Skipping to Sandakphu

Figuratively speaking. It wasn't, and shouldn't, be an easy hike. 

Rays of sun made this shot look like it's painted with water colour. 

There's been a change of plans: Instead of spending 3 days hiking up the trail, we decided to hop on to a 4x4 for three-quarters of the way up and hike the remaining to the top. Which means, more sitting around in a moving vehicle. Except that this vehicle moves - a lot. Large stones and boulders make up the road and the top of my head was in constant impact with the roof of the jeep. Ouch.

The Sandakphu trail is very close to the Nepal borders. Occasionally we were stopped on the jeep to show clearance etc before we can resume our journey.

Chop-chop mid way through the ride (butt and head and boobs hurting like mad). The little dog at the corner reminds me of Pickles. She gets super excited whenever she could tell that you're looking her way hehehehe. And when that happens, her face shivers in excitement, whiskers and all. So adorable :)

Momo and roti. We had a number of momos back in Bhutan, but I've missed all photo opportunities by pure coincidence. Momos are essentially dumplings - with chicken/pork/vegetables filling. I personally prefer vegetable ones. Dipped in a spicy chilly sauce - tres bien! Meat momos just taste.... dodgy.

So, being this far out in the wilderness, one can only expect 5 star accommodation and services.... not. The rest house where we spent the night in is very, