darjeeling and singalila trek.
transfer day from agra to delhi to siliguri to darjeeling.
getting up at 3.30am. taxi ride to delhi. delhi in the morning: grey, grey, grey. the driver drops my off at the airport. 2 minutes later i find out it's the wrong airport, although i pointed out that i need to go to the international terminal. it's clear why: getting to the other terminal means being stuck 40 minutes in a traffic jam. sometimes a tip is a waste.
short flight with some views of the himalayas. with the taxi to siliguri. another world-class traffic jam.
which is ok if you don't have to catch a flight. changing into a shuttle taxi to darjeeling. my inflatable cussion pays off again. after a while i get sick, the pills don't help. my legs and hands start to prickle, later my legs are shaking. the higher we get the worse it gets. i'm close to a circulatory collapse, which worries me. i haven't experienced something like that before. not enough food? altitude? exhuastion? i start to count the minutes and try to concentrate not too pass out. finally we arrive. i must look really bad. somebody organizes a porter to take my backpack to the hostel. with shaking legs i drag myself up the steep hills. wangchuk, the owner of the hostel, waits already in front of the door. thank god the hostel deserves it's name: cozy nest. after a filling tripple meal i regain my energy: quick organization of the trek.
i sleep like a log until 11am the next day. obviously i needed that. strolling up and down through the busy town. cappuccino. i'm recovered.
singalila trek
day 1: after a morning coffee in manaybhanjang (2134m) steep ascend to the chitrey monastery with a huge prayer mill and old prayer boooks. have a short badminton-match with improvised wooden rackets with the local youth champion. well, i'm nice but a match is a match. we continue through the fog up the hill. i'm reminded of the ascend to the everest base camp: not much to see. simple but great lunch in the middle of nowhere. arrival in gairibas (2621m). it's cold but the views are great.
day 2: getting up for the 6am sunrise. a long hike up and down the hills until we reach kaliphokari (3108). the last part is the tough one, but compared to the ordeal of the everest hike it's just a easy walk. i'm utterly lucky. just in time for the sunset the clouds disappear and offer a perfect view of the complete range with
the world's 3rd highest peak khangchendzonga (8586m). so i stay in the cold wind until it gets dark, i guess i can warm up in few days.
day 3: again an early morning for the sunrise. it's so cold the the batteries lose their power after a few shots. the views are incredible: the complete himalayans from western nepal to buthan. 4 of the highest 5 mountains: mt everest (8848m), lhotse (8516m), makalu (8485m) to the west and khangchendzonga (8586m) in front. just k2 is missing. relaxing hike along the ridge in the sun to phalut (3600m). no people, except my guide and myself, just views and the sound of the wind. can't get better. so i thought.
day 4: 3rd morning, 3rd perfect sunrise. again the complete himalayas. no clouds. wangchuk warned me that i might not see mountains. i guess the saying of the travelling angels is true. and if not i don't care...the weather is good and i just watch and absorb the impressions to keep them for good...
descend to raman (2560) through the woods. daily life in the various villages: kids playing in the streets, farmers in the fields, shop keepers.
day 5: walking down to rimbik (2286) and taking a jeep back to darjeeling.
organisation day. booking of flights, trains and accomodation. changing them again...
coffee break. i have a serious 10 seconds attack of the worst frustration because travelling time is so limited. seems i have enteres the stage of 'travel flow'. a strange thing to have a moment of complete relaxation and anger at the same time. maybe the altitude.
dinner with some other travellers at a tibetian restaurant. the germans have to explain history to some english guys. how boring is that? haven't they seen 'fawlty towers'? don't mention the war??? so i move the discussion to a more interesting topic: football. and penalties. uppps. again a power failure.
- 'hey guys, no panic. we have our food on the table already. lack of electricity is only bad if you're sitting at the neighbour table and the food ist still in the kitchen'
- 'you're german, but you are different!' as i always say: food fraternises. so i have my noodle soup, some momos and fried veggies. and make friends with the guys from the country that has room for improvement regarding the acceleration of a ball into the direction of a square construction of posts and a net.
darjeeling to new jalpaiguri to varanasi
visit of the himalayan mountaineering institute: the exhibition of the historic equipment is impressive. these guys were really tough. with the jeep on a maximum pothole road to siliguri. it's a miserable road but the views of the woods, canyons and tee plantations are great. thanks to the i-like-to-hunk-loud-and-a-lot-driver, we finally arrive at new jalpaiguri train station. spend my time to observe the hustle and bustle of passengers, porters and merchants.
train ride to varansi with the obligatory food sellers. my favourite is the guy who sells food from a bucket on newspaper plates. it's india, they have to defend their reputation. hilarious.
