Hey folks.

Just got 'back' from a Darjeeling Tea-binge. Bought huge amounts of tea, but luckily tea 'fills more than it weighs'... Strange thing to say, but you get my meaning, I hope. :)

Here's the deal: I traveled from Kolkata to Darjeeling, thinking I was heading for a tranquil paradise - the views and tea would be more than satisfying enough to keep me occupied for the two weeks I had left in India.

BUT! Right now, the views are non-existing. Darjeeling has been invaded by heavy white ice-cold clouds - walking through the streets you can feel the freezing light touch on your cheeks. What this basically means is that seeing more than about 100 metres is impossible. Seeing the mountains around Darjeeling, of course, is completely out of the question. Sad but true, and I've decided to take the consequence and travel further North.

The weather in Sikkim, where I'm heading, is colder, wetter, and could be more cloudy. BUT! (again) at least there are loads of trekking destinations and sights to go to in Sikkim, whereas Darjeeling is one of the more boring places I've been here in India.

Sikkim borders up to Nepal, India, China (Tibet), and... one other country that I can remember. Getting there won't take too long, and the views should be absolutely fantastic on a clear day - let's all cross fingers that such a day will arrive during the next few days. :)

A quick run-through of my days here in Darjeeling: I started of by doing nothing at all, just sitting around sipping tea and reading. That's of course very nice, but hyper-active Simon E needed more, so the last few days I've been doing day-treks up'n'down the Darjeeling-peak-mountain-thing. Nice 15km hikes that left me sweaty and longing for loads of tea and momos! :) No, it's been really great. I've seen lots of great curiosities and met loads of really sweet people.

Today I went to get my Sikkim permit. Such a thing is necessary since Sikkim is not really a part of India. That's why Travellog here makes it look like I'm in Nepal. Don't know much about Sikkim, but the main language is Nepalese, main religion is Buddhism, and... yeah, they've got this special kind of beer which I'm really looking forward to tasting! :))

Other than that, they've got great views of Mt. Everest and even better ones of the 2.highest mountain in the World, Kadenchonga (spelt completely wrong, but that's basically how it's pronounced). Treks go up to this monster, but you need further permits, guides, and time - it takes about 10 days to do the full trek, which brings you up to a hardcore 6000 meters (I think?!). Wow, but... guess I'll come back another time. Planning on trekking up to Mt. Everest Base Camp in a few years, then maybe I'll go to Sikkim and do Kadenchonga afterwards! ;)

That's all from me for the next many days. My main destination in Sikkim doesn't have internet AND I'll be trekking around from town to town hopefully for 3-5 days, so...

Try to enjoy the Christmas hassle just a wee bit and look forward to the 15th when Simon E will be back in DK to bless you with his presence! (barf barf!)

Simon E :)