Modern Central Lodge Gangtok

... proclaimed "We have waited long enough!". The black crown-like hat which the 16th Karmapa wore was locked inside a box at the time of his death and this box will remain locked until the current Karmapa is officially 'crowned'. After walking around the complex for a little while I made my way back down the path to the base of the hill where I hitched a ride back to Gangtok in another crowded jeep.

... the locals seemed to like it. On Sunday we planned to attend a world peace march here, that was advertised as being a multi-national, multi-faith march for peace, followed by speeched from world religous leaders and then refreshments. We got up a little late, and skipped breakfast to get there on time, but it turned out to be a handful of Buddhist monks and a gaggle of schoolkids! Not really worth missing brekky, so we decided to give it a miss and went ...

... cashew nut chicken (about 120 Rs). We then went back to Glenary's Bakery for dessert. It was 40 Rs for an ice cream brownie sundae (which is less than a dollar). So the boys all got that. I had an amazing warm chocolate chip muffin for only 12 Rs! We got back to the hotel and found out that we had HBO, but only Adam Sandler's "Click" was on. But somehow we all sat through it, then quickly feel asleep, exhausted.

... on a large banner. I tried to send an SMS vote for Prashant with my cell phone but voting had already closed. Signing the billboard was the next best option. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom was fresh out of Bollywood. If only for the fact that it featured Amitabh Bachchan (The Big B), Andreas and I decided to check it out. The theatre was suspiciously lacking in security and ushers so we decided to sneak in three bags of snacks and a video camera (pirated copies now selling for 100 R if ...

... all the gompas we've been to and will be to. (All we've seen to date is Tibetan Buddhism, SE Asia is different.) He actually goes to Ireland to teach every other year and seemed sound, although I found his remark about potatoes to be racist and offensive so I called him a filthy pagan and we left it at that (note: this may or may not have actually happened). From there it was a shared jeep back to Pelling where we visited Sangacholing monastery where ...

Right, where were we? oh, yes. We have spent the last 4 days touring the North of Sikkim taking in the two epic valleys of Yumthang and Thanggu, which sound like they could be character names from the latest Miyazaki film. Anyhow, it was quite something. Driving to Thanggu took us to about 4800m which is an altitude milestone for us. The landscape was awesome to the ...

... about 4 hours!! it wasnt too bad we had lunch, adam and steve brewed up some chai on the side of the road (which drew the inevitable massive local crowd!!) and we played cards. it did mean that we didnt get to siliguri til about half 9 at night and lets just say the duvets and general sanitary state of the beds left a lot to be desired. stormi and i slept in our sleeping bags!!! (but not before we sampled the delicious egg-chips ...

... bitter tasting but never saw a single yak). red panda, snow leporade, siberian tiger, basically its a zoo featuring himalayian animals.....then to teh himalayia mountaining instiute where ther eis teh everest museum and the burial site of tensong the sherpa who accompanied Sir edmund hillary when he conquered Everest in 1953. was thinking of heading up the sikkim but unfortunately today is a holiday day ...

... took to the streets, then the police were called out, etc. Seems to have calmed down now. The only problem now is that there is a cooking gas shortage, and people are all out blocking the streets with their gas canisters, and they are starting to look ******. Perhaps we're in for another loud night tonight... Tomorrow Gangtok and Rumtek, then on to Darjeeling for 2 nights, then we start to head back home. Over so fast! love Vicki

... a night what with the giant stream cutting across thick forests and disappearing into the wilderness. The setting of the trekker's hut was most picturesque. After playing with the swirling waters for some time it was time to move ahead for us. We crossed the bridge and walked up. We could catch occasional glimpses of frozen plants by the streams. After 1-2 hours walk, we reached Thansing. It was a fantastic sight. The trekker's hut and a host of tents were set on a vast stretch of ...