Lachung and Yuthang Valley: Yeti Country

So soon after arriving in the Sikkimese capital of Gangtok (pictured here), we decided that good ole' Sanjeet of West Bengal's trip was a bigger headache then help, and Anjali's sweet lawyer skills came in handy as we (in writing) got out of the package and headed into the main square to book our trip to the northern part of the state that is known for its beautiful Himalayan valleys and panoramic views of the mountains leading into Tibet. Gangtok has a really nice pedestrian only main road that looks like a little piece of Europe in the Himalayas, which was kind of surprising. I again felt like I was in the twilight zone and hardly felt like I was in India, 6 weeks in Ahmadabad had made me pretty Guju. It was pleasant and clean, and we found an affordable, fun, eccentric travel agent to book the final few days in Sikkim. When travelling to the northern part of the state, you have to go through these special travel agents for security purposes (China doesn't officially recognize Sikkim as a part of India) We roamed around Gangtok for the evening and stumbled upon a little pub that from the outside looked like a normal Indian building, but on the inside was a swanky little bar with a live local band playing bluegrass and classic rock... twilight zone! It was really fun though, the band was actually pretty good, and we got a little taste of the very popular and growing Tibetan/ Sikkimese rock scene.

The next morning we met our "guide", a Sikkimite that by law has to accompany foreigners, who was a fun 20 year old local guy; we also met our driver, who was my favorite of the whole trip, who we nicknamed "Mcgiver" of Sikkim cause he was pretty much a G, and could do/fix anything. So we started on the steepest climb of the trip to the northern valleys, along mud paths on the edge of gaurd-less cliffs through the soaring Himalayas. At first it felt like we were in the mountains of Japan or tropical rainforest of Costa Rica, but through the parting clouds behind the green hills, the mammoth snow covered, rugged peaks reminded me where we really were. We were now entering YETI country, but felt pretty safe seeing as how Mcgiver was our driver.

On the way up we stopped at some huge, beautiful waterfalls, crossed kind of nerve-racking rickety bridges, rode through little villages and towns, and got to sample "Nepalese pop", which, surprise surprise, was the Backstreet Boys! Sunil (our 20 year old guide) was singing "Show me the meaning of being lonely" while the others slept. When we stopped at one big waterfall, Mcgiver gave us a stem to chew on and eat that apparently was good for your immune system and for car sickness, it tasted like sour pear, and worked.

We soon arrived in the picturesque little town of Lachung on the banks of the Yuthang River of melted glaciers, surrounded by tall rugged mountains and waterfalls that tumble down from the sky. We pulled up to our home stay that was a two story wooden cottage set against the backdrop of mountains and prayer flags. The home stay was by far the coolest place we stayed at while travelling- a few generations all lived and worked in the house. Upstairs were our rooms and down below was a large kitchen where they prepared fresh meals over a wood burning stove with an open "lounge" area where we ate and hung out. Adjoining the common room was a store and boot house also run by members of the extended family. The local family was full of life and tons of fun. The main cook, the 18 year old son who they nicknamed "Energy Boy", ran around dancing and blasting hop-hop, the mom would sporadically come in and bust out her sweet dance moves (or just laugh hysterically at mine), and the others sat around sharing stories and laughs. Before dinner we tried some "tongba" which is the local brew of fermented red Millet seed that you pour hot water over and suck down with a bamboo straw, it tasted like Saki and was delicious. It also helped with the below freezing temperatures and no heat, haha. We were pretty much wearing everything we brought and still slept under 2-3 blankets, but it was worth it! The power cut in and out, but was quite common, so plenty of candle were handy and lit during the blackout at dinner... Tongba by candlelight in a Himalayan valley, watching a 40 something year old local dancing to Shakira, who could complain? Energy Boy was sadly a little camera shy, so this video is all I could muster out of him, but with the camera off, it was like an episode of America's Best Dance Crew...

