Darjeeling

As the two of you that sometimes read my little commentary have probably guessed I have had no Internet access for the time I was in Shimla.That is how authentically Victorian it is :-).Delightful place,though it was the ruin of me because it is the holiday spot in the mountains of choice for Indian people therefore it is full of yummy restaurants,ice cream parlours,bakers and confectioners and also Bars selling real alcohol.

For the first thee days the wonderful views were not available because Shimla was perpetually in cloud.it sits at about 2500 metres,but then late Friday arvo the cloud burned off and I could see why people rave about the place,360 degree views,of the high himalayan peaks to the north and east and the ridges and valleys in a hundred shades of green to the South,and the Hanuman statue standing on the Shimla peak above.By the way you haven't heard any thing till you have experienced a dozen or more monkeys running over the iron roof just above your head,sounds like Armageddon.

Massive day of travel today,started the hundred kilometer journey down the mountain by taxi at 3 this morning for Chandigarh airport.Changed planes in Delhi for Bagdogra and sat in the airplane for over an hour on the tarmac.The pilot needs a visual approach for Bagdogra and he didn't have the minimum visibility for landing.Arrived Bagdogra ( West Bengal) grabbed a taxi to Siligurli and then bought a seat in the last jeep of the day to climb the mountain to Darjeeling arriving here at 7 pm.Most of the trip up was in darkness which was a bit of a blessing as it meant I couldn't see the sheer drops and crumbling edges inches from me.The icing on the cake was traipsing all over town,which is also clinging to a ridge top,to find all my shortlisted hotels are full and of course it is now raining.Anyway have settled into a hotel now and it is festival time tomorrow.Promise I will try and load a few photos of Shimla tomorrow.