I wasn’t overly struck with Kathmandu the architecture and Stupas were amazing and the museum at Patan durbar square pretty good, but a few days is enough there. By a week the pollution was really getting to me and I was producing huge amounts of black snot. My stomach also wasn’t 100%. I booked my self a sleeper bus to the boarder in the west.
It was a bit disconcerting when I got to the bus park to discover the sleeper bus was a normal bus, with a chock stopping it rolling away and slick tires. Also I had one of the worst seats (the ones at the back don’t recline and get bounced around more being behind the rear wheels. Still it should only be 12 hours.
4 hours in the windscreen shattered. After a brief stop to clear the glass we continued slowly. It wasn’t too cold but a bit dusty. I lost my camera phone at a stop around 2 am. I suspect it is currently at the bottom of a roadside toilet ditch, so I’m not sure I want it back.
By morning we detoured to get a new windscreen and then eventually got to the border about 7 hours late. Being off my food I had lived on biscuits and bananas for the journey. I looked for a guest house and somewhere hygienic too eat. My order for fruit musli curd resulted in a portion of dahl bhat (which I tried and failed to eat). And a guest house owner advised me to cross the border as it was still early in the day and there was nothing to do in this town.
I was a little concerned as I wasn’t supposed to re enter India till the following day but I crossed over no problem, and took the 2 hour bus ride to the next (quite large town) where the toy train (a proper working mountain train with only a 60-70cm gauge) to Darjeeling was meant to run from. It looked as if there were no good hotels and restaurants’ here either and I was craving somewhere clean that understood English to try to eat. So I went to the train station only to find the toy train wasn’t running. But I couldn’t find out why or whether this was permanent ect. I was told taxi or bus was the only way there so off to the bus station I go, only to find that there are no busses this season and a taxi driver offered to take me for £50 but after asking around I found the Indians made the journey in shared jeeps for about £2 each.
So eventually I arrived in Darjeeling booked into a pretty good hotel (Slightly run down Victorian place, a bit Scooby doo if you know what I mean) and attempted to eat.
The 30+ hour journey has taken its toll on my poor stomach. I’ve been here 4 days now and have barely left my room apart from trips for water/loo roll and to the chemists. I really can’t eat much but I think I’m slowly recovering. If I could get a few good meals down me I think I’d be fine.
From what I’ve seen Darjeeling is beautiful and I’m dying to get out and explore but the weathers been bad anyway, I have a good view from my room and loads of good channels on my telly.
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