xKmph West Bengal Sikkim Tour

Hello guys sorry for keeping you waiting for so many days. We are back with lots of experience and breathtaking pictures for you.

Our bikes were performing great. To be straight we came totally satisfied. Every moment spent on the roads of Sikkim was a new experience for us. Just read on.

The total trip was done in two days and we covered East Sikkim and South Sikkim. other parts will be done later in summer as permits are needed to visit some parts

of the state which is difficult for Bikes to obtain in winters.

DAY 1:

Route: Siliguri - Sevoke - Rangpo (Sikkim Border) - Singtam - Sang - Rumtek - Ranka - Gangtok - In and around Gangtok.

Total Distance : According to our trip meter it was 180kms.

Time : 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM

Trip Summary:

As usual we decided to start a 6:30 AM but we got late and we reached Salugara at around 7 AM. Having our breakfast we came to know that there was some local political disturbances in Kalimpong and Darjeeling which resulted in strike (Bandh). We were a bit disheartened as our trip may be canceled due to it and if NH31 A is not accessible as Kalimpong is on the way and the political problems may effect it. We decided to continue. Guess what we were lucky enough to cross the order of West Bengal stat and enter Sikkim. Now our adventure hungry minds were ready to explore. We crossed the gate and a little formalities i.e. register our bike registration number to the gate officials [nothing much, just stop and they write the bike number].

We crossd the border area Rongpo and headed towards Singtam which is at a distace of around 11 kms. Entered Singtam Bazaar Area. Ok let me explain, there is a straight road to Gangtok via Ranipool using the NH31A. We decided that the Ranipool way was rather common for all and why not use some other road and also catch the Rumtek Monastery on the way. Using the Ranipool ay meant same old road and also catching another road of length approx 14 kms and again using the same road to come back to the NH to continue for Gangtok. So atlast we took the other road to Sang. For catching Sang we had to go through the Singtam Bazaar. We crossed the bazaar and headed forward. after 10 mins of riding there is a point where the Road gets divided to 3 ways. Namely, Sang, Dikchu and Tarku respectively according to the ways from right side. We took the extreme right way to Sang. The way was good but steep and which took most of the time. The ZIMA was working great with its great power but P150 was a bit slow with most of the time gears shifted to 1 and 2. Some parts of the roads were good and some bad. Sang is around 24 kms from Singtam. Over all the scenery was simply great.

The roads to Sang was steep and good. The view of the landscape of Sikkim was really amazing. We soped on the way many times to take some photographs. We had a 10 mins stop when we reached Sang. Then we took a u turn towards Rumtek. It was more 11 kms from Sang. We reached Rumtek in 1/2 hour time and parked our Bikes at the side of the road where all the Cars were parked. Picked up our luggage and started climbing the road leading to the Rumtek Monastery, mind you the way was steep and we were out of our breath as we already tired controlling our bikes all the steep way. We got past the Main check point where the security guards are there. Armed forces where the foreign nationals should report and in fact the total area of the monastery is under strong eyes of Armed forces … (forgot the name, some Indo Tibet Armed forces just like BSF, they belong to India). We reached the main gate of the monastery in 20 mins after walking the steep path to the monastery just to be in surprise as we saw 2 local bikes entering the gate of the monastery that we walked for 20 mins. After been asked they said that you have to take permissions from the Gate personells for entry and you get it easily. Bad Luck. We cut the entry pass to the monastery for around Rs. 5.00. Next was a big turn. We were welcomed by the Metal detector just before entering and we were asked to switch our mobiles off. The Punjabi guard on duty was a nice one and objected us to carry a knife that we were carring as a safety measure. The View of the Sikkim Landscape from the Rumtek monastery was really great. Check the pics below. The monastery was also built on a huge land area and was really beautiful. [Rumtek monastery : Better Known as Rumtek Dharma Chakra Centre is the official seat of the Gyalwa Karmapa, the head of the Kagyu order of the Tibetan Buddhism. In the same compound you will find Nalanda Institute of Buddhist Studies.]

