We are back in Sikkim! Our many adventures in 2019 had struck such a chord in all of us that we decided we would come back for a longer stay and celebrate my 40th birthday. Unlike last time, we planned well in advance and hence were able to get tickets directly (or at least, as close to) to Sikkim: we flew to Bagdogra and undertook a 4-5h cab journey from there.
In my quest to keep the house clean before we left (RK's uncle's family would be staying in our place during the 2 weeks we weren't around), I forgot to pack the two most important things: binoculars and bird book 😱ðŸ˜
As I type this, a spiteful voice inside me questions, but if they were that important, why did you leave them till the last minute? Why were they not the first things you packed? Yes, all true... I don't really have an answer other than to say, we are creatures of habit, and usually, I pick up the binos and book as I leave the house. This time, I picked up a couple of extra pants and sweaters 😖 because my greatest fear is death by freezing.
Binos make me feel like I can keep up: my eyes are quite severely myopic and I miss most things that the rest of the family picks up easily among the foliage. Binos give me a feeling of independence: I can pick out birds, make notes on the exact colors and patterns and look up their identity myself. Binos make me feel like I belong: I am able to partake of nature's incredible beauty because of them. Last time in Yuksom, binos helped me lose myself in nature, the most meditative experience I have ever had. I want to be able to immerse myself in that kind of experience again.
No bino shops in Gangtok. No Amazon Prime delivery bringing a bino to my doorstep the very next day.
I am going to have to do my "immersion in nature" the hard way: by depending on myself.
