We are awake by 4:30 AM and hopeful that we will be able to see the Khangchendzonga range on our third day there. It’s our last morning at Chumbi Retreat. It is still dark at that time but a few stars are visible and we are excited at the possibility that the skies are perhaps clear that morning. With cups of tea in hand we wait with bated breaths and we look away for a few seconds and turn back and there it is.
Finally…the Khangchendzonga range 
Morning Glow
The Himalayan range is fascinating anywhere anytime. Kalpa and Sangla Valley in Himachal Pradesh, Pahalgam in Kashmir or Zero Point at Binsar,Uttrakhand and now at Pelling in Sikkim, the white capped mountains overwhelm,awe and inspire with their sheer majesty. Here we are finally looking at the beautiful mountain range that had eluded us for two whole days. It has been worth the wait. Grudgingly we get up and leave to prepare for our departure that morning, doing the last bits of packing, going to the restaurant for breakfast and finally getting ready for the last stages of checking out. We take in an eyeful of the Khangchendzonga range every now and then. The clouds have taken a break for the day it seems.
A five hour long journey awaits us from Pelling to Gangtok. The road journey is better than the one coming in although there are some bad patches. On the way, we stop at the Buddha Park at Ravangla. The imposing statue is seated amidst a beautiful garden. It was consecrated by Dalai Lama in 2013 and commemorates the 2550th birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha. We spend about fifteen to twenty minutes there although it’s possible to spend an hour or more if one so wishes to.
Later we arrive at Gangtok, a bustling and popular hill station. Following some disappointment at our original resort of choice and difficulties to find a taxicab thereafter, it being Diwali time, we finally shift to Chumbi Residency which is a stone’s throw away from bustling M.G.Marg at Gangtok. We are tired and famished, so after freshening up we decide to head there. M.G.Marg is a happening and crowded pedestrian mall. The local people are out in their festive best greeting each other. Everyone seems to know everyone else and have the kind of camaraderie that is missing in cities like ours. It has been recommended to us by Mr.Chopel that we try out an Italian eatery, Coffee Shop. The boys are happy with the pizzas there while better-half and I share a pasta and coffee. It’s been a long and tiring day. With an early day ahead of us, we go to bed as soon as we get back to our rooms.
twilightmusingsbymini
Twilight Musings by Mini 