Stonehill Founders Day Run - A report

If you came here looking for a review of the Stonehill Founders Day Run, I will save you the 6min read - Go for it, it is well organized.

Stonehill International School is in our side of Bangalore and I have run past the school a number of times. It comes 20kms into my home to Nandi runs. Over the last few years I have heard good reviews of this run, with some of my running pals traveling from all over Bangalore to participate.

My kids, N1 and N2 have also been training under coach Poonam at Kanteerava stadium for the last year or so. It would be good to test them against a longer distance such as a 5k. I have also been regular at HIIT with near 4min/km pace for the many stadium laps. It would be useful to test the training block with a race.

And so it came to be, that my entire family signed up - my wife and kids for the 5k and me for the half marathon.

Pre-race:

The bib collection the previous day at a location in the city centre, was a simple affair - no big race crowds, lines or rules. Just state your number (and anyone else's) and pick up the bib. The tee shirts were of good quality, and also available in XS for my kids! However, I received groans back home when they heard of the 5:15 am (yes, AM) reporting time!

Race day:

All four sleepy-eyed made it to just outside the school at 5:15am, found a place to park along the road. I let the rest of the family catch some more shut eye and trotted off to the start point. At a distance I saw a familiar tee shirt - a classic from the 2007 Bangalore Ultra! The wearer, Lingu, has been a passionate runner for the last two decades. The camaraderie at the start was palpable and energizing. I did some light warm up, the race started on time, 2 mins of dodging the crowd, by the time we were out of the school, I was all set to hit my pace.

I caught up with a small bunch of runners ahead of me - casually checked their target pace. Pat came the reply, "to finish in 1:35, but we are going too fast, the hills are coming soon". I decided to stay with this informed runner, Pavan. He was a 1:25 half marathoner taking it easy that day, recovering from a viral bout - perfect foil for someone like me, who was looking for this company.

The course turned into beautiful rolling countryside, the first 5k was faster than expected (even dreamy) pace - 21:34

The next 5k had this section which was downhill one way, U-turn, gel and uphill again, still managed to keep pace - 22:12

Coming uphill, I realised that the lead runners and the chase pack were coming back, we had to do this twice! I had by now fallen behind my pacer, Pavan, was happy to see the long downhill again. I thought I would slow down but pleasantly surprised to see the 5k split of 23:03 - 15k in 1:07. A sub-100min finish seemed very possible now. One more gel.

As I turned off back towards the school, a couple of runners passed me. I increased pace to stay with them. I thought of the "tensegrity and fascia" as suggested in "The lost art of running". I managed to keep some form and finished the next 5k in 23:31

As I neared the finish line, I saw Shreya and the kids passing the finish line. As I crossed the finish line in 1:35:42 I received warm wishes from them. They did very well too - N2 finishing in 31:13, N2 in 44:03 and Shreya in under 45mins for their 5k.

After collecting our medals and some customary pics, we moved towards the breakfast counters. This was a treat - south Indian counters, omelettes, bun chaska, burger, coffee and baked yogurt for dessert! All served hot and fresh with ample counters to handle the swelling crowd of finishers.

The cherry on the cake was the short Zumba session, Shreya and the kids loved this. The post run experience made up for the 4am wake up time for the day and we head back with great memories (and the baked yogurt of course).

Coronary CT Angio for Runners

The last few years post-pandemic has seen a spike in the number of incidents of heart attacks amongst amateur endurance athletes. We have had cases of sudden fatal collapses in the gym, to seasoned endurance athletes succumb to heart failures.

This had got many of us concerned. I did some asking around - my father in law who is a doctor, cardiologists in the family, opinions on podcasts (like the one on the-working-athlete-podcast). The consensus was - an elaborate investigation may not be necessary if there is no family history of coronary problems, but if you were to get one done, then the best one is CT Angio of the heart.

It is one of the tests that have a negative predictive value of close to 100%, which means that a person with a negative result on this test will not have the disease condition. The negative predictive value is somewhat similar to a false negative metric.

And so I began the search for a diagnostic center, my search parameters

1. Cost - provide a lower cost of testing
2. professional attention - ideally should have a cardiologist review the results
3. personalised - runners / endurance athletes can have some parameters different from the general populace and these have to be considered

I booked an appointment at Prima diagnostic in Jayanagar, Dr. Gururaj Rao was also from the family circle and was fully aware of my background and objective of doing this assessment.

