Park Lane Hotel Darjeeling

... the streets, aubergines, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, yams, fruits. And through this all, the barely warming winter sun dazzlingly bright above. We walked past some silver working shops, the men blowing fire onto raw silver and laser shot out of their eyes and they chewed the silver to make amazing pieces of jewellery.

We walked past the old cemetery, where Alexander Csoma de Koros (Korosi Csoma Sandor), the great Hungarian Tibetologist and Indialogist was buried, and admired ...

... and the didn't really attempt to understand or take anything in! At one point Pete removed a small boy who was trying to climb between him and the exhibit he was looking at!

Tiger Hill was another interesting early morning trip! We took a packed jeep up for the sunrise on Tiger Hill, it was jam packed with mostly Indian tourists who were hassling and bustling about getting in the way of the convoy of jeeps! The sunrise was pretty spacial with ...

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Today felt a little more like real life and less like outreach, and it was a great opportunity to learn more about how to live our daily lives especially when we return to our own countries. Following God’s leading and making the most of every opportunity is something that we can do no matter where we are or what we are doing.

... and what a place. Darjeeling is by far the best place we have visited in India. Its like being in a different country. High up on a ridge at 2500m, its more like a english climate than India. Its almost like a refuge and I think plenty of other travellers feel the same way when getting to Darjeeling. Our time here was fantastic, from the top end you could catch fews of Kanchenjunga, the worlds 3rd highest mountain. I couldn't stop ...

... we sat and took it all in. Not a bad spot to have breakfast in I reckon. We had time for a leisurely breakfast and then headed out, after a few more running foot repairs on my blisters. Today was a leisurely 16km towards lower ground at Sri Khola. We had expected another day of views similar to yesterday but as happens in the mountains things never happen as planned. We were about 8 km away from lovely Gorkey when we got to ...

Having booked the overnight train to New Jalpaiguri on our way to Darjeeling (saving ourselves 400 rupees by going directly to the train office) we had the entire day to get to know Kolkata a little better and venture off the beaten track. This is where Kolkata and the culture of India really comes alive and very quickly gets under your skin. Squeezing through the crowded stretch of makeshift foodstalls that runs from the Metro railway Bhavan to the Park Street/Nehru ...

... something 'bland'. Everything contains the same (or hardly different) mix of spices: masala in curry, masala in omelettes, masala in tea, masala in every food imaginable, until eventually masala clogs your pores, you have masala sweat and masala breath. I have visited McDonald's 3 times now; I needed the respite from masala. I ordered a McChicken Sandwich...I couldn't wait to rip the wrapper off, I was salivating like a hungry hyena. I took a bite. MASALA. ****ing masala ...

Darjeeling - Home of Tea, friendly faces and breathtaking scenery. One of India`s many hidden gems, we fell in love with the place almost instantly. Again we found a nice guesthouse although a little cold. On the first day we visited the zoo and chilled out in a nice cafe that over looked the valley. The second day we took a hired taxi and drove to some amazing monasteries then on to Tiger Hill where we were hoping to get a glimpse of India`s largest and the 3rd ...

Our plan while in Darjeeling was to go trekking as it's the perfect jumping off point for experiencing the views of the world's third highest mountain 'Kanchenjunga' and the rhododendrons are in bloom this time of year. The book describes this trek as easy but it seemed to be steep uphills most of the way up to Sandakphu which is 3600 metres altitude. Trekking is a great way of meeting people and on our first day we hooked up with an American lad who was a ...

... an amazing place, and the people watching made us speechless at times. The city sits on the river Ganges, and this is its focal pont. The water is considered very holy and people travel from afar to bathe at the Ghats. Also many Hindus choose to be cremated in Varanassi. There are several cremations each day (approx 150) with crowds of Indians and foreigners watching; there is even a cafe serving chai for the onlookers! Ashes are then released into the river. An evening ...