May 10th -- Back from vacation
Quotable Quotes
A friend called me and said that I am a problem child, always in trouble. True.. It would be so boring to be a solution adult - Shah Rukh Khan Actor
A lot of duplicates have come up. They copy whatever I say. That is their agenda . --Bal Thackeray Shiv Sena Chief on the MNS and Raj Thackeray
He should not give up -- K.K.Modi father of suspended IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi
Indians are basically story lovers. They like stories where it should have a beginning , a middle and an end. If possible, it should have a twist also. Jeffrey Archer British Author
The Holiday
Planning for this holiday started six months back. The plan was to get to Darjeeling only but the then the whole thing turned around and it was packed tour , with travel covering Gangtok ( Sikkim ) , Pelling ( Sikkim ) , Kalimpong ( West Bengal or Ghorkhaland ? ) , Darjeeling ( For sure Ghorkhaland) and wound up through Kolkata back to Chennai .
Spice Jet offered some great fares on Children's day last November and the offer was too good to resist. It was clear ten days on the road with travel on mountain roads and so energy, enthusiasm levels and fitness had to be good . Also , the altitude of these places had to be watched out if you had elders travelling with you ( I had my mother and my in laws travel with me ).
Getting a local tour operator was another key to getting the itinerary right and all logistics right. After much web search and reference search , ( My BIL bless him- he did all this good work ) we landed with Alpine Nature beyond out of Siliguri .( http://www.east-himalaya.com/ ). This find was a great boon.
The entire schedule was handled so well . We got good hotels to stay, reasonable Utility vehicles to travel ( always on time ) . Our contact from this agency was in constant touch with us during the period of travel and was checking our well being and comfortableness and taking feedback all the time . To say that we were all impressed would be a understatement. Also we found that the pricing was good as well. We bumped in to a relative at Kalimpong hotel ( yeah , we do not meet in Chennai but we did meet at Kalimpong ) . As we chatted about the places to see and the fares , it was becoming clearer that our relative was getting upset . The Global travel agency he used from Chennai had just ripped him off by at least three times our price.
Some High points --
Gangtok ( ( Two days )
The trip to get to Nathula Pass ( Indo China border ) was scary in terms of the terrain and the landslides. We could not get to Nathula as the cab driver refused to drive past the Tsongo Lake ( 12400 Feet Altitude ). Tsongo lake was chilly , slippery . The lake freezes during winter time . Gangtok is serene , people are warm and the city is organised with its traffic and pavements. You can spend the time sitting on the MG Marg and laze around.
Pelling ( two days ) - Disaster struck us at this place . Seven out of the eleven fell sick with food poisoning. We had carried medicines but our Chennai Doctor whom we called asked us to medicate with medicines that we did not carry. I walked out to check for a medical shop and was told that the nearest medical shop was 9 Kms away. Luckily , Our cabby was available and he helped me to get medicines . There was panic as the situation did not improve and we had plans even to abort rest of the travel. However , things were better as we went to a Government hospital ( again , travelled 9 kms and realised there was no other clinic available as well ) and the Doctor after checking gave us confidence it was food poisoning and we would be well soon and prescribed medicines.
Lesson learnt- Learn about medical facilities at the place you want to visit. Pelling had a Internet Browsing Center to cater to the Tourists but no medical facility.. Interesting Indeed.
Kalimpong ( One day )-
I liked this place the most . It was quiet, weather was just cool ( no warm clothing needed ), not too many places to see - You could idle out here
Darjeeling ( two days )-
Cramped , noisy and was a disappointment .
Missed getting in to Nepal due to a local strike on Nepal side - The family not only missed Nepal but shopping at Pasupathi Market which was a planned item on the trip !
Kolkata ( three days )- No comments !!
Overall a good trip , together with family and spending time with them. Getting to explore places that we were not familiar was very good. We do a normal Ooty , kodai where we are comfortable but getting to these places is a great experience .If we had good health at Pelling , the trip would have been a fabulous one. Ahh there is some balancing in the fun that happened
Some Common Themes
Roads are not great- Be prepared for bumpy rides.
Getting good Veggie food is a challenge. Yoghurt is scarce for the South Indian ( Thayir Sadham )
Terrain is hilly and so there is lot of walking up and down , not on flat roads. When someone says 10 minutes walk in these areas , to us who live in the plains , double the time and effort !
Carry medical kit and also find out and keep handy , medical assistance available in these places. Carry Umbrellas ( it rains anytime and if you do not carry , you end up buying one ). Mobile Connectivity was very good except on the Nathula Pass where there is no connectivity of any kind.
Use the travel agent that i used. It was a very nice experience and contributed to the goodness of the entire trip
Link to the photos http://picasaweb.google.com/Srikanthsrividya/SikkimDarjeeling?feat=email#
The EPL Final day of matches
Chelsea won the title by a single point difference over ManU. After 38 games through the season , Chelsea ended at 86 points one more than ManU. It was clear that Chelsea had sealed their title bid when they defeated Liverpool in their penultimate match . The final match against Wigan was a simple affair as Chelsea thrashed them by eight to None .
ManU did well to keep the pace and finish second. I had my own doubts at the start of the season of their ability to keep up pace and have a shot at the title. They need a good replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo who left them at the start of the season. In many matches , where Rooney was not playing , their attack was exposed. They also need to think about their middle aged warriors who may lack the speed that is needed.
