Just got back from a beautiful, memorable trip to the lush green, mountainous North-East Indian state of Sikkim. What we intended as a budget trip turned out to be an awesome experience in village life and culture which is so different from ours. We covered two villages - Dzongu (restricted area for a tribe called the Lepchas, and Lingee Payong which was predominantly Nepali - stayed at some lovely homestays, met some interesting village folk, a great mountainside experience, peaceful and quiet and a super relaxant for our laptop-weary brain and senses!
Living with the villagers, eating their food, leading a fuss-free life, huffing n puffing up the steep countryside which is an everyday walk for them :) ... it was indeed a humbling experience for me and my husband. I can sum it with our host Gyatso Lepcha's words "you people must come and stay in our villages for a few days, just to realize how small we are in this world"... completely agree!!
I shall do a couple of posts on Sikkim starting with this one.
One striking thing about Sikkim and all mountain villages is their quaint and colourful wooden houses. They are usually two-storeyed ... the top for people to live and the bottom floor for storing grains and firewood. For me this was a first time, such colourfully painted homes, each with a lovely garden of potted plants - in containers varying from buckets, to paper cups, to mud pots, tiny pathways, stones and pebbles ... it was a treat to the eye as we trekked up the mountains passing one pretty home after another!
Let me show you around with a few ...
This is one of my favourites!
Here's a post office, never seen one prettier than this!! :)
Shaded green n blue
And they had a tiny, lovely garden where I saw live poppies for the first time!
This is the homestay in Dzongu we stayed at - "Mayal Lyang" meaning the hidden land, truly!
That's for now, let me stop myself from making this post any longer :) Hope you enjoyed and loved the houses as much as I did! Shall be back with more on Sikkim in a day!
Meanwhile do any of you have a post on mountain homes? Do share them, and your experiences!
I'm sharing this at Colours Dekor and the Little Red House.
Living with the villagers, eating their food, leading a fuss-free life, huffing n puffing up the steep countryside which is an everyday walk for them :) ... it was indeed a humbling experience for me and my husband. I can sum it with our host Gyatso Lepcha's words "you people must come and stay in our villages for a few days, just to realize how small we are in this world"... completely agree!!
I shall do a couple of posts on Sikkim starting with this one.
One striking thing about Sikkim and all mountain villages is their quaint and colourful wooden houses. They are usually two-storeyed ... the top for people to live and the bottom floor for storing grains and firewood. For me this was a first time, such colourfully painted homes, each with a lovely garden of potted plants - in containers varying from buckets, to paper cups, to mud pots, tiny pathways, stones and pebbles ... it was a treat to the eye as we trekked up the mountains passing one pretty home after another!
Let me show you around with a few ...
This is one of my favourites!
Shaded green n blue
And they had a tiny, lovely garden where I saw live poppies for the first time!
This is the homestay in Dzongu we stayed at - "Mayal Lyang" meaning the hidden land, truly!
That's for now, let me stop myself from making this post any longer :) Hope you enjoyed and loved the houses as much as I did! Shall be back with more on Sikkim in a day!
Meanwhile do any of you have a post on mountain homes? Do share them, and your experiences!
I'm sharing this at Colours Dekor and the Little Red House.
WOW!! i've never been to Sikkim, but it sure is in my bucket list!! the pictures are so pretty!
ReplyDeleteI loved the third pic! Sikkim is such a beautiful place:)
ReplyDeleteYou've been to Sikkim.. *sigh* What a gorgeous.. gorgeous post.. I totally loved all the pics.. and cant wait to see Part2.. this is beautiful!! The yellow chair.. the blue house.. the gorgeous skies.. *sigh*.. I envy you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking in.. and making my day!! :-)
Beautiful pictures!
ReplyDeleteMy sister went to Sikkim last month on her school trip and *sigh* I envy her for being in that beautiful place for a week!
Your pictures are gorgeous.. makes me wanna go there soon!
:)
beautiful images!!
ReplyDeleteSikkim is so beautiful..lovely cottages and awesome pics!!
ReplyDeleteplace is so beautiful,...;-)feel like visiting soon.,
ReplyDeleteSerene looks!!
ReplyDeleteOh that yellow chair is so pretty! So used to seeing blue ones usually. Sikkim looks gorgeous- need to ensure that I visit it someday! sigh...
ReplyDeleteYes the place is a gorgeous one! And several areas are uncommercialized and pristine. Dont miss a chance to go there!! :)
ReplyDeleteWow Sikkim is cool, pristine and gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteNice experience of Lepcha homestay, i too want to experience the same, we were taken around in the Lepcha and surprising they were quoting rock bottom rates too
ReplyDeleteNever been to Sikkim before.. But am definitely going to contact you soon to make suitable travel arrangements ;-) ;-) ....What a beautiful place you have stayed in... Wish I could unwind and stretch my legs here for days... !!
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog. What gorgeous pics these are from a beautiful, pristine land. Loved the colours. The freshness of the environment is coming across in the pics.
ReplyDeleteIs there anyone who wants a push or inspiration to go to Sikkim? Contact me, I have a hundred stories to narrate of our trip, the place and its people. In looove with the hidden land :)
ReplyDelete:) Really loved this collection.. Nice blog you've got here
ReplyDeleteReturned from Sikkim just today morning, and I can't believe i would stumble upon a post like this the same day. Amazing pics and amazing blog!
ReplyDelete