14 days, ~4000 km, 37C

We should have known. When we asked the guy if it was a nice bus, he pointed to a picture under the glass on the counter and said, "This bus." We should have known that the photo was a serving suggestion and reflected nothing of the actual product! This was the bus from hell and a few hours into the journey we seriously considered returning. Our driver was a maniac. Certifiable. Above the drivers side window were the words "Big Boss (BOB)" painted in red. Bob was not necessarily big but he sure was the boss. He drove so fast that the tires would screech and howl around turns. Mind you on one side of the road was a shear cliff into a river bulging with monsoon waters. We nearly collided with every other vehicle on the road while passing, nearly rear-ended a few slower vehicles all while ear-piercing Nepali and Hindi music blared from the speakers. Comfortable ride? Most certainly not. We were heading out of Nepal to Darjeeling and we were told about a "shortcut" that would save us several hours of driving. Quit laughing. The bus would drop us off at Pashupatinagar and from there it would only be a 1.5 hour Jeep ride to Darjeeling versus the 3 hour Jeep ride from Siliguri where the bus would normally drop us off. Oh yeah, this was an overnight bus, too. We attempted to sleep on this thing, too. So it's 6:30 in the morning (we left at 2 pm the day before) and we arrive in Pashupatinagar on the Nepal/India border ready to cross and catch a jeep to Darjeeling....

Well, it turns out that only Nepalis and Indians can cross the border here. There is no immigration office here, so I cannot cross the border. Oh, that would have been good to know when we bought our ticket! Now I'm stranded and am told that we will have to go back down the hill and cross at another place on the border, 80 km away.
When in crisis, drink tea! So we had a cup of tea and formulated a plan. There was a bus that would get us to "X" and from there we could take a bus to the border but it didn't leave for 1 hour and there was six km between bus stations. Hmmmm. Or this guy could drive us to the border in his private car. Cheap and inconvenient or expensive and convenient? Fine, expensive and convenient and it would get us to the border where we could cross and we could get a Jeep to Darjeeling. OK.

Back in the flat part of Nepal called the Terai where rice and tea are grown.

Flooding is a seasonal problem so houses are built on stilts.

We kept passing people herding their livestock down the road en masse. Ah, livestock auction day.

Nepal/India border crossing. Goats, too.

Fresh coconut milk for the next drive. We hoped to get a Jeep from the border to Darjeeling but were told that you have to get to Siliguri and get a Jeep from there. OR we could take a private car and pay alot but get there faster. Turns out that it was illegal for us to be passengers in this car but the fare was worth the risk to the driver. Live and learn, right?

Endless fields of tea in the lowlands.

3 hours of treacherous, narrow, winding roads and a 7,000 foot elevation gain to get us into the hills of Darjeeling! From hot and sunny to cold and rainy in just three short hours. Hey grandpa, did you ever think that while you were riding a pony through these hills that your grandson would one day return to cajole in this very spot? :)

Off season for tourism, so we got an incredible room at a super rate. I guess the view was adequate.

Pay phone. No, STD means something different in Nepal and India.

Narrow, winding street in the Chowrasta part of Darjeeling.

Grandpa, do you remember this clock tower in the middle of town?

Darjeeling was a British Hill Station during the occupation so there is an interesting amalgam of Indian and European architecture.

Namgyal's little brother went to school here.

A road in Darjeeling.

Natural History Museum in Darjeeling. Pretty bad taxidermy and some poorly preserved creatures in formaldehyde.

I attempted to capture this little one for my sister but the mother barred her large canines at me and I got scared and ran.

I've heard of the road to nowhere but never of the "door to nowhere."

All of the green in the background in Darjeeling tea growing.

One of the few times the clouds broke.

Green everywhere.

The Darjeeling Zoo is home to many endangered animals in a superb setting. This sign is at the entrance. San Diego Zoo looks like a slum compared to this zoo.

Red Pandas. They don't really do much.

We were about 4 feet from this Himalayan Black Bear. We could hear it breathe.

