Not another monastary...

Sightseeing in Sikkim means visiting monasteries. So, after our first few, Ashwin's refrain became "not ANOTHER monastery?" But really, we all enjoyed them (including Ashwin) - the architecture was striking and colorful, learning more about Buddhism was really intriguing, there was lots of history, and as Tibetan Buddhists always build their monasteries on hill tops, we got to see a lot of great scenery (and do a lot of vigorous hiking) on the way.

and lets not forget the plants...

Everywhere we went on our trip we saw the most beautiful flowers - even the humblest of homes had flowers that would put Martha Stewart to shame. In addition, the woods were filled with wild orchids and other exotic fauna. Ashwin and Priya kept saying "too bad Nana's not here, she would just love these flowers". So, Nana, this post is for you!

a few of our favorite...animals

Sikkim is primarily an agrarian society, with agriculture and tourism two of its main industries. Outside of Gangtok, the capital, most homes seemed to have a good sized garden and a few livestock - a goat or two, a cow and chickens. In addition, there were lots of friendly dogs and cats - and some interesting bovine creatures known as 'joes'. They are a cross between a d0mestic cow and a yak, and are used mostly as pack animals for trekkers in the Himalayas. (That's them up near the top of this post - getting their medicine in one picture!)

People of Sikkim

Another thing that makes Sikkim seem like a different country are all the different types of people there. There are many different ethnic groups in the state, primarily the Lepcha, Bhutia, Tibetan and Nepalese. We met many wonderful people in Sikkim, and were blessed to have wonderful guides - Bohani, Manoj and Moti and a fantastic driver, Kamal, who made the difference between and calm, relaxed trip and a hair raising one! We saw so many cute babies and children, met so many lovely monks and villagers - here a just a sample...

Back to School Time

 After a busy summer vacation;  a few weeks of camp, swimming lessons, lots of soccer,  Sikkim vacation (pics and blogs to follow), it was time to go back to school on June 3rd.   Ashwin and Priya will be going to school until late July, when they'll get a break before returning to the US, and starting school there in September.

A school going tradition in India is to wrap all the note books and textbooks with brown wrapping paper and label them appropriately - a job for Mom and Dad, naturally.  No time to ease in to 1st and 4th standard -  home work started on day 1.