It’s been, what, almost a month since I wrote? Well, I didn’t have much choice. Blogging requires broadband. There is broadband in Gangtok, the capital, but electricity and connection are so spotty it was impossible to upload more than about four pictures during the whole four days I was there. Now I’m in Kolkata again after having picked up the new glasses I ordered last time I was here. This afternoon I’m headed back up to Assam which is the principle state among the northeast states. If I can write from there, I will, but after my experience in Sikkim, I have doubts.
I’ll let pictures do the talking again. In short, though, I went to Gangtok first and up north on a tour of Yumthang, then the area around Ravangla, then to Pelling and around, then to Namchi before returning to Kolkata. All these places are pretty close, as the crow flies. Roads are generally poor and the main way around is by jeep like this one I took from Geysing to Pelling. My crowd is out; this is the new crowd piling on.
Sikkim is in the north of India, wedged in between Nepal and Bhutan, so it’s Himalayan. The mountain range containing the third highest peak in the world, Kangchendzonga, is visible from throughout the south and west of the state. This is the view of part of that range from one of my guesthouse rooms.
Gangtok is not too photogenic, so I’ll skip posting pictures of there. The best thing I did was book a tour with three other tourists to an area about 120 km north of there, Yumthang. It’s up next to the Tibetan border, so you have to go with a tour and have a permit again, like in Ladakh. It’s just gorgeous.
Here is one of the two guesthouses we stayed in and the view from out front. It’s pretty foggy, I know.
There were sights along the way. One thing is that there are SO many waterfalls. You go to Yosemite and there are maybe six good ones. Here are dozens.
It has taken a long time to upload these, and I need to check out of my guesthouse in 45 minutes. So movin’ right along, near Ravangla is a small village called Ralong. there is a small monastery there where they are famous for creating butter and wax sculpture, meant to melt to demonstrate impermanence. Here s the place and a couple of pictures of monks making the figures and decorations.
I’m a little under the gun here, time wise. I’m not going to get this done right now, so I’m going to post what I have and hope to get back to it before leaving town.
As always, be well, all of you.