Just before seeing this clouded leopard we were about 10 feet away from a Bengal Tiger. The growl that it emitted stopped me in my tracks. Talk about a beautiful, majestic animal. Anyone who would kill one for the sole purpose of having its fur is an idiot. Tigers are awesome!

Tibetan Yak.

The last morning in Darjeeling.

Tea galore.

The road down the mountain towards Siliguri.

All the tea in China? I think not. How about India?

This cow would not stop staring at me. I think it may be evil.

We hopped on a train from New Jalpaiguri to Delhi. We got an AC sleeper for the 2.5 days of train travel. This train was very comfy. As good, if not better, than Amtrak.

Note the pandemonium of Delhi traffic.

We had a short layover in Delhi so we stopped at McDonald's. If if was this good in the US, I would eat it everyday! The menu is tailored to India taste and there is no beef (cows are sacred). Mostly chicken or vege patties. A Big Mac is a McRaj (Raj means king). I had the Maharaha Meal (Great King meal). Super tasty.

We took an overnight bus from Delhi to Dharmashala that was AC but we had the very rear seats so we couldn't recline. The driver wasn't as crazy as Bob but I crossed my fingers a few times. Back in the hills!

Dharmashala has two parts, Lower Dharmashala and Upper Dharmashala or McCloed Ganj. This photo looks back upon McCloed Ganj from Tsuglagkhang Temple, the holiest temple outside of Lhasa, Tibet. The Dalai Lama's residence is just behind us. Dharamshala is home to the Tibetan Government in Exile and Tibetan Childrens Village, the boarding school Namgyal and her sister attended.TCV is about a 15 minute walk from McCloed Ganj along this beautiful road.

Namgyal and her friends used to stop at this fountain to get water and eat candy.

A schoolmate of Namgyal's owns and manages the Green Hotel. This is the view from the palacial room with balcony we got.

Got it?

One day we decided to hike to this waterfall.

But why not hike to the river first and go for a swim?
Clear but COLD water.

View from the swimming hole.

It rained a little but it didn't matter.

Not a very big waterfall but very nice and soothing to listen to.

This monkey was watching us from our balcony so I gave it an apple. It sat down and ate it but it didn't like the peel so it spit it out all over our floor!

Next we gave it a pear but that was "to go" so it left.

We left Dharmashala by government bus that took us to the Pathankot train station. We hopped on another AC sleeper to Delhi. We were in Old Delhi this time and there was pleanty to explore. The tangle of wires above these guys heads caught my attention.

Chandni Chowk in the heart of Old Delhi.

The Red Fort.

The Red Fort with Jama Masjid in the background.

The Red Fort is red because of the sandstone it was built from. The Red Fort and the Taj Mahal have the same architecht.

Marble is nice, too.

How about marble with inlay? Yup, all of it is inlaid...

Ceilings with glass and mirrors? OK.

Oh, you want tile? No problem.

Or, how about a combination of the above? Done.

The King's bedroom.

Nice inlaid flower into marble.

Banyan tree.

Bargaining for art. I think we won?

Jama Masjid.

We took another sleeper train from Delhi to Gorakhpur. From our car looking towards the engine.

From our car looking towards the tail. Long train, no?

We arrived in Gorakhpur and had to get to the India/Nepal border. We took a shared Jeep with seats for 7. There were 14 inside. Plus this was the slowest driver we had ever had! We wouldn't have minded the sardine qualities of the drive if this guy had not drawn it out so long. 1.5 hour trip turned into nearly a 3 hour trip with no bathroom break. We hoped on a cycle rickshaw to cross the border and from there hopped in a taxi to Bhairhawa where we would catch a flight. There were many connections and critical factors involved in this flight and essentially we needed to be there by 4 pm to get on the plane. We got to the airport at 4:15. Thank god that rains had delayed the flight and we had a chance to catch our breath and get a cup of tea. We flew on Yeti Airlines. It was a 30 minute flight that kept us off a 9 hour, overnight bus ride. Worth every penny!

We were near Lumbini which is the birthplace of Buddha. What else would you name the airport?