Coronary CT Angio - the scan

On the appointed day, I was advised to go early in the day, with have fasted for at least 4 hours. I had booked a 8:30AM appointment. The CT scan involves observation of the heart when injected with a dye / contrast. The contrast can have adverse effect on the kidney. To rule this out, a Creatinine test is done to confirm kidney function via a blood draw.

I had to then change into the hospital overalls. In the preparation room, a drip needle is inserted into a view on the back of the palm. Initially, the nurse inserted this on my right hand.

I was told that the contrast / dye will be administered through this drip needle during the scan. The radiologist then taught me how to hold my breath.

The scan itself is for about 5-7mins - during certain times while the scan is going on, the radiologist speaking over the intercom will instruct the patient to hold his/her breath. During the breath hold, the heart rate should not vary by more than a few counts - this is crucial to get to get a good scan.

But the issue is - the final breath hold happens just after the dye is injected (during the scan) and the dye causes a burning sensation going from the palm to the shoulder, the entire torso and the groin area. To not squirm at this pain and cause the heart rate to go up is a challenge.

In my case, just before the scan, the nurse tried to flush the cannula by injecting saline via the drip needle. This supposedly harmless injection itself was very painful for me. Our option was to try to change to the left hand, I agreed and now had 2 IV cannulas on both palms!!

Thankfully, I was able to keep calm when the dye was injected and was told that the scan was good.
I spent the next 1 hour in the diagnostic center just resting up. After about 2 hours, Dr. Gururaj called me in to explain the results.
I am fortunate to have good genetics - there is no perceptible damage to my heart even after 20 years of moderate endurance exercises. The calcium score was 0 and there was no visible plaques or blockages.

The negative result from this analysis is valid for 5-6 years, which is about the time it takes for the plaques to form, I guess.

The test costs about 10-12k INR, almost the cost of a good running shoe these days, but some TLC for your heart once in a few years may be worth it.

The 2024 12h Stadium WALK

 "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." - Joe Sabah

I never wanted to get to a starting line this year, just keep the focus on the recovery. The structural imbalance due to the revision ACL surgery is still very visible, a perceptible limp in the left leg when I am running slow paces.

But I had a great training block last month and was able to rake up miles, running over 100km per week for 4 weeks in June, in an attempt to top the leader board in some meaningless corporate event. If I could keep such high intensity, surely I could run an easy 12hour run. I signed up, yes, you don't have to be great to start!

I ran up from home to Nandi hills with about 3 weeks to the stadium run. It was the most beautiful run. I had run the first 40k during the first 4:10 during that self-supported solo. The weather in Bangalore was also encouraging - windy and cloudy.

I loved the build up to race day. It was good to feel the excitement as I focussed on not falling sick and getting good sleep. I decided against running a 40k training run in favour of keeping away from the incessant drizzles.

I was confident to keeping a 10km (or 25laps) per hour for the first few hours. My plan A was to get to 55k in 6hours.

2:xx min lap phase

I started well, keeping a consistent 2:10 to 2:20 per lap for the first 75 laps - 30kms in 3hours, I was on target and was feeling good, in general. I was in my favourite 2XU full pants (about 10yrs old) and Saucony Triumph shoes (about 6000kms old), the clouds were providing a good cover and the weather was perfect. Unlike my regular training runs which I run on empty, I began drinking electrolyte from the 50ml cups. I should have seen the deficit when I went for two pee breaks, but failed to notice anything amiss until...

3:xx min lap phase

...CRAMP!!! A cramp started developing in the inside lobe of the quad on the right leg. All the focus on trying to keep the left leg strong and steady (remember the surgery?), and the cramp creeped up in the right leg. And this, within 30kms of the run - it was shame. But, I have run enough ultras to know that these "phases" come and go! I was willing to wait it out.

But then came the huge self-deprecating inner voice, "get prepared to be mediocre in everything... yada, yada". It took me a few laps to get out the thoughts of quitting the race.

Welcome - run walk pattern. Jog about half a lap, walk the rest, till the muscle feels ok, then repeat!

First change I made was to change my portion size, moved from 50ml glass to chugg-from-the-jug. Second, I recruited Santosh, the coach of the Indian Ultra running team as my support crew and he helped me with changing to less fancy shorts and an even older Asics shoes after about 40k in 4h:24m. Third, I also visited the physio tent and got them to stretch my cramp out. Nice try! I hit 125laps in about 5h:50m, about 3k behind my target, but slowing down by the lap.

