Christmas greetings
Their Royal Highnesses The Crown Prince and Crown Princess and their children have been travelling since the end of November. In the state of Sikkim in northeastern India they were joined by a crew from the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) and sent a Christmas greeting of video and photographs back home to Norway.
Their travels began in Istanbul where they visited Hagia Sophia – once the world’s largest cathedral before being converted to a mosque following the Turkish takeover of Constantinople. Today Hagia Sophia is a museum.
The Crown Prince and his family also made a stop in Amman, Jordan, before continuing eastward to India where they have visited locations such as the city of Jodhpur in the state of Rajasthan and the region of Dzongu in the state of Sikkim.
The region of Dzongu
The region of Dzongu is a long valley at the foot of the Himalayas which borders on Tibet in the north, Nepal in the west and Bhutan in the east. Dzongu is an official reserve for the region’s indigenous population known as the Lepcha. Only the Lepcha people are permitted to own land here.
The population of Dzongu is approximately 7,000. The region has a non-monetary economy and the people live mostly from subsistence agriculture. In recent years, however, electricity and telephones have been introduced to the region.
Special permission is required to visit to Dzongu, which was opened up to tourists only a few years ago. The region has no hotels, but some families offer “homestays” in which travellers may live together with them in their homes.
At the homestay
The Crown Prince and his family were hosted by Gyatso Tongden Lepcha and his family at the Mayal Lyang Homestay in the village of Passingdang where they ate traditional food and lived in the same manner as the Lepcha people.
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Reisen: Familien
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess with their family outside Passingdang Monastery i Dzongu (Photo: Kristi Marie Skrede, NRK)Photo 1 of 8 -
At Passingdang Monastery
At Passingdang Monastery with the monks and Gyatso Tongden Lepcha, the host of Mayal Lyang homestay (Photo: the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation)Photo 2 of 8 -
Reisen: Lys
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Reisen: Grassankere
Speaking with local children who are on their way to fetch grass for their families' cows (Photo: The Royal Court)Photo 4 of 8 -
Reisen: Grassankere
Speaking with local children who are on their way to fetch grass for their families' cows (Photo: The Royal Court)Photo 5 of 8 -
Reisen: Grassankere
Speaking with local children who are on their way to fetch grass for their families' cows (Photo: The Royal Court)Photo 6 of 8 -
Reisen: Hagia Sofia
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess with their family in front of the Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul. (Photo: The Royal Court)Photo 7 of 8 -
Reisen: Prinsessen
Princess Ingrid Alexandra bakes Indian bread with a woman in Rajasthan, India. (Photo: The Royal Court)Photo 8 of 8
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