Sikkim Winter Carnival concludes with a thumbs-up from those who could attend

REBYNA RANA
GANGTOK, 24 Dec: The Sikkim Winter Carnival organised by the Tourism & Civil Aviation Department concluded today. From scrumptious traditional food stalls for food lovers, photo exhibition and butter craft for art aficionados to mountain biking and rock climbing for the adventure seekers, the carnival had activities to suit just about every holiday taste.
Visitors – local, domestic and international - who were lucky enough to be in the capital at this time of the year seem to have enjoyed the activities.
White Hall Memorial had put up a display of Buddhist butter art and photos while the Directorate of Handlooms and Handicraft exhibited traditional items. At MG Marg, a set of Harley Davidson’s on display drew quite a crowd while there was also a stall for another breed of bikers – mountain biking.
Hub Outdoor, a local shop selling adventure gear, had set up a stall displaying some mountain bikes. They had also organized a ride on 23 December as part of the winter carnival.
A mountain biker from British Columbia, Mr Ray shared his experience of the 50 km ride from Gangtok via Tsomgo, Bhusuk, Assam Lingzey, Pastanga till Ranipool. “It was a great experience and I would like to thank Hub Outdoor for it. It was a great way to explore Sikkim. It felt great to be part of the winter carnival and I will never forget this experience,” he shared.
Palden Sherpa of Hub Outdoor, informed that they had conducted a similar ride during the Sikkim Spring Carnival as well and this time they wanted to take students mountain biking. One biker from Darjeeling came especially for this ride during the winter carnival after he heard about it on RED FM, he added.
Mr Sherpa further informed that a Class VI student of Mt. Zion [Kidzee, Tadong], Jessica Virdi, also took part in the ride and completed the 50 kms along with the rest of the cyclists.
Among the mountain bikes on display at MG Marg were TREK-X Caliber 6-29 ER 2014 Model [Rs 52,000] and GIANT [Rs 53,000]. “These two bikes are among the best in the world. TREK is a US based company whereas GIANT is from Taiwan”, he informed.
Near Star Hall, a photo exhibition titled ‘Glimpses of Sikkim’ has been put up by Imago Creative Studio [Gangtok].
On the Kanchenjunga Complex [Lall Bazaar] rooftop were the mouthwatering food stalls of different communities of the state.
Delhite Nandita Roy, who is visiting Sikkim with her family said, “I have come to Sikkim before and have visited various places here but this is the first time that I am experiencing such an event here. I have visited all the stalls but what I enjoyed the most were the food stalls”. The cultural performances at MG Marg were also beautiful, she added.
“Despite the cold I enjoyed the events and the stalls. I hope such events are organized often”, said a local tourist from Namchi, Narayan Sharma [60-years-old].