Jan. 25 : Siliguri, India

Wednesday, January 25 :: Siliguri, India :: 0km today / 2691km total

Up very early for the mandatory trip to Tiger Hill for sunrise over the Himalaya. Unfortunately the clouds rolled in just in time for sunrise, so it was back towards Darjeeling with a few stops at Buddhist temples along the way. Well, last year in SE Asia I had more than my fill of Buddhist temples/wats/pagodas... and I think I'm still oversaturated. Tibetan-style temples are a little different... but still...

Back in town the clouds had parted and there was Kanchenjunga, 3rd highest mountain in the world, India's highest, and only 1000 feet lower than Everest. What a sight. With Kanchenjunga as a backdrop I walked over to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, which trains people for high-altitude endeavours. It's also partly a shrine to Tenzing Norgay, whom everyone in this area of India idolizes, and rightfully so. Born in extreme poverty in Tibet, Tenzing took life by the horns and ending up being the first man to summit Everest, with Hillary (local lore has it that he dragged Hillary to the summit) and the main streets of towns in the area are named after him - in contrast to most of India where the main streets are named MG, after Mahatma Gandhi. His cremated body is there, on the highest point of course.

Neighbouring the HMI was a zoo, small but well-stocked with the most interesting of animals - for me - various leopards and tigers. Also on hand were pandas, bears, yaks and other herbivores, and lots of birds (yawn).

Back in town (still marvelling at the free culture here) I was feeling a little sick again and I went back to sleep. I woke just before sunset, and caught a share-jeep back down to Siliguri. Tomorrow I ride into Nepal!