We ended up spending a week in Darjeeling as the weather was so cold and misty that you couldn't see the surrounding mountains. One of the last mornings in town, Alex had an early morning wake up call from Jo who was like a kid at xmas because she had poked her head round the curtains to see a clear view of Khangchendzonga (third largest mountain in the world). Alex was ordered to dress and get on the balcony to appreciate it properly.
There were a few lazy days spent in due to the weather, making the most of the good food around town, especially the freshly baked donuts. There was an amazing little cafe owned by Tibetans that made an English Breakfast that would better most back home! Another Tibetan cafe was frequented which served the best noodle soups and Tibetan bread, we really didn't want to leave. To burn off the calories, we went for walks through some of the local villages which was really peaceful and picturesque.
The zoo proved interesting as they were breeding some himalayan animals that are becoming extinct, we caught sight of a Tiger which is hopefully a pre-cursor to our National Park visit to see them in the wild. It's such an impressive animal. There were all kinds of other animals including a red panda, tibetan wolves, snow leopards and black bears.
Heading North West into Sikkim for better views of Khangchendzonga, it remained elusive but we enjoyed some pretty hardcore trekking. The start point was Pelling where we spent a day visting an impressive monastary and ruins. An early start on day 1 of the trek, we walked for 6 hours up and down valleys, through local villages, across rivers and finally arrived at Khecheopalri Lake for an overnight stop. The next day to Yuksom was an even more challenging one, only 5 hours this time but the last incline up the mountain was a killer. There was a further walk in the morning to Tashiding but similar to others we met doing the same circuit, our thighs and calves had burnt out and were screaming out for a break. The scenery throughout the trek was incredible so we had a day to recover in Pelling before our descent back to Siliguri on the train ready for another adventure in Assam and Meghalaya.
Our train to Guwahati, the capital of Assam was around 4 hours delayed when we arrived at the station. We initially joked that it's likely to turn up at the time of arrival in Guwahati 9 hours later, unfortunately this was true!! Not sure how we survived the boredom but at least we saved money on an hostel from our new overnight train. There was much confusion with our nationality around the town as India were playing New Zealand in a cricket test match and most thought we were the only kiwis that made the journey to the back arse of India. The game meant hotels were booked up and after half an hour of searching we found a room in a pokey little place only to be turfed out after they found out we weren't married!! Tiredness gave in and we settled on a decent hotel in the end 3 times our usual budget but were glad for a bit of luxury. Nothing else to report really as it was a bit of a dump except a quality Assamese restaurant where we tasted some local specialities.
Seeing our initial reaction to Guwahati was far from good, we moved on to Meghalaya with the prospect of exploring Assam more at a later date. Shillong was a good 3 hours jeep ride away but we turned up expecting a small underdeveloped town and we got quite the opposite. The most interesting time in Shillong was wandering the market which seems to be the most animated in Asia. In the North East states, there are still lots of tribes, which was detectable from the locals buying and selling their wares.
Not that much has been written by travellers in the North East so we were exploring territory off the beaten track a little and found an absolute Gem not far from a place called Cherrapungee. The town itself is very small and fairly non-descipt but their is a kind of eco-resort 14km out and this was where we headed. Rooms were expensive so we opted for a tent fitted out with the comfiest double matress and pillows!! Poking our head out the tent at night to watch the glittering starts, we definitely chose the right option. The view from the resort also looked out towards the plains of Bangladesh, seeing we are not going there now, at least we got a glimpse. The lady that owned the place was so hospitable and helped us prepare for a trek to the main attraction which are Living Root Bridges. We also discovered that Cherrapungee is the wettest place on earth, luckily this was their winter and the weather was sunny!!
In Chennai at present, meeting Jo's Dad in the next few days for xmas curry. Hope everyone has a great xmas and a happy new year!!
Alex & Jo xx
No comments:
Post a Comment