And so began the long run-walk and even longer conversations with my cramp, till I hit about 140laps /56km in 7hours.

4:xx min lap phase

Around this time, it also got pretty hot and out came a sun that we hadn't seen in weeks! Caps, water sprays, ice, cold water sponges appeared on the track. I decided to wait it out until it got more cooler or my cramp eased off, neither happened for the next 3 hours.

So I resigned to walking for almost all of the next 5 hours. I knew I wanted at least a 75k, at about 12laps an hour, I would get close to that target, provided nothing else developed. I started counting off each hour with about 14 laps - yes, very pedestrian, but consistent.

With about 2 hours to go, a slight cramp starting developing also in my left ankle. I had to remind myself not to get ahead of myself. Target shifted to 200laps, and it looked possible.

I hit that in 11h:15m or so and now wanted a double marathon. Bring on another 10 laps. Its only when I passed that 210laps, did I muster some courage to start running again.

1:xx lap min phase - the finish

It's Paris Olympics time and in the 100m final yesterday, Noah Lyles was in the last place at the 40m mark, but finished as the Olympic Champion. In whatever goal you are trying to achieve, what's best for you to win at the end might require a slow start.

It is not how to start, but how you finish that matters! I picked up pace on the 211th lap, then as the confidence grew I went faster and faster. 211 lap in 3:05, 212 in 2:32, 213 in 2:15, 214 in 1:59, 215 in 1:50

To sum it up, I ended up with 214laps / 85.6km on the board in 12hrs, 16th overall in a field of about 100 runners, with shades of happiness & disappointment, but reminding myself again - it is the journey and not so much the destination that life is mostly about!

Tanzania's John Stephen Akhwari who was injured but still limped to the finish line of the Olympic marathon in 1968. He was asked why he had carried on, and his reply went down in history. "My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race," he said. "They sent me to finish the race."

Thanks for reading!

The Ultimate Activity Challenge 2024

 

Yes. Well-being month it was, at work - the idea was to Recharge, Learn and Connect - to encourage each other to get active and make movement, however big or small, part of our every day.

Last year, it was a step challenge and despite my painful knee, I had managed about 30000 steps each day for the entire month. It turned out, there was hardly any recognition at the end of this. My boss even categorizing it as a mere "brownie point". I don't do it for a pat-in-the-back, what do I do it for? 

I was in no mood to do this, but a colleague reached out, having formed a team and was looking to add me to it. I hardly need a nudge to get out for a run, I signed up, with a smirk. 

Recharge - This I did. All of this year I have been slowly raking up my mileage and was consistent at about 75k per week and feeling good. I am also a regular feature at the gym - pull ups, leg extensions, presses, curls, squats, lunges, dead lifts and the likes.

So when the contest began, I started diligently logging my runs, and gym workouts. Week 1, I was a surprise 2nd place, behind a Philip, a triathlete from Sau Paulo. I was all charged up for Week 2.

Week 1 = 109km of running!

Learn - I started paying attention to the competition, quickly learnt that 'run' activity is the bank for the buck - most points for the time invested. I kept doing what I was doing. I added a Yoga session for stretching out in the evenings. Come week 2, I just managed to stay in the 2nd place, but with others very close behind!

Week 2 = 95kms of running!

Connect (or the lack of it) - I also learnt that nobody cares! Every Friday, a corporate wide email was sent out, with the standings of the team and solo, a nice very readable email, with names, scores and motivation. Not one of my colleagues gave even the slightest pat on the back. Organizations are faceless edifices, designed for apathy, where being two-faced and falsehood is often incentivised.

By now, I wanted to shake off competition and also wanted to see what I could do. I stepped it up a notch.

The email came at the end of Week 3, I was still in second place behind Philip and 'a difficult to shake off' Hilke from Munich at 3rd.

Week 3 = 201km of running!

I learnt to connect to my trail! What joy it brought me - each day, I would head out to this wonderful trail in campus close home, a 6.5k loop done 3 or 4 times, desolate, with no care for the world! I made friends with the crows (one not so friendly one regularly swooped down on to me everyday), birds, and even a snake on one occasion.

I loved the process - of starting with a huge target each day (3hours of running!), but affirming each day, that one step at at time is what it takes!

