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Published: November 2nd 2011
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Day 1 - Still in Cherapunjee we checked out and clambered into a sumo to make our way back to Shillong. Here we flocked to Subway and then headed back to Earle Holiday Home where we spent the night before leaving for Kurseong. Waking the next day we headed to the ticket office to book our train tickets from Guwahati to Siliguri, before taking a 3 hour sumo to Guwahati train station. Arriving at Guwahati we experienced the same reception .... nowhere to leave our bags and general unfriendliness! Feeling hungry we made our way to a bar which was very dark and playing cheesy music, not to mention the staff trying to charge us double for our food. Annoyed we decided to wait out 4 hours at the station platform until it was time to board the sleeper train for the 9 hour journey. Pulling into Siliguri station around 7:30am we headed outside in search of a sumo to take us to Kurseong. Whilst bargaining a price we were swarmed by groups of local children begging for money. The journey to Kurseong was steep and bumpy yet spectacular as we made our way up from the baking hot plains and
into the foothills of the Himalaya with mesmerizing views. When we finally arrived we made our way on foot in search of Delhi Darbar Hotel. After checking in and grabbing a bite to eat, we set out to explore the town, meandering down narrow alley ways and around the local market. Later on we paid a visit to the internet cafe where we befriended the staff, who invited us to join them for dinner and a trek the following day.
Day 2 - Waking around 8:45am we headed downstairs for breakfast before making our way to the internet cafe to meet up with the gang. After purchasing water and snacks, we all took a taxi up the hill to the starting point of the trek. Setting off, we first walked up cloud-covered mountains until we emerged from the blanket of fog. Continuing on the trek, we passed through a small village used by biology students for research of the local plant and tree life. Being such welcomed guests, the guard agreed to open the museum for us for 20 minutes before his boss returned. Taking off our boots before entry, we discovered the leeches were not only wriggling their
way inside our socks and boots, but had feasted on chris's feet and legs causing a loss of blood! Continuing on the trek the views grew in beauty. Passing through a few small villages we stopped in one where Ricky's family provided us with chai and drinking water freshly boiled from the fire. Climbing even higher, Ricky had arranged for us to have dinner in a small village at the top of the mountain ... a delicacy of local chicken and rice wine. The warmth and friendliness of the local people was unpresidented as we ate and drank like kings. Following dinner we trekked on to upper chimney for ever-expanding views over the vast Indian plains. With night closing in we decided to quickly trek back down to the starting point, this time via the road which meandered through forest. With darkness setting in, the group became separated into two parties before eventually bumping back into each other in a taxi which crammed all 10 of us inside. Back at the village hungry and tired, we made a stop-off at the restaurant for chai and biscuits before returning to the hotel for much needed rest.
Day 3 - Waking
in the morning, chris and andy headed to the station to check if the toy train was running following the earthquake. We then headed to the internet cafe given we'd made plans the previous day to visit the tea plantations along with waterfalls and another local village. With the cafe closed and no-one in sight, the four of us headed to the Makaibari tea plantation alone. Upon arrival we were greeted by a guide and were given the appropriate head wear before being shown around the production warehouse. When the tour had finished we were taken to meet the owner and manager (the self-proclaimed tea guru). This man turned out to be a very zaney, cooky, character full of questions about our travels whilst revealing nothing about himself apart from his love for his self-designed safari suit. We then had a wander down the path toward the tea plantation before flagging a taxi to return us to Kurseong town. Back in town we checked out and headed to catch the UNESCO world-heritage steam toy train to Darjeeling via Ghoom (the world's highest train station - 2257m/7407 ft).
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