Kolkata Sikkim Darjeeling Vacation

Just returned from a fabulous vacation in the North-East part of India - in the Himalayas, close to the Indo-China border. Here are some snaps ...

Victoria Memorial Museum in Kolkata.


The British rulers of that time tried to copy the Taj Mahal's design


This is now a museum with some well preserved documentation from as far back as over a 100 years ago, with photographs of Kolkata of that time

Rumtek Monastery at Gangtok (the capital city of Sikkim state)


This is among the largest monasteries in India.


The shooting of the song "Hothon Pe Aisi Baat" in the movie Jewel Thief was done here on this ground.


The "Dhamma Chakra" .. on top of the monastery and the hostel for monks on the top-right.
It was a very different experience getting into the monastery and listening to hundreds of monks of various ages chanting holy hymns in synch with their master.



View of Gangtok city from the cable car Gondola.
The clean and well maintained city is cozily perched on a beautiful mountain.





Pictures of some beautiful flowers at Gangtok follow ...

The yellow flowers look as if there are butterflies sitting on them, to attract more butterflies to achieve pollination ....