Nov 5, 2009 - Pelling

Took a share jeep from Darjeeling to Pelling, a smallish village with great mountain views in the state of Sikkim. ... In Pelling, there are as many liquor shops as there are shops selling phone cards (I'm not saying this is necessarily a good thing considering the treacherous roads, just interesting). ... It's nice to have a good glass of beer or wine on occasion, especially when watching the sunset over the Himalayas - so when we find some, we do enjoy! Most people come to Pelling for trekking, but feeling a little trekked-out we decided instead to visit the local monastery and the Rabdentse ruins from the old state capital. ...

Oct 2, 2009 - Drive via Rabdentse & Rabongla to Gangtok

02-10-09 On our 8 hour drive along the mountain roads today we pay a short visit to Rabdentse, the former capital of Sikkim in the 16th century and stop at the local market in Rabongla before continuing on through semi tropical forests, cardamom plantations and small villages to Gangtok the present day capital of Sikkim,spectacularly set on a long ridge flanking the Ranipool river and offering many fine vantage points of the entire Kanchenjunga range. ...

Sep 30, 2009 - To Pemayangtse, Sikkim

30-09-09 We cross into the former kingdom of Sikkim (annexed by India in 1975 to become the 22nd Indian state) and drive to Pemayangste Monastery.30-09-09 We cross into the former kingdom of Sikkim (annexed by India in 1975 to become the 22nd Indian state) and drive to Pemayangste Monastery....

Jun 1, 2009 - High Court of Sikkim at Gangtok

Our first exploit of the north eastern part of the country was Gangtok, the capital city of Sikkim. ... The drive from Siliguri to Gangtok was quite refreshing. ... On reaching Gangtok, we straight away hit the High Court. ... However, we couldn't have left Gangtok without relishing on the Chinese food and our search led us to 'Kimling' which served us some interesting stuff. ...

May 18, 2009 - Visit to Highlights around Yuksom

This morning we set off - accompanied by our cook, who substituted for our guide as our local escort here in Yuksom - to see Yuksom’s highlights . ... org/wiki/Goecha_La" target="_blank">Goecha La, Yuksom has several noteworthy sights. ... Having exhausted the sights of Yuksom, we returned to our hotel for lunch and spent this afternoon relaxing on the outdoor patio of the restaurant of a local backpacker hotel close to our own. ...

May 17, 2009 - Goecha La Himalayas Trek - Day 8 - Tsokha to Yuksom

We ended the trek today with our hike from Tsokha back to Yuksom, but the trek proved to be much more strenuous than I had anticipated. ... Definitely a good workout! Our cook and porters prepared lunch for us alongside a river, and thereafter, we walked the remaining 1½ hours back to our hotel in Yuksom. ... Tomorrow our guide or one of the other members of his team are going to take us to some of the local sights around Yuksom. ...

May 16, 2009 - Goecha La Himalayas Trek - Day 7 - Thangsing to Tsokha

Today we continued our walk back from Goecha La to Yuksom. ... It has been an enjoyable trek, so I have to admit I’m a little sad our trek ends tomorrow with our walk to Yuksom. ...

May 15, 2009 - Goecha La Himalayas Trek - Day 6 - Lamiti to Goecha La

Today our trek climaxed with our hike up to the viewpoint at Jump to full entry

May 14, 2009 - Goecha La Himalayas Trek - Day 5 - Dzongri to Lamiti

We awoke this morning at 4 a.We awoke this morning at 4 a....

May 13, 2009 - Goecha La Himalayas Trek - Day 4 - Day Hike to Dzongri La Pass

I awoke at 4 a.I awoke at 4 a....

May 12, 2009 - Goecha La Himalayas Trek - Day 3 - Tsokha to Dzongri

We left Tsokha at 7:30 a. We left Tsokha at 7:30 a....

May 11, 2009 - Goecha La Himalayas Trek - Day 2 - Bakhim to Tsokha

Today we walked from our campsite at Bakhim to the trekking hut and adjacent campground on the outskirts of Tsokha, a small village inhabited by Today we walked from our campsite at Bakhim to the trekking hut and adjacent campground on the outskirts of Tsokha, a small village inhabited by Jump to full entry