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Archive for March, 2005

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A Soft Landing in India: The Hills of Darjeeling

Tuesday, March 29th, 2005

I crossed the border from Karkhabitta Nepal to Panatanki India at about 4:15 in the afternoon, and while there wasn’t any major physical boundary (just a medium sized river, smaller than several I’d crossed in Nepal) it was quickly clear that I was in a different country. Things were much busier, the population was obviously denser (and this in a part of India that isn’t that heavily populated!) but somehow it seemed to be prettier. Tea plantations had actually started about 10km from the border, but on the Indian side they were everywhere… as far as the eye could see (past the haze and light forest) in in some places.

It took us about an hour to reach the city of Siliguri. It was a busy, busy place, but I didn’t have much time to look at it. I bought a jeep ticket from one of the tourists I’d come from Karkhabitta with, and climbed aboard with the other two (Jana and Maren, a pair of girls from Germany), as well as nine more Indian folk, all on our way up to Darjeeling.
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Lazy Days, Pokhara and KTM + Finishing Nepal with a Holi-Day on the Terai

Monday, March 28th, 2005

My day in Pokhara, and the days to follow in Kathmandu would be fairly un-energetic ones (though the above-mentioned Holi on the Terai was anything but.) This lack of activity was, of course, to be expected after the 17 days of hard walking I’d put in just before.
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Annapurna Trek Part IV: Annapurna Base Camp

Thursday, March 24th, 2005
The day after Tatopani was a long, long day of hiking. I'd dropped down to 1100m elevation, and had a lot to gain back before reaching Annapurna Base Camp. My departure from Tatopani marked the end of my ... [Continue reading this entry]

Annapurna Trek Part III: Muktinath Down to Tatopani

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2005
After the exhausting glimb over Thorong La, Muktinath, snowy, muddy and visually unappealing as it may have been was still a welcome relief. I followed Dr. Alex and Jo to their guesthouse (which proved to be the one where ... [Continue reading this entry]

Annapurna Trek Part II: Over Thorong La

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2005
The end of the last entry left me in Yak Kharka at 4018m above sea level. Due to a good dump of snow that had taken place overnight, I'd been worried ... [Continue reading this entry]

Annapurna Trek Part I: Besisahar to Yak Kharka

Monday, March 21st, 2005
It seems like an eternity since I woke up in Pokhara, headed towards Besisahar the startinbg point for my Trek in the Annapurna region of Nepal. In fact it's only been 19 days, but that's long enough that I'm ... [Continue reading this entry]

A Quick One From Pokhara

Tuesday, March 1st, 2005
At the "tourist" bus station there were a dozen or more buses waiting to pick up passengers. I identified the correct one and climbed aboard. The phrase "tourist bus" probably conjuors up images of new upholstry,reclining seats, air conditioning, passengers ... [Continue reading this entry]