And each day of the last week I put in about 30km. I had one last day to go. By now, the podium was down to Munich, Bangalore and Sau Paulo. I logged in a 25k in the morning and was waiting to see how the field will play. Sau Paulo decided to do the usual but settle for the bronze. By evening, Munich had caught up. I ran another 25k in the evening, bringing up 50k for the day.

The competition was open till midnight UK time and Hilke/Munich would log workouts all the way to the middle of the night. I followed the app nervously waking up many times during the night. At 2am, I decided that if I don't put in another workout, I would concede the first place. I tiptoed to the front door, unlocked my road bike, put on the Garmin and off I went for a 2 hour bike ride. It got me 30kms and some 12points, to keep my nose in front as the competition struck close.

Week 4 = 148kms running (and 30k cycling!)

Total 565kms of running, about 62hours for the month of June 2024!

And yes, the email came, someone will reach out to the podium finishers and send us a goodie bag our way!

Recharge | Learn | Connect 

Titan traveller vs. Garmin Forerunner

During the run up to the Bangalore Midnight marathon (see my report here), I got my hands on the new Titan Traveller (TT). This is Titan's third attempt at a Sports Smartwatch. I have been devout of Garmin for the last 15 years. Did the TT manage to swing my loyalty? Find out below:

GPS

There are umpteen jokes written about the time the Garmin takes to get to "GPS On", which is essentially the time the watch takes to connect to the satellites to be able to track distances. Over the years, Garmin has improved on this ability by having 3 modes for GPS connections (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo).

The Titan Traveller (TT) has a similar GPS lock mode, when it is not in the lock mode, the watch gives long text on how the accuracy can be improved upon GPS lock, but only measures the time of the activity (such as running or outdoor bike). In a Garmin, however, you do get the distances in the GPS off mode, but somewhat inaccurate (maybe an estimate).

 The TT seems to take forever, to get to GPS lock mode (enough time for one to abandon the fitness plan altogether). I have tried patiently a few times, then had to get back home, use the app on the phone to finally get to GPS Lock mode! Titan takes forever to lock GPS (about 10mins) vs. Garmin (about 2mins). This is a crucial sore point.

Titan seemed to be about 2% overstating the distance (and therefore pace) in GPS lock mode, and about 10% understating in the GPS unlock mode.

Heart Rate

The resting heart rate was comparable in both watches. Heart rate during an easy run was accurate (I guess) on Garmin 945 and way over for Titan Traveller. While I was closer to 145 bpm as per Garmin, the TT was showing 170+ and was constantly reminding me to slow down. I am sure the "slow down" notification can be turned off (I only managed to reduce volume), but that is the last thing a runner wants to hear - Slow Down. Most of us runners tend to think we always need to go faster than we are - easy runs or otherwise.

Outdoor Bike Ride

Again, this needs the GPS Lock mode. During my trial, I got the Titan to sync on the third attempt. Given that each attempt is about 5mins and the successful attempt needed the phone app to be on - not ideal. Once synced, the GPS was quite accurate (I am not super worried about the accuracy of my commute bike rides).

I do like the option to be able to receive calls during my commute rides, since the phone is in the bag! On the same note, I have not explored the Music option either during my runs (or biking - not recommended).

All this said, Garmin Connect App is way better for specific sports than the Titan app. The dashboards, charts, stats, maps in Garmin Connect leave nothing more to ask for. Combine this with the Pod which goes into the waist, the amount of data on vertical oscillation, ground contact times, balance, etc. is mind boggling. 

Plenty of ground to cover for Titan on this aspect.

I am yet to explore the ability to upload courses, download GPS, etc. in the Titan app. On the Garmin forerunner, this is a great feature esp. when you visit a new place / country. Check out the heat map of what I managed to do, by downloading the Madrid marathon course GPS file from Strava, upload it on to my Garmin forerunner and run the city in this report here.

Aesthetics

The Titan Traveller with it's square dial looks neat, is non bulky. I also like the option of a synthetic strap which can be easily ported to a leather one. Garmin forerunner is still on the bulkier side. The charging ports, charging time, etc. is also more advanced in the Titan.

Last word

Titan traveller is a good all round watch, lifestyle smartwatch - much better than any of the earlier ones from Titan. It is a great lifestyle smartwatch and can be used to track day long activity.

If it comes to a specialist - either running or biking, I would still reach out to Garmin.

