A few days in Gangtok |
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The spectacular hills, alternating between narrow terraces of vegetables or corn and patches of rich forest, the fascinating villages and small towns and never ending parade of people all helped to pass the time on this trip. That said, we were still very please to finally see the buildings of Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, sprawling along a long steep ridge. We were looking forward to a few days of R & R before heading up to Green Lake. |
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View over Gangtok |
Gangtok is similar in some ways to Darjeeling, though somewhat smaller, with a population of 60,000, and somewhat less chaotic. A curfew on vehicles in the main shopping area from 5pm to 8am gave us a unique Indian experience - a peaceful night's sleep in the centre of town. As the cars gave way to pedestrians we wandered out to enjoy this fascinating Himalayan city. The best part of our break in Gangtok was the chance to catch up with the essentials of life - i.e. washing our clothes at last - and catching up with people back home. That evening, we were joined for dinner by our fellow Green Lake trekkers, who had just arrived; Ian, Bill, David and Margaret. By the end of an evening of good food and strong Sikkimese beer, it was clear that the next trek would be an interesting one. |
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The following day was one for sight-seeing and the renewal of permits. An hour in a Sikkimese government office, lined with wall-to-ceiling manilla folders and hand-notated files reminded me of life before the computer. Bureaucracy here may be tedious, but it does create jobs. |
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