Hotel Delamere Gangtok

... build on! he proceeded to go into the bush to find bamboo branches and started building a ladder. after a few hours of that, the ladder was completed and he climbed it to check out the situation. after a few minutes of looking, he climbed down and announced that he will need tools for this job. so off he went, by foot, to fetch his tools. he came back a few hours later and finished the job. oiy. only in india.

monsoon season has started here ...

... front. Low and behold, we find it immediately and jump in. They thrown our packs on the roof, strap them down as we wait for the jeep to fill. It's an old Range Rover built to only transport 8 adults safely, our driver manages get to 11 people plus a couple a small kids, it's a tight fit. About 45 minutes into the ride and before we hit the real steep climb, we pull over for a pit stop. Everyone on board loads up ...

... spoke excellent English. He's a gorkha living in Tashiding who runs the only shop in town that sells kerosene, sugar, etc. He's also a government contractor - 10-20 lakh INR roads and bridges - which we soon learned everyone in Sikkim can be as well. He uses his store to spread political knowledge to the youth of Tashiding and the surrounding villages. He is the local youth rep for the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), the nonviolent, democratic, ruling, much ...

... so on overload with the filth and noise. Truly, it is like a breath of fresh air even though by most standards it is still polluted and crowded but compared to Calcutta, it is FANTASTIC!! There's even a place we plan to check out called Joe's pub & have a beer or two. Hopefully we'll be able to get up early enough, like by 3a.m. to make the trek to Tiger Hill to see the sunrise. Its supposed to be quite a site. I hope the fog clears enough for us to see better. We ...

... své nádheře se nám na celém horizontu opět ukazovalo pohoří Khangchendzonga s jejím třetím nejvyssím kopečkem světa, coz je taky tou druhou nejvyssí horou Indie - po K2, která má jen o třináct metrů víc a nachází se v kraji Kasmír (v části, která je obsazena Pakistánem). Noc byla jedna z nejjasnějsích a jak to tak chodí, ráno zůstávám v posteli s bolestí hlavy a Massimo vyrází jestě za tmy pozorovat, jak vycházející sluníč ...

... chatek zrovna renovuje (to vysvětluje to harampádí a toaletu bez střechy) a nepřijímá hosty. Inzenýři byli příjemní a kdyz jsme se z místa nehnuli a pověděli jim o hrozných pokojích v Manganu a o tom, ze opravdu nevíme kde slozit hlavu, poslali pro majitelku, která byla náhodou někde za domem. Byla to příjemná paní s dobrou angličtinou. Omluvila jsem se jí, ze ji rusíme a poprosila o ubytování na jednu noc - nevadí nám stavenistě, nevadí nám rachot okolo, ani toaleta bez střechy ...

Well I had a boys own experience in Darjeeling with a run in with terrorists. I arrived in Darjeeling fairly late in the arvo and had to get local cab to guest house. Just another rip off but hey it is India. I booked into Andys guest house. What a god awful place it is. It is clean, but it is freezing, with no heating anywhere. There are no facilities at all, you cant even get coffee and no food so you have to go out for it. I walked about 20 min and ...

This is actually a retrospective entry because I didnt want to put everything into one big long blog cos there was lots to say. top 3 things about sikkim 1. amazing amazing views and scenery 2. the most entertaining airing of R Kelly on the truck so far 3. snow snow and just even more snow! top 3 urgs about sikkim 1. sleeping in a room that was -2 in a lodge with no heating and no electricity 2. getting stuck every step of the way when we're ALMOST ALMOST there 3. the Drive from Hell in ...

... allowed) and living quarters.  They're very colorful, very ornate places, and yet they're paradoxically simple.  Every morning, there are Buddhist processions through the "Chowrasta" or main square of town; colorful lines of monks holding flags and playing various drums and horns and bells.  It's nice to sit and drink some famous Darjeeling tea (which is the best I've ever had), and watch this event on a daily basis.       They have a decent zoo here which is notable for it's efforts ...

... for a couple of minutes. This was the only trace of rain during the entire trek. With the others walking faster, only myself and Sandeep were left behind. Guyz, now please don't think otherwise of Sandeep. Actually, I coaxed Sandeep into giving me company and offered him a treat at Bangalore in-case I got back alive. This was my first trek anywhere apart from the one-day trek I had done with Sandeep again in the Obersdorf region of the german alps last september. All the other ...