Madrid - running the course

 

Day 1:

Landed at Madrid at 2PM, was in my running shoes and singlet! by 5pm to run down to Plaza de Castilla to pick up ID tag and then to a Carrefour to pick up dinner, 10km - more like a tapas (appetizer in Spanish cuisine) for the upcoming runs!!

Cold, Clean and Concrete

Day 2: Head North

By the next day, I figured that I was staying close to the Zurich Rock n Roll Madrid marathon start line. I made good use of the noon start to Camp Kickoff (Camp kickoff CKO is the work reason I was in Madrid, 1 week, all employees under one roof!) revelries to run the half marathon course. I started this run in low single digit temps, wearing a long sleeve tee only. It was tough the first few kms, dark and cold. The half marathon course weaved through many landmarks in the districts of Chamartin and Tetuan, Plaza de Castellana, the Cuatro Torres (business park), - the highlight being the Plaza Mayor. I finished the course by 9:45, made my way to the hotel to make best use of the breakfast spread.

Day 3:

The bug had bit, CKO started early at 9, my run had to start earlier, 6am, 4C. This time, I ran part of the RnR 10k route. I chanced upon and made a surprise entry into Park Santander, which has a walking path lined with a synthetic track for track workouts!! Today, the skull cap and gloves were out for braving the cold with me.

Day 4: Head West

was about exploring West, towards Casa de Campo, which is a huge forested area not too far from the city center. The highlight was Plaza de Esplana (Spain Square), nested between skyscrapers and inhabited at this unearthly hour by only a handful of sweepers!

The Puerta de San Vicente is the monumental gate located where the 'original door' to Madrid lay. It has 3 arches and when I reached there it seemed to have 2 moons! I got someone to take this 'pic of the trip' for me.

I headed back to my only breakfast a day OBAD schedule - cereal, scrambled eggs, omlette, sauteyed vegetables and fruit.

Day 5: Head South

The penultimate day, I decided to go south towards El Retiro Park - Parque de El Retiro. Just running down the central boulevard of the La Castellana (which is one of the key roads running South to North of Madrid) was amazing. Beautiful sights of the Puerta de Alcala (the massive gate by the park), Estanque Grande de El Retiro (the Great Pond) were the wow factor for the day. At midnight I got to experience some tapas snacks, the sound and lights of Bavarian DJ Loisash Marcithe with his epic alpine techno and alphorn at the Barcelo Theatre dancefloor.

Day Last:

It *had* to end in the Madrid Marathon FM course. I made good use of the early finish to CKO and was in my running gear at 3PM in daylight and warmer conditions. Despite having done parts of the course in the previous runs, there was so much more that this run offered. Being a Friday evening, the tourist spots were filled with people replete with their Iberian fervour. At Plaza Mayor, I exclaimed (to myself), "I have never seen so many foreigners in one place in my life"!!

The route caressed many city landmarks - Nuevos Ministerios (the govt complex - also my metro station), Plaza de Castilla, Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Cuatro Torres (the business area), Plaza Mayor (town square, phew!), the Royal Palace (complete with its parks and pebble roads), Casa de Campo and the Buen Retiro Park. The Casa de Campo is located just west of the Royal Palace and was once the hunting estate. It is now a beautiful park with traffic free roads, trails, lake. I even spotted (and got on camera!) a rabbit scurrying in the fallen foliage.

I had to take a couple of baño (toilet) stops - one in a café where I used the google translator to find my way through and another at the entrance to the Metro station, one McFit Gym (Gyms at Metro station is a novelty to me).

But apart from that, I ran the distance in 5hours, with no food or water (except a public faucet in Casa de Campo).

I got tons of pics, lots of good memories, over 108km of running in 6days in Madrid. Adiós amigo, hasta la vista

Himalayan Harmony - a family trip to Sikkim and Darjeeling

Sikkim: Where Nature Smiles

If you are here for a simple Sikkim travel itinerary

• Day 1 (15 Oct) - Landed in Bagdogra, then by road to Darjeeling via Mirik garden and Sumendu lake, Nepal border - checked into Hotel Mt. Lungta

• Day 2 (16 Oct) - Darjeeling sightseeing- 4am to Tiger hills. War memorial garden, Ghoom monastery, Darjeeling tea garden - Leebong Cart road, New Mahakal / mall market.

