Blogs from Darjeeling, West Bengal, India, Asia

Chattakpur is one of India’s secrets, a remote unexplored hill rich in biodiversity and indigenous cultures. It is a small village located in the eastern part of the Himalayan Range, in the north of West Bengal. It is a 180 years old ethnic village with 18 houses and a population of about 90, and is at an altitude of 7888 ft. It is about 20 kms from Darjeeling and 72 kms from Siliguri. Normal 0 false false false... read more

Chattakpur is one of India’s secrets, a remote unexplored hill rich in biodiversity and indigenous cultures. It is a small village located in the eastern part of the Himalayan Range, in the north of West Bengal. It is a 180 years old ethnic village with 18 houses and a population of about 90, and is at an altitude of 7888 ft. It is about 20 kms from Darjeeling and 72 kms from Siliguri. Globalization and change in the outside world does not seem to have affected this small pristine village much, as the Locals chose to maintain their ethnicity with their original Nepalese culture, food and hospitality. Chattakpur has been gifted with rich Flora and fauna. One can go for Bird Watching, Butterfly viewing. Chattakpur hill is a part of the Sinchal Wild Life sanctuary so ... read more

It was too cold,and still dark.We had to get up at 3.00 am and leave our hotel for the Tiger Hill (Darjeeling) by 3.30 am.When our jeep started for the Tiger Hill,I saw many other cars are also heading towards for the Tiger Hill.When we reached the Tiger hill it was flooded with tourists.We were waiting and looking at the direction to which other tourists are looking.Finally the moment started,it was like a movie,as the first ray of Sunlight came out,it fall on the peak of the ice clad Kanchanjungha,like a father,greeting his child with warmth.It was like a painting that god paints every morning,but,we miss on the other days.As the Sun started to rise,the silver coloured Kanchanjungha started to get transformed to golden,starting from its peak.Those who has observed sunrise at the Tiger hill,has to ... read more

Well it's been a whirlwind since my last post. I think when I wrote I had just left the Ashram and was headed back to Delhi to meet up with Dad. So i'll start there, met dad after many hours of being delayed by various modes of transportation in the backpackers area of Delhi, much like Koh San road in Thailand. Lots of action going on, lots of hassling and bartering as well. We were able to pack a lot in in our two day stay, doing a tour of the spice markets, old delhi and the red fort as well as parliament and various tombs. On our third day we took a flight to Leh dad's dream destination which was we landed at an elevation of 11,000 ft. We had 6 days to explore this ... read more

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. ... read more

First, apologies for some of the attrocious spelling in the last post. Its hard to write when you're exhausted, theres no lights in the internet cafe and most of the letters have been worn off the key board. Funnily enough, the 'D' oesn't work so good on this keyboard either so watch out for typos :) Kolkata has been brilliant. So much of what I remember. Visiting the fruit markets by accident while trying to find the Howrah Bridge, the smell of ripe fresh fruit in the sun was fantastic. "Wilson! Hello Wilson!" My shirts and Tshits leave a part of my family tattoo visible and I've frequently been called out to in the crowds. "Hello Wilson, howare you friend?" I've resisted some of the temptation to dress in more local garb and stuck to my ... read more

And then I met Edwin A man who, although he had so little, blessed my heart with much. I bumped into him near the BMS after a fruitless search for an internet cafe I thought I remembered seeing around the corner. It started in the usual way: "Excuse me, where are you from Wilson, you are Australian?" I politely corrected him and informed him that New Zealand was a far more beautiful country; Australia was just a desert full of criminals. We spoke for a while, him about many of the other travellers he had me, one who had helped him by giving him a tent they no longer needed (a desert criminal of all people!). He had been unemployed for sometime. It turned out that his employer was involved in a scam and when audited ... read more

I went for an early morning walk in cloudy overcast weather conditions. It was a shame it was overcast as we were amongst magnificent views. The walk was intriguing . Diary entry ; "There are lots of open displays of religion here. People chanting, carrying beads, kissing markings and crossing themselves, a very spiritual vibe." Plenty of dogs and monkeys everywhere! After a traditional breakfast, including Darjeeliong Tea ( of course) the family went for a walk to "The Tibetan Refugee" museum. The museum displayed information Re the Refugees and their plight and what has forced them to leave their homes in Tibet. There are refugees who still work and live at this centre and we saw them working on craft such as weaving and woodwork. We caught a jeep back into Darj as it was ... read more