At 6:30 in the morning, there was a knock at the door; I rolled over and looked out the window to see snow tipped, rugged peaks backed by blue sky, then answered the door for one of the sons who came to deliver hot tea... it was going to be a good day. Before breakfast I decided to take a little walk around town and came across a bridge over the stream with great views and a strong breeze. There were some army barracks near by and huge military trucks were about the only vehicles crossing the bridge, along with the occasional jeep with the "Gorkhaland" flag. Seeing as how it is election year in India, everywhere we went there was plenty of campaigning, and the local Sikkimese are currently fighting for their own state that would include parts of Sikkim and West Bengal... Gorkhaland. As I turned to return to the home stay, Mcgiver came barreling around the turn in the jeep, yelling "get in the car!!!!" I was thoroughly confused, until he explained that foreign passport holders were not allowed on the bridge, and definitely not allowed to cross the bridge to the other side... oops. So thankfully I was not thrown into a Sikkimese prison and got some of my favorite pictures out of it. When I returned to the house, Jack was down in the store looking extra goofy, I asked him what was going on. He explained that he was feeling sick (some sort of stomach thing, not uncommon when visiting India, haha) and so the old man that owned the place gave him three hefty shots of whiskey, the Sikkimese cure-all. I don't know if it killed all the bacteria or just made Jack forget about the pain, but either way it was a hilarious "breakfast" for Jack, especially when he looked at me kinda flush red and said in his British accent "I think I'm a bit drunk."

After breakfast we hopped in the jeep and drove and hour further north to the breathtaking Yuthang Valley, where glacier ridden mountains opened up to an alpine valley leading into the Tibetan portion of the Himalayas. The snow covered landscape was awe-inspiring and I hope to one day come back and see what it looks like during the spring time. After wading around in the stream, having a little snow ball fight, and (again) sitting and staring for an hour or so, we headed to another scenic spot with fresh snow to sled. Unfortunately, the sled guy was not there, but no worries Mcgiver made some skis out of dried bamboo and found a sign to sled with. We played in the snow, took in the scenery and headed to the "holy hot spring" which was a nasty little pool (we didn't get in). We grabbed some hot tea from a little shack and by the time we were done, it was snowing! We were rushed in the jeep, as the roads can get pretty dangerous in such weather and made our way back to the house. Along the way, something flew in my eye, but again, no worries, Mcgiver stopped, pried my eye open, and blew on it furiously to get it out (much like your technique dad!). The others laughed and when it was all over, there was still something in my eye, haha.

When we got back, Mcgiver and Sunil took us on a walk around town to see the monastery, a hand loom house, and a great lookout point overlooking little Lachung in the huge valley. The viewpoint was apparently off-limits and illegal for foreigners, but again, Mcgiver does what he wants. Sunil and Mcgiver also had an adolescent rock throwing contest over the valley, which entertained us for a solid 20 minutes. When we got back to the house, Energy Boy's older brother (the manager of sorts) asked us if we wanted to help make dinner, so we went down to learn how to make MOMOS! It is much harder then it looks, and the first few dumplings looked pretty sad. Anjali's inner FOB was shining as she was already an excellent Ghugra (an Indian sweet that looks like a momo) maker, learning from the best (our grandma), BUT, it was the wrong kind of pleat for veg momos. After a few trials, my momo skills were ripe and I was a momo making machine, no worries Anjali I'll teach you the proper way when I get to London, hahaha. Anyway, we had another great evening of food, Tongba, and dancing, and plenty of great conversations with the locals and plenty of laughs. Energy Boy said that when he gets enough money, he is going to swim to America and be famous, or mail himself to my house... so note to mom and dad, don't be to alarmed if a Sikkimese kid pops out of a big box on your doorstep. I could have stayed in the house for a week... beautiful scenery, amazing people, and great company, by far the best two days of the trip in Sikkim.

On our way back to Gangtok, we got a little wake up call to how dangerous of any are we were in, as we passed a jeep that was completely flattened by a tumbling boulder (two people had died). The snow from the day before also caused many of the buses and jeeps to be stuck in deep mud pits, which caused some major delays. But what was difficult for some drivers was child's play for Mcgiver who quickly got us out of the mud pits. We had time to stop at another Monastery which was full of kids playing cricket, but you could see storm clouds moving in so we didn't linger too long. Our trip to Sikkim was over, and the next day we would head back down to the Bengali Hills to relax before heading back into the heartland of hot India to the "Golden Triangle". The trip to Sikkim had its ups and downs with weather, but was on of the most amazing places I have ever been, it will be a week I will never forget.