• Day 3 (17 Oct) - Drive to Pelling along Rangit river. Check into Divsai Retreat

• Day 4 (18 Oct) - Kanchenjunga falls, Khecheopalri lake, Rimbi orange garden, Sanghak Choeling Monastery, Sky walk Pelling, Pemayangste monastery

  

• Day 5 (19 Oct) - Rabdentse ruins and Tulku bird sanctuary, Buddha park Ra’b’angla, Gangtok Golden Crest Hotel

• Day 6 (20 Oct) - Sightseeing to Chorten monastery, Tibetology museum, Gantonk ropeway ride, Ridge road flower garden, Ban jangri falls, MG marg and Lal market.

• Day 7 (21 Oct) - Drive to Tsomgo lake, Nathula pass, Baba mandir, Thambi view point. Check into the snow lion homestay at Zuluk. Visit Cloud warrior café.

• Day 8 (22 Oct) - Eco nature walk trail, drive to Siliguri, check into Delight Ashiana, shopping at Siliguri Hong Kong market

• Day 9 (23 Oct) - Science city visit at Siliguri, flight back to Bangalore

Planning > Packing > Re-planning > Re-packing

3 families (mostly the better halves) started planning the trip to Sikkim (whose tag line is “where nature smiles”)  & Darjeeling in July. Yes, Nature Smiles, and she did smile gently when discussions turned to sub-zero thermals, gloves, socks, trekking gear, Diamox, etc. etc.

The men got into the act and Darjeeling lost its place in favour of Lachen and Lachung in North Sikkim - Nature was now grinning widely. We zeroed in on the itinerary, shortlisted taxi agents, finalised both and then looked up hotels and resorts. Juggled reviews, stars, (constellations, galaxies), location, price (of course) - all  while exchanging countless whatsapp messages, links, phone calls, beers and side dishes.

And when we thought it was all done, Sikkim dedicated to give a sardonic loud laugh, enough to cause a cloud burst, resulting in flash floods in Teesta river in Lachen valley - just 2 weeks before our departure date.

Back came Darjeeling, out went Gurudongmar Lake (just love the way this sounds - Guru, dong maar?), no offense to Guru Padmasambhava, who is credited with finding Tibetan Buddism after whom this lake is named.

And so it goes - we boarded the flight, packing the eagerness and excitement of the kids, and anticipation of a great 9 days in the north east.

Day 1: Bagdogra - Mirik - Darjeeling (16th Oct)

Agile Itinerary - Our latest sprint was while we were on the flight. An army officer on our flight, recommended that we drive to Darjeeling via Mirik. We negotiated that with our taxi drivers and we were off.

Mirik is a city nested in the hills, we were spoilt for choice - beautiful lake with boating, horse riding, flower garden, walk along the lakefront and across an arch bridge. We chose to head to the nearest ‘veg’ restaurant. Most of these food joints are run by husband-wife who double up to roll rotis dough, stir Maagi, boil water for chai, serve and do the vessels.

Except when you have 6 hungry kids waiting for the food and only 2 cooks, it would take forever.

Mirik was the first holiday lesson - Slow down (Maagi takes more than 2 minutes to cook!!)

We had high expectations from the Pasupatinagar market bordering Nepal. One has to cross the border checkpost on foot, after an ID check. Once in Nepal, a taxi takes you uphill to the market. There were good deals on cosmetics, which made the trans-national trip worth it ;)

Lesson 2 - It gets dark at 5PM in the hills

It was dark, cold and we were famished by the time we got to our Mt. Lungta Hotel, at the outskirts of Darjeeling  at Ghoom. I went for a bit of a “ghoom” (meaning roam in Hindi), ran down 5k towards Darj and back. The run featured European styled cafes, tram tracks alongside the road, crisp and nippy night air. Got back to the warmth of the basement dining area of the hotel - to kichiri, to rotis and curry!

Day 2: Tiger hills, Darjeeling - Doorada betta nunnage

Kanchenjunga is the highest mountain peak in India, third highest in the world at 29,165 ft tall and is the pride of Sikkim. While it is one of the most difficult peaks to climb, it is visible from many parts of Sikkim (which we only found later).

The instruction for the next morning “at 4am, we leave for Tiger hill top, to view the sunrise”. There was no tiger on Tiger hill, nor did we go there to specifically see the sunrise, but we did go there at 4am, wearing all the warm clothes we had carried. We rented chairs for 50 a chair to sit and wait an hour for the Sun to rise, as the crowds swelled up on the observatory. Eventually when the Sun did come, it was to reveal a tiny Kanchenjunga peak, rest covered by clouds. I sneaked in a run in the Jalapahar cantt area before breakfast, taking the kids in tow.

