Howie-n-Karen: Asia

Gangtok

April 22^nd – return to Gangtok. Road a shared jeep with Matt Raue, whose schoolmate is a friend of Lianna’s from Maine. He directed us to the Modern Central Lodge, which is somewhat modern and very central. Beneath the lodge is Modern Treks and Tours, where we eventually put together an excursion to North Sikkim with four other travelers.

Noodle dish for Tom; palak paneer (spinach & cheese) (nothing to do w/ story, really)

Our jeep took us up to Lachen for a night then over to Lachung in the Yumthang Valley for two. The hotel in Lachung was very elaborate on the outside but quite usual inside. A double is 2 single beds with a heavy comforter and blanket but no top sheet. One always has to ask for two towels and toilet paper. The bathrooms have no shower stalls so everything gets wet in the bathroom when one showers. You have to make sure they turn on the water heater, if there is one, when you first arrive, because one never knows when the power will go off. We learned this early in our travels. Blackouts occurred almost daily in almost all the places we visited.

The hotel had five stories but no real dining room, so each group took turns eating in the lobby. The other occupants were large W. Bengali families, friendly and nice. All the kids took Geoff (from England) for a famous cricket player and he obliged them by signing their tee shirts.

Randall & Ulrike

The group got on famously and Randall and Ulrike, who live in England but are going around the world, may visit Maine, which we encouraged them to do. Don’t be surprised if they call on you. The other group member was Richard, a practicing Buddhist from Toronto, who was also a professional photographer. Later on Howie started taking more arty shots (none shown in this section, though).

Geoff and Richard are on the ends

There had been snow in the higher elevations in the Yumthang Valley (probably happened at the same time we were being snowed out in Tanshing), and we, as foreigners, we allowed to go only as far as the road and snow conditions would allow. There we got out and started climbing up beyond the snow but our guide would have gotten in trouble with the authorities if we were caught that close to the Tibet border, so we yelled for Howie, Geoff and Randall to refrain. Indian military presence was ubiquitous.

The end of the road, Lachen. (scroll over)

Yumthang road

The waning days in Sikkim were spent walking around Gangtok, making plans for the next part of the trip and visiting a few more gompas (monasteries). Detail photos:

The final shot is of the young monks. The one with long hair is the reincarnation of the former karmapa (head of the monastery).

Tags: Adventure in Asia, Adventure in Asia, Birding Asia, Travel, Travel

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