This place has taken my breath away. Literally...

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My feet are starting to feel itchy again. We've only been a few days in Darjeeling but from motorbike trips I'm so used to not staying in one place for more than a couple of nights at a time before getting back on the road. Its beautiful here, but knowing we only have five days, I'm feeling ready to move coming towards the fifth day.

Our time at the BMS was happily spent. It was a nice little refuge, an oasis in the city, slightly removed from the crowds and the noise. I will always appreciate that they went out of their way to let us use a room they were wanting to start converting into an office.



I think I've got malaria...

The road to Siliguri was incredible. I've never experienced anything quite like it. It reminded me of pottering around the south coast in Wellington with my dad in his old 4WD. However, we never spent thirteen and a half hours going almost non stop and I wasn't trying to sleep in the back. We managed to laugh off most of the constant barrage of pot holes and speed bumps, but by the end I could feel I was on the verge of going insane.

This was made up for slightly by the jeep ride up into the beautiful hills and finally the toy train. The views were spectacular and well worth the three hour crawl. I must admit I was totally blown away and even a small man-tear came to my eye when we came round a corner and saw magnificent Everest in the distance (these feelings were not diminished in the slightest when we later realised it was infact Kanchenjunga, it is still quite something to behold).

We have spent our time lazily wandering here, visiting the zoo which was quite uplifting after the dismay of the Kolkata zoo. I'd never seen such a collection of bored, miserable looking animals. It is a great relief to be out of the dust and smog of the plains for a few days and it reminds me a lot of home. old Wellington and Karori, if on a gigantic scale. The forested hills and valleys, the houses all clinging to the slopes.

Isaac woke with a mild dose of malaria yesterday morning, although we reakon it could have something to do with the beers the night before and the high alttitude. I still suspect the worst though, it could be the end of the trip for him...

This morning we got up early and took a jeep up to Tiger Hill, elevation 2555m, and finally in the far distance, I beheld the majesty of Everest. Something I have known of and grown up with my whole life, but to actually see it with my own eyes was something else entirely. Without the dust and the cloud that seems to come up later in the day Kanchenjunga was also magnificent. The 10km walk back to Darjeeling was an absolute pleasure, if still tiring in the slighlty rarified air that we are not quite aclimatised to yet. I think I would like to return here, camp on Tiger Hill to awake to the sun rising on two of the worlds mightiest peaks, maybe later in the trip but we shall see. Theres a long way to go yet.



Free bird, eyes wide open.

I'm gunna change the world

And the world can change me, change me.

And I don't belong, I don't belong to anyone...

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Comments

[Aunty Robyn]

Hi Ben, I have just started reading your blog and had to go back and read them all, they are so interesting. I'm also finding them challenging for myself and look forward to future entries. Love, Aunty Robyn

[Sarah]

Chomolungma
Hi there Ben, great to read your blog and hear that you have seen Chomolungma - Everest. Awesome. Sounds like you are having a grand adventure. Keep enjoying the differences! I'm just back from a successful jaunt to Aspiring. Lots of love from the Aunties :)