We then went about checking off spots in Darjeeling - Batasia loop, Ghoom monastery, Mall road and Mahakal market. Enroute we stopped at the Darjeeling tea garden on Leebong Cart road) - we made a short trek of it - loved exploring the trails in the tea estate. Back in city centre, the Mall road has a Scotland-ish feel to it - local shops, cafes lining cobble street leading up to a courtyard. We ransacked half of Glennary bakery for lunch - pastries, pies, and the likes.

Lesson three - When on a vacay, all roads lead to shopping, even it is Maha Kal market

We finished the day with white mischief

Day 3 - Drive to Pelling

I ran up Tiger hills (300m climb) before we checked out of Darjeeling - it was a stark contrast to the previous “touristy” visit. The observatory returns to its calm post 6am, the taxis have taken the sleepy tourists back, leaving behind a paltry set of vendors. Many locals have either worked in cities like Bangalore or have some family / friend there. I met one who spoke good broken kannada as well.

The drive to Pelling was unremarkable - except for a long wait for the highway to be cleared of a landslide. The difference in scenery as we moved across the state border was evident - Sikkim is much more clener than WB. The drive offered stunning views of Rangit river, we reached our next hotel - Divsai Retreat, Upper Pelling.

Day 4 - Seeing Pelling

We woke up to great views of Kanchenjunga range from our balconies. I ran another 10k, but with a somewhat forgiving elevation, towards Dentam valley.

We had changed taxis since leaving Darjeeling, and our drivers had sized us up. For our first stop, we went straight out of Peeling along the Yuksom highway. It starts out looking like a normal waterfall along the highway, but an unseen set of stairs took us to the “pride before the fall” - to a cold pristine gushing cascade, falling from over 100ft. We slowly made our way across the tiny bridge and to the base of the falls and spent good quality time at this site.

Next stop was Khecheopalri lake (pause here and read the name aloud) - we trekked up to the watch tower over the Khecheopalri hill - kids, adults all needing a lot of goading. If we weren’t already high enough, there was a small store on top selling peach wine and beet wine. Rimbi orange garden was up next. More 2 minutes for the kids, more wine for the adults - cherry wine, litchi wine, rhododendron wine, amla wine, green apple wine, kiwi wine - on the rocks (quite literally).

Most Peeling tourist lists talk about a “Skywalk” at the Choeling Monastery - our next destination - it was more of a “glass-floor-bridge-walk”. The monastery was perched on top of the highest point in the vicinity with great views of the surrounding vistas.

We visited one more monastery - the Pemayantse. It was hosting an annual conference of monks, the chants and sounds of Dungchen (the long horn), drums, trumpets and couch shells. We also visited the museum nested in the top floor of the monastery.

After a fairly long day, we hit the city center (a mix of cafes, restaurants and tea shops). The women felt adventurous to try the Tukpa, momos, wai wai. I would be careful of a hotel that sold idli “vara”, but not them.

When we got to Divsai, our retreat manager was stroking a small fire (the Sikkim rum in our hands may have kindled something). As the cold set in, our discussions led to “Tong-Ba” - the millet wine of the locals. Before we knew, we were sipping on Tong-Ba and dancing around a campfire to “Sali Mann Paryo” and other chart topping Nepali songs, in the foothills of Kanchenjunga. The manager, Parikshit, was the star of the evening - and let us carry some great memories from Pelling! 

Day 5 - More driving, Gangtok

By now, I had established a morning run before the day start. Today, it was to the Choeling monastery (and beyond - along a road right up to the top of the Buddha) - 380m of ascent. The plan for the day was to get to the capital city, Gangtok. En route, we stopped by at Tulku bird sanctuary and Rabdentse ruins. The Aviary had a good collection of parakeets, macaws, doves and even emus!

The Buddha Park at Ra’b’angla is a recent monastery and is truly spectacular. Our taxi driver spoke to us about the Buddhist way of life & preachings - which was also depicted in the mural painting adorning the walls of the monastery. The Buddha park created by destroying natural forests left a bit of an incongruous after taste. Talking of taste - we were able to add to our culinary lexicon, yet again. This time we tried Sal roti (traditional bread cum aloo dum), Bamboo pickle and Khu-ri (traditional roll filled with leafy veggies and herbs) at a family run restaurant. En-route, driving along the river Teesta, we witnessed the carcass of shops, cars, and the destruction that the recent flash floods had left behind. We got to Golden Crest Hotel by evening to more Kichiri for dinner.

