Yak with an itch

Off at 9.30 to see a lake on the eastern side of the country which borders on Tibet (China).  All sorts of passes were needed but no problem to get.  Sikkim was a kingdom till 1970’s when China invaded Tibet and then crossed the border into Sikkim.  So India took over Sikkim to repel the Chinese and it is still an issue with lots of Indian army deployed in the area and all along our route.   As a foreigner I was required to have a guide (another way for the country to employ more people) as well as a driver.  Gangtok is only 5,480 feet but that is at the center – another 2000 feet of mountain rise above it.  Lake Tsomgo is 12,400 feet so the route over and around the mountains was quite a stiff climb in places and certainly circuitous. We passed above the Gangtok prison where the inmates learn about agriculture and on into an area where the bridges had been broken and landslides take place – especially in monsoon time.  There was an earthquake in 2011 and the road repairs still haven’t been completed properly. In one area there were thousands of white prayer flags – 108 for each dead person commemorated – each flutter a prayer to heaven. Every few kilometres there was a board with some pithy sign – the road is your property, look after it; do good, be good; always avoid accident; cleanliness is next to godliness; avoid accident, it hurts.  But the most alarming was ‘slide area, shooting stones’!  The driver Passan was a hearty fellow who laughed with his whole body at the slightest thing.  His family ran a small shop and café on the way in which we had chai.  The guide Rupiss was born very close to the lake and there we had momos for lunch made by his sister and mother.  Grandmother was fetching water and looking incredibly spry for 70.  Father came in too so it was a lively occasion. There were yaks for people to ride at the lake – only the ox is used - I didn't.  The cow gives incredibly fatty milk so it has to be diluted one cup to three of water.
 I wasn’t allowed to go any further towards the border than the lake although Indians could.  Because most of them hadn’t seen snow before it was fun watching them exploring and enjoying it. A month ago the lake was frozen and I got pretty chilly hands.  Back near Gangtok I saw the Buddhist round crematorium/burning ghat which is considered so holy that the Royal family and other bodies are even brought from Bhutan to be cremated there for it is considered a direct route to heaven.  Then a quick visit to the handicraft museum and a 2 mile walk back to the hotel via a Tibetan and vegetable market.

my day here