(Below: Sunil on the left and Mcgiver in the middle)

Pelling & Yuksom: the first capital of Sikkim

The next morning we started on our way to the state of Sikkim, a little slice of heaven sandwiched between Nepal, Chinese Tibet, and the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan. We had some travel obstacles along the way, but looking back, it was an interesting day. We began the morning dealing with our crazy loud hotel manager that looked like an Indian Barney Ruble or Fred Flinstone, he was quite the character. Having had an altercation the day before, and then having him flip out again over God knows what again in the morning, it was hilarious that he had the nerve to calm down, put on his best sad puppy eyes, and politely ask for a tip as we were leaving! He was met with laughter, which did not make him the happiest of cave men. The day before, we met a solo British freelance photographer that was looking for a group to go up to Sikkim with, and since we had a jeep just for the four of us, we told him to come along. Jack was his name, but throughout the trip we pretty much called him every white boy name known to man. He was 30 minutes late though as we were trying to leave, so now we were yelling through the streets of Darjeeling "Michael! John! LARRRY!!", but still, no Frank was to be found, so we headed out to Sikkim, and surprisingly on the way out, there he was, sitting on the side of the road with his luggage, haha. Jack quickly became part of the group, sharing our Guju nasto (snacks) while improving his Indian accent. So it was on to Sikkim, or so we thought. We got to the border (and hour and a half away), and didn't have the right passes since we were booked as Indian citizens, came back to Darjeeling to get passes and then headed back to the border. It was a celebration when we finally got into Sikkim! We needed special passes since it borders Chinese Tibet and also since the Chinese government never officially recognized Sikkim as part of India since 1975 when it joined the country.

We drove through the foothills scattered with little villages, tea farms ringing the hills, and the occasional shanty town sprawling up from the river to the ridge. It was STILL cloudy and foggy, but we kept telling ourselves "oh yea today looks clearer then yesterday!". We were on our way to Pelling, a town on the doorstep of the third highest mountain in the world, and the highest in India(about 250 meters shorter than Everest)-Mount Khangchendzonga. I attempted numerous times to pronounce it right with the help with the locals, but it always turned into "Caan-chen-DONGA!" (my South Carolina coming out a little). So everyday I was met with laughter from the local guides or hotel people when I would ask "is it clear today? can we see caan-chen-donga?!" By dusk we were climbing the final steep mountain ridge amidst what seemed like infinitely cascading hills collapsing on top of each other, kind of like the ones you draw as a child. It soon began to rain, again hiding any views of Khangchendzonga, but we again tried to see the lining and thought maybe this rain will clear out all the clouds by morning. That night, me and Anjali literally dreamt of clear blue skies and flawless Himalayan views... we woke up to more clouds. This was actually the second night in a row we both, oddly enough, dreamt of seeing the snow peaked mountains.

So we got ready and decided to spend the day seeing old holy and royal places of the first Sikkimese capital in Yuksom (about 2 hours away). Sikkim has a rich history of Buddhist kingdoms and royal dynasties as well as being a safe haven for Tibetan refugees, monks, and llamas. "Yuksom" meaning the "meeting place of three llamas", was where the first Chogyal of Sikkim was crowned in 1641. A chogyal is kind of like the Holy Roman Emperor but in Bhuddhist terms, a religious leader that ruled the secular state as well. As the story goes, it was here where the three holy llamas descended from three points of the Himalayas and crowned Phuntshog as king. The most powerful of the llamas, Nyingmpa Llama Lhatsun Chembo, flew from Northern Tibet (he was a pretty sweet yogi) and landed in the mountains near Yuksom. He hiked across the mountain ridge and planted his walking stick in the ground which grew into the prehistoric looking cryptomeria pinetree that now shades the coronation throne of Phuntshog. About 15 feet from the throne is a rock with a footprint eroded into it, the supposed footprint of the powerful Phuntshog who, in one leap, jumped from the rock to his throne, leaving the 4 inch deep indentation of his foot. The old throne and monastery is now a beautiful school for children and one of the teachers was nice enough to show us around and tell us some of the stories and myths of Yuksom. The kids were pretty funny and as Anjali sat in their class and got swarmed and tackled by them all, we were outside stacking flat rocks for good luck.

