Traveling India's Himalayas 2.0

Now that we got the crazy story from the Himalayas out of the way, I can proceed to the shorter tale of Darjeeling. Feeling adventurous we decided to head out on a hike thru the Himalayas into Nepal.
Being wise, we decided to hire a guide, since the Himalayas are a crazy place to get adventurous.
I was a bit hesitant at first since this was a full day, no turning back type of hike, but it ended up being more than worth the anxiety. Pima, our guide, picked us up in the AM and headed about 1 hour away into Nepal where we ate an early breakfast before heading out, the food was delicious and the warm mug of boost was delightful. It was a tight fit getting all 8 of us seated, since the kitchen was out of someone's home, but it was some of the best breakfast food ever. After we went to the customs office to present our passports for documentation, it was a great "typical" mountaineering-in-a-foreign-country office.
From there we began our hike up thru the amazing lush green mountain, what started off as a nicely cobblestoned path soon disappeared (which is when we were so glad Pima was with us).

I wavered between thinking we were in India, Ireland and New Zealand, with the mist settling over us it felt like we were the last people on earth. As we continued walking amazing cultural & natural beauty awaited us as the fog revealed its treasures. Already in love with the Tibetan culture, seeing the brightly painted stones only enhanced my love and sense of wonderment for this land, its history and culture. I mean talk about a magical experience!
Was I in 2014, or had I gone back a few centuries?

Eventually we did stop for lunch in Nepal at a great little lodge tucked up in the slopes of the mountains. I learned you can also hike and spend the night up there, during summer they are completely booked with many travelers filling every available space on the floor! With wonderful food cooked over the wood stove, a perky little puppy and friends gathered around the table what is not to be loved? The whole place is a recipe for memories for years to come.
Eventually we did finish eating and continued our way down the mountainside. We did cross inbetween Nepal and India so we came to another "border crossing" and presented our passports for documentation at the smallest boarder crossing station I have ever seen. (sorry no pictures) but it was just a hut big enough for a guy and platform for writing. The last part was the hardest part since it was all down hill(and we aren't talking a nice stroll, I mean we are in the freaking Himalayas!)

The lodge we stopped at for a delightful lunch.

This place is magical with the green hills, the fog and the stillness.

Tibetan Writing (love the colors)

Once we all made it down and back to town some of us were crazy enough to go out into town to get dinner and do some shopping, the walk uphill to town center was a killer! I have no idea what we were thinking. Ann and I stopped at a breakfast restaurant that happened to have the best gluten free cookies. Who would have thought we would find those in Darjheeling of all places! As everyone split up for various activities some how Ann and I got left alone without a working phone…when some of the girls took it to the border crossing into Nepal it did something… needless to say heading back in the dark thru the freaky alleyways was quite the adventure. At one point we walked past a small group who started watching us and then following us. Since I do believe in a higher power I silently started pleading for protection. Ann loves to sing so to calm our hearts we sang a medley of Disney songs.. It worked we made it home safely (with help from the heavenly side) and singing. Music is a powerful force in this world.

For our final adventure we took one of the last operating steam trains in the world(at least thats what they claim) from Darjeeling to Ghum. Great experience but be prepared for some major ash. This train used to operate all the way from the valley, but it has ceased those operations and now acts as a tourist operation.  One of the coolest things I was hoping to view was Mt. Everest, on a clear day you can see the mountain but we were never lucky enough for a clear day. But the respite from the heat and crowds did wonders for us all. One of my new favorite destinations.