getting up at 3.30am. taxi ride to delhi. delhi in the morning: grey, grey, grey. the driver drops my off at the airport. 2 minutes later i find out it's the wrong airport, although i pointed out that i need to go to the international terminal. it's clear why: getting to the other terminal means being stuck 40 minutes in a traffic jam. sometimes a tip is a waste.
short flight with some views of the himalayas. with the taxi to siliguri. another world-class traffic jam.
which is ok if you don't have to catch a flight. changing into a shuttle taxi to darjeeling. my inflatable cussion pays off again. after a while i get sick, the pills don't help. my legs and hands start to prickle, later my legs are shaking. the higher we get the worse it gets. i'm close to a circulatory collapse, which worries me. i haven't experienced something like that before. not enough food? altitude? exhuastion? i start to count the minutes and try to concentrate not too pass out. finally we arrive. i must look really bad. somebody organizes a porter to take my backpack to the hostel. with shaking legs i drag myself up the steep hills. wangchuk, the owner of the hostel, waits already in front of the door. thank god the hostel deserves it's name: cozy nest. after a filling tripple meal i regain my energy: quick organization of the trek.
i sleep like a log until 11am the next day. obviously i needed that. strolling up and down through the busy town. cappuccino. i'm recovered.
singalila trek
day 1: after a morning coffee in manaybhanjang (2134m) steep ascend to the chitrey monastery with a huge prayer mill and old prayer boooks. have a short badminton-match with improvised wooden rackets with the local youth champion. well, i'm nice but a match is a match. we continue through the fog up the hill. i'm reminded of the ascend to the everest base camp: not much to see. simple but great lunch in the middle of nowhere. arrival in gairibas (2621m). it's cold but the views are great.
day 2: getting up for the 6am sunrise. a long hike up and down the hills until we reach kaliphokari (3108). the last part is the tough one, but compared to the ordeal of the everest hike it's just a easy walk. i'm utterly lucky. just in time for the sunset the clouds disappear and offer a perfect view of the complete range with
the world's 3rd highest peak khangchendzonga (8586m). so i stay in the cold wind until it gets dark, i guess i can warm up in few days.
day 3: again an early morning for the sunrise. it's so cold the the batteries lose their power after a few shots. the views are incredible: the complete himalayans from western nepal to buthan. 4 of the highest 5 mountains: mt everest (8848m), lhotse (8516m), makalu (8485m) to the west and khangchendzonga (8586m) in front. just k2 is missing. relaxing hike along the ridge in the sun to phalut (3600m). no people, except my guide and myself, just views and the sound of the wind. can't get better. so i thought.
day 4: 3rd morning, 3rd perfect sunrise. again the complete himalayas. no clouds. wangchuk warned me that i might not see mountains. i guess the saying of the travelling angels is true. and if not i don't care...the weather is good and i just watch and absorb the impressions to keep them for good...
descend to raman (2560) through the woods. daily life in the various villages: kids playing in the streets, farmers in the fields, shop keepers.
day 5: walking down to rimbik (2286) and taking a jeep back to darjeeling.
organisation day. booking of flights, trains and accomodation. changing them again...
coffee break. i have a serious 10 seconds attack of the worst frustration because travelling time is so limited. seems i have enteres the stage of 'travel flow'. a strange thing to have a moment of complete relaxation and anger at the same time. maybe the altitude.
dinner with some other travellers at a tibetian restaurant. the germans have to explain history to some english guys. how boring is that? haven't they seen 'fawlty towers'? don't mention the war??? so i move the discussion to a more interesting topic: football. and penalties. uppps. again a power failure.
- 'hey guys, no panic. we have our food on the table already. lack of electricity is only bad if you're sitting at the neighbour table and the food ist still in the kitchen'
- 'you're german, but you are different!' as i always say: food fraternises. so i have my noodle soup, some momos and fried veggies. and make friends with the guys from the country that has room for improvement regarding the acceleration of a ball into the direction of a square construction of posts and a net.
darjeeling to new jalpaiguri to varanasi
visit of the himalayan mountaineering institute: the exhibition of the historic equipment is impressive. these guys were really tough. with the jeep on a maximum pothole road to siliguri. it's a miserable road but the views of the woods, canyons and tee plantations are great. thanks to the i-like-to-hunk-loud-and-a-lot-driver, we finally arrive at new jalpaiguri train station. spend my time to observe the hustle and bustle of passengers, porters and merchants.
train ride to varansi with the obligatory food sellers. my favourite is the guy who sells food from a bucket on newspaper plates. it's india, they have to defend their reputation. hilarious.