The bright and not-so-bright spots:
-- Tiger hill view point - Where you get to see a magnificent view of Mt.Kanchenjunga and the entire Eastern Himalayan Range, also Mt.Everest, at sunrise. It does come at a cost though - waking up at 4.15 and enduring the cold. Unluckily, there was mist covering the entire place and we could barely see 10ft ahead of us! To catch a glimpse of the mountain range, best time is after October.
-- Ghoom monastery - well.. i do have a soft-corner for monasteries, so it will be on my must-watch/best enjoyed list any day (yeah..even at 5.30 am!) The rows of hawkers trying to sell their merchandise around the place was not impressive (you would probably find them around all popular tourist centers)
-- Himalayan Mountaineering Institute - One word: Awesome!!! and that also would be an understatement. A visit to this place is a must and is truly a very humbling experience. The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological park, near this Institute, can be avoided.
-- Japanese Peace Pagoda - Pleasing. The temple's architecture, prayers, instruments (for the lack of a better word) used are quite unique.
-- Tibetian Self-help Center - Nothing much to see except a museum which contains some nice facts about Tibet's rulers and their family; a shop with tibetian clothes, paintings, purses, bags etc. The handloom center was nice, with weaving machines and women actually knitting!
-- Ava art gallery - Quite nondescript gallery of paintings by the late Ava Devi. But after the initial resistance, once you enter the place, its a world of its own! Mind-blowing paintings ( very different styles) and the human profile pictures are just too good.
-- Bhatasia loop - A train track or loop surrounding a War memorial. Best avoided if the crowd is too much. Add to that, the hawkers comfortably settled on the loop itself. Very chaotic.
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