And of course some very, VERY cute puppies.
This was the starting point for the Singalia ridge trek, a 7 day hike to the boarder of Nepal with some stunning views of Mount Kachenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world.
I tried to do a bit of the time lapse with the sun rays hitting the mountain. Not sure how well it turned out!
The trail continued along lush green meadows that crossed through the countryside of Nepal and India. "This morning we had breakfast in Nepal...and now we are having lunch in India," my guide would say, as kids along the path scream out phrases of their textbook English:
"Hello!"
"What is your name!"
"Where are you going!"
"Give me one pen!"
"Give me one choclate!"
The sunrise from Phalut was even more spectacular.
Waking up at 5am isn't fun, but the views were worth every bit of it. The final leg of the trek we viewed Kachenjunga from 3600m.
=Sikkim.==
Arriving in Sikkim and it still felt like I was in Tibet and technically I kind of was. The Chinese were only a few km away. Below was a visit to Tsmogo Lake, in East Sikkim. There is something about this part of the world that radiates such magificant beauty.
I'm on a yak
I'm on a yak
I'm on a yak
So take a good hard look at this mother fukin yak!
Yeah
Take a picture drick
I'm on a yak bitch
Ive got my san trunks
And my flippie floppies
I'm ridin on a yak
It's doing flips n shit
But this aint yak world
This is a real as it gets!
Im on a yak motherfuka dont you ever forget it!
Im on a yak andddd
Its going fast anddd
Patch me the afghannn
Im the king of the world
On a yak
Get the fuck up
THIS YAK IS REALLLL
(Sorry for the swearing, but its from a song).
Being close to Tibet, Sikkim is home to a large Buddhist community. I was not allowed to take any photos inside but I witnessed a ceremony where all the monks chanted in this syncopated rhythym and beat drums like a heartbeat.
=North Sikkim: Yumthang and Lachen.==
The idealyic valleys of north Sikkim has a kind of end of the universe feel. We drove along a narrow road at the base of two mountains. Much of the place was subject to landslides which aggrivated our guide. Here, the Chinese were only 15km away, in an area that has long been off limits to tourists. The only people here are men from the Indian army, training for a possibly invasion from China (which is what happened after WWII).
You now see where the valleys river flows from: the mouth of the Himalaya. I realised then that these mountains not only hold the jewels of natures secrets but they are also the source of all life.
We then visted Lachung Monastry: an entoxicating callidescope of festivity, dancing, colour and vibrant life. Here was the first time we were allowed to take photos of the monks and the monastry. Locals sat at the hillside and celebrated to what my guide described as "a time of fun, peace and celebration". We sat there in the cool mountain air, as the beating rhythm of the Buddist dance soaked through our veins. It was certainly and experience I will never forget.
Our last day we ventured to Zero Point, a place that lied on the Tibet boarder. Apparently it is off limit to tourists but our guide took us there anyway. It was quite an amazing feeling knowing that on the other side of those mountains was the kingdom of Tibet.
