Back to the Blue - Darjeeling, India
10-7-2011 Darjeeling, India Back into the Blue After 3 months of longing and never really adjusting to the sweltering heat of Indonesia, Malaysia and Burma, I have finally returned to the velvety, cool emerald hills of India. I knew, I had to go back to the Himalayas. So, the choice has naturally lay between Sikkim/Darjeeling and Ladak/Kashmir. Some friendly Kashmiris I met in Burma suggested that it would be snowing soon in their home – especially, if I desired to be in places higher up, like Leh. So, I busted out of Burma 1 week before my visa expired [a first on this journey – and it is a fair indication of how badly and I wanted to get out of the military state and into the ancient vibes of the Himalayas], I flew from Yangon to Kolkata and without much ado caught a sleeper train to NJP. From there, many a jeep was willing to make the 3 hour ascent to the tea land of Darjeeling. Normally, I found out, there is also a beautiful train ride on the famed Darjeeling-Himalayan Rai...