Rendezvous with Rhododendrons #3 - Oh you, Okhrey!

It has been crippling to not be writing as often as I should be during the past week. A mere one week feels like a lifetime. Calling this my blog has now become an understatement, it is my baby, my heartchild (as opposed to a brainchild :D) And the privilege of not giving my readers yet another slice of Sikkim isn't helping my conscience much too. So here goes the third part, after all that much needed ado.

Ah, yes Okhrey!!! Let me pause here. Guess what, am just taking a moment to revisit the beauty so that I can paint an accurate picture. Imagine this – A little asphalted road winding through a hill dotted with rhododendron blooms, a quaint village with barely 10 households, a steep hill adjacent to the village, atop which is perched a little school. Throw in some plants and cute people here and there and that completes the picture. That’s exactly what Okhrey is. It is a tiny sleepy hamlet in some unimaginably remote corner of India; so remote that you cannot even find it in the Sikkim map! A cartographer not knowing it doesn’t make it any less beautiful – it is in fact as tranquil as it can get,  yet in the realm of civilization.

Most people here belong to the Sherpa community; yes the very same community to which Tenzing Norgay belonged. They are not only strongly built but also very endearing! Hospitality runs through their veins and arteries I guess. The Sherpa lodge, run by the Sherpa brothers (well,  every person is a Sherpa here, so I don’t really remember their first names and they are a little too tongue-twisting to remember too)  is a very basic yet cozy place to stay in Okhrey. After a cup of chai, we headed to the hilltop boarding school. The teachers and students were equally receptive to the idea of talking to tourists. Also the fact that it was way past school closing hours helped, as they were all in a laid-back mood. The emphasis that the Sikkimese lay on education is unlike any other part of India. After almost an hour of an engaging conversation with one of the teachers, we decided to head back to the lodge. That was something struck me. I decided to do an impromptu story narrating performance. The children initially looked quite annoyed as I was actually eating into their daily TV time! But a handful of curious ones insisted I tell them the story. So, what started off as a simple narration for a bunch of kids soon grew into a proper performance with a decent sized audience. By the time I finished my story, almost the entire lot was around me. One of the most fulfilling moments in the recent times!!

We returned to the lodge after shopping in the only souvenir shop of the town adjacent to our complex. Oh man, that night was quite cold. At 8000 feet above MSL, we could sense a sharp dip in temperature. Huddled under our blankets, we dozed off, dreaming about the promises that the day next held for us.

The very cozy room at Okhrey

The hosts

The little village

A rhododendron bud

The lovely children at the residential school

He was as hospitable as the people.

So true!

Okhrey getting ready for the night. The mountains disappear. Literally.

To be continued...

West Sikkim - Rendezvous with Rhododendrons #1 - The journey begins!

Ah! Here I am, finally, clicking on ‘New Post’. Life has been hectic this week, with piled up work to finish and errands to run, thanks to the vacation bang on the first week of the month. But, oh boy, no regrets there, as I've returned fully recharged, almost as if on steroids!  And the time is now ripe, in fact overripe to start my new travel series as promised. I've been maintaining the destination as suspense ever since I promised a new series and it’s about time to let the cat out of the bag.

TA DAAA! SIKKIM it is! West Sikkim, to be precise.

I’d been to Sikkim just a year back, covering East and South Sikkim (Nathula, Tukla range, Changu lake,  Namchi, Gangtok etc.) then. I must say, I was totally fascinated both by the place and the people. I also found that there is a lot more to explore in this tiny Indian state and ever since, I’ve been reading up quite a bit on the same.  That was when I stumbled upon an article about the Barsey Rhododendron trail. Miniscule efforts, magnanimous rewards – that was what Barsey in April was supposed to be. An easily doable trail with a gentle gradient, amidst the enchanting rhododendron spring blooms coupled with some stunning views of the Kanchenjunga. Hmm, this sounded exactly like my cup of tea. But who would I go with? My all time travel companion, my hubby, had already planned his trek of the year – Saurkundi pass sometime mid-April. So, for the first time, I decided to travel without family and find a women’s group to travel along with me. I posted my travel plan on FB, soliciting female travel companions, and believe it or not, there were over 20+ enquiries!(there are so many ladies itching to travel by themselves!) Last week of March, being the peak exam season, most ladies could not make it. So, it finally boiled down to a chic(k) group of three. Plans made, fingers crossed, breaths bated!

Finally the day arrived. I took my flight to Kolkata and from there, it was an overnight train journey to New Jalpaiguri(NJP station in the town of Siliguri). The plan was to meet at NJP.  And Mr. Murphy was nowhere in the scene. All the three of us arrived on time and met without much chaos or confusion.  And what’s more, the cab from Pelling was already waiting for us at the station! Sweet! Off we set to conquer the mountains….

(To be continued…)

P.S: Not too many photos this time, just a sneak-peek to keep you hooked J

Skywatch friday #4 - Awesome sky at Langkawi!

Tropical rainforests, turquoise sea and the blue sky  - you can see it all in this picture. Can you figure out where the sky ends and the sea begins?? :)

Know more about the interesting skywatch friday meme here.

Thursday Challenge #1 - GREEN!

Really glad to take part in this week's Thursday challenge meme. Theme of the week: GREEN!

These pictures were shot during my visit to Shimoga district in the state of Karnataka, India. Shimoga looks heavenly and the greenest of green during monsoons. This place is also home to the highest waterfall in India - The mighty 'Jog'.

Can it get any greener than this???

GREEN paddy fields

The lone tree amidst the misty green fields

Happy plants soaked in the shower