Last Stop: Darjeeling

We arrived in Darjeeling this afternoon, and it's just as I remembered it from my visit eight years ago. It couldn't be more different from Varanasi - here it's cold and foggy (the thermals are going to come out once again), the people are friendly even when they're not trying to sell you anything, the streets are steep and windy and cobbled and the air smells like woodsmoke. I absolutely love it - have always been more of a winter girl! Plus the air feels so fresh and clean after the stifling pollution of the other cities we've visited.

Our guesthouse is gorgeous, and most importantly, spotless! I was really excited to see a big bookshelf heaving with great novels in the common loungeroom too, so I'll definitely be exchanging some books before I go. I actually just started Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts and it's a really engaging read so far, but I'm trying to get through it as much as possible as it weighs a ton and is a massive pain to lug around. It's funny, all the tourists here seem to be reading the same books - it's either The White Tiger (which I finished myself last week - a great read), Holy Cow or Shantaram.

For those who have read The White Tiger, do you remember how Balram uses one of the fortune-telling scales at a train station at one point in the book? Well once I started looking out for them, I realised they were at every station. I used one yesterday at Varanasi Junction before we boarded the train. You stand on the scale, wait until a little red and white striped disc stops spinning, insert your 1 rupee coin (something like two cents) and then wait for the machine to dispense a little ticket displaying your weight in kilos along with your fortune and a picture of a Bollywood star on the back. My fortune was 'You are practical, romantic and a perfectionist' and my Bollywood star was Aishwarya Rai. But my weight I'm keeping to myself thank you very much! (For the record, I've managed to drop a couple of kilos, despite all of the curry and Indian sweets! Maybe it's all the walking we've been doing. Or maybe the scales are just dodgy. I like to think that it's the former.)

Our train journey from Varanasi to New Jalpaiguri was supposed to be our second-last Indian train journey, as we were booked on the famous Toy Train from New Jalpaiguri up the mountains to Darjeeling an hour and a half after the first train was scheduled to arrive in NJ. But in true Indian style, our train from Varanasi was four hours late so we missed our connection. It's a pity, because the Toy Train is supposed to be a not-to-be-missed experience, but then again we figured that we can just do a half-day joy ride on it in a few days. We ended up getting a jeep instead which was much faster and still very cheap. The drivers really try and max their profits - there were 11 people and one child squished into our jeep, along with all our luggage that was strapped onto the roof!

The train trip itself was okay - very long at 700km and over 15 hours, but it doesn't feel like such a long time when it's an overnight journey and you manage to get a good night's sleep, which thankfully we both did. We also met a really nice British couple who were in the same compartment with us and ended up sharing our jeep and checking into the room next door to us at our guesthouse.

I can't believe this is our last stop in India and that it's nearly been a month since we arrived here. We're heading to Kathmandu on the 4th. I'm actually really worried about it - we'll need to get a jeep ride down the mountain to Siliguri (three hours), another jeep to the Nepali border (one hour), followed by a 17 HOUR (not a typo) overnight bus trip from there to Kathmandu. As someone who is not and never has been a 'bus person', this is my idea of absolute hell, especially because I know it's going to be a rickety little bus packed with people and luggage that will drive at a hair-raising speed around hairpin bends on the top of steep Himalayan ravines. I've just priced a flight to Kathmandu as an alternative option and it's going to be about $165. I just don't think I can justify the cost on my budget but I desperately want to fly rather than catch the bus. Opinions please! What do you think I should do? Help!

I have a desperate craving for momos so I'd best be off in search of dinner. No doubt I will be back to update soon with news of walking, shopping, more sightseeing and tea consumption on a ridiculous scale.

Love,

E xxx

PS: More advice needed: If I buy tea here, will I be able to bring it back into Australia or will Customs confiscate it?