After taking some pictures and enjoying the area we started climbing down the steep way and reached the place where we parked our Bikes. We went inside a Restaurant and had some fast food like chow mien etc and infact it was the first food we were having after starting our trip of the day. We finished and started our bikes and headed our journey towards Gangtok. Although the distance was around 28kms from Rumtek to Gangtok it took us around 2 hrs to complete the distance due to the road and also we had to stop in between to take the greatest snaps we had ever taken. We followed our road via Ranka and reached the Gangtok Bypass and eventually the NH31A the main road to Gangtok. Gangtok was around 3 kms far but we had to go down the NH to Tadong as we had appointment with NOW newspaper of Gangtok who wanted to give us some coverage (Thank you). After the photo shoot and some interview we first took the pain of finding the place where we would sleep at night to atleast park our bike and give ourselves some rest and also to bypass the cold. The place was already fixed we jus had to go there have a cup of hot tea which we all needed and leave our bags out there to get some relief from carrying so much thing with us (The room was spared by Suman’s Relative and we all thank for all that warm welcome). It was already 4 PM. We needed to do all thing fast. We started our Gangtok part around 4:30 PM and we headed towards the Tashi view point and Hanuman Tok. The time we reached it was already getting dark and we were shivering in the cold. We visited all the areas of Gangtok like the rope way and the main area where all the Govt. Offices are located and also the statue of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru under the High Mast lamp. later we reached the MG Marg which is the main part of Gangtok, The main market area. Out here some interesting thing happened and till now we think why it was so. There was a parking lot clearly indicating time till 9 PM and for two wheelers but when we wanted to park our rides we were not allowed. We were asked to park in a parking lot some 2 kms away. When requested the police man said that if you deposit your vehicle papers you will be allowed and what it meant was that give you papers and park your bike. they will issue a seizure list and we have to collect the papers for the Police station the next morning. What we think is that this is a case of Misleading public openly. If no parking is allowed why put up a notice for Parking. Anyways we moved away from there and parked our bikes elsewhere. The total area of the MG Marg was dug for may be for beautification work. The main Tourist Information of Sikkim is there and we headed towards it for Permits of Tsongo Lake and Nathula but bad luck no permits were granted for Bikes (hope to get it during Summer). Anyways we walked around saw the things on display and were passing our time. Entered a place for Coffee and some snacks. The guy at the counter was asking who we were and where are we from and also advised us to visit one of the six Discos out there in Gangtok as it was a Saturday Night. We just smiled and later walked out after some more conservation. We were also searching for some good Sikkim Map so that we can plan the next day trip easily. We entered a book shop the guy at the counter was eager to ask who we were after seeing the xKmph stickers on our helmets. He had read about our trip and club in a News paper coverage of The Telegraph. After knowing we were also taking out a Travelogue about our trip, he asked for an opportunity to sell if we take out its printed copies. (We were really happy ) Next we headed to the Office of Press Trust of India who had called us for Tea. Had some discussions and then we headed back to Tadong and ate our dinner by 9:30 pm. chilling cold. Was ready to sleep to get up early the next day.

Day 2:

Route : Gangtok (Tadong) - Ranipool - Singtam - Tarku - Damthang - Namchi - Namthang - Rangpo - Mellibazar - Sevoke - Siliguri

Total Distance : 195 kms

Time : 8:30 AM to 7 PM

The day two was a late start for us. We got up around 7 AM after a days ride. Tired and cold out there in Gangtok made us start late no matter how fast we wanted to start. After a cup of warm Tea and bread we started from Tadong (some 6 kms from Gangtok). This time we headed for Singtam but through Ranipool using the NH31A road. The road was great and broad and took very less time compared to the Singtam-Sang way to Gangtok. One the way the scene was great and also a tunnel was present to add a bit to the road adventure. We reached Singtam very soon and then the Same bazaar as of the first day. We reached to the same 3 way point from where we took the road to SANG. This time our choice of road was the extreme left road which led to Tarku. As said earlier the roads was great. Check the pics, The more we road towards the south District of Sikkim the more beautiful the landscape were. We sited the first view of the Temi Tea garden (Temi Tea garden is the only tea garden of Sikkim and also is of great quality in the national and international standard). The scene and the land scape was such that you will very feel like leaving it and advancing ahead. It was like a dream and for one second you will feel if you are in heaven. It was like a dream. Well well cant express my views. The mountains, the tea gardens the roads, the landscape was totally different. We had seen many tea gardens before in the West Bengal Hills and the land scape surrounding it but this was a real experience (see pics).

But we had to go on. We reached Temi area with local inhabitants. Went inside a tea shop and we were also busy capturing the area. Just see how our rides looks and the area and dont forget us. Its like the view of the old classical cowboy movies and our own Biker boy Suman sitting on the steps waiting for the Tea. The tea arrived and to our surprise it was huge mugs filled with tea. We drank the tea to some extent and throw some in the drain as we didn’t take the chance of increasing the size of our bladder during our adventure. We started soon after that and we reached Damthang. Small place. Next was Namchi. Before starting we saw a small signboard telling that the road ahead is broken and they are sorry ( Now who the hell wrote that) .The road should have to been seen. It was totally broken err not broken no road was there. It was a totally kuchha road steep down. Well we enjoyed the ride. Something different. Rocky roads. After riding some odd 10 kms we reached Samdruptse and the roads were normal again. It is around 5 kms from Namchi and to see over there was the Statue of Guru Padmasambhava some more 2 kms away on a different route.

Next we are heading towards Kolkata and around. Stay Tuned.

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