Queen of the Hills, Darjeeling, India

We made it into Darjeeling, India last night after a turboprop flight across Nepal, nearly 2 hours at the border crossing, and a 4 hour jeep ride up the magnificent hills here. The flight, the first I've ever taken that actually departed early, was fine until we coasted into the coming monsoon-esque thunderstorm about 15 minutes before landing. Needless to say, it was a bumpy ride on the way down... After the airport, it was about an hour ride in a minivan to the border crossing. From there, we took a jeep straight to Darjeeling, with necessary stops for snacks and momos.

It's been raining quite a bit around here in the afternoon, but the mornings have been nice. Today we visited the Darjeeling zoo and the Himilayan Mountaineering Institute which houses the Everest Museum. The museum is a cool though small place containing some gear and pictures from some of the first attempts to reach the summit. You may think it's a strange place for the museum as I did, but Tenzig Norgay, who was first to reach the top with Sir Edmund Hillary spent much of his life in Darjeeling. The main road here is even named after him.

We also toured a tea plantation which was quick, interesting, and very pleasant smelling. I caved at the end and had to purchase the rather expensive tourist tea. Supposedly it's the best in the world, really! On the way back from the tea stop and the zoo, we happened upon a view point for Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world. On a clear day you can see it easily and today we could just make out the peak through the clouds. Sunrise views from Tiger Hill are supposed to be especially inspiring.

I'm slowing uploading pictures from Nepal as well, but I have to abort again since it's shower time and the hot water only works for 90 minutes per day and the power is finally back on. Perhaps I'll finish tonight.