Darjeeling

Another early start, this time 4:30 to drive to Tiger Hill outside Darjeeling to watch the sun rise over the mountains, specifically Kanchenjunga, the world's 3rd highest mountain after Everest and K2.

As with all things India it was complete and utter chaos.  It's a very popular place with Indian and Nepalese tourists and the narrow road up was choked with cars all totally disregarding anyone else and parking where they liked. Eventually we got to the top and it was really, really, crowded especially the view to the East.  But Sunesh told us to stand in a relatively quiet and empty place, assuring us it was the best spot and that others would try to invade later.

As we'd been warned it was quite chilly and there was no shelter but we were well wrapped up with gloves and scarves and so I set my tripod up and we waited. I haven't processed my photos so they really don't show the beauty of the sunrise when it hit the mountains.

Sunesh was quite right where he positioned us, we had a fabulous view.

After breakfast at the hotel we headed off to Darjeeling Railway Station to catch the steam train up to Ghum (Ghoom) Station.

I'm not really sure what this group were doing but I photographed them anyway!

I sneaked in for a quick look

You can see from this photo just how close to the railway the houses are built.

About halfway to Ghum we stopped for 10 mins at Batasia Loop to take on more water.  This statue of a Ghurka Soldier takes pride of place.

Young lads were desperate to take photos with Ian, we think it must have been his grey hair, although Keith was almost white and he didn't get asked for any. Maybe they really did mistake him for George Clooney.

Then at Ghum we went to the museum, this is an original engine from the 1880s and it's tiny.

After that we went to the Ghum Monastery which is another Buddhist monastery (enough said).

Monks' living quarters

And what really goes on when there are no tourists around!

After lunch we went to the Himalayan Mountain Institute which had a fascinating museum set up by Tenzin Norgay.  Unfortunately, apart from his statue outside we weren't allowed to take any photos, which was a pity as some of the clothing and equipment used during old expeditions was really interesting. I did find out why Mt Everest is so called - it was named after a British Surveyor General of India (not the one that actually surveyed Everest but his predecessor).

We then moved on to the zoo next door which has lots of species of big cats but as usual they were very hard to photograph.

Snow Leopard (not a patch on the beautiful drawing Sue gave us)

Tiger with a seemingly very square head.

Himalayan Black Bear

And finally a Red Panda which we were very lucky to see as they spend most of their time hidden in the vegetation.  It looked nothing like a panda, more like a raccoon.

We then stopped by our friend Jules's old school and managed to wangle our way in for a few snaps in the courtyard etc.  Unfortunately we weren't able to gain access to any dormitory as Jules would have liked and the Class of xx photos in the courtyard seem to have been replaced with other photos.  Still, we did what we could and it was a fun experience.

Then on to a Tibetan Refugee Centre which to be honest was something and nothing.  There are about 60 families there and the older generations are desperately trying to keep the crafts going but although the carpet making side remains a thriving business, other crafts have only a few people doing them.

But the most eye catching thing, practically wherever you go in Darjeeling, is Mount Kanchenjunga - I love it

Finally, after failing to get some Rupees at a money changer, we were dropped off on the Mall for shopping and a wander; but no Rupees=no Shopping and we soon got tired of wandering.