Around India In 80 Trains

After traipsing all over Gangtok in the rain trying to find a vacant hotel for under Rs.700 that didn't have mould growing in the bins, we arrived on the main street in despair and decided it was worth forking out the extra money for somewhere warm with a hot shower.

Hotel Golden Pagoda Gangtok had an impressive front and a friendly smartly-dressed man on the front desk who showed us up to the room. It was a small double that you could barely walk around, but the bed had a thick proper duvet - important in the hills where there is no central heating and electric heaters cost an extra Rs.200/300 per night. The bathroom was quite dark, but wonderfully clean with paper seals across the toilets and bins. Hot water was a bit temperamental, but once we had asked the front desk they turned on the immersion heater for us. After watching The Transporter 3 we slept in what turned out to be a pretty hard but still comfortable and most importantly, dry bed.

Once the sun streamed into the bedroom in the morning I pulled back the blinds, pushed open the windows and was flabbergasted by the incredible panoramic view of Kanchenjunga poking out from between the odd fluffy cloud - one of the main reasons to come to Sikkim. The extra money was worth it for the excellent view alone. Weather depending the hotel offers to drive guests up to Tashi viewpoint to see the sunrise over the mountains. This costs around Rs.500 for two people and takes around 25 minutes to drive there. Just ask at the desk the night before.

Double rooms start at Rs.1100 and don't include the 10% service charge.