time there. Our "didi" from the earlier paragraph was so generous that she brought our Momo and "Chana" to the rocks where we were sitting. We went to the far end on the other side of the water. We encountered the sacred Buddhist flag - having five different colors. The whole landscape had our full attention - it felt as if it was trying to lure us into staying the night there. At night , the temperature could drop very low here. Feeling the temperature dropping, we set out for our car. This was the last stop for our North Sikkim journey. We returned hotel , where we were greeted by a fabulous lunch. We then, stepped back in the car to reach Gangtok. On reaching Gangtok - our plan was simple, we would have Chicken Biriyani . We missed masalas on North Sikkim trip - we were craving for a nice biriyani. At Khan's our craving was handled by a delicious plate of Kolkata Style Chicken Biriyani.
Next Day, we had to go for Nathula Pass and the nearby view points ....
TO be continued...