Cheeky Monks

We head to Rumtek Monastery as the light fades and the rain pours down. There's armed guards everywhere as this is a highly significant monastery which has been invaded by other monks, attempting to take over the home in exile of the black hat monks.  Here cheeky boy monks play roughly with each other, scampering around the monastery courtyard and ducking out of the rain, whilst the guards stand on ceremony, guns in ha

Just don't ask!

So our grand tour of Sikkim begins and we are picked up by our driver and guide and start to climb up the mountains on the roads clinging to the sides, heading up into the clouds. There are so many heart pounding moments, when you squeeze past another vehicle, with inches of crumbling road on your side and then thousands of feet sheer drop. You do slowly get used to the extreme height, but the bumpy road adds to the thrill of the ride as you cling on to the edges, passing children walking on the extreme ledge. Our guide is not so much of an informative guide and as a young student he has a lot to learn but it's fun to see how much is lost in translation. At one point I am sure he said he wanted to vomit, but just went off to show our permits. 

Beef or buff?

Our tour of Sikkim begins in the central town of Gangtok, where were have climbed up bumpy roads to our first destination. Eager to have lunch the chef comes up with the menu and announces that we can have beef or buff? Confused we ask again, and then realise the option is beef to buffalo! 

Don't look down!

As we leave Darjeeling for our six day trip in Sikkim, we are now climbing in altitude on roads clinging to the hillside. As always there's an administration nightmare, and we need permits to enter, but don't have any photo copies of our visas and passport, so we rush round the border town of Rampong in search of a shop with a photocopier, and then head back to get our permits. Loved the fact that we were just allowed to enter illegally to head to the shops, but this is India! Then we continue weaving up dusty single track roads 

Up at dawn 

One of the must see things is to head to Tiger Hill to see dawn over the Himalaya's. One the last day of Durga Purga it's a bustling crowded experience, with hundreds of cars climbing the steep hill. We had to get out of the car and walk up the last part, as time was counting down quickly for sunrise. Joining the cries on the top we all waited patiently for the clouds to lift as the chinks of light of the rising sun gave a silver lining to the clouds. Then there was a mutual gasp as the sun was just about to appear on this auspicious day, then a sigh of dismay as the mist descended  and the whole scene disappeared. Slowly the crowds went and we headed to the other side of the hill top and wat

The magic cardigan

When travelling in India there's always restrictions on alcohol consumption. Throughout Durga Puga you are not allowed to drink after 5, but undeterred Ella and Tom go in search of a bar in the centre of Darjeeling. They bump into a small group of gay guys, who then take us to a small bar, where on request the woman gets you a beer and produces it from her cardigan and plonks it down on your table. We then have to leave as there is the potential for a police raid, as this speakeasy has not got a licence, but it was great meeting such a fun and open group of guys, when being gay in India is a challenge. 

The best views are on your left

There are three hill station railways  in India, two n the north, to Shimla and to Darjeeling and one in the south to Ooty. At Christmas I travelled through Tamil Nadu and took the steam train to Oooty and it was incredible. I was so excited to get us first class tickets on the train and we had to leave Mirik at 4am, go down one mountain and then up another to get to Kurseong where the train starts.

Luckily we were told that the best views were on the left hand side, so for three hours we slowly creeped up the hill towards the bustling town of Darjeeling. The tiny train clings to the roadside and the shop keepers and shoppers have to squeeze in as the train goes past, bringing all the traffic to a standstill.