IMAGES OF INDIA 2004
Ladakh, Bengal & Sikkim
Page 4 of 4 pages
Page 4: BENGAL & SIKKIM
Tea pickers near Darjeeling W Bengal / Stuck at the Sikkim border without entry permits thanks to incompetent "guide"
(we had to drive all the way back to Darjeeling to get them making the day's journey over 10 hours...)
Bhutanese friend Karma Tenzin appeared a day early at Pelling in Sikkim (right)
At the wish-fulfilling Khecheopalri lake associated with the great Indian buddhist tantric master Padmasambhava
Pemayangtse Gompa (which contains a remarkable large intricate carved wood depiction of the realm of Padmasambhava)
Sheila chats to local English grammar teacher and his pupils
Karma and Sheila enjoy a tonpa (home-made millet beer) in a local home
Our first sight of the mighty Kanchenjunga (3rd highest mountain in the world) from our hotel room in Pelling
The lush valleys of Sikkim from Ravang La / The Royal lhakang in Gangtok
Turning prayer wheels on the way up to Rumtek Gompa - seat of the Kargyudpa Karmapa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism
The square where the annual sacred monk dances are held / The view out into the valley from the rear of the gompa
At Enchey Gompa Gangtok (C18th CE)
Our unofficial guide / School's out!
There's that tonpa again - together with the Sikkim Fireball brandy Karma bought
The charming gardens at the Silver Oaks Hotel in Kalimpong W Bengal
Lama Chime, your nuts! Visiting old friend Tibetan Lama Chime Dorje at his small lhakang at Algarah W Bengal
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