Expectations ... exceeded.

Sunday 20th April, Darjeeling, West Bengal, 2045 MASL

It's taken me around 48 hours to get here. I took a somewhat circuitous route - Dunsborough, Perth, Melbourne, Delhi, Bagdogra, Darjeerling. Various forms of transport - bus, plane, car. Hitchless, apart from a few confusing and slightly stressful moments at Delhi airport this morning when the computer took exception to my booking and wouldn't issue me a boarding pass for while. And I lost a few hours sleep in that 48, but, hey, you're dead a long time, and I'll make it up tonight in any case.

But here I am in Darjeeling, and how good is this??

I'm not going to write much of a story today, but just add a few photos with some captions. As I said, expectations, exceeded.

I'll start with Elphie the Elephant in the foyer of the Lalit Hotel in central Delhi. The caption reads "Elphie our mascot dressed in rainbow colours, welcomes all, irrespective of caste, creed, colour, religion or sexual orientation. Wishing you Good Health, Harmony and Happiness". How good is that in this rather troubled world?

The ticket/boarding pass fiasco at the airport resulted in me sitting in Premium Economy. Here's breakfast:

Then probably the highlight of the morning. Crystal clear skies once we got above the Delhi haze, and fabulous views of Chomolungma/Sagarmāthā/Everest (on the left) and Makalu (5th highest) on the right.

Followed by an equally wonderful view of Kangchenjunga, the mountain I have come here to visit.

Bagdogra's version of an airbridge, from the 1950s it seems ...

Didn't actually see any (well, yet)

And a lesson for all of us (got that, Donald??)

The Elgin Hotel in Darjeeling dates back to 1887. Great grandfather James was here the year before it was built. It's a fabulous old hotel, full of the charm of yesteryear. Lots of photos:

A few shots from central Darjeeling, which we wandered through this afternoon ...

Interesting to note that even at only 2,000 metres I can feel the difference. Walking up to the third floor of the Elgin takes just that little bit more effort.

So that's the end of blog #1. Not sure whether this will be a daily occurrence. There's a fairly exciting day planned for tomorrow, so there may well be a post that afternoon. But as to every day, we'll see ..