Travels

Stay tuned, I have more to come!
The next morning we went down the view point close to our lodge and set out on a hike up the mountain. It was nice to sweat and to feel something but cold. Don't mind my hobo/hippy look. The stocking cap was to cover the nastiness underneath it. Not my finest hour.
This is where everybody came and ate after the ceremony. Bright colors huh?
This was the wedding party's walk to the big tent where everything took place.
Nick and Naga Uncle.
Another day we headed back down the mountain to the village we started from in order to attend a Nepali style wedding. Nick is wearing traditional wear from Nagaland (even though it was a Nepali wedding..it was quite humorous) It was very warmly. I ended up opting out of wearing my Naga garments due to the heat.
This is my dog from the monastery. He followed us around for most of the day. I liked him.
This makes me happy; he had a beautiful smile.
Many of the smaller children at the monastery were blowing bubbles; it was their day off they said. The children come to study at the monastery at such young ages. If I recall correctly; it is the 2nd born son that is sent to study at there because the 1st son is indebted to take care of the family.
One of the monks demonstrating how the prayer wheel works. There are about 50-some boys that live in this monastery.
Prayer flags lining the monastery compound.
Another day we took a day trip to a town about 1 hr from where we were staying. We found a path that led to a monastery and was able to spend quite a bit of time there. Nick made friends very quickly. We were doing a media project for the girl that was traveling with us. We would go into places such as these and interview monks, other, etc. The 2 main questions were, "what is peace" & "what is truth?" It was very interesting to say the least.
This is Emily taking her normal position at night. Cuddled up in her sleeping bag staying warm.
Our rooms led to a terrace outside. I love being in the hills at night because you can see all of the hill stations (hillside towns) lit up at night. This is the hillstation near to our place. It was so beautiful at night!
I absolutely traveling with my husband. He makes me so happy. And I love his goofy smiles and my always squinted eyes.
Demonstration. We were very, very careful.
So, after traveling for sometime we became incredibly dirty! Ah! The weather was so cold & to take a bucket bath was so dreadful for me. I am thankful that we had a water heating system (what Nick is holding above...scary eh?) But, it was pretty miserable. I am not a fan of shivering massively while bathing in a bathroom that has open windows, etc....so, so cold.
The forests are just filled with prayer flags.
This lady is wearing a traditional tibetan dress.
I watched this lady & it is very heart burdening. I sat on a bench for a good while and watch people as they did their own thing. Everybody walks around the statue 3 times and before leaving they do as the lady is doing in the picture above with their beads.
Families making the trek to the monastery/statue.
Then we took a 2 hr. taxi ride to another city, this is the famous Buddha statue. It is extremely, extremely large. It is very overwhelming. So many people come here to worship. Under this statue is a monastery where people go in and pray, chant, etc.
Here is a closer view. They have their own sacred type of scripture on each. The prayer flags are different colors each representing their own meaning. Peace, etc.
Down the road from our lodge was a great viewpoint. You can see the flags hanging above Nick. These are Buddhist prayer flags. They are EVERYWHERE!!
Onward we move. We shifted within a few days higher up in the mountain. Much, much colder for me. Cold weather is like a foreign feeling to my body after living in hot weather for some time. So, this is the view from the lodge we stayed in.
This is the "sheds" where they keep the animals.
The grandson that lives in the house pictured below. Very precious.
Hm...if this buffalo only knew how tasty he would taste in a momo!
We hiked to this family's house. They are believers. Pretty primitive, very fascinating.

A view down into the river valley from where we were walking in the rice fields.
My lovely husband. Joyful as always. I admire him.

We came upon these kids hanging out by the window while walking in the rice fields. If I could have taken him home with me I would have!
Rice field, rice fields, rice fields. So beautiful.
Above: This is the beginning of our journey. We spent time in a village in the valley. This "uncle" as we call him is a believer and has started multiple churches. He is from Nagaland (far east India) and the Lord called him and his wife to come and serve here. He was funny, spoke great english (always a plus). He guided us around the village so that we could get what we needed for media purposes.
Oh friends,

I am happy to be writing to you. We have been traveling the past 11 days or so in the state of Sikkim. It is the state right above us; it is a very interesting state and I loved traveling there. We went with another girl for media purposes. It was mainly focused on Buddhism which is new for me because we have primarily worked with those in the Hindu realm. We learned a lot, met a lot of people, spent a lot of time with the locals, ate really great food, slept in our sleeping bags every night as our bodies were sent into shock from the cold, had a total of 8 cups of tea one day because we visited so many people that day! It goes on and on, many great stories of our lives were lived out on this trip. Enjoy the pictures.