The land of milk tea
Sikkim, a world away from the India we were expecting. Where the people look more Nepali than Indian and images of the Dalai Lama are found in every shop and home. And where the tea is hot, milky and so, so sweet.
We've been riding through the small Indian state of Sikkim for the last 3 days, winding up and down the steep mountainsides covered in steeply tiered farmland and dotted with homes perched like matchboxes seemingly ready to topple over at any moment.
Sikkim is in the far north east of India and bordered by Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. The area was first inhabited by the people of the Burma and Tibet region so it's no wonder it feels like we're back in Nepal. When the mists clear we're treated to majestic views of the Himalayas which dominate the Northwestern skyline. There are very few tourists up here at this time of year - foreign or otherwise. The few foreigners we've met have all been heading off on treks up into the mountains, which brings back memories of Nepal for us yet again.
Sikkim was an independent Kingdom until 1975 when India decided it was a little too inviting. China didn't recognise India's claim to Sikkim until quite recently so to help people think positively about Indian rule, the government pumped loads of money into public works. As a result the houses, buildings and roads are better then in many other areas of the Himalayas. You don't see a lot of poverty and many of the homes are large even by Western standards.
In our last post we alluded to getting an early start the next day - and that we did! The town we were in, Pelling, is famous for its dawn views of the mountains. To quote the Lonely Planet, "Pelling's raison d'être is its stride-stopping views of Khangchendzonga at dawn." So, to make the most of every opportunity, we woke up with the sparrows and quietly made our way downstairs. Not a soul was stirring at 4.45, so we pushed the bike a little way to not disturb our neighbours, and then rode out to the helipad (?!) which is claimed to offer panoramic views. As you can see from the photos below, "the view is worth it, despite the hordes of visitors..."
Sightseeing on this part of the trip has had a heavy monasteric weighting; we've visited three different monasteries so far, including the first monastery in Sikkim, built on the site where three refugee Tibetan monks met and established Tibetan Buddhism in the area for the first time, and the first capital of Sikkim established back in the 1600's. Buddhism accounts for less than 1% of the population of India, which works out to about 12 million people. With only 600,000 people in Sikkim, we're not done seeing the Buddhist influence yet this trip.
One of the pretty cool things we didn't actually visit (ie go inside) but were still able to get a great view of was the giant 41m statue of Buddha just outside of Ravangla. Apparently the building site was blessed by the Dalai Lama a couple of years ago, and he's coming back on March 25th for the official opening. The big Buddha statue has a blindfold over its eyes until the D.L. gives it his blessing. We miss it by just a couple of weeks! Bummer!
We decided to make a short trip from one of the vilages to a monastery that was 'just 13km outside of town'. What this description doesn't quite capture is the spine jarring nature of the 'road'. We turned around at least once as it couldn't possibly be the right road and weren't convinced by the response of the roadside worker's response of "yes, this way (head wobble)". Luckily once we arrived we were treated to an impromptu private guided tour of the monastery by one of the young monks who named various gods as he pointed out their images and looked at us as if of course we knew them. We nodded, of course we knew them..... He even showed us into the kitchen where they prepare meals for the 400 monks daily in a darkened room over open fires using giant pots.
We also visited Lake Khecheopalri, which is a hugely revered lake. It's quite pretty, but by my reckoning it doesn't hold a candle to Garibaldi Lake near Whistler, B.C., which is the most stunning lake I've ever seen. You should check it out sometime.
The Sikkimese people are vey gentle, with a fun sense of humour (meaning they laugh at Al's jokes). Having now crossed the border back in to West Bengal we realise how quiet and remote the areas are that we have been visiting. It was a bit like coming back to the big smoke today, pulling into bustling Darjeeling. We're staying the night at a tea plantation tonight in Kurzong, and then head back onto Darjeeling proper tomorrow.
Here's another critical map we use every day. I know, I can't believe we get lost either.
This is a traditional drink up in Sikkim called tongba. It's millet beer that you sip through a bamboo straw. The waiter periodically and helpfully tops up the brew with boiling water to release more flavour/alcohol. It tastes a bit like sake, very strong.
Here's a couple of views of the lake...
This is what passes for a double adapter in our hotel. Note the wires jammed in behind the plug, and the other end safely terminated with electrical tape. Completely safe most of the time due to there being no electricity in the hotel.
Michelle on her way to a monastery. Pardon ME!
Al, the day after the tongba experience, is feeling less than fresh.
Luckily, both of us are still scoring 4 out of 5 on the ol' Poo-ometer scale. Nothing to report. Does anyone else find the make of this toilet funny by the way?
Another road sign which at one point would have told us exactly which way to go.
"Pelling's raison d'être is its stride-stopping views of Khangchendzonga at dawn."
"the view is worth it, despite the hordes of visitors..." See if you can pick Michelle out of the throng. I'll give you a hint, she's not the brown dog.
This monastery has about 400 monks including a stack of acolytes (monkettes?)
