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We left Kathmandu the day before yesterday, and started our long and arduous journey to Darjeeling.
Our bus left at "4:00" (read: 5:45 Indian time) and stopped at every single little place for the first few hours. Getting out of the Kathmandu Valley alone took two hours (it's really not that big). Once it got dark, we didn't stop at as many places, but then again it's hard to stop when you are winding through the mountains at death defying speeds. Not that we were worried or anything...
Yet again, David didn't fit on the bus (Heidi was even a little squished) so it was an interesting night of banging knees and sleeping half in the aisle. Sleep was a little hard to come by, surprise surprise. We finally arrived in Kakarvitta which is the border town on the Nepali side. We found ourselves a "share jeep," which are amazingly cheap. The only problem is that there is no-one to share them with. After sitting in an empty jeep for 45 minutes, with no sign of us leaving, we decided to get in one of the charter jeeps. After all that, we had only got to Siliguri and had to get in
another share jeep to Darjeeling. Luckily, there were actually people to share it with this time.
The two and a half hour jeep to Darjeeling was very nice. The views are great, and the mountains are lined with tea plantations. Darjeeling is at about 2100m, so we actually drove through the clouds to get here. It's the first place we have been so far where we have needed sweaters.
The town itself has almost 360 degree views over the mountains and valleys, and on a clear day you can see Everest. So far, we have have 360 degree views of mist, but we are hoping the weather will clear up before we head out. Darjeeling was an old colonial hill station and so there are still some really lovely old colonial clubs and hotels and tea rooms around the town...although some of them seem to be mere shadows of their former selves.
We went tea shopping this morning at a tea shop that has been around since the 1930s. This afternoon we are having high tea at the Windamere Hotel - which should be interesting considering we have absolutely no clean clothes.We also plan to visit a tea plantation in the next few days, as well as take a ride on a heritage train, and possibly visit the snow leopard breeding center.
In a few days we are going to head off the Sikkim, which is north of Darjeeling.
As an update on the carpet situation: It's about 5000 rupees (About $130 Canadian) for a 3x6' carpet, although to be honest they are not as nice as some of the others we have seen. The wool is not as soft and there are not very many to choose from. The two big ones they had had a lotus flower pattern - one in beige, yellow, and green and one in dark red and navy. On the plus side, they are all made by a women's cooperative charity which teaches peasant women how to weave and sells their goods so that they can make a living. So, let us know if you are still interested.
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Anthony Ruta
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sounds devine.............
.............tea overlooking the mountains and valleys. I would have no problem "suffering" through the sweater part. Getting there on the buses you describe is another matter. I'm marginally taller than Heidi and way past sleeping on buses that take far too long to get where they're going. What would it be like to cycle? Tea at the Windermere Hotel none-the-less. Clearly not the one at the north end of Lake Rosseau. Have fun. Love, Dad