Trip to Sikkim

Went to Sikkim with my students on 22nd Jun 2013.  Landed in Calcutta and it reminded me of the book entitled "City of Joy".

Below are some photos of Calcutta taken from outside our hotel and from our bus.

There are also new developments in Calcutta where mega malls and private housing are built.  Maybe another 4 to 5 years the area will be like a modern city.

The we flew to Bagdodra enroute by car to Sikkim.  At Bagdodra we had lunch at a mall.  Must say that I enjoyed the food. 

Below are pictures enroute to Gangtok.  It was a winding ride up the hill, above the clouds.

To go into Sikkim we need to obtain another permit. Spent about an hour there as things are done by hand.  Look at the poster carefully.  I noticed Sikkim has an interesting law that is hard to implement in Singapore.

The trip from Bagdogra to Gangtok took about 4 hours.  Gangtok is cool and the people are nice.  You'll find yourself living in and above the clouds.  Be prepared for wet conditions.

Went to a very nice shopping street of Sikkim.  It reminded me of Europe.

The video below showed the road condition.  Basically the roads are narrow.  At some parts, two cars can hardly pass each other.  Many parts of the roads also need maintenance.  The walkways along the shopping area are wider than the roads.

Also met a very talented driver for our group.  He played some great blues and we did some jamming.  I played some blues harp and that's what great about the harp - it is so portable.

Family jamming together

Today (16th Jun 2013) jammed with my sons.  They are really wonderful (not forgetting the camera lady, my wife).  For our first session, I think it is ok.

Here are some of the videos.

After the jam, we had dinner at Stuttgart Blackforest Boutique S Cafe.  Why "S Cafe"?  According to the waitress, it is synonymous with Mercedes S-Class.  The ambience is indeed nice but they ran out of pork knuckles and cheese.  We had to settle for sausage and pasta.  Beer is good though.

Trip to Ipoh

My wife and I decided to be adventurous and took a bus up to Ipoh on 9th Jun 2013.  We'll are there for 3 full days and stayed at the French Hotel.

The trip to Ipoh was smooth though it took 8 hours.  But planned our own entertainment.  You should not rely on the system provided by the bus.  

Our experience of French Hotel was nice.  The room was nice and the staff were friendly and very helpful.  There is a nice cafe in the hotel where we had breakfast.  Only 3 types of breakfast were available but the setting was nice.  Google their website and you can find out more info there.

We tried to have the famous bean sprout chinese rice on the first night but the restaurants were crowded.  Some of the restaurants only open for dinner.  Anyway we settled for the second best but decided that we will go back another day.

Walked around the Old Town and had one of the famous curry noodle. The shop's name is Sin Seng Fatt. 

Took a stroll along one of the main street and saw some flats.  They looked like they needed some maintenance. 

Along the street we saw old buildings and shop houses.  Hope they're preserve them.

We finally ate at one of the many "authentic" shops that sell the Ipoh bean sprout chicken rice.  It tasted nice and the bean sprout was more "bulky" than those in Singapore.

It was about 8pm on a Monday night.  The picture below shows an almost deserted street.  But where we had dinner, there were some life.  

On the second day we went to the 3 "tongs" (caves in cantonese).  We booked a cab for 2.5 hours for the trip and paid RM80.  Book through your hotel and don't flag one from the street.

The first cave we went to was Perak Tong.  You should visit this if you only have time to visit one. Be adventurous and climb to the top to have a view of Ipoh. 

The next cave we visited is the Kek Lok Tong (Cave of Bliss).  There are some statutes of Buddhas facing out of the cave (the other side) and looking out to a nice garden.  Perhaps that is where one finds bliss.

The last cave we went to was the Sam Poh Tong (3 Treasures Cave). Frankly it was nothing special.  To me, they actually destroyed the natural limestone.

We also watched "Fast and Furious 6".  It cost us RM11 per person - something that we could not get in Singapore.

That night, we visited the Ding Hao foodcourt.  However many stores were closed.  Perhaps it was Monday. 

On the 3rd day, we bought some egg tarts.  They were nice.  Noticed we were the oldest customers in the queue.

Then we past by a coffeeshop and decided to have breakfast.  It is Singapore in the 70s.  But the food was nice.

Went by a music shop (branch of City Music) from Singapore.  We were the only and probably the first customers there.  The sales personnel were really nice and managed to play some guitar there.  Bought a headphone will can help me practise without the amp.  Available in Singapore too but decided to buy anyway as the shop really made us feel "at home" - the secret of making a sale without selling.

We spent the last day roaming around leisurely and thought of listening to some live music.  We came across a cluster of pubs and bistros which have a very nice facade.  However the band was not playing.  

We also had some food at the Josephine bistro at our hotel.  Sat at a table that was formed by one of those huge drums that was used to wind the cables - those cables that you see being laid along the roads.  The food was reasonable.

Travelling around Ipoh was not like Singapore.  Pubic transport was lacking and you may need to call for a cab to get around.  You need to bargain if you flag a taxi down - if you can come across one.  If you need to call a taxi, I recommend you dial 05 2534188 (BK Cab).

Ipoh can be described as a sleepy town. I don't mean to say it in a bad way.  The people we met are really nice.  It is a different experience from the buzz and rush of big town living.  If you really want to spend some time leisurely to enjoy good food, then Ipoh is a good place to visit for 2 days.

Also learned a bit of blues harp. Maybe will post what I learned later.