Dec 1, 2013 - Pelling

November 23, 2013 I have one month to make it to Nagaland and Girish’s village. His wife is Christian so they are celebrating Christmas, I am invited. Last night I had some really good Tibetan soup, fresh Tibetan bread for dinner. It was actually around 4pm but I call it dinner. I got paneer butter masla and some steamed rice for take away [packing]. I knew I would be hungry later on. I usually read until at least midnight. I got a plate and spoon from the front desk. Around 8pm I had my first helping. I was shocked to see now little masla...

Dec 1, 2013 - Legship

November 26, 2013 21km’s today. Only. On my way from Legship to Namchi I ran into this super cool restaurant called ‘Clouds End Café’. I miss Cara. I did speak with her today. I thought she might be beginning to worry. The name of the proprietor of the cafe’ is Anup. Anup and his niece were there talking. She is from San Francisco. She has been here, on and off, for a year now. She rents a place just up the street/road/highway. I forget her name. The restaurant/small hotel was so cool I decided to stay the night. Yesterdays bullshit. I rode...

Nov 6, 2013 - 31 October - Gangtok

Today we took jeeps to Gangtok, the capital of the state of Sikkim which is nestled between China (Tibet), Bhutan and Nepal. We had to get special permits to enter Sikkim and there is a strong military presence here. Gangtok is built along a mountain ridge and the views on a clear day are supposed to be spectacular - unfortunately the weather is cloudy and rainy so we can only imagine. On our first day we visited Rumtek Monastery. This monastery was built in the 1960's and is the spiritual home of the Kagyu Buddhist sect. The leader of this...

Aug 16, 2012 - Gangtok

8-16 Visit MyTripJournal Wiki Info Gangtok Bright sunny day even at 6am so we get up and check out by 7. The shared jeep stand is just down the street a block from Hotel Reegyal where we stayed. We are able to get seats in the middle (Bon won't ride in the far back seat) in a jeep leaving at 8:30 so plenty of time for some breakfast. The road to Gangtok is mostly paved and downhill. See photos. Arrived in this capital of Sikkim about 11am, hiked uphill to New Modern Central Lodge where Buddha, the manager makes us a deal on a big room 6th...

Aug 14, 2012 - Yuksom

Wiki Info Yuksom Wiki Info Sikkim 8-14 Miracle of miracles, I awoke at 5:30, then 6, finally 6:30 when I rousted Bon from bed to see the spectacular view in clear blue skies of Khangchendzonga, worlds 3rd highest peak! Right out our door from our deck at Hotel Garuda. Wiki Info Kangchenjunga Mtn. AMAZING! We've thoroughly enjoyed our very comfortable stay at Hotel Garuda even given we had to wait almost 2 hours in their restaurant our first night there for tomato soup and boiled veggies, ha! Left with Juan, Nuria, and Mati (gal from...

Aug 12, 2012 - To Jorethang and Onward to Pelling, Sikkim****Cont fro here

Shared taxi into Sikkim...///see photos...amazingly fast internet here in Pelling. Heading to Khecheopalri Lake next and then we go on to Yuksom. 8-12 Wiki Info Pelling Up and hike DOWNHILL this time to 8 am shared jeep to Jorethang by 11, then next jeep at noon to Pelling by 3pm. Checked into Hotel Garude right across the street from where jeep dropped us off. If no clouds our view of Khangchendzonga (mountain) would be terrific from our balcony. Unfortunately, it's cloudy! Spend the rest of the afternoon plotting our next 3 days to...

Jan 20, 2012 - Whatever Goes Up Must Come Down - From the Mountains to the Plaiins

Jan 17 - time to leave northeast India and head for Board meetings in Mumbai. Travel time Gangtok via Bagdogra to Mumbai via Delhi - 16 hrs door to door. All is well that ends well BUT the time between is worth reporting on! Previous night Instructions from friendly but firm ex-Gurkha Guide was "please ensure your bags are outside your door at 6 AM, proceed to early breakfast and departure at 6:30 so that we may have plenty of time for the 1:30 PM flight from Bagdogra." No problem for the compliant Canucks. Note: Bagdogra was 115 kms away -...

Nov 5, 2009 - Pelling

Took a share jeep from Darjeeling to Pelling, a smallish village with great mountain views in the state of Sikkim. We had to get a special permit to enter Sikkim - it seems quite removed from the rest of India and much more similar to Nepal. They make their own beer here, are not vegetarian (for the most part), and are very focused on keeping the environment clean. On the topic of alcohol, it seems very frowned-upon in parts of India. Many restaurants we've been to don't serve it, or if they do, the prices are highly inflated or it is...

Oct 2, 2009 - Drive via Rabdentse & Rabongla to Gangtok

02-10-09 On our 8 hour drive along the mountain roads and stop at the local market in Rabongla before continuing on through semi tropical forests, cardamom plantations and small villages to Gangtok the present day capital of Sikkim,spectacularly set on a long ridge flanking the Ranipool river and offering many fine vantage points of the entire Kanchenjunga range. Its Friday the 2nd of October, Ghandi's birthday, and there fore another excuse for a holiday in this part of the world which is code for everything being closed and the little...

Sep 30, 2009 - To Pemayangtse, Sikkim

30-09-09 We cross into the former kingdom of Sikkim (annexed by India in 1975 to become the 22nd Indian state) and drive to Pemayangste Monastery. (Approximately 8 hours) This great monastery, the chief in Sikkim, is the second oldest and one of the 60 still active and has an exceptional collection of religious artworks. Established in the 8th century by the famous Indian teacher Padmasambhava, its members are devotees of a mystical type of Tantric Buddhism, characterised by the red caps they wear. Their religion is derived from Tibetan...

Jun 1, 2009 - High Court of Sikkim at Gangtok

Route: Patna - Begusarai - Khagaria - Purnea - Kishanganj - Bagdogra - Siliguri - Sivok - Gangtok - Siliguri Distance covered: 456 Kms. + 100 Kms. + 101 Kms. = 657 Kms. Place of Stay on 01.06.2009 (after midnight of 31.05.2009): Hotel Appolo, Mallaguri Place of Stay on 01.06.2009: Hotel Central Plaza, Hill Cart Road, Mallaguri The next day we came to learn that the condition of Uncle was under control and he could continue his trip in China. Thus, the dilemma of Ankur ended and we felt relieved and happy. We started on one of the most...

May 18, 2009 - Visit to Highlights around Yuksom

This morning we set off - accompanied by our cook, who substituted for our guide as our local escort here in Yuksom - to see Yuksom’s highlights . While primarily renown as the kickoff point for the trek to Goecha La, Yuksom has several noteworthy sights. We first completed a steep hike of about 40 minutes duration up to the Dubdi Monastery. The Dubdi Monastery, constructed in 1701, is a small but picturesque Buddhist monastery atop a hill and is definitely worth the walk up to see. Thereafter, we descended from the Monastery and walked to...