Darjeeling

ICE, man

Darjeeling was everything I could hope for in a week-long vacation. The temperatures ranged from cold to really cold – we found ice at least 3 inches thick. The first night I slept in sleeper class, the cheapest way to travel on an overnight train. The bunks were triple tiered, with the back cushion on the bench seat swinging up to make the middle bunk. I slept right next to the train door and with no blanket, the wind kept my feet cold enough that I couldn’t sleep even with a shirt, turtleneck, wool sweater, rain jacket, shorts, fleece pants, hiking pants, gloves, hat, scarf, 2 pairs of socks and my shoes on. (I bought a fleece in Darjeeling.) I happily left the train in New Jalpaiguri (NJP) and waited two hours for our Tata Sumo share taxi (Sumo) to fill up with passengers. There were supposed to be six of us but two dropped out so it was me, Henry Teron (our guide and a friend of the family), Barun (19) and Atul (23), both part-time guides-in-training for Henry’s small adventure sports company. They were great guys to joke around with and we were pretty close by the end. The Himalayan foothills rise right out of the plains and the small houses and shops perched on the hillsides were all brightly painted with million dollar views. We drove through several picturesque villages before getting to Darjeeling proper where we walked around and shopped and ate at a little Nepali restaurant and actually saw foreigners - it was my turn to stare. We bought snacks, ate dinner, and went to bed. I was eager to get going.

Atul and Barun out on the town with
my camera

First good photo opp

Day 2 we caught a Sumo out to Dhotrey to start our trek. There were big traffic jams from all the people who were coming back from watching the sun rise from Tiger Hill but Henry said our views would be better. In Dhotrey, they wanted to send a guide with us but Henry told them off because he knew the way and he was better trained anyway, so he saved me about Rs. 3000. We had momo and noodles for breakfast and I practiced my juggling with the locals. The first day was relatively uneventful, though the pictures were good and I got to know the boys a lot better. We stopped for tea at the top of the hill and crossed the India/Nepal border, then walked a short distance to Tumling where spent our first night. To better acclimatize at 9000 feet, we walked back up the hill and spent a half an hour huddled together against the wind waiting for the sun to set over Kanchenjunga. That night Henry and I sat in front of the fire and talked about women and how to pick ‘em. It’s nice to know that different cultures still have similar ideas about finding a mate. Barun got some altitude sickness which badly weakened him the next day and my feet froze under three blankets so for the rest of the trip we had to rent hot water bottles for me at night.

Waiting for sunset

Calling home from Jowbari

Kalpokhari

Day 3 I got up to watch the sun rise because my feet were too cold. We ate Nepali roti for breakfast (sorta like fat elephant ears) and started off. Around 10 we stopped at a village for tea and I called home and talked to my family! My mom almost didn’t answer the phone because she didn’t recognize the 75 digit number but I’m think she’s glad she did. The five minute conversation cost about 40 cents. We hiked way down and then way back up, a total of 12 km to the lake Kalpokhari and then the village of the same name. The wind howled all night but the views were beautiful, the food was good, my feet stayed warm and I saw yaks. Next day we gained 600 meters in 6 km and made it to Sandakfu, the highest point in West Bengal at 3636 meters. From there we could see Everest, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, and Makalu – the 1^st, 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th tallest mountains in the world. It was not as spectacular as perhaps it sounds – the other three mountains were a long way away, but it’s cool to say I saw them. We drank a little rum and the three guys talked Assamese at me, though most sentences contained no words I knew. My feet were warm but the air was so cold and dry that it hurt my lungs so I used my turtleneck as a facemask to warm and humidify the air…I thought this was decent ingenuity for being mostly asleep. We watched an outstanding sunrise with all the fat Bengali people who brought their SLRs up with them in jeeps, then started our 22 km trek down the hill (12,000 feet is a hill with Kanchenjunga looking down from over 3 miles above) and descended 1400 meters.

RIGHT THERE, that's the tallest point in WB

India/Nepal border stone

Our trek looked across a narrow valley into Sikkim and it was a sight to fill the imagination with lives lived knowing only the steep face of a hill. I thought it must be 2000 feet tall, though Henry thought less. Either way it would be a substantial walk from the houses near the river to the top where business is conducted and back. I was really looking forward to a hot shower after three nights of freezing weather, but it only worked for 30 seconds so I had to take the usual lukewarm bucket shower. I was clean and my hair stopped hurting from wearing the same hat though, so I was happy once I got into my five layers. It was New Years Eve and we celebrated in style – eating seasoned, fire-roasted pork and chicken with our fingers while sipping rum and hot water and singing Assamese and English songs, watching the all the village lights in Sikkim shine like stars. I was too full from meat to eat much dinner and was grumpy and tired so they finally let me go to bed early. I slept like a rock.

In a sea of American
arrogance epitomized by the
Yankees hat in Darjeeling,
I found a ray of hope 

We all got hats together!

 At noon the next day we got in a Sumo and went up and down and up and down and up to Darjeeling, where we did more shopping and watched several movies before we fell asleep to the sounds of rats scurrying under the floors. Our last day was spent at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute where Henry had done his basic and advanced mountaineering courses. The first field director was Tenzing Norgay and his memorial is just outside the museum and I met the man who holds the record for climbing Everest from 4 different routes! At 2:30 we started our journey back to Guwahati by Sumo then train and I arrived back at Parijat the next morning. You all should go to Darjeeling!