Blogs from Darjeeling, West Bengal, India, Asia - page 15

First of all we were freezing the first night. Darjeeling is on 2200 metres above sea level and really cold during the night. Anyway the next morning we had to look out for a place to eat. All Darjeeling was closed - and I mean closed. No restaurant was open, no cyber cafe was open, they were on strike. The strike had been going on for 20 days already and it was not sure how long it would go on. We only got some transport the day before because the strike was 'open' for half a day. Some fellow travellers gave us a hint about a small restaurant where we could get some breakfast. It was even the best breakfast since we are on the road and they even had Italian Coffee. Heaven :-) So we ... read more

Whoops! I'll just begin by clarifying that last blog, whilst sent from Darjeeling, featured photos from Ranthambhore National Park in Rajasthan... So yes now we are in the hills of West Bengal. We're living it up with chocolate donuts, bacon burgers, real brewed coffee and all kinds of western stuff in the lovely hill station of Darjeeling. A quick recap of the past week or so first: Spent a couple of days in Agra visiting the Taj and viewing it from numerous character-filled (read grotty) rooftop restaurants around. We stayed in budget accomodation at Hotel Sheela but enjoyed the hotel's little garden and the cute and clean house doggies, Tiger and Fifi. Agra is certainly tout infested although we were surprised to find that it was not as oppressive as we had expected, perhaps we have ... read more

School Trip to India (Kolkata and Darjeeling) The main purpose of the trip was to study Buddhist philosophy and art in the foothills of the Hymalayan Mtn range. Over the course of the trip, we encountered a wide variety of people, cultures, foods, and excitement. Each place we visited was unique in some fashion, I recommend everyone to consider visiting India, Buddhism is a positive way of life more than anything, and is reflected in the people who follow. Places visited: Kokata Darjeeling Peling Gangotk Kalimpong... read more

Inmiddels heb ik Nepal verlaten en verruild voor India. Nu ben ik in Darjeeling en blijf nog even genieten van het uitzicht van de himalaya. Het is hier wel erg koud. Darjeeling ligt op grote hoogte. Het heeft veel invloeden van Buthan, Nepal en Tibet. Vanaf Kathmandu heb ik een binnenlandse vlucht genomen naar Bahdrapur in het zuiden van Nepal. Vanaf daar ben ik de grens overgegaan met India en een nacht in Silliguri en Kurseong verbleven. Het traject van Kurseong naar Darjeeling heb ik met een oude stoomtrein afgelegd uit 1880 die nog steeds in gebruik is en rijd op kolen. Hij reed ongeveer 15 km per uur, maar een erg leuke ervaring. Het was nog een hele toer om een visa te regelen voor India in Kathmandu. De eerste dag stond ik om 5 ... read more

Hello everyone. As most of you know, we are now home in sunny California. However, I would like to have you complete the journey with us so you will continue to get blog updates until you are home too!! Thanks for reading! We left a very cold Leh early in the morning. The procedures for leaving that area were very similar to arriving. We had to check our bags and then identify them again on the other side. Just as with the flight here, we were not allowed to have a carry-on but we were allowed to carry a book on! Therefore, I figured that it would also be OK to carry my cross-stitch on. Yes, I cross-stitch. It is not just a hobby for old ladies! Anyhow, Molly and Yuri both told me that there ... read more