Where Did Yoli Go?

aghora chatturdashi puja, august 2006, gangtok, sikkim

the view of deoarli and chorten gonpa, gangtok, sikkim

kanchenjunga peeking through the mountain, the view from our rooftop

Sunday, August 20, 2006 Where did Yoli go? Hey all! Ten days without email. I had like 1000 messages in my inbox. I just wanted to update the adventures.....I've made it to Sikkim, India, for a few days of battery recharging with my Guruji. Getting here was quite the adventure! I decided to book a flight, and stop mucking around since my time here in India was so short and so precious. Getting a plane ticket in Dhaka was an adventure in itself, but after a little persistence and stern convincing that the travel agend COULD take my credit card, the next day I was heading for Kolkata, then to the top of West Bengal, then a jeep to Sikkim. When I reached the house to pack, all the student-friends were in a flutter. The news of London and the attempted bombings was plastered on the TV, and they were packing to fly back the the states, via london of course, the following day. Boy was I happy to be going to India. We had our going-away party in Dhaka the night before I left, so I didn't see much point in sleeping. I made the mistake of sleeping for almost one hour, I should have just kept drinking or something. I definetly spent more time waiting in airports then flying. It was just forty minutes Dhaka-Kolkata, and one hour Kolkata-Bagdogra. When I reached Silliguri, where I would take a jeep to Sikkim, it was about 100 degrees farenheight (maybe near 39 celcius), and the road was closed to Sikkim because of landslide. Landslide is something quite common here inthe rainy season. The mountains here are full of slate rock and care very young. They continue to move. Seven hours later, I reached. I was just so excited that it didn't really matter. I will be here for another week, and then, Inshallah (God Willing), I will head back to Chi-town. Not too much time, but more soon--->