Nepal Tibet Bhutan India 2019

Mount Everest here we come. One more for the bucket list. Meer informatie

Volgen Overzicht Kalender Delen

Footprints
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Dag 21
dinsdag 21 mei 2019 om 11:03
⛅ 25 °C
Hoogte: 2.359 m
Bhutan Thimphu Institute of Zorig Chusum 27.48285, 89.6315327°28’58” N 89°37’54” E
National Institute for Zorig Chusum
21 mei 2019, Bhutan ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
National Institute for Zorig Chusum provides instruction on Bhutan's 13 traditional arts.

This was quite interesting watching the students, wood carve, paint, sew, embroid and make statues from clay.
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ReizigerWow. Great handiwork. What did you sew dad?
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Dag 21
dinsdag 21 mei 2019 om 12:08
⛅ 27 °C
Hoogte: 2.367 m
Bhutan Thimphu 27.47143, 89.6312427°28’17” N 89°37’52” E
Simply Bhutan
21 mei 2019, Bhutan ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
We visited a Bhutan culural centre which highlighted the living styles of old Bhutan. We watched traditional dances whilst drinking buttermilk tea and then we had lunch.
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ReizigerHow was the tea? Food looked interesting!
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Dag 21
dinsdag 21 mei 2019 om 13:12
⛅ 28 °C
Hoogte: 2.309 m
Bhutan Changlimithang Stadium 27.47279, 89.6392927°28’22” N 89°38’21” E
Thimphu
21 mei 2019, Bhutan ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
We then walked around Thimphu city centre, nothing to sing about. It is dirty, dusty, smelly and expensive.
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ReizigerIt doesn’t seem as dirty and dusty as other places you have visited. If dad stopped farting it wouldn’t smell so bad 😂
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Dag 21
dinsdag 21 mei 2019 om 15:15
⛅ 25 °C
Hoogte: 2.392 m
Bhutan Thimphu 27.47622, 89.6438727°28’34” N 89°38’38” E
Bhutanese Paper making factory
21 mei 2019, Bhutan ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
This was fasinating.

This small factory produces tradional paper hand made from the bark of Daphne Bush. The process involes stripping the bark, soaking and boiling it, then crushing, pulping, layering, pressing and drying. We watched steps of the process in this tiny dirty shed but the paper is lovely.Meer informatie
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ReizigerI guess you need lots of paper when you don’t have good internet for information!
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Dag 21
dinsdag 21 mei 2019 om 16:19
⛅ 22 °C
Hoogte: 2.254 m
Bhutan Paro 27.43093, 89.415527°25’51” N 89°24’56” E
Janka Resort Paro
21 mei 2019, Bhutan ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
This certainly is not a resort, actually it feels a bit like we are back in China with its horrible rooms. We have very creaky pine floors, every step makes a noise, nowhere to sit other than on the hard single beds. It is actually cold tonight so we have the heater on not that I think they are working as I have climbed into bed to keep warm. Very slow Wifi which is a pain as I cannot download any photo's or look at Tiny Beans photo's of Charlie.The bathroom is just adequate, we are not looking forward to dinner. We did read some reviews before we arrived so we knew what to expect but boy when as a tourist to Bhutan you have to pay $US250pp per day you expect much better than this.

We are here for 2 nights only thank goodness.Meer informatie
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ReizigerAnd that’s a resort - lucky you weren’t in the local motel!
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Dag 21
dinsdag 21 mei 2019 om 20:24
🌫 14 °C
Hoogte: 2.373 m
Bhutan Babesa 27.43818, 89.6697227°26’17” N 89°40’11” E
Simtokha Dzong
21 mei 2019, Bhutan ⋅ 🌫 14 °C
After Dinner our guide and driver took us for a short drive to take photo's of the Simtokha Dzong, it looks so pretty we could not let the opportunity go with adding it to our 1000's of photo's. The Monastery is even more spectacular at night than during the day.

