when love sours.....

when love turns sour
and the heart grows cold

when the fire dies out
in a deluge of demented tears

when words wound
and we bleed

bitter lovers
that is what it makes us

sikkim travelogue- day I

We reached new jalpaiguri on a hot afternoon. outside the station we were mobbed by people wanting to take us to darjeeling, pelling, gangtok, kalimpong...We found a share-jeep willing to take us to gangtok for 145/- per head. Pretty cheap, hah? The only thorn in the side was that we had to wait for the jeep to fill up - it seats 10 not counting the driver. So we sweated it out inside the jeep for nearly an hour - with my sister grumbling that it was boiling hot. Ultimately, we did start for gangtok. it took us all of 4 hours from NJP to gangtok.

Unexpectedly, the condition of the road was quite good. Except for some stretches under repair, the ride was smooth. And the scenery was breathtaking - greenery all around, the winding teesta river below. The only silly part was that i was in mortal fear of being puked on by the guy who was sitting behind me, the poor guy's stomach obviously didn't take a liking to the curves.

We took a stop at rangpo. The weather at rangpo was hot - and i was wondering what i would do with all the wollens i had with me. The driver informed us that we were just 1 hr away from gangtok, much to our delight - i think my butt had enough of being sat on.

On our way we caught sight of Sikkim manipal university - imposing sight indeed - i mean, i never expected it to be so grandiose, right there beside the teesta. i was thinking it would be fun to bunk and go rafting!

We reached gangtok at around 4. We plopped down on the bed as soon as we checked in the hotel. The hotel was right on M.G garg - the place reminded me of thangal bazar (or is it paona bazar where PC jain is located? i am geographically challenged) and after 4, no vehicle is allowed to enter and you have people strolling about till about 10 in the night ( i know this because i kept peeping out from the window to check if any living thing was moving on the road below - this because a colleague told me that everything shuts down after 7 - he was so wrong).

We went exploring and found Lall bazar nearby and much to our delight we saw hanggam being sold!! We went about in a trance exploring all the veggies - some familiar veggie making us coo in delight. And i nearly flew straight to heaven seeing hawai tharak (peas) - such beautiful fat pods!! And the thabis (cucumber) - my, my i have never seen such big luscious ones. Of course, there were other things on sale - from lingerie to crockery to knives to tops from thailand.

We bought some knick knacks and decided to call it a day as the next day was planned for sightseeing. We were to start from 7 in the morning (this is one part i hate about travelling, that i have to get up early).

back to base

Back to work - to my corner cubicle, to the world of code and bugs. Sikkim was good for my soul.But a bit hard on my body!Right now, i am nursing a about-to-be-sore
throat and a nose that threatens to run. Allah, the soul is willing but the body is weak!

i was asked to stay back home and not come to office as i must be tired.(Didn't i tell you that my project is the best?!) Anyway, the stubborn pig i am, i decided to come to work and now, i am half drowsy and feel like i am going to be sick. This is what happens to people like me who would never listen to good counsel.

If i stay alive till tomorrow, i Will write about the trip in detail.

off to sikkim....

Somehow managed to get everything arranged. Will be leaving for Sikkim tonight. Hope to have a revitalizing weekend!

door art - II

This is the door leading to the balcony.