Day 124, Shillong [Friday 4th April 2008]
on Apr 12, 2009 in meghalaya northeastern states hill station shillong After yet more refreshing cuppas of rich, strong Assam tea we get a bus towards Shillong, a 4 hour journey out of Assam and into Meghalaya. Then we swap buses and spend another 4 hours climbing slowly up to Shillong, watching people through the wind...

Day 122, Guwahati [Wednesday 2nd April 2008]
on Apr 12, 2009 in terrorism northeastern states rhinocerous guwahati assam kaziranga We arrive 5 hours late into Guwahati, in Assam, at 11.30am. We pass the smouldering remains of a slum beside the railway tracks, a disturbing site. We later find out that the fire in the slum was started by a mosquito coil, and went on to cause som...

Day 123, Kaziranga [Thursday 3rd April 2008]
on Apr 12, 2009 in kaziranga national park rhinocerous safari assam elephants Our alarm goes off at 4.45am, waking us up for 'bed tea' delivered by one of the lodge staff. At 5.10am we get a jeep into Kaziranga National Park, where we then transfer onto the back of an elephant to go on safari! The elephant lumbers through th...

Day 121, Darjeeling [Tuesday 1st April 2008]
on Apr 12, 2009 in tea darjeeling nathmulls We taste a few different varieties of Darjeeling tea at the Nathmulls tea shop. Apparently the tea up here is very light, almost delicate. The man behind the counter says rather sneeringly that the kind of tea we usually drink in England is synonym...

Day 119, Tashiding [Sunday 30th March 2008]
on Apr 11, 2009 in pelling tashiding sikkim We get a shared jeep from Tashiding back to Pelling via Legship and Geyzing, where I eat a deepp fried potato sandwich for breakfast. At Pelling it's a grey, rainy day so we hang out at our hotel eating snacks and watching some TV.We do manage to hi...

Day 120, Jorethang, Sikkim [Monday 31st March 2008]
on Apr 11, 2009 in darjeeling sikkim jorethang A clear day! We finally get a great view of the entire Kanchenjunga range!We get a shared jeep down to Darjeeling via Jorethang, a few hours ride through beautiful, tidy tea estates. The staff at the Bellevue remember us and excitedly tell us they...

Day 118, Tashiding [Saturday 29th March 2008]
on Apr 11, 2009 in trek monastery chorten tashiding hit beer stupa sikkim Over breakfast of aloo paratha (potato filled breads, the best trekking breakfast you'll get in India. You can even wrap them up and take them with you for lunch) and masala tea the Indian owner of the restaurant advises us to trek to Tashiding via...

Day 111, Chopta Valley, Sikkim [Saturday 22nd March 2008]
on Apr 11, 2009 in sikkim lachung chopta valley After a freezing cold night in Lachen we go on a spectacular drive up to Chopta Valley — the stark, snow-capped mountains rising on either side of the valley, rhododendrons and yaks dotting the misty hills. It's cold and crisp. We pass through nu...

Day 116, [Thursday 27th March 2008]
on Apr 11, 2009 in trek pelling Khecheopalri Lake monastery buddhism sikkim First we go to the SP to extend our Sikkim permits. As we arrived here late we need an extension to allow us to remain in the state legally. We hitch a lift in the back of a jeep, then work our way through labyrinthine corridors of the police offic...

Day 115, Pelling, Sikkim [Wednesday 26th March 2008]
on Apr 11, 2009We get a shared jeep to Pelling, in west Sikkim, a five hour drive. We get talking to an amiable Mumbaiker, Ronnie, and his wife. She's a travel agent, up here checking out hotels and tours to sell on in Mumbai. He offers to share a bottle of beer...