anna is going to go to sikkim and she wants to see pictures and know a bit more about the place, so here goes. it's beautiful up there :) it's green and moist and yes, it's officially india, but it's a mix of a low tibetan with butanese and sikkimese culture and that common high himalayan ambience with beautiful mountain peaks showing up every now and then and with prayer flags shaking n the wind and making you smile and everything seams to be floating and you travel in sikkim but also to many other places as you get that tibetan feeling of everything being in connection. the food is the normal momos and thick noodles and sometimes you also find that more touristy menu with food from other parts of india and even fried eyes! in some places there is really delicious food :) the best momo place in pelling takes forever - so go with time and patience, bot GO because they're sooooo good and have a special sauce and all! strangely enough in pelling there is also a pizzeria where the guy has a great music collection and even some sort of chocolate dessert if i remember it right ;) the temples in sikkim are beautiful and if you try hard it's possible to sleep at least in one of them. look at the books in the temples and the paintings in the walls... they're amazing in sikkim! you'll see lots that you can't see in tibet anymore. the monastery trek is easy and gorgeous and people are really nice along the way :)
on your way to sikkim you'll go through darjeeling. the train up from kolkatta is amazing. i took the Darjeeling Mail to New Jalpaiguri (me and k met on that night train!). you can then take the old toy train up to darjeeling. i think me, k and a took a shared jeep. ALIMENT hotel is a great place to stay!! it's a steep walk till you get there but i highly recommend you do the walk! it has an amazing library, really really great :) the restaurant at the top is super cozy and you can read the books there. they have pancakes! the dorm rooms were super cheap, 60 rupees per bed! and there's internet and international phone calls on the ground floor. they also sell a great chocolate bar called TOURIST ;) try it, it comes in milk chocolate and white chocolate flavors and i remember when i was traveling with k, a, j and ka we finished them all...! good times :) darjeeling is beautiful... i don't want to say too much because it's great to explore and be surprised. (just a hint - look for the japanese peace pagoda). getting the permit to sikkim in darjeeling is a pain in the ass but it is definitely worth it!! you have to go from one office to the other a few times... you can take rides at the back of jeeps but some drivers don't like it so they'll try to push you away! at the market in darjeeling look for the super cheap momos sold in dark little holes in the back alleys - they're the best! there's a good cinema in darjeeling and joey's pub is crap! there's some sort of nightlife in town though... explore! oh, and if you feel the need to watch some soccer, i remember seeing barça beating arsenal in the middle of the night on a little tv somewhere in a small restaurant downtown...
sikkim is wonderful :) the monastery trek from pelling to tashiding is fantastic! and you can do it like we did - 1 day walking, 1 day resting... perfect rhythm!! if you still have the stamina after that you can go to kalimpong - it used to be buthan :) the town has a special and strange atmosphere, interesting... there are beautiful temples and at the market they sell cheese! (you know how it feels to find real cheese when you're in india!) i also remember eating the best poori that year at a tiny place close to the ATM in kalimpong. the same street has good bakeries that make you smile like a kid :D good croissants!
the atmosphere is different in kalimpong. the temples have another feeling to them
you might see WIZ packages in the ground all over the place and that could tempt you to buy them and give them a try..... but DON'T DO IT! just leave the thing alone!! it's really really REALLY bad!
i think poori tastes much better after trekking for 2 weeks :)
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