The taxi arrived at about 10am to take me to Gangtok from Darjeeling. The journey was smooth. The taxi driver was careful going around hairpin bends and didn’t blow his horn unnecessarily.
This was my first time in the state of Sikkim. Gangtok is the capital of Sikkim.
You need a permit to enter Sikkim. When we got to the checkpoint, it was a smooth process because I’d applied for a permit in Darjeeling. You can apply at the checkpoint. However, I didn’t want to find that I didn’t have something, such as a photo or photocopies of my passport or some other random requirement that the official on duty might conjure up.
We stopped a couple of times during the drive. The first time, I went to the toilet. I thought I’d buy a snack. The little shop was run by what looked like a mother and daughter. I asked if a particular snack had milk, butter, yogurt, etc. In a country that has many “pure veg” restaurants, very few people know what “vegan” means. I always go through the ingredients. Also “pure veg” means different things to different people.
The daughter said, “Yes, it’s vegan!”. I asked her how she knew the word. She just smiled and said something. I didn’t quite catch it because she spoke softly. I said her English was very good. She replied that she had a masters in English!
In India, in the middle of nowhere, you can come across highly qualified people. They could be doing different jobs in a country that gave them the right opportunities. I don’t know what her circumstances were. Maybe she was there temporarily. Maybe she was happy helping her mum run the shop. Maybe she was working from home. I had to leave before I could find out.
There are 1.4 billion people in India. Even if just 1% were talented, that would be a lot of people. India doesn’t give enough opportunities to talented people.
Many (young) Indians have said to me that there aren’t enough job opportunities for them in India. At various times, in the recent past, Indians have gone to Europe, the US, the Middle East, and Australia. Canada is a popular destination at the moment. It’s easy to understand why people leave India even if they’d prefer to stay. When they go abroad, they can end up being successful. Right now, four of the top tech companies have CEOs of Indian origin. These companies (Microsoft, IBM, Google, and Adobe) are some of the biggest in the world.
My American friend, Steve, arrived in Gangtok a couple of days before me. We had met in Kolkata and were together in Darjeeling. This time I couldn’t stay in the same place as him. His homestay was full. So I checked into a hotel (Tarayana).
In the evening, I went to Gangtok’s high street, MG Marg. It was about a ten‑minute walk from the hotel. I liked that it was pedestrianised. Many tourists were out.
Gangtok, like Darjeeling, is hilly. Steep roads, paths, and steps connect various levels. It’s often quicker, although more tiring, to walk to where you want.
After wandering around town, I found a family-run vegetarian restaurant, Shree Sanskar Pure Veg. I spoke to the husband while his wife cooked. The food was simple, fresh, and tasty.
