The drive to Pelling was hilly. The roads at times were very uneven, sometimes the result of a landslide. There were some areas that had been cleared up to allow vehicles to pass, but not enough to ensure a smooth journey.
The first place we stopped at was Rabdentse Ruins. This was next to a bird sanctuary. The bird sanctuary may have been built to attract tourists. There’s not much scope for development at the ruins. Whilst everyone went to the bird sanctuary, only a few trekked the kilometre to the ruins.
The bird sanctuary was quite large. Before I went in, however, I saw this beautiful creature. It was considerate enough to stay still whilst I took photos from different angles.
After walking around the bird sanctuary, I followed the tree-lined path to the ruins.
The first capital of Sikkim was Yuksom. Rabdentse was the second, between 1670 and 1814. I’d already been to the third and current capital, Gangtok.
Rabdentse was destroyed by the invading Gurkha army. Only the ruins of the palace and chortens (places of worship) remain.
My original intention was to stay in Pelling for a few days. However, the couple I’d met at the Gangtok post office, Sophie and Kevin, said there was not much there.
Subham, my driver today, was my taxi driver from Darjeeling to Gangtok, and yesterday, from Gangtok to Namchi. I asked him to drive around central Pelling. It consisted of hotels and restaurants. It didn’t have the charm of Darjeeling or Gangtok or even Namchi.
I contacted the Namchi hotel I stayed in yesterday and booked the same room for tonight.
We continued to India’s first glass skywalk, situated at a height of about 2000m. It’s at the foot of the stairs that lead to the statue of Bodhisattva Chenrezig. This is another giant statue, standing at 42m (137ft). In Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a person who postpones entry into nirvana to help others.
I’d overdosed on giant religious statues over the past few days and was happy to be returning to normality!
Subham drove back to Namchi. After checking in, I went for a masala dosa.