This log is current to September 20, 20O9

Only five days after arriving in Nepal on October 7, we will fly to the eastern end of the country and enter Sikkim, India. Hiring a car, driver and guide there will be an unusual approach for us, since we normally rent an apartment and try to live like the locals for long periods. In this case, we are unfamiliar with the area, and have only nine days. Then we will return to Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal.

Sikkim is tucked between Nepal to the west, and Bhutan to the east. Once an independent country, it is now part of India. Traveling here requires a special permit, in addition to an Indian visa.

This area is extreme, the altitude ranging from very low in the south to the world’s highest mountain range.

We have made all our Sikkim arrangements though Wendy Lama at KarmaQuest Ecotourism and Adventure Travel in Half Moon Bay, California. (www.karmaquests.com).

She and her husband have very close and personal ties to Sikkim, and have been very responsive to our many questions and requests.

We will be picked up at an airport to eastern Nepal and taken around Sikkim for nine days (eight nights) in a private tour. We are eager to explore the culture at this east end of the Himalayan range, and to catch glimpses of the highest peaks and visit with as many people as possible.

We will visit Darjeeling, Pelling, Yuksom, and Gangtok, the capital of the region. We will also spend a night with a family in Temi.

A key focus will be the many monasteries throughout the region.

(Photo: Raylong Monastery, courtesy www.indiashots.com)

While our time in Sikkim will be brief, we will be watching for reasons and opportunities to return for a much longer period. If that should occur, we will be keen to visit Bhutan, just to the east.

When we return to Nepal, we’ll fly to Kathmandu and then Pokhara, where Becky will begin her trek up the famous Annapurna Circuit. Our entire expedition schedule on this, our seventh journey to Asia, is based on the weather.

In Sikkim, we will see the world’s 3rd highest mountain, Kangchendzonga, at over 28,000 feet.

Elsewhere in this site you can see the shots we took flying past Mt. Everest. This mountain is no less impressive. (Internet photo).

We will return to Kathmandu October 20.

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