Volunteering in Sikkim

Mount Kachendzonga,  8598m - 3rd highest in the world!

Mount Kanchendzonga - guardian of the city of Gangtok, Sikkim

The kids at the Humanitarian Children's Foundation of Sikkim

Here we are in the state of Sikkim - right up in the Himalayas - on the West border of Nepal, and surrounded by Tibet and Bhutan. Sikkim is also home to the third highest mountain in the world - the great 'Mount Kanchendzonga' 8598 metres - only 300 metres less than Everest.

They speak Nepali here though the indigenous people are the Lepcha and Bhutia. It's one of the richest states in India and littering, spitting and smoking are banned here, so it's alot cleaner than most other places.

We came here because the NGO that Angel is involved with - Vets Beyond Borders- has a programme here at the State Animal Hospital and Angel is doing some voluntary work with them. He's quite happy because some of the ops he's getting to do, he's never had the chance to before. I've gone in every now and again to see him and felt a bit sick when I see him chucking bloody bits of uterus into a bucket or sawing things.

We went out with the vets yesterday for the Hindu day of the dog. It involved walking around the city putting garlands on dogs and tikka (red dye) on their heads - or trying to without being bitten!

I spent a while in a government girls' school and did some observations and teacher-training etc. That was good but then I went to visit an NGO - Humanitarian Childrens Foundation of Sikkim. The children are all from very poor rural families - needy and destitute- and most of them are orphans. The organization is Swiss-based and it helps find sponsors for the kids. Initially the kids live in Lepcha Cottage run by a sweet little old Lepcha lady who looks like the grandmother from a fairystory. About 100 kids - no actually one little girl told me 111 kids live there. If/when they get sponsors they start school and live in either the boys' or the girls' hostel nearby. The little kids are so funny- really cute little characters.

Angel and I are staying in an apartment provided by the animal hospital in the capital Gangtok. There are two other Aussie vets staying there. Last night we went to the cinema with one of them, Dr Alan- who's about 60. We watched Piranha. Ohh my God! It was quite embarrassing that the Indian audience must think that the 'West' is like that - Spring Break in the US... more like soft porn!

We finally managed to see Kanchendzonga yesterday morning. Got up at 5 and rode up to a view point near Gangtok. The sky was clear for the first time in ages - so we got a great view. Sooo impressive! We'd travelled 70km there and back to Mangan to see the view but when we woke up at 4.30, it was cloudy so this was our last chance.

We want to go to Darjeeling next to see Everest as well - more mountain-spotters than mountain-climbers!

Diwalli today so fire-crackers keep going off all the time. We've been invited to Dr Tinlay and his wife Dr Dikki's for dinner tonight so it will be nice to see how the Sikkimize do things.