End of the day , Chelsea were deserved winners
A friend called me and said that I am a problem child, always in trouble. True.. It would be so boring to be a solution adult - Shah Rukh Khan Actor
A lot of duplicates have come up. They copy whatever I say. That is their agenda . --Bal Thackeray Shiv Sena Chief on the MNS and Raj Thackeray
He should not give up -- K.K.Modi father of suspended IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi
Indians are basically story lovers. They like stories where it should have a beginning , a middle and an end. If possible, it should have a twist also. Jeffrey Archer British Author
The Holiday
Planning for this holiday started six months back. The plan was to get to Darjeeling only but the then the whole thing turned around and it was packed tour , with travel covering Gangtok ( Sikkim ) , Pelling ( Sikkim ) , Kalimpong ( West Bengal or Ghorkhaland ? ) , Darjeeling ( For sure Ghorkhaland) and wound up through Kolkata back to Chennai .
Spice Jet offered some great fares on Children's day last November and the offer was too good to resist. It was clear ten days on the road with travel on mountain roads and so energy, enthusiasm levels and fitness had to be good . Also , the altitude of these places had to be watched out if you had elders travelling with you ( I had my mother and my in laws travel with me ).
Getting a local tour operator was another key to getting the itinerary right and all logistics right. After much web search and reference search , ( My BIL bless him- he did all this good work ) we landed with Alpine Nature beyond out of Siliguri .( http://www.east-himalaya.com/ ). This find was a great boon.
The entire schedule was handled so well . We got good hotels to stay, reasonable Utility vehicles to travel ( always on time ) . Our contact from this agency was in constant touch with us during the period of travel and was checking our well being and comfortableness and taking feedback all the time . To say that we were all impressed would be a understatement. Also we found that the pricing was good as well. We bumped in to a relative at Kalimpong hotel ( yeah , we do not meet in Chennai but we did meet at Kalimpong ) . As we chatted about the places to see and the fares , it was becoming clearer that our relative was getting upset . The Global travel agency he used from Chennai had just ripped him off by at least three times our price.
Some High points --
Gangtok ( ( Two days )
The trip to get to Nathula Pass ( Indo China border ) was scary in terms of the terrain and the landslides. We could not get to Nathula as the cab driver refused to drive past the Tsongo Lake ( 12400 Feet Altitude ). Tsongo lake was chilly , slippery . The lake freezes during winter time . Gangtok is serene , people are warm and the city is organised with its traffic and pavements. You can spend the time sitting on the MG Marg and laze around.
Pelling ( two days ) - Disaster struck us at this place . Seven out of the eleven fell sick with food poisoning. We had carried medicines but our Chennai Doctor whom we called asked us to medicate with medicines that we did not carry. I walked out to check for a medical shop and was told that the nearest medical shop was 9 Kms away. Luckily , Our cabby was available and he helped me to get medicines . There was panic as the situation did not improve and we had plans even to abort rest of the travel. However , things were better as we went to a Government hospital ( again , travelled 9 kms and realised there was no other clinic available as well ) and the Doctor after checking gave us confidence it was food poisoning and we would be well soon and prescribed medicines.
Lesson learnt- Learn about medical facilities at the place you want to visit. Pelling had a Internet Browsing Center to cater to the Tourists but no medical facility.. Interesting Indeed.
Kalimpong ( One day )-
I liked this place the most . It was quiet, weather was just cool ( no warm clothing needed ), not too many places to see - You could idle out here
Darjeeling ( two days )-
Cramped , noisy and was a disappointment .
Missed getting in to Nepal due to a local strike on Nepal side - The family not only missed Nepal but shopping at Pasupathi Market which was a planned item on the trip !
Kolkata ( three days )- No comments !!
Overall a good trip , together with family and spending time with them. Getting to explore places that we were not familiar was very good. We do a normal Ooty , kodai where we are comfortable but getting to these places is a great experience .If we had good health at Pelling , the trip would have been a fabulous one. Ahh there is some balancing in the fun that happened
Some Common Themes
Roads are not great- Be prepared for bumpy rides.
Getting good Veggie food is a challenge. Yoghurt is scarce for the South Indian ( Thayir Sadham )
Terrain is hilly and so there is lot of walking up and down , not on flat roads. When someone says 10 minutes walk in these areas , to us who live in the plains , double the time and effort !
Carry medical kit and also find out and keep handy , medical assistance available in these places. Carry Umbrellas ( it rains anytime and if you do not carry , you end up buying one ). Mobile Connectivity was very good except on the Nathula Pass where there is no connectivity of any kind.
Use the travel agent that i used. It was a very nice experience and contributed to the goodness of the entire trip
Link to the photos http://picasaweb.google.com/Srikanthsrividya/SikkimDarjeeling?feat=email#
The EPL Final day of matches
Chelsea won the title by a single point difference over ManU. After 38 games through the season , Chelsea ended at 86 points one more than ManU. It was clear that Chelsea had sealed their title bid when they defeated Liverpool in their penultimate match . The final match against Wigan was a simple affair as Chelsea thrashed them by eight to None .
ManU did well to keep the pace and finish second. I had my own doubts at the start of the season of their ability to keep up pace and have a shot at the title. They need a good replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo who left them at the start of the season. In many matches , where Rooney was not playing , their attack was exposed. They also need to think about their middle aged warriors who may lack the speed that is needed.
End of the day , Chelsea were deserved winners
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