 Here a Gompa, there a Gompa, everywhere a Gompa..: Photos 21 to 39 |
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Here a Gompa, there a Gompa, everywhere a Gompa..: Photos 21 to 39
Asia » India » Sikkim » Pelling
April 12th 2007 by His Dudeness
Sikkim has lots of things; it has lots of Gompa's (Buddhist monastery), lots of taxi's, lots of mountains, lots of nice and relaxed people and lots of rain at the moment... What it doesn't have much of is pollution, thanks to a government which prides itself on being the most eco friendly in India, neither is there much hassle... In fact this is not India, politically yes, but in everything else not...
And what do you do in a country which has so much nature and so many Gompa's... Well if you don't want to pay a lot to a travel agency, you can forget about doing any significant treks... Because much of the trekking is done in Northern Sikkim and other sensitive border areas, for which you need a special permit, and those you can only obtain via a travel agency... But there is still enough to see, even without doing the treks... Since we did the Singalila Ridge trek around Darjeeling it wasn't really so important for us to do another big hike... So instead we chose to visit the plethora of Gompa's scattered around the country... First around Gangtok and later we did the monastic trek around
Full Text Entry: Here a Gompa, there a Gompa, everywhere a Gompa..
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February 16th 2008 - Anonymous Brit: Hello!???
What are you talking about??? Sikkim is a part of India and parts of the culture are similiar to those in West Bengal (e.g. lunghis, buddism, dance etc). This IS India! MARVELLOUS, DIVERSE INDIA!
April 2nd 2008 - orion: don't bother
Don't bother commenting on India if you have no knowledge of the country the northern plains are not the only India, its not India's fault that the western media has such skewed view of India, and by the way Sikkim is 60% Hindu. The Tai-Ahom culture of Assam and the far eastern Manipuri cultures are probably the best preserved hindu cultures ther are, and all of India is not Hindu either. There are Christian, Buddhist, Sikh and Muslim majority regions and all kinds of racial stock. But for someone with the Euro world view of countries carved out of districts, India and its harmonious existence despite incredible diversity is something from another world.
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Monastic Trek
Chortens at the back of the Gompa, including Thong-Wa-Rang-Dol Chorten, said to wash away your sin just by gazing at it
Monastic Trek
Performing dances from the different regions in Sikkim and from the other North Eastern States
2 Comments - Add Public Comment or Send Private Message
February 16th 2008 - Anonymous Brit: Hello!???
What are you talking about??? Sikkim is a part of India and parts of the culture are similiar to those in West Bengal (e.g. lunghis, buddism, dance etc). This IS India! MARVELLOUS, DIVERSE INDIA!
April 2nd 2008 - orion: don't bother
Don't bother commenting on India if you have no knowledge of the country the northern plains are not the only India, its not India's fault that the western media has such skewed view of India, and by the way Sikkim is 60% Hindu. The Tai-Ahom culture of Assam and the far eastern Manipuri cultures are probably the best preserved hindu cultures ther are, and all of India is not Hindu either. There are Christian, Buddhist, Sikh and Muslim majority regions and all kinds of racial stock. But for someone with the Euro world view of countries carved out of districts, India and its harmonious existence despite incredible diversity is something from another world.
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