We've been riding through the small Indian state of Sikkim for the last 3 days, winding up and down the steep mountainsides covered in steeply tiered farmland and dotted with homes perched like matchboxes seemingly ready to topple over at any moment.
Sikkim is in the far north east of India and bordered by Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan. The area was first inhabited by the people of the Burma and Tibet region so it's no wonder it feels like we're back in Nepal. When the mists clear we're treated to majestic views of the Himalayas which dominate the Northwestern skyline. There are very few tourists up here at this time of year - foreign or otherwise. The few foreigners we've met have all been heading off on treks up into the mountains, which brings back memories of Nepal for us yet again.
Sikkim was an independent Kingdom until 1975 when India decided it was a little too inviting. China didn't recognise India's claim to Sikkim until quite recently so to help people think positively about Indian rule, the government pumped loads of money into public works. As a result the houses, buildings and roads are better then in many other areas of the Himalayas. You don't see a lot of poverty and many of the homes are large even by Western standards.
In our last post we alluded to getting an early start the next day - and that we did! The town we were in, Pelling, is famous for its dawn views of the mountains. To quote the Lonely Planet, "Pelling's raison d'être is its stride-stopping views of Khangchendzonga at dawn." So, to make the most of every opportunity, we woke up with the sparrows and quietly made our way downstairs. Not a soul was stirring at 4.45, so we pushed the bike a little way to not disturb our neighbours, and then rode out to the helipad (?!) which is claimed to offer panoramic views. As you can see from the photos below, "the view is worth it, despite the hordes of visitors..."
Sightseeing on this part of the trip has had a heavy monasteric weighting; we've visited three different monasteries so far, including the first monastery in Sikkim, built on the site where three refugee Tibetan monks met and established Tibetan Buddhism in the area for the first time, and the first capital of Sikkim established back in the 1600's. Buddhism accounts for less than 1% of the population of India, which works out to about 12 million people. With only 600,000 people in Sikkim, we're not done seeing the Buddhist influence yet this trip.
One of the pretty cool things we didn't actually visit (ie go inside) but were still able to get a great view of was the giant 41m statue of Buddha just outside of Ravangla. Apparently the building site was blessed by the Dalai Lama a couple of years ago, and he's coming back on March 25th for the official opening. The big Buddha statue has a blindfold over its eyes until the D.L. gives it his blessing. We miss it by just a couple of weeks! Bummer!
We decided to make a short trip from one of the vilages to a monastery that was 'just 13km outside of town'. What this description doesn't quite capture is the spine jarring nature of the 'road'. We turned around at least once as it couldn't possibly be the right road and weren't convinced by the response of the roadside worker's response of "yes, this way (head wobble)". Luckily once we arrived we were treated to an impromptu private guided tour of the monastery by one of the young monks who named various gods as he pointed out their images and looked at us as if of course we knew them. We nodded, of course we knew them..... He even showed us into the kitchen where they prepare meals for the 400 monks daily in a darkened room over open fires using giant pots.
We also visited Lake Khecheopalri, which is a hugely revered lake. It's quite pretty, but by my reckoning it doesn't hold a candle to Garibaldi Lake near Whistler, B.C., which is the most stunning lake I've ever seen. You should check it out sometime.
The Sikkimese people are vey gentle, with a fun sense of humour (meaning they laugh at Al's jokes). Having now crossed the border back in to West Bengal we realise how quiet and remote the areas are that we have been visiting. It was a bit like coming back to the big smoke today, pulling into bustling Darjeeling. We're staying the night at a tea plantation tonight in Kurzong, and then head back onto Darjeeling proper tomorrow.
Here's another critical map we use every day. I know, I can't believe we get lost either.
This is a traditional drink up in Sikkim called tongba. It's millet beer that you sip through a bamboo straw. The waiter periodically and helpfully tops up the brew with boiling water to release more flavour/alcohol. It tastes a bit like sake, very strong.
Here's a couple of views of the lake...
This is what passes for a double adapter in our hotel. Note the wires jammed in behind the plug, and the other end safely terminated with electrical tape. Completely safe most of the time due to there being no electricity in the hotel.
Michelle on her way to a monastery. Pardon ME!
Al, the day after the tongba experience, is feeling less than fresh.
Luckily, both of us are still scoring 4 out of 5 on the ol' Poo-ometer scale. Nothing to report. Does anyone else find the make of this toilet funny by the way?
Another road sign which at one point would have told us exactly which way to go.
"Pelling's raison d'être is its stride-stopping views of Khangchendzonga at dawn."
"the view is worth it, despite the hordes of visitors..." See if you can pick Michelle out of the throng. I'll give you a hint, she's not the brown dog.
This was not the biggest Buddha we saw today - although it's pretty big!
These two photos are my favourites of the trip so far.
This is the BIG Buddha. Note the blindfold!
Here's a couple of the decorated trucks we mentioned yesterday. Check out the back bumper!
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