Walking around the small village of Yuksom was so peaceful and it was great that we were the only tourists there that day, I couldn't believe we had the place all to ourselves. We roamed around the paths lined with multi-colored prayer flags and hung out by the small holy Kathok lake that was bright green with algee. We then ventured up a steep kilometer long path to visit the oldest monastery in Sikkim, the Dubdi Gompa. The path was steep and the air thin, and we were all huffing and puffing 45 minutes later when we reached the top, but it was definitely worth it, as it was my favorite place in Yuksom. Set near the top of the mountain overlooking Yuksom and the surrounding hills and valleys, the monasteries were surrounded by crazy looking pine trees and tons of prayer flags. We had to get the caretaker to open the monasteries, which were amazing. As we looked out, dark clouds started to roll in and the rain soon came. It was pretty powerful to sit before the golden Buddha by candle light with the faint sound of thunder and rain. When we returned to town we warmed up with some fresh hot soup and "hot ginger" drink and headed back to Pelling. Along the way we stopped at some waterfalls and a holy "wishing-lake". Khecheopalri lake was packed with even more prayer flags and prayer wheels, and it is said that if any leaf falls onto the surface of the lake, it is swiftly removed by the surrounding birds (I didn't see any leaves on the lake).

The next morning I sluggishly woke up at the normal time of 445 am in hopes of watching the sunrise over the Himalayas. When it was clear, you could supposedly sit on the front porch of our hotel and see the can-chen-donga. Everyone else was still asleep as I stumbled out the door expecting to see the same misty hills, but alas, after five days, the greatest mountain range in the world was visable! I ran inside and woke everyone up (I don't think they believed me at first), we gazed at the view from our hotel- Himalayan peaks and Buddhist prayer flags fluttering in the wind, then walked up to the helipad on top of the hill to get some better views. As the sun slowly peaked its head over the horizon the peaks of the soaring mountains turned gold, orange, then a pinkish hue. Finally what was right in front of us the whole time, hidden by the fog and clouds, could be seen, and it was magnificent. My camera isn't the best, and the morning light probably didn't help, so I don't think the pictures do the sight justice, but you'll get the idea.

After staring in awe for a couple of hours, we headed back to town, grabbed some fresh momos from a little shack that hung off the cliff next to the road, and happily began the 8 hour journey to the capital city of Gangtok. On the way we stopped at the Pemayangtse monastery from the Buddhist "Nyingmapa" tradition, which was by far the most elaborate gompa we had been too. It was as colorful as the rest of the ones we saw, complete with beautiful gold statues dressed in fine silks, chanting monks, and plenty of prayer flags. The inside of the main temple was also similar to the others, just bigger and more intricate. It was amazing to see the blend of cultures and religions in all the monasteries; some paintings the figures look more "Indian", some more Tibetan or Chinese, while others a unique blend. There were Hindu gods mixed in the Buddhist myths, Buddhist versions of Hindu gods, Hindu versions of Buddhist gods, and so forth.

So after finally glimpsing the highest mountain in India, we continued further north, where are journey got more interesting, and teh scenery even more breathtaking... to Gangtok and North Sikkim.

From the Beginning: West Bengal Hills

I am finally back from my trip that criss-crossed India and it was amazing! Its hard to believe that is all over now and in a few days I will be flying out of the motherland. Although it has gone by way too quickly, when I think of all the places I have been and seen I can't believe it all happened in about a month! I am grateful for the opportunity and for all the people that helped me, travelled with me, fed me, and housed me along the way. I guess I should just start from the beginning, March 16th me and Sarang left the ashram in Ahmedabad to catch a flight to Bagdogra in West Bengel to meet up with my cousins Anjali and Alpesh for a trip through the Eastern Himalayas.

