Gangtok by jeep

MG Marg, Gangtok - Sikkim

Suffocating in a haze of incense and - om sari namunama, jai jai sari namuna namuna (man's voice) - om sari namunama, jai jai sari namuna namun (response by women's chorus) - sitar - flute - repeat.

Almost Valentine's in Gangtok. Could be in any Halmark-touched town: shop windows in hearts and cupids, but here stealing the visual thunder of paan stands and the chicken vendor.

Arrived Gangtok yesterday afternoon - five jolty hours coming via the sole one means of reaching this hill bound capital: jeep. My size, singleness and retiring demeanor placed me at the way back beside a tiny (also meek) Nepalese fellow. Two large Aussies with matching rat's tail braids had the entire middle seat (I believe they paid extra) and then three more beside driver in the front. We added /lost 10-12 more en route.

The ride - dramatically up and south from Darjeeling – backtracks to Ghoom (2nd highest hill station in the world), and then descends in sharp swoops to the Teesta, cross, and begins the climb. Stopped at the border station of Rangpo for Sikkim permit - much easier than the previous hassle of getting in Darjeeling with stamps and carbons.

Weathered the ride but queasy. Others didn't fare well. Nepali seat mate spent half of ride with head out the back window and other half with hankie clenched to his mouth and a look of grim expectancy. When the little that was in him had gone, he sent long strands of phlegm aloft behind us which our driver stopped to wipe off. Nothing of the incident - the sounds, the residue - was mentioned. We maintained a collective, detached, silence.

Drive spectacular - even muffled in clouds. Particularly gorgeous for kms 17 - 12 before the Teesta and then 20 miles after the bridge. The road follows the river - still clean and vivid blue with snow water - and the valleys begin.

After Rangpo things go awry. India has pumped so much money into Sikkim (Gangtok's population has gone from 8,000 to 80,000 since in '75) that the once remote kingdom is now littered with cement. By the riverside: squat luxury apartment dwellings of 5 stories. On the right slope: still bamboo-sided and thatched huts.

It's unsettling. You wonder what development hell you've gotten into, if the valleys are morphing into a Himalayan Cancun. There's no visible effort to integrate the structures into the environment - they're flung along the valley like so many cement building blocks.

There's a stretch of visual peace before Gangtok's urban sprawl looms. Not a pretty city despite its setting, and with none of Darjeeling's charm. Whatever architecture is left from 30+ years back (when still a kingdom) has been dwarfed by new buildings vying for views. The city looks and feels much more Indian that Darjeeling - even though 75% of its population is Nepali and it's proximity to Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan would suggest otherwise.

Little Hope booked me a hotel closed for seasonal renovation Tashi Delek It was the luxury hotel bar none in the late '70's. It's now faded and garish - murals and red upholstery. But built into the hillside it does have layer upon layer of unobstructed views. When Blaine Trump, Sandy Pittman and Martha Stewart "came for a trek" in the late 90's, they turned their patrician noses up at the Tashi, but ultimately returned to stay.

Had a massive eat, debrief and vodka-7Up-soda glass after glass marathon with Little Hope and her husband. Learned more than my mind can yet make sense of – Sikkim not an simple topic, not sure where an article on it would start.

Tomorrow leave with Hope and family for a police picnic, then an archery tournament – flying blind.

Assume I'll report from the road but, if not, will check back in in a few days with stories.

Love to all from Gangtok.

C