We headed to the Sikkim state transport bus depot first thing in the morning. The permit office is also located there, but was closed. We were told that we couldn’t get a bus ticket into Sikkim without an inner line permit, so we decided to hang around and wait for the office to open. We had an interesting chat with a Keralan couple who had been visiting Puri and Kolkata where we are also planning to go; they managed to get the last two seats on the 10:30 bus to Gangtok.

Obtaining an inner line permit involved filling in a few forms, but was free. I asked if we could have one for 30 days rather than 15 and this was agreed immediately. I thought we would have to renew our permit at some point as I had read that they are usually only granted for 15 days, so it was worth asking.

We hung around in the Sikkim roadways canteen for ages, waiting for the next bus, which finally boarded at 1pm. We later found out that there was a shared jeep stand just down the road where we could have got a ride that would probably have been quicker and more comfortable!

We arrived in Gangtok around 7pm. Passing into the state is like entering another country. Permit, passport and visa all have to be checked and everything is manually recorded. We were the only foreigners on the bus who had to register other than one Nepali man who was also going to Sikkim on holiday. We walked through the border town, which looked quite pleasant, to re-join the bus.

We found out that Donald Trump had won the American presidential election on the journey. In some ways it is great that we can keep in touch with our families and the news pretty much anywhere in the world on this trip. When we made our last big trip 25 years ago we had to go into internet cafes or write letters to contact home. I remember I got my first email address before I left, specifically so I would be able to contact my parents every now and again. We were completely out of touch with the news except in a big city where we might be able to buy an out of date newspaper. I have some nostalgia for those less fast moving days.

As soon as we entered Sikkim we noticed how much cleaner it was than the rest of India – not so much rubbish at the sides of the road and lots of public health information posters. All single use plastic is banned including water bottles. People in general seem quite prosperous and we have seen no beggars since entering Sikkim. It does appear that the local government is much more effective than in other areas of India and Indian tourists who we have met have also commented on this. Gangtok has a big pedestrianised centre where everybody seems to hang out at night. This is free of the usual Indian city vehicle fumes.

We woke up the next morning to an amazing view of the Himalayas from our hotel’s balcony.

The Lonely Planet guide suggested a walking tour down through the town which is built on multiple levels on the sides of a steep valley. We got a taxi up to the Hindu temple and viewpoint that looks down over Gangtok. As well as visiting the temple we paid a trip to ‘Spooky House’. I really wish I could have filmed this experience but it was not allowed. It was more than a match for the dinosaur experience in Nainital and was truly scary, like stepping into a horror film. Voices pursued us saying ‘I will kill you’ and at one point we had to be rescued when we got lost and could not find our way out!!! The local acting talent in India once again proved exceptionally strong.

On the way down we stopped at Enchey Monastery, the oldest in Gangtok. This was a wonderful place to reflect and recalibrate, especially after the news of the Trump victory. The surroundings were tranquil, perched above the town with amazing views all around. Like most Buddhist monasteries the artwork was fascinating.

We planned to take a taxi trip out to visit Rumtek monastery on the other side of the valley from Gangtok the next day…more of that in the next blog.