I could barely control myself sitting on the plane, sleep was out of the question. In a few short hours I would get to see my cousins and start the journey to the Himalayas, a trip that we kind of added last minute. We started in the northern hills of West Bengal, in the typical Bengali market towns of Siliguri and NJP. We took a taxi from the airport to the NJP train station to try and grab some tickets on the scenic Himalayan Railway up to Darjeeling, but the line was torturously slow and the tickets were sold out. This ended up being for the best, as I will explain later. But when we exited the station, we decided to grab some cycle rickshaws to grab a bite to eat. We were, of course, swarmed by rickshaw-wallahs and in the confusion just threw our bags on a few and headed into town. The tiny, scrawny rickshaw drivers were struggling, you could see them putting all their strength into each rotation of the bike. I don't think alpesh's mammoth bag was any help, haha. I tried to get them to race, but they were concentrating pretty hard to make it up the hill. As I looked behind me to see Alpesh's kind of worried face that he or the rickshaw was going to tumble over as they peddled us through the crumbling town, I could only chuckle "welcome to India!". We later found a little roadside shack to book our trip up to Sikkim with, which at the time was very cheap, but our "travel agent" Sanjeet who had a sweet bowl-cut and a Charlie Chaplin mustache, booked us as Indian citizens which made things complicated, and we ended up leaving his package half way through (which is a story for later, haha).

The next morning we were in a jeep on the way up to the most famous of Indian hill stations in the foothills of the Himalayas: Darjeeling. The ride up was beautiful; we snaked up the green hills with the rising sun and morning fog creating a serene backdrop as kids walked along the road for God knows how long to get to school. We stopped in Kuresong for breakfast and I was introduced to what would become a week long obsession: MOMOS. Momo's are steamed or fried Tibetan dumplings filled with cabbage, ginger, carrots, spices, and sometimes chicken, and they are amazing. I later became a momo master, which I will tell you about when I get to Sikkim, (don't hate Anjali, you know you wish you were a momo master too). A plate of momos cost on average 15 rupees (30 cents!!)

Darjeeling is a pretty busy town that climbs up a very steep mountain ridge. The area was originally in the hands of the old Sikkimese Buddhist kingdoms, but is famous for being a retreat for the dirty Brits during colonial times. There are crumbling colonial buildings, sprawling tea gardens, packed local bazaars and plenty of tourists and hotels. It was pretty commercial (as I was warned), but a good spot to start the trip further up north (the real reason why we came). Unfortunately, it was foggy and cloudy while we were there, so the spectacular views of the Himalayas (including Everest) were hidden! Good thing we didn't get on the train though, because the ride would have been 4 times as long as the jeep ride, with no view, haha.

But regardless of the weather, we ventured out to see the sights of the town. One of the first things I noticed was how different even the people looked. The locals were a unique mix of Bengali, Tibetan, and more, which made us feel like we had left India. Buddhism is also very prominent in the area with plenty of Gompas and Monasteries. We started at the oldest Buddhist Monastery in Darjeeling (Yiga Choling Gompa), the first of many that we would visit on our trip through the Himalayas. It was absolutely beautiful, colorfully painted, intricately decorated, with huge murals on the inside, and a giant golden Buddha in the main shrine. Robed monks wandered around the grounds and prayer wheels spun in the wind. It was really serene and a great way to start the trip.

We then went to the Samten Choling Gompa, which was by far my favorite. We went when there were no tourists there, so some older monks called us over and offered us a seat in the courtyard where lots of little kid monks, many of them orphans, were running around the grounds. The elders greeted us with big warm smiles, and asked us where we were from and all. They told us about themselves, their monastery and a little bit about Buddhism. One monk's English was flawless, and when I asked him where he learned it, he said he taught himself (made me think about how hard it was for me to motivate myself to learn Gujarati while in India, haha). They invited us back the next day to sit in on their morning chanting. When we arrived, the slew of tourists had arrived to see the giant golden Buddha, and as we walked through the small crowd, a monk from the day before spotted us and had us follow him around back to a small room overlooking the valley below where about 30 student monks were doing their morning chants lead by some of the elders. The same monk with great English was at the front of the students, and greeted us with the same big warm smile. I had to pinch myself to realize I was in the Himalayan mountains listening to the sacred chants of Buddhist monks, it will be one of my most treasured experiences in my whole trip through India. A little Sample:

