The Kingdom of Sikkim is one of the old kingdoms to finally join India as a self-governing states. Located further north of West Bengal, and also further north into the Himalayan mountain range. Throughout my travels the Kangchen Junga Himalayan mountain range was not far out of my line of sight as it decked and popped up from behind smaller mountains and hills. My traveling companions, my parents, spent a lot of time (mostly driving) through the mountains, weaving and curving, ascending and descending, creeping and carefully maneuvering our way through the sharp twists and turns of the somehow dangerously natural flow of the mountains. Evidence of landslides was evident everywhere and workers, all local habitants, majority being women, could be seen working along the roads working to reset and fix the collapsed mountainside roads. School is out for two months (due to the cold) so all local children are also working together. The more time I spent observing their way of life, the more I learned to admire it, I found that I was learning from their humble and sustainable way of living. More than anything, the inner strength of the people was what stood out the most. Their ability to be so resilient yet graceful was humbling.
Their land is beautiful. We followed the Teesta river and other sister rivers throughout our travels. Hydroelectricity is their main and only form of energy production and it is used quite efficiently and sustainably. Kind of makes me think that we could be doing more with the river systems in Ontario and other provinces in Canada since we can probably afford to have hydroelectricity as a primary process of energy production. Just a thought.
My 21st Birthday just passed and I am moving on to another era in my life. I'm in INDIA! Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remember where I am, where I'm going and what I hope to do when I get there. For the time being, I'm hoping for a new DSLR, so that I can really start to get serious about my photography. If travel is my fire, photography is my fuel.
Oh and Seasons Greetings to everyone! I hope 2007 has been full of positive and life changing experiences for you, as it was prophesied to be, it most certainly was for me..I miss my adopted home, Canada very much right now. I think with all the joy this season can bring, it can also bring feelings of nostalgia and melancholy. This year has been one of climaxes and meltdowns, every variation of a high and a low. I'm growing and I feel it with every segment of my imagination.
The Kangchen Junga Mountain Range, Sikkim
Vikash, our driver and guide through the rocky hills
Pelling, Sikkim
Phurba Chorten, Buddhist Monastery, Gangtok, Sikkim
Ganeshtok Temple, Gangtok
View into the valley from the Temple
From the Gangtok Rope-way
Sikkim Police
Rock Garden on the Teesta River
Kangchen Junga Falls
Khachoedpalri Holy Lake
Country Life
Stopped at a Bridge
Teesta Hydroelectric Jal (Water) Dam
Last Sunset
Full Moon, Christmas Eve
Landing
I'm really glad that I had the opportunity to go back into the hills and still be able to experience something completely different, yet surreal and entirely humbling.
I'm also quite pleased with my photos..I wish to explore further the realms of documentation photography, or photo journalism. My mind is vast, and I feel it clearing and I see shapes forming in the horizon, especially as the days pass on into the new year.
2007 has truly been the Year of Change for me. My sense perception could not have been any higher than it has been these past 12 months. I've traveled across the globe to come back to where I first began my journey into Life, only to discover that there exists many deeper realms of my being. Everyday is a continued process into developing as an individual as well as an entity that's a part of something so much bigger and complex, resilient yet sensitive to even the slightest change in frequency..My actions have consequences, my words have meaning and I have the power to influence the world around me..this much I now know.
I wish the warmest affection to all my readers because I know you are the people in my life with as much meaning as I could put into words.
Here's a ditty,
Take a little, leave a little,
Try a little, love a little,
Grow a lot and smoke some pot,
and know that
Everything is OK in the end,
And if it's not OK,
Then it's not the end...
Peace and Love,
Ro(ho)Bo
