A Ghostly Legend
Nathula PassOnly Indians are given a permit to enter here (same day as travel means long ques) You can put one foot in China occupied Tibet and one foot in India. At 14500 feet, the air was very thin and the wind so strong that ascending was daunting At the top you can shake hands with Chinese soldiers (Phew! after you have finished greeting the Indian guerrillas) This region can turn into a blanket of snow thus shutting down for 3 or more months in a year. My sense of achievement at the top was no smaller than the magnanimous snow-covered mountain range all around us, an informative photo gallery displaying popular monuments of India was set up where we spend some time with watering eyes and masked faces (with mufflers as the cold wind blew) At the base, there is an army shop selling Chinese artefacts and China ware and a centre where certificates are issued for visiting Nathula, no certificates come without hardship, right! | Tsongo LakeAfter completing mission Nathula we stopped at Tsongo Lake.The drive from Nathula to the lake was a cloud 9 experience literally. As the car descended downslope we were above the clouds and it felt the car was a boat floating on sea of clouds. The partly frozen lake was large and green and ice at the banks cracked with the pressure of our feet. My son got ecstatic with the idea of playing on a frozen lake ( Like the penguins in the Cartoon Network) The lake was surrounded by mountains that looked like Oreo biscuits with little snow here and there. We went around on Yak backs and froze ourselves digging into the snow. After all, we came this far to be in snow and it would be a loss for our family if we did not erect a super snow man with charcoal eyes and a carrot nose. A small market place near the lake with little stalls with sloping roofs selling hot coffee and sizzling hot Dimsums was perfect to keep the body temperature intact. Thank God! we are warm blooded animals. |
LachungIn September 2011 the Earth shook The Himalayan abodes in North- East Sikkim, Tibet, Nepal and its tremors were felt far away in Delhi and other neighbouring places. Alas! it was an Earthquake that devastated life and property of thousands, in 2012 when we drove from the capital city of Gangtok to Lachung we witnessed the after- effect of the earthquake that happened 14 months back. The houses looked bitten by a giant concrete- eating Ogre and the winding roads hardly looked like roads as large pieces of rocks blocked, broke and chipped away parts of it. Lachung is a small town with a population of few thousands. We stayed a night at Yarlam Resorts and I feel like a lioness when I say that out of 100 odd rooms in that resort we were the only occupant that night. Due to harsh weather conditions and bad roads most people avoid coming to Lachung. Needles to say that we were thoroughly pampered by the staff, and I must mention that I was touched when two local women in their native attire came to our room in the night with hot water bags and replacing words with smiles made sure that we were utmost comfortable. | Yumthang ValleyYumthang Valley is 11800 feet above sea level and this Himalayan valley has more than 24 species of rhododendron flowers adding to its glory. A tributary of river Teesta flows through it making the valley picture-perfect. No words are sufficient to describe the beauty of Yumthang Valley so I leave it on the pictures to do so! |
Gangtok- The Capital of Sikkim
The Sikkim Culture
There are many monasteries in Sikkim from large ones to very large ones. We visited many of them, it was intriguing to see monks display high standards of discipline during prayers and work. The monasteries are very colourful and they look different from each other( one reason could be Buddhism has various sects) The monks were friendly and let us peep into their lives. The World- famous Rumtek Monastery is like a fortress as the Indian Army is deployed there in large number. I am no less than curious Tom so I questioned some of them, while some of them acted peppery and remained noiseless (mind you I approached only the frail ones, I didn't want to get shot) one or two in hushed voices said that as Dalai Lama has fled from Tibet to India they fear an attack from Tibet. He also hissed something like the monks sometimes turn violent which I didn't digest well.