SACRED CHANTING

The final Monastery of the day, the huge Druk Sangak Choling Gompa, housed over 300 monks and was like a Buddhist castle. The vaulted ceilings were covered in bright frescoes and the walls covered in intricate paintings telling ancient stories. We arrived as they were beginning their evening chanting. As we peaked over the curtain into the huge main hall, a young monk walked over and hurried us inside. He sat us down at the back and gave us some food. It was quite a sight, all the monks chanting and eating, amidst huge golden statues in a room covered in bright paint. I was also inspired by the generosity of the monks in all the monasteries we visited, all were very inviting and greeted us with genuine kindness. It definitely further sparked my interest in Buddhism, which fueled my shopping spree of books at the local book store later that night.

So one of the main attractions of Darjeeling is to watch the sunrise over the Himalayas (Everest, Lhotus, and more) from tiger hill, which we attempted...twice. Both times, we got a hazy, foggy semi-sunrise over the clouds, which was pretty disappointing, but the Bengali tourists were at least very entertaining as they packed the tiny viewing spot (I'm talking well over a hundred people), reminding us all we were still in India...peaceful sunrise? haha, yea right! Loud cackling, babies crying, people selling coffee, post cards, and batteries, and, my favorite, the loud gasp coming from the crowds at the first sight of the sun. It was fun, haha, so in the wise words of Anjali, we looked at the "silver lining", and enjoyed both Everest-less mornings.

The second day we also visited the interesting Japanese Peace Pagoda, made by a Japanese organization dedicated to peace after the atomic bombs hit Japan. They have built over 70 of these peace temples around the world. As we walked up to the pagoda, the constant vibrations of a huge Japanese drum echoed through the woods, and the the lone voice of a woman singing a Buddhist prayer could just be made out. We sat in the temple and joined in the drumming with our own little drums, and then walked up a small hill to the huge white Pagoda that had large golden Buddhas in all different forms. From there we headed to the zoo that housed leopards, red pandas, and even a snow leopard (like the crazy one in Planet Earth that chases that deer across the mountain). We also stopped in the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute that had really cool exhibits on Everest and mountain-climbing. It had tons of old pictures and equipment of the first guys to reach the top of Everest, which was pretty sweet, I thought of John Scott, haha.

One of my favorite places in Darjeeling was the self-help Tibetan Refugee Center. As the communist China took over the Buddhist areas of Tibet, India gladly opened its borders to fleeing refugees, and these self-help centers can be found all over India; however, this is one of the oldest and most authentic little Tibetan village. They maintained a lot of their traditional culture and sold hand-made Tibetan rugs, jackets, etc. to make a living. The ladies that made the carpets were lots of fun. They kept telling me "very very hard work!" and when i replied, "but very beautiful", one lady shoved her hands in my face to show me her callouses and then grabbed my hands and made me feel them, saying "This (her fingers) is not beautiful!", which was followed by them cackling something in Tibetan, pointing and laughing at me, haha. It was crazy how they hand wove the rugs though, counting each individual string. And the wool was also all hand spun in yarn. I definitely felt a little proud of India for welcoming all the Tibetan Refugees in their already over populated and complicated country.

We got to try some authentic Tibetan food of momos and noodle soups at this awesome little restaurant (one of my favorites in India), drank fresh, delicious Darjeeling tea, sat with Buddhist monks, and wandered around the zig-zagging streets and bazaars on the steep mountain ridge. Although we still hadn't seen the snow-capped Himalayan peaks, it was still a great couple days. When we were trying to decide what to do to celebrate Sarang's birthday one night, he had a pretty good reply "It doesn't really matter, I'm in Darjeeling for my birthday!" So next we venture further north in hopes of finally seeing the Himalayas.