Sikkim recap

We're finally back from Sikkim, which proved to be a bittersweet visit after hearing the news about our family's grandmother. Despite the impending bummer of a return trip looming over our heads the entire time, it was really nice. Sikkim is easily the most beautiful place I've ever seen, and for someone who places mountains and "greenery" above all else in the pantheon of nature, it was pure bliss. Almost the entire state is far above a mile high, and the only parts that are less are some of the corridors between the steep peaks (and I mean steep) which two gorgeous rivers flow through. The northern half of the state houses the natural skyscrapers they call mountains, which are for lack of a better term, opressively large. On a clear day, practically any photo of the place would make a National Geographic photographer salivate. Unfortunately for us though, after a month and a half of crystal clear weather we witnesses mother nature at her least-sexiest. It rained each night, effectively soaking the ground enough to fog everything up when the hot noonday sun warmed it. We saw the mountains for about 15 minutes, at about 5:30 in the AM. Luckily our opportunity came at the right time. We were in West Sikkim about 20km from Mt. Pandim and Mt. Narsing (both much higher than 20,000 ft). In our travels we met so many wonderful people, most notably a couple from Switzerland who were super funny and very interesting. We tagged along with them for awhile in West Sikkim, and they didn't razz us too hard about being Americans (neither did the guys from Belgium that we ate dinner with. The Middle Eastern couple on the other hand....).

First we were in Gangtok, which could have doubled as a mountain town in Europe. It felt completely different than Darjeeling and Kalimpong. It was huge! The city spanned the entire ridge of a hill at about 2000km. It was much cleaner than the West Bengal hill towns due to vigilance on the part of the government (remember, Sikkim is a different state) and also was much less noisy. In short, it was city life. The people weren't as haggard looking as the K-pong folks, due to the fact that they've been educated and work in offices, not fields all the live-long day. It was a nice respite from the "minor" chaos of Kalimpong. West Sikkim was much more rural and undeveloped. There was hardly anything there, and minus the trekkers (and their cash) that flood the area to get closer to the massive peaks, it would be hard to imagine how poor the area would be. It was truly spectacular, though. God's country indeed. Maybe (s)he should shoulder the blame for the fog and clouds. Truth is, even clouds couldn't tarnish the natural mystique of this largely untouched land.

Anywoo, check out the pictures. One is me standing on the edge of a road that sits above a 1 mile plus drop-off. The one of the two of us is from Changu Lake, which is situated a head-spinning 12,500 ft+ above sea level. See the snow? It was bloody freezing up there.

I have a bunch of pictures that I think are cool that you may or may not also enjoy. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the connections here are dreadfully slow. When I get home, I'll empty out my memory cards onto flicker or one of those online photo album dealies and I'll list the url here.

12 days left in K-pong! Then onto Phase Two in the South. Then Boston. See you on Xmas Eve?