I am back from my adventures in North Sikkim, which I had with two German ladies, who were excellent company. The internet isn't quite quick enough to upload lots and lots of pictures (which I took), but I'll give you a rundown of what all we did.
We left in the morning for the four or five hour drive up to Lachung, North Sikkim, where we stayed the night. On the way, we stopped for a few sights, photo shoots, and tea breaks. One stop was the place where the Tibetans and the indigenous Sikkimese people declared a blood brotherhood, vowing not to fight until a nearby river ran dry and Kangchenjunga fell. A pretty bold pact, and the place does give you the chills. And here is where I learned one of the German ladies just so happens to practice Kriya Yoga meditation, as per Parmahansa Yoganada, which is a blatantly crazy connection to my life.
Our road suffered from the regular yearly landslides, as well as huge ones caused by the 6.8 earthquake that happened a few months ago. We could see landslides and buildings that had suffered along the way. Regardless, our guide and driver preferred this road, which at points we were inches from cliffs required either faith in God, the abilities of the driver, or both, to survive without a panic attack, to the 20 km tunnel they had to take when the road was blocked by landslides. They say there could be feet of water they'd be driving through in the dark.
North Sikkim is cold. Especially at night and in the morning. That being said, it hadn't quite started the snow season yet.
Day 2 we went further north to Yumthang Valley, where the road on the map ends, and further to Zero Point, where the road really does end. Maybe 25 miles ahead is Tibet, but you'd still have to cross a glacier and the Indian army at 15,000 ft. We went on a little walk, about an hour and a half, and thats enough at 15,000 ft in the cold and windy.
We came back down to Gangtok today, leisurely making our way down stopping at monasteries and for photos we didn't get coming up. We got to sit in on a prayer service at one monastery, which was very cool. And now I'm back, and its comparatively warmer here, and Sikkim is beautiful and wonderful.
We left in the morning for the four or five hour drive up to Lachung, North Sikkim, where we stayed the night. On the way, we stopped for a few sights, photo shoots, and tea breaks. One stop was the place where the Tibetans and the indigenous Sikkimese people declared a blood brotherhood, vowing not to fight until a nearby river ran dry and Kangchenjunga fell. A pretty bold pact, and the place does give you the chills. And here is where I learned one of the German ladies just so happens to practice Kriya Yoga meditation, as per Parmahansa Yoganada, which is a blatantly crazy connection to my life.
Our road suffered from the regular yearly landslides, as well as huge ones caused by the 6.8 earthquake that happened a few months ago. We could see landslides and buildings that had suffered along the way. Regardless, our guide and driver preferred this road, which at points we were inches from cliffs required either faith in God, the abilities of the driver, or both, to survive without a panic attack, to the 20 km tunnel they had to take when the road was blocked by landslides. They say there could be feet of water they'd be driving through in the dark.
North Sikkim is cold. Especially at night and in the morning. That being said, it hadn't quite started the snow season yet.
Day 2 we went further north to Yumthang Valley, where the road on the map ends, and further to Zero Point, where the road really does end. Maybe 25 miles ahead is Tibet, but you'd still have to cross a glacier and the Indian army at 15,000 ft. We went on a little walk, about an hour and a half, and thats enough at 15,000 ft in the cold and windy.
We came back down to Gangtok today, leisurely making our way down stopping at monasteries and for photos we didn't get coming up. We got to sit in on a prayer service at one monastery, which was very cool. And now I'm back, and its comparatively warmer here, and Sikkim is beautiful and wonderful.
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