This day began exactly the same as last with the yappy little rat bag outside my window beginning early while it was still dark and maintaining a phenomenal pace. Must be the mountain air. I had a nice breakfast and then a major surprise. A woman from Vancouver that I had been chatting with a day earlier asked me if I had ever worked for fisheries. Specifically in the Yukon at Klukshu River. Wow! I recognized her immediately after that, we worked together in the mid 80s for a summer on the Tatshenshini river confluence and had some wild adventures, including high water almost washing the weir away,and having to work 36 hours straight to keep it in place. We had a ton of fun as well though canoe runs, kayak and rafting. To bad I was leaving really would have enjoyed reminiscing.
The hosts of the hotel were very nice, they presented me with a traditional White Tibetan scarf as I was leaving, this was a wonderful gesture and I felt very honoured.
I stopped at the Tibetan Refugee Center http://trshc.blogspot.com/2007/06/facts-about-tibetan-refugee-self-help.html to purchase a few items as they money they get goes to a good cause.I bought a wall hanging and some Tibetan Prayer Flags for a friend ( yes, they were cheap A :) and a good cause! )
The trip from Darjeeling to Gangtok Sikkim went without a hitch. Stopped for a brief moment to take a few pictures of the "Toy" train that runs for about 50 km to Darjeeling.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darjeeling_Himalayan_Railway Neat little train but apparently bone jarring ride. Also stopped at a Tea Plantation as the workers were just lining up to weigh their mornings harvest.
We had to pass through the West Bengal / Sikkim border checkpoint and obtain a special permit to enter but that went very smoothly as well.
Arrived at the Hidden Forest Retreat http://hiddenforestretreat.org/ and was very impressed, they have a great garden lots of Orchids all over the place, my room overlooks the valley and the outside balcony is private. Supper was traditional food panneer, daal, chili chicken, rice, chapati and vegetables all fresh from the gardens here. Loved it all. I am currently sitting on my balcony enjoying a glass of wine and a Dominican Cigarillo and watching the Diwali fireworks all across the valley. Sweet!
The hosts of the hotel were very nice, they presented me with a traditional White Tibetan scarf as I was leaving, this was a wonderful gesture and I felt very honoured.
I stopped at the Tibetan Refugee Center http://trshc.blogspot.com/2007/06/facts-about-tibetan-refugee-self-help.html to purchase a few items as they money they get goes to a good cause.I bought a wall hanging and some Tibetan Prayer Flags for a friend ( yes, they were cheap A :) and a good cause! )
The trip from Darjeeling to Gangtok Sikkim went without a hitch. Stopped for a brief moment to take a few pictures of the "Toy" train that runs for about 50 km to Darjeeling.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darjeeling_Himalayan_Railway Neat little train but apparently bone jarring ride. Also stopped at a Tea Plantation as the workers were just lining up to weigh their mornings harvest.
We had to pass through the West Bengal / Sikkim border checkpoint and obtain a special permit to enter but that went very smoothly as well.
Arrived at the Hidden Forest Retreat http://hiddenforestretreat.org/ and was very impressed, they have a great garden lots of Orchids all over the place, my room overlooks the valley and the outside balcony is private. Supper was traditional food panneer, daal, chili chicken, rice, chapati and vegetables all fresh from the gardens here. Loved it all. I am currently sitting on my balcony enjoying a glass of wine and a Dominican Cigarillo and watching the Diwali fireworks all across the valley. Sweet!