Day 6 - Gang up in Gangtok

The map showed a route to Enchey monastery, via Tsuglagkhang monastery & Ridge road - about 5k away and I set out uphill. In what turned out to be 460m climb (over 6km), I was able to appreciate the footpaths, footover bridges, short cutting steps to traverse the steep climbs.

Later during the day, we visited these sites in the taxi - Chorten monastery (the kids were amused at the offerings to The Buddha - biscuits, Kurkure and colas) and the Tibetology museum and library nearby. The Ropeway ride uphill to the Sectretariat, is a part of the public transport, run by the government and is very inexpensive. It offered panoramic views of the hillside and planted rooftops of locals.

The flower garden on Ridge road, excited none, except my better half to no end. Chrysanthemums displayed there were actually “imported” from namma Bengaluru. We “exported” some tulip bulbs!

Ban Jankri falls (sounds like Banshankri), our next stop, would not hold a candle to Kanchenjunga falls - regardless, we made our way to the steps and soaked our feet in the cold waters. It was perfect ruse for some chilled Enjoy Beer (any ruse works).

Our last stop for the day was MG Marg & Lal market. MG marg is all pedestrian shopping street, with a median filled with flowering plants. The cobblestreet brimming with Nepali, Bonglas, tourists gave it a very European vibe. I took up baby sitting (literally, sitting on a park bench) duties, but I believe Lal market was worth the bargains, esp. on fleece!! Fleece shopping, anyone?

Day 7 - Nathula

Hangover from the previous evening walk, the run had to cover MG marg. It was a different street devoid of all the revellers.

We checked out of a forgettable Golden Crest and headed towards Nathula pass. Would this be the day the kids would finally see snow and us unpack all our jackets?

Customary stop and Yak Yak haggling for a ride at Tsomgo Lake. At the Chai shack, more skull caps were bought; 5 layers, but somehow the chill seemed to find its way to the bones. Borders between discordial neighbours is always tense and so was the case with Nathula. The BRO has done a great job in matching road infra on our side of the border to that of the Chinese. Nathula pass is at an altitude of 14,000 ft - we wasted little time in getting back to our taxi and head towards Zuluk on the old silk route.

Quick stop to pay respects to a local war hero after whom the army has erected a Baba temple. Then the meandering roads, hairpins welcomed us to Silk route. At Thambi (meaning brother in Tamil) viewpoint we could grasp the beauty in its entirety - down the valley the roads curved!

Till we reached Zuluk, a quiet hamlet, Cloud Warrior army camp, a wine shop and army canteen. All this accompanying a homestay, Snow Lion, overlooking the hills far beyond. We got our chai, rotis and aloo sabzi at the mess and puris for breakfast!!

Enough time to sample the “magic moments” vodka, Samosa and Jilebi from the Cloud Warrior army cafe!

Day 8 - Look around Zuluk

I ran up towards Kupup on the old silk route to be greeted by surprised looks by soldiers doing their morning walks. The sharpest reaction came from an officer “I cannot understand you”. It is difficult to come to terms with a singlet wearing civilian running nowhere in near zero deg temperatures.

We checked out from Snow Lion at 10, not before more Jilebis and chai from CW cafe. We soon stopped at the Eco nature walk trail (which could have been any of the hundreds of trails in the mountains) spending most time deciding if we should head to Siliguri or Gangtok. Someone mentioned Siliguri shopping and the scales tilted. Our impulse hotel booking was at Delight Ashiana. The only delight was that the inside of the hotel was many times better than the filthy city, one could say you were in West Bengal. The shopping party returned with an empty cart (on a tuk-tuk) and my search for some famed Bengali sweet turned sour.

Day 9 - Bagdogra (Bang-bandra?)

We just had time to squeeze in a visit to the Science City in Siliguri, which made it worth the detour to Siliguri. The place was packed with DIY science experiments, a mirror maze, tropical park and other galleries. It was a fun few hours for the kids. The tuk-tuk ride also felt like a ride into history!

Final words: Pay heed to Mr. PM's 5th sutra - First see your own country - travel in India!!