I have always had a thing for the hills, travelling to different places in the Himalayas as a kid with my parents. Our yearly trip to the Himalayas was something I used to look forward to all year back then. When I decided that I would travel as much as I can all of 2014, it was only natural that a lot of those travel destinations would end up being in the Himalayas.
Though I had travelled to Goa in February that year, Sikkim was my first proper trip of 2014. A friend had offered to host me if I ever came down there, and I decided it was high time I take her up on the offer. It was a short 4 day trip (partly due to budget), and I travelled there by the cheapest means possible. A lot of my trip involved plans to roam around Gangtok, get good food, play with the 3 dogs at the place I was staying and chill in general. There were two places we decided to visit outside the city; the monastery at Aritar, and the Changu & Nathula stretch.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/almost-reetam/19930464184/in/album-72157654888662253/
Aritar Lake, though itself not particualrly impressive, was surrounded by serene forests, making for a very tranquil afternoon
https://www.flickr.com/photos/almost-reetam/19930474694/in/album-72157654888662253/
The kids playing soccer using a makeshift ball was one of the best things I’ve seen. It was amongst other things, nostalgic. They came up to us later for photos and we got them all candy before we left.
You can find the remaining photos from the day here.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/almost-reetam/19931775283/in/album-72157657190680442/
Piping hot and spicy breakfast sitting with legs under a kotatsu right before heading up to Nathu-La. We bought brandy on our way out which came in pretty handy later in the day.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/almost-reetam/20543834932/in/album-72157657190680442/
The skies were glorious and the sun bright. It was a pretty day up there.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/almost-reetam/20552868365/in/album-72157657190680442/
Aakanksha, Parth and Charlie, right before we decided a snowball fight is a good idea :3
https://www.flickr.com/photos/almost-reetam/19932000893/in/album-72157657190680442/
Indo-China border at Nathu-la pass.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/almost-reetam/20364918398/in/album-72157657190680442/
All out war! I think this was my first time actually experiencing snow. I was all the more hyped.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/almost-reetam/20366284769/in/album-72157657190680442/
The serene and awe-inspiring Changu Lake.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/almost-reetam/20365047610/in/album-72157657190680442/
And then the fog started coming in and it was a hell of a ride back down.
The rest of the album’s photos can be found here.
