EúnoiaA Day in Pelling…A Day of Bonding Home Page About me Welcome to the blog Art shop Search Eúnoia Following my heart, Daring to dream, Living without regrets January 8, 2019 Travel A Day in Pelling…A Day of Bonding On the 28th of December, we awoke in Pelling, well rested and warm, thanks to the heater provided by the hotel, that deluded us into believing that the weather in Pelling was better than Gangtok. ‘Better’ as in warmer. The hot water in the taps only added to our misconception, leading us to thrust the extra jacket away and wear just enough to keep us comfortable, before heading for breakfast. It was hazy outside and you couldn’t see anything beyond 500 meters. It did not feel like the best day for sight-seeing. The buffet breakfast provided at the hotel was satisfying if not sumptuous. Chole- Bhature (Baked bread with chickpea), grilled yak cheese sandwiches (yak cheese has a slightly sour and salty flavor to it), cereal with milk, saag ka pakora ( mustard leaves dipped in batter and deep fried), eggs (made to order) and a choice of tea, coffee and hot chocolate. Satiated, we were in a better position to decide how we wanted to spend the rest of the day. Pelling has a number of sight-seeing spots of its own : waterfalls, bird parks, monasteries, Rabdentse Ruins (Sikkim’s ancient capital) and India’s first skywalk. Well, if I had a choice, I would have just declared a day off from being a tourist and gone back to the cottage. No more going on Pelling’s steep roads for me. My argument to not go on a city tour was, ‘If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.’ Rather surprising coming from me who belongs to the group of travelers who have to ‘see it all and do it all while visiting a new place and consider simply relaxing in a foreign destination, a waste of time and resources. However, my body had pumped too much of Adrenaline over the last few days and it needed a day of doing nothing and nothing implied not driving those narrow roads. However, I was out-numbered and before I knew it, I was in the car praying for dear life on a steep road that cut across thick forest cover, on my way to see Sangachoeling Monastery, the second oldest monastery and the skywalk, which is in the premises of the monastery. Sangachoeling Monastery is built in 1695 and has experienced a number of earthquakes, due to which the sculptures inside have crumbled. The monastery has been remodelled recently and is worth visiting. There is a huge seating area outside the monastery which overlooks the mountains. Thankfully the sun was shining again and the seating area provided the perfect spot to defreeze. Crack…Crack…I could feel my lips move again and I was smiling. That’s when I made my first Sikkimese friend, Bizzy; who informed me that the cost of living in Sikkim was highest amongst the small tier towns. Strange for us city folk who couldn’t get over the low prices at the cafe’s and restaurants here. Bizzy my beautiful Sikimese Friend On the skywalk As we sat there enjoying the sun’s rays on our back, a cold wind blew, causing a involuntary shiver. Little did we know what that wind heralded. But as the sun disappeared behind the clouds and the place no longer felt warm and comforting, bidding goodbye to Bizzy, we returned to our hotel. The cold wind had been my savior and thankfully everybody now just wanted to be indoors. A day without gadgets! It was 11.30 a.m. when we returned to our room. There was no network in the room which meant we had no access to social media. Because of the strong winds, there was no signal either and the T.V. wasn’t functioning. Fortunately there was electricity and the heater worked! So we spent the rest of the day and the night indoors – 4 of us huddled in 1 bed: talking, eating, sleeping and repeating the drill again until day-break, the next day. Honestly speaking I’d love to do it again. Strangely, the otherwise ‘quick-to-be-bored’ millennials agreed too! Remember the last time you spent a gadget-free day with family? When I awoke the next day, 100% refreshed, I had no idea, the surprise in store for us; a gift perhaps for being good. Drawing the curtains, before my eyes were the Kanchenjunga mountains, the third largest mountains in the world, standing in all their grandeur. The cold winds had heralded snow-fall; the first after 12 years in Pelling and the mountains had appeared after a month of haze (as explained to us by the hotel staff). A view from the cottage window. The wooden arch of the roof points to the Kanchenjunga itself And I stood silent, Unfaltering gaze, Disbelievingly, in awe of ‘The Beauty’ Snow-clad pristine peaks, majestically stood. The curtain of haze had lifted And had revealed the grandeur, ‘The magic’, the aura, the unspoken power, I watched with utmost reverence… A sight such as this is not for just one, I thought And without a blink, lest it should disappear, I called the others to view the magic that had been revealed to me! 29/12/18 Was a magical day. The sun was out, the Sikkimese people were happy at seeing their much-revered mountains after a long month. Stepping out of the cottage, it did seem like the flowers were rejoicing and the bird reveling at the turn of events. After a hearty breakfast served by very happy Sikkimese people and clicking the mountains from every angle, it was time to move on, to the next destination. And thus we bade farewell to Pelling, carrying in our hearts the magic of the mountains. Day 4 : Gangtok to Namchi to Pelling Copyright©lifeateacher.wordpress.com. All Rights Reserved. Thanks for visiting. All opinions are personal. I love comments; so do share how you felt on reading the post. If you like a post, don't forget to share it on any of the platforms below. All you have to do is click the icon. Have a great day! Cheers, SmithaV Email Print WhatsApp LinkedIn Facebook Pinterest Tumblr Twitter More Reddit Skype Telegram Pocket Like this: Like Loading… ← We Are Finishers! → Quote :3/2019 Be Happy 9 responses to “A Day in Pelling…A Day of Bonding” Andrea Stephenson January 13, 2019 Wow, to be there to witness that first snow after 12 years was special indeed Smitha! LikeLike Reply Smitha V January 15, 2019 To be honest Andrea, I even felt we had something to do with it😊. Like we were their good luck charm. It was just so magical. It was easy to believe anything…Like you had a wand to make it snow and then clear the haze, since it was after so long. LikeLiked by 1 person Reply robbiesinspiration January 8, 2019 A most interesting trip, Smitha. Lovely photographs too. The mountain is spectacular. LikeLike Reply Smitha V January 11, 2019 It was Robbie- an adventure in itself. Its good to see you here after a long time. LikeLike Reply Kurian January 8, 2019 Beautiful pictures Smitha. Enjoy LikeLike Reply Smitha V January 11, 2019 Thank you Kurian. LikeLiked by 1 person Reply Kurian January 11, 2019 You are welcome Smitha LikeLike Reply bigskybuckeye January 8, 2019 I enjoyed the snowcapped mountains above everything else. An amazing view! LikeLike Reply Smitha V January 11, 2019 Yes, the mountains came as a surprise…as the skies cleared. Took a while to believe if they were the mountains that everybody went especially to look at (a trip in itself). LikeLiked by 1 person Reply Leave a Reply. I love comments. Cancel reply Enter your comment here… Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Email (Address never made public) Name Website You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out / Change ) You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out / Change ) You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change ) Cancel Connecting to %s Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Follow Following Eúnoia Join 1,701 other followers Sign me up Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now. Eúnoia Edit Site Follow Following Sign up Log in Copy shortlink Report this content View post in Reader Manage subscriptions Collapse this bar %d bloggers like this: