Sikkim a kingdom for centuries, in the 70s their two much
larger neighbors to the north and south began pressing for takeover. The king fled and India,
falling on the most advantageous side of the Himalayas, took control. Firefights
still supposedly occur between India and China deep in the mountains, but we
witnessed none of the hostility, and in fact were pleasantly surprised by the
multi-cultural and effervescent atmosphere of what is now a province. Cool climes and steep vistas, the former kingdom is a surprisingly interesting place to spend
several days. At the crossroads of
Bhutan, Tibet, China, Nepal, Burma, and of course India, a huge mix of culture can
be found. Noticeably cleaner and
possessing verve, Gangtok, Sikkims capitol, has a feel for life that Calcutta
and many other cities of India’s heartland simply do not. Entry at roughly 500m (1,600 ft.), during our time in the former kingdom we
ascended to approximately 4,000m (13,100 ft.) in Yumthang Valley and there were able to enjoy the mighty Himalayas. Here are
some photos of this portion of our trip.
Gangtok, one of the word’s most vertical cities,
occasionally has a view to the world’s third highest peak. Unfortunately here it is occluded by clouds. Despite several opportunities, we saw the
peak only for the briefest of moments as we prepared to leave the city
early-early our last day.
Bordering Nepal and Tibet, Buddhism is the predominant religion
of Sikkim. (Sikh worship is now centered
roughly in the regions north of New Delhi).
Painted in vivid detail, above is one of the door guardians of Rungtek
monastery. Real life Indian soldiers
wielding automatic weapons also served as door guardians here. At impassse, both Indian and Nepali sides
claim to have located the most recent reincarnation of the monastery’s karmapa. We were told by the locals that more than 90%
of the people in the region support the Nepali (we saw numerous posters and
stickers to support this opinion). However,
as the Indian government wields political power, their 10% is just as valuable,
hence the impasse. Like us, all the door guardian can do is look
on while humans be humans pretending to be religious.
One of civilization’s guardians… Sorry, couldn’t
resist. This is a poster advertising one
of the many retro cinemas that have become retro only because they haven’t
stopped operating since the time such entertainment was considered
groundbreaking. Nothing is more
congruous with Indian culture than a leather vest, shotgun-wielding action hero
with paint splashed on his forehead. If
ever proof of globalization was needed…
At the risk of putting my cultural foot in my mouth, I will say
only that this is a girl living in Sikkim, leaving her cultural background for
the more erudite.
A portion of the “normal” road temporarily blocked by
landslide, our alternative route to Yumthang Valley didn’t inspire any further
confidence.
Cutting through the ice and snow of glaciers, the road to
the Valley was far from hospitable. On
several occasions our vehicles and others required manual assistance over the
rough spots.
And voila, Yumthang Valley!
Prayer flags and a beautiful meadow of mountain wild flowers,
the Valley is a very nice place to spend a day.
What goes up, must come down. Here is part of our return trip to flat land –
a better presentation of the extreme hazard posed by our road. When encountering these obstacles, the vehicles simply drive over
the landslides (when possible), in effect compacting and recreating the road as
they go.
One wrong turn and, well, you see…
Not for the faint of heart.
Truck drivers in Sikkim loved to paint their trucks a kaleidoscope
of colors, religious symbols, and company logos. Looking closely at this truck you
will find dolphins (in the Himalayas!), a Puma logo (the driver’s undying love
in the company motivating the free advertising), the Buddhist wheel of life, and
the eyes of what is probably some Hindu god.
Even the monkeys came to see us out, properly.
THE END
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