Day 28

Distance covered: 62 km
Total distance 4461 km

We woke up to a spectacular view of Kanchenjunga on a clear day. Bid goodbye to our French friends and headed out to Dabdi Monastery, the oldest one in Sikkim built in 1701. It is a short but steep climb to the top and the surface is slippery with moss and dew. The thick forest around you and the steadily improving sight of the mountains makes it a very interesting trek. At the top of the hill rests the beautiful and serene monastery and its faded yet splendid wall paintings speak volumes about the years gone by and exude memories of the past. The sculptures inside are old beyond memory and the room upstairs houses an antique statue and writings on wooden scrolls, wrapped in bundles and kept in slots. There is a beautiful painting of the wheel of life and the place exudes age and wisdom. We visited a couple of other monasteries and the coronation throne. After a hearty breakfast of pancakes and Tibetan bread we headed back to Pemayagtse. The ride back was as spectacular and the weather a lot better. We stopped at the Kanchenjunga waterfalls which is exactly on the route but hidden from the road by the hill. It is a small but forceful fall with a tiny, beautiful pool at its bottom.
The water is crystal clear and the place is paradise for a swim except for the fact that you may just freeze to death. The water was cold so we had to take pleasure in her only visually. From there we rode on to lake, 10 km off the main road. The lake is considered holy and has a number of religious structures around including a walkway over the water with a number of prayers wheels. Buddhist flags and banners surround the lake. The lake does not impress in size of appearance but in its tranquility. As we reached Pemayagtse we passed through Pelling and caught sight of Phillpe. After a nice hot bath we met them for dinner. Spent most of the evening with them and swapped travel stories and culture exchange. They are not rich people and when they paid for our dinner saying it was their contribution to our trip I was very touched. It was very timely too since I was down to 100Rs. with no ATM for a long while and the bike low on gas with a long ride ahead of us.