Trek.... mate.

Hey Guys

Well, here we are back in Darjeeling after a gruelling 5 day trek in the Himalayas to a height of 3636m above sea level. Oh my god. My thighs may never forgive me! And that's just been from the downhill part!

So we left Darjeeling at 7am Saturday morning, went to Maneybanjang and got ourselves a guide, who doubled as our porter (for an extra $1.20 a day!) and started out - the trek began at 9am Saturday morning. Straight up. For hours. We ascended 900m that first day and it was hard but worth it when we got to the top and found ourselves in a lovely "hotel" with a fire in our room! Woo hoo! (Photo attached). It was freezing though, so glad we had it!

2nd day, started from 3000m and had a relatively easy day, up and down to 3100m. The second night we slept better, to the sounds of really loud Indian, Bengali and Nepali people celebrating DuSera, a Buddhist festival where everyone gets drunk and sings really loudly! Thank god for Ipods....

3rd day.... eating breakfast with a yak staring in the window at us, we greeted the day. Today, regardless of only walking 6km, it was straight up. To 3636m and our destination, Sandakphu. It was hard. Really really hard. I cried. Seems that the height and the strain made me a bit emotional. But we made it. And only in 3 hrs. Which is great considering we were so high! Clouds completely obscuring our view of the mighty himalayas, but surely in the morning, it'll be clear.

NOPE!

So after 3 days of really hard slog, a view that was only just worth it. THe clouds are always hovering and we only got to see a little of Kanchenjunga, the worlds 3rd most high mountain. But it was beautiful. Tom stayed in bed... he'd had a dreadful nights' sleep. (Photo attached)

That day, we walked 14km, all down steps and a gradient of about 30 degrees.... hard hard hard. This is the reason we now have to explain to stangers on the street why we walk like cripples.... we're in a lot of pain! However, after 14km, we found ourselves in an enchanting village perched on the edge of a thundering river, called Sirikhola.... so pretty. And we had the most amazing night, with our guide, Sanjeep, singing Nepali love songs to us, whilst a round faced little Sikkimese cherub sat on my lap. (see photo - pink & blue jumper)

All in all, it was tough, and i didn't wash or brush my hair for 5 days, but totally lovely and totally something we can say, Yes, We Did That. So for that, I'm happy.

And to tell the truth, the worst part of the trek was the perilous jeep ride back to Darjeeling which took 4 hrs yesterday arvo and left us with spinal injuries and a new respect for people who believe in the allmighty.

Last night, we stayed in a place with running hot water (the bliss!) and a soft soft bed (still 100x harder than any bed in Oz) but so welcome after that hard slog!

So we're safe and well and happy in Darjeeling again.

List of things to do before 30 just got smaller....