The home of tea and trekking

Our ride back to Delhi airport was so much smoother than our arrival and we had checked in and were boarded in an impressively short time. We were flying Kingfisher Airlines - the 'Virgin' of the Indian world. In less than hours we had landed at Bagdogra airport and were in a jeep weaving our way up the steep roads heading to Darjeeling. The journey was nearly 4 hours long - and that's a lot of bends in the road! The higher and higher we got the more we could see of the villages and settlements on the steep mountainsides, as well as the farm land and tea plantations literally 'cut' into the rock. There were a few hairy turns in the road but the driver had clearly done it many times and knew the road so well that we put ourselves totally in his hands. The view entering Darjeeling town was brilliant - a vast network of lanes and buildings all looking as if they were hanging onto the rock face by their fingertips! Our guesthouse - the Dekeling - felt warm and inviting straight away. As it was off season we managed to get this lovely room at the top of the hotel overlooking the town for only 14 pounds a night. The Tibetan family who ran it couldn't have done more to look after us and even brought us hot water bottles a night! We had a good feeling about this place...

We set off exploring the steep winding streets that afternoon and to find out more about the treks in the area. The weather was cold and cloudy but we were told that it had been clear the last few days so a good time to trek to get the most of the fine morning weather. As well as trying to find the tourist information centre (closed, to Guy's great disappointment) we chanced upon this excellent book shop with all manner of books for sale. We spent a happy hour browsing, before Guy bought The Snow Leopard (a soon-to-be infamous read!). That night we dined on delicious but simple Tibetan food at the restaurant below our hotel before cosying up with our hot water bottles.

The altitude was taking it's toll a bit (we were at 2,134 metres above sea level) and I was wheezing like an asthmatic ant with some heavy shopping, so we decided to give ourselves one more day to climatise before heading off up the Singalia Trail for our trek. We took the opportunity to compare some prices of treks before opting to book it with our guesthouse who seemed the cheapest and the most reliable. The rest of the day was spent getting lost up and down the confusing network of lanes as we tried to find the Botanic Gardens. They left a little to be desired but our toute there and back gave us the chance to see the simple homes of the locals and get a taste for the way of life here. That night we prepared ourselves for our 5 day trek reaching heights of 3,600 metres!