Family Time in Kolkata

Happy New Year, and Happy Chinese New Year! Can't believe I'm more than 2 months behind on my blog... just got busy spending time with family. Read on for my posts from the last couple of months of 2008, on Vietnam and Laos.

The rest of December was basically hanging out with family & friends in Kolkata and eating good local snacks. It was nice to have another break and not be in travel mode. Of all the pampering we get in Kolkata, my favorite is the ginger chai tea that is brought up as soon as we wake up in the morning. Ahhhh... what a nice way to wake up in the morning.

Ashok and I traveled up to the northern state of Sikkim, in the Himalayas, for New Years. Somehow we ended up in a club with the locals for New Years Eve, and the hard-rocker tough guy who invited us to the club ended up cranking out Bollywood favorites with his band in traditional garb.... all this in a small town in the middle of the Himalayas. We sure know how to party!

Mount Kangchenjunga, at 28,169ft, is the 3rd highest mountain in the world (after Mount Everest and K2). The view of the mountain range from Pelling, Sikkim, where we were, is really amazing. Most of the time it's so overcast that you wouldn't know the peaks were there. The best chance to get a clear view is at sunrise.

That little bit of cloud above the peak covered the sky by lunch time so it went from sunny blue skies to gray and gloomy in a matter of hours. Makes you really appreciate nature.

January was spent mostly around southern India. More on that later. For now, happy reading!