Fit Bit Stats:
7675 steps
20 Floors
5.31 km

Not many steps but we did go up and down a few stairs today. We kept it low today as tomorrow is the big trek to Tigers Nest.Meer informatie
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ReizigerQuite spectacular.
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Dag 22
woensdag 22 mei 2019 om 08:22
⛅ 11 °C
Hoogte: 3.074 m
Bhutan Taktsang Monastery 27.491959, 89.36338327°29’31” N 89°21’48” E
Taktsang Monastery (Tigers Nest)
22 mei 2019, Bhutan ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
Tigers Nest is a monastery perched precariously on the edge of a steep cliff 900m straight up and 3,120 metres above sea level, it is widely regarded as one of the most important monuments of spiritual significance in Bhutan. Its history is associated with the visit of Guru Padmasambhava, the revered Indian saint who came to Bhutan in the 8th Century. The cave was named Takshang after Guru Rinpoche who flew into the cave from Kurtoe Singye Dzong in eastern Bhutan while riding on a tigress. When he landed in the cave, he took wrathful form of Guru DorijiDrolo who is regarded as one of the eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche to decimate the demons.

We climbed all the way and it took 8 hours return. As we approach the monastery there are 750 steps which we climbed down from the mountain we had ascended and up the mountain to the Monastery. The round trip is 6.5 km along windy rocky trails and steps.

It was hard work and very rewarding my knee is very sore and swollen but at least I can say I achevied this feat whilst many people even on the trek today could not make it all the way to the top.

Fit Bit Stats
21771 steps
124 FloorsMeer informatie
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ReizigerGood on you Ma and Pa! That is really cool. I reckon I’ve seen that in movies.
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Dag 23
donderdag 23 mei 2019 om 07:30
🌧 24 °C
Hoogte: 182 m
Indië Jaigaon 26.836691, 89.38432126°50’12” N 89°23’4” E
Darjeeling
23 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ 🌧 24 °C
Today we will cross the Bhutan border at Phuentsholing to enter India at Jaigaon. We will be spending the next few days in the Darjeeling Area of North East India.

Darjeeling is also know as "Queen of The Himalayas"

Jaw-dropping locales, mesmerising sunrises, the untouched beauty of the hills, the old-world charm of the past, and the welcoming smiles of the local people all add up to make Darjeeling one of the most beautiful hill stations in the Eastern part of India. Darjeeling is spread over a steep mountain ridge and is nestled amidst acres of lush green tea plantations.

Darjeeling stands at the height of 2,050 meters above sea level and boasts a cool climate all year round.

A respite from the hot and humid summers of India, Darjeeling is a popular tourist destination in North-East India. Providing a heady mixture of splendid tea gardens on rolling mountain slopes, meandering toy train rides through the picturesque city, and delectable traditional Tibetan cuisine, Darjeeling works wonders to cater to the gorgeous panorama of the Himalayas.

There is a reason the city is known as the 'Queen of the Himalayas'. The lush green slopes dotted with women plucking tea leaves is a sight as mesmerising as no other.

There are over 86 tea estates in Darjeeling that are responsible for producing the worldwide famous 'Darjeeling Tea'.

A previous summer capital of India under the British Raj, Darjeeling has come of age as one of the most sought after hill stations in India. Famous for its beautiful tea plantations and the quality of Darjeeling tea, Darjeeling is a delight for all kind of tourists. The toy train established back in 1881, still runs in this part and is also one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Beautiful colonial architecture including mansions and churches dot this little beautiful town. The towns are filled with people from Tibet, Nepal, nearby Indian states and the Gurkhas, Darjeeling is brimming with cultural diversity. The third highest peak in the world and the highest in India, the Kanchenjunga peak is clearly visible from here and you can enjoy a panoramic view of the peak.

Darjeeling is a wonderful place to walk around and explore the tea estates, villages, and markets.Meer informatie
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ReizigerSounds like it is going to be delightful!
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Dag 23
donderdag 23 mei 2019 om 11:00
🌧 23 °C
Hoogte: 1.736 m
Bhutan Chhukha 27.02833, 89.5816727°1’42” N 89°34’54” E
At the border
23 mei 2019, Bhutan ⋅ 🌧 23 °C
Just waiting for handover at the border. It was a lovely drive up and down winding roads above the clouds, in the clouds and now below.
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ReizigerGreat view above the clouds and nice border crossing!
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Dag 23
donderdag 23 mei 2019 om 12:00
🌧 26 °C
Hoogte: 182 m
Indië Jaigaon 26.836691, 89.38432126°50’12” N 89°23’4” E
Jaigaon
23 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ 🌧 26 °C
Handover went well. It was interesting to see the change from Bhutan to India in one block. Immigration was really weird as well. First step was in an open garage in the grounds of the immigration office and second phase was a virtually empty room in the adjacent building.Meer informatie
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ReizigerOh, so border crossing not so nice then 😂
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Dag 23
donderdag 23 mei 2019 om 13:44
🌧 27 °C
Hoogte: 125 m
Indië Banarhat 26.817222, 89.01888926°49’2” N 89°1’8” E
On the way to Darjeeling
23 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ 🌧 27 °C
We are now on our way to Darjeeling it will take 6 hours driving.

We started off on great roads and some very pretty tea plantations. We thought this was going to be a lovely drive however the roads gradually became worse as we drove up the mountains around winding roads through the clouds again.Meer informatie
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ReizigerIt looks quite enchanting.
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Dag 23
donderdag 23 mei 2019 om 17:37
🌧 15 °C
Hoogte: 2.104 m
Indië Birch Hill 27.04857, 88.2653527°2’55” N 88°15’55” E
Little Tibet Hotel
23 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ 🌧 15 °C
We arrived in Darjeeling but not at our Hotel just yet. Today they were completing the counting for the Indian election and as there is a possibility of rioting from the locals if they do not agree with the outcome and as the counting was being held near our hotel, local police and armed forces had blocked off the roads. Therefore, we had to walk a kilometre to our hotel with our bags being carried by porters.

The Hotel is another yukky one, it smells of damp, mould and wet dog and very bad wifi. Apparently they are going to upgrade us tomorrow not sure if that will be any better but we can only hope.
I can say the staff are lovely it is just a shame about the Hotel. Dinner was OK I could eat 2 things from the buffet.Meer informatie
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ReizigerGreat! Wet dog and riots! I hope the riots didn’t eventuate!
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Dag 24
vrijdag 24 mei 2019 om 06:30
🌧 14 °C
Hoogte: 2.104 m
Indië Birch Hill 27.048573, 88.26534727°2’55” N 88°15’55” E
Little Tibet Hotel
24 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ 🌧 14 °C
What a horrible night I hardly slept due the awful smell, breakfast is meant to be ready at 7 am. John went to check at 7.30am and it was not set up so we waited until 8 am. Breakfast was basically Indian food. John had toast with a red jam, I asked for to 2 eggs fried over easy and when they came out they were so under done I just left the room. Eating raw eggs is just horrendous.

Well let's hope the day improves.

I really do not like Darjeeling and will never come back here.Meer informatie
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ReizigerThe blurb on day 1 made it sound so nice!
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Dag 24
vrijdag 24 mei 2019 om 08:30
🌧 17 °C
Hoogte: 2.077 m
Indië Darjeeling 27.037966, 88.26311627°2’17” N 88°15’47” E
Toy Train
24 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ 🌧 17 °C
Today we are going on a train which runs through the centre of Darjeeling and is quite famous.
The train has operated on narrow gauge tracks since 1880s and provides an important transport link to various parts of Darjeeling hills and lower plains. The toy train is an icon of India's heritage since the colonial days and an engineering marvel that was achieved in that era. It also offers a wonderful way of absorbing the Himalayan beauty as you traverse along the slopes of the hills.

Our guide picked us from the Foyer at 8.30am, however, due to the traffic our driver was not there so we had to walk down the dirty dusty smelly streets for a distance until he was able to reach us, I am sure they seem worse than they are because I am in such a negative frame of mind because of the Hotel.

We arrived at the train station only to then find that the 9.40am train had an issue and would not be running until 10.00am. We thought this was OK as it was quite foggy. At the station we waited until 10.30 for the train and guess what we are seated on the wrong side of the train to see the view over the Himalaya's but it is foggy so you really can not see anything anyway.

The train ride is really interesting as it goes right up the middle of the narrow streets and in some places you are only inches away from cars, walls and shops. The cars have to stop for the train to cross from side to side of the narrow street.

The ride goes up the hill to Ghum which is the highest altitude station in the world and returns in 2 hours. It does stop along the way. The first stop is for water as it is a steam train.

You continue up the hill to a war memorial and gardens where we stay for 10min then continue further up the hill to Ghum for a 20 minute stop which is enough thime to visit a train museum there before we return back to the Darjeeling Station. The ride was fun all be it that the train was dirty, late and on the wrong side for the view. Thank you Mum and Dad for this Christmas present. The ride is something we will remember because it was just so different to other train rides we have done.Meer informatie
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ReizigerThat was a cool activity. Good shots of you on the train.
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Dag 24
vrijdag 24 mei 2019 om 12:30
⛅ 19 °C
Hoogte: 2.129 m
Indië Darjeeling 27.04318, 88.26727°2’35” N 88°16’1” E
Glenary's for Lunch
24 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Our guide recommended this resturant as it is supposedly the best resturant in Darjleeing with beautiful views over the Himilaya's.

Well it was a nice resturant. We did not have Indian so that was a bonus as all the Indian food we have had so far has been quite poor quality. John ordered what he thought was going to be a hamburger and I ordered pork and chips. Mine came out with 4 huge slices of pork covered in gravy and my first reation was yuk but it was actually quite nice. John's was not a hamburget but two large hamburger patties and vegetables and he enjoyed his as well, but no view still all foggy.Meer informatie
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ReizigerNot much luck with the weather for your views!
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Dag 24
vrijdag 24 mei 2019 om 13:30
🌧 19 °C
Hoogte: 2.032 m
Indië Birch Hill 27.05598, 88.2561827°3’22” N 88°15’22” E
Padmaja Naidu Zoological Garden
24 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
Well this was a long drive, well most of the drive we were just sitting in the car in traffic to get to the Zoo. The guide and John slept for most of this time. The traffic is dreadful it was actually quicker to walk to most attractions but the roads are very dirty with people and cars everywhere so we go in the car until our guide suggests that we get out and walk. The Zoo was another occassion where we walked for about 7min up hill to get to there.

Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park is quite small and is right in the centre of Darjeeling. The zoo was opened in 1958, and an average elevation of 2,134 m, is the largest high altitude zoo in India. It specializes in breeding animals adapted to alpine conditions, and has successful captive breeding programs for the snow leopard, the critically endangered Himalayan wolf and the red panda. The zoo attracts about 300,000 visitors every year. The zoo serves as the central hub for Central Zoo Authority of India's red panda program.

We wandered around for 30min and saw the snow leapod, black bear, red panda, himayalan wolf and tiger. Even though they are caged they did look quite healthy. Just a shame about the very loud Indian tourists shouting at each other in conversation even though the signs around the park say "Silence"Meer informatie
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ReizigerOh wow! Those are some rare animals to see!
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Dag 24
vrijdag 24 mei 2019 om 15:26
🌧 16 °C
Hoogte: 2.129 m
Indië Darjeeling 27.04318, 88.26727°2’35” N 88°16’1” E
Tea Tasting
24 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ 🌧 16 °C
Next was the Tea Tasing somehting John was not really looking forward to as he does not drink tea. We tasted about 6 different teas and learnt that different teas have different health properties, noit sure I belvie them but it was interesting. I preffered the Black Tea pass 2 and what this means is it is black tea picked in the summer months. We both liked the White Tea, John tried a lavender tea and did not mind it to me it tasted like perfumenI wonder why? We did purchase one and it is Bkack tea with red wine. No, you cannot taste the wine, it is a lighter black tea and I thought it would be nice to have when Melissa visits with Charlie in a few weeks.

We said goodbye to our driver as all the next attractions we are going to walk as the traffic is just not moving. I don't think we willk every complain about Sydney traffic again.Meer informatie
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ReizigerLooking forward to the tea!
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Dag 24
vrijdag 24 mei 2019 om 16:35
🌧 16 °C
Hoogte: 2.129 m
Indië Darjeeling 27.04318, 88.26727°2’35” N 88°16’1” E
Local Markets
24 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ 🌧 16 °C
This was really cool as most markets in the first section are small shops that are full of copies of anything you can think of and so cheap.

We then went to the fruit and vegetable markets which we always enjoy walking though looking at all the weird and wonderful foods each country has to offer. Other than a few things, most items we could identify.

We continued walking back up the hill towards the Hotel.Meer informatie
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ReizigerLocal markets are always great!
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Dag 24
vrijdag 24 mei 2019 om 17:38
🌧 16 °C
Hoogte: 2.104 m
Indië Birch Hill 27.04857, 88.2653527°2’55” N 88°15’55” E
Back in our Hotel
24 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ 🌧 16 °C
The joy continues, right at the street level we can tell an Indian wedding is on at the Hotel and we all now how they can party.

Once in the foyer the front desk give us the key to our new room and guess what not much better than the first but we can open a window and no wet dog smell so that is a plus.

Our window opens right out the where some of the wedding party are sitting but no one is smoking so that is great. They are loud but the music is really good, so I am enjoying updating the blog listening to Indian music and some music we actually recogise. But what is weird is that we wanted to know how long the party would continue as we have to get up at 3.30am tomorrow and they told us they are going to finish at 7.30pm, what sort of party finishes so early. However, we are thankful , maybe we should join the party.

Staying Alive is now playing.

Fitbit Stats::
10,0007 steps
40 flights of stairs
6.93 kmMeer informatie
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ReizigerThat’s better.
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Dag 25
zaterdag 25 mei 2019 om 04:00
⛅ 13 °C
Hoogte: 2.467 m
Indië Jorbangala 26.99833, 88.2683326°59’54” N 88°16’6” E
Tigers Hill
25 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
Well that was a waste of 5 hours. We were meant to see the sunrise over the Himilaya Mountain's this morning so were awake at 3am to catch what is meant to be a lovely view. Ha Ha Ha.

There was a traffic jam within minutes of leaving the Hotel. We eventually get there and it is so foggy you cannot see in front of you so no hope of sunrise. Not that this stopped the stupid tourists. 100's left their cars and walked to the point. We sat in the car as would need to walk 1.5km to point to see nothing. What a waste of time. We did do a lot of laughing at the tourists though because they kept walking past us to view the sunrise. Apart from the fact that you could not see anything due to the fog, sunrise was well and truly over as the tourists kept coming . This created a huge traffic jam of cars and people so we sat in the car from start to finish 4 hours. Even our guide did not turn up he claims to have told the Hotel it was raining so we would not be going but that is not what the Hotel told us.

Communication is not something anyone in Darjeeling seems to know.Meer informatie
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ReizigerOh bummer! Stupid tourists 😂 It must be really something on a good day to attract that many people.
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Dag 25
zaterdag 25 mei 2019 om 07:45
⛅ 15 °C
Hoogte: 2.092 m
Indië Birch Hill 27.04833, 88.26527°2’54” N 88°15’54” E
Little Tibet Hotel Darjeeling
25 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Yey, we are leaving one of the worst cities we have visited in all our travels. We still have not seen any tea plantations which was the reason for coming to Darjeeling. We are hopefully seeing one this morning.

Anyway remember I mentioned we changed rooms. When we returned from our uneventful sunrise we went for showers and this is what we found. It is shocking.Meer informatie
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ReizigerLiterally!
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Dag 25
zaterdag 25 mei 2019 om 09:00
🌧 14 °C
Hoogte: 2.238 m
Indië Jalapahar 27.007509, 88.24631827°0’27” N 88°14’47” E
Ghoom Monastry
25 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ 🌧 14 °C
This morning we visited the Samten Choling (Ghoom) Monastery. It has around 200 monks and is a Buddhist Monastery, however, they do not follow the Dali Lama teachings.
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ReizigerSo many monasteries!
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Dag 25
zaterdag 25 mei 2019 om 11:00
🌧 23 °C
Hoogte: 931 m
Indië Bara Māngwa 27.076111, 88.40083327°4’34” N 88°24’3” E
Tea Plantation
25 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ 🌧 23 °C
Yeh, we finally went to a tea plantation which is the reason for going to Darjeeling . The ladies were actually picking the tea when we visited, which was great. My issue was that I really wanted to go to a tea plantation and factory which is what I believed the tour was to include. Guess what I was wrong as they are closed at this time of year according to the tour guide. I really cannot understand how a major Tea supplier does not operate all year round at the factory level anyway. I understand the tea picking is seasonal. Just another reason why Darjeeling is off my recommendation list.Meer informatie
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ReizigerOh, what a shame.
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Dag 25
zaterdag 25 mei 2019 om 12:08
⛅ 21 °C
Hoogte: 851 m
Indië Mangan 27.532972, 88.51221827°31’59” N 88°30’44” E
On our way to Gangtok
25 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
We continue driving to our next destination Gangtok which is only 110km away but it takes 4 hours from Darjeeling. It was a pretty drive going up and down the hills through the fog on the very narrow roads.

We stopped to take in the view of the river which forms the border of Darjeeling and Sikkim. On entering Sikkim we had to get another visa even though we had an Indian visa, I do not really understand why but even our driver we have had for the next few days is not allowed to work in this state so we get a new driver tommorrow.

To add to our list of experiences that only happen to us, there was a rock slide across the road so we were again stuck with nowhere to go for 1 hour.Meer informatie
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Reiziger🤦‍♀️ Oh my gosh! Your luck this trip!
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Dag 25
zaterdag 25 mei 2019 om 16:23
🌧 19 °C
Hoogte: 1.665 m
Indië Gangtok 27.331342, 88.61504327°19’53” N 88°36’54” E
Sonam Delek Hotel
25 mei 2019, Indië ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
Today's drama continues. We pull up out the front of what look like a descent hotel only to find that they did not have our booking and no vacant rooms. So our guide suggested the hotel that they usually stay at. We went to this hotel to check out the room, as we did not like the rooms we were given in Darjeeling. The hotel right from the start was going to be a worry but we looked at the room in case the outside was misleading. Once inside it was as expected, it was more like a kids room with 2 very low single beds and looked terrible so we declined and proceeded to another hotel suggested by the guide. It is now getting late and I was getting cranky and upset so we had to take whatever was now on offer. This is another dreadful hotel but as it is the holidays and the Indian people are escaping the heat to the cooler places and apparently Darjleeing and Gangtok on on their lists. Not sure why as they are both dreadful places dirty, smelly, crowded and not much to do.

The only plus of this Hotel is apparently from the balcony right outside our room we can view a sunrise which is a little different. We will not see the sun actually rise but it glows over the moutnains.

This Hotel also has a powerpoint in the shower recess which is very weird. To make it worse there are heaps of very loud children and parents hanging around outside our room. One plus is the dinner menu does not look that bad so fingers crossed.

Maybe tomorrow will be better.Meer informatie
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ReizigerGood view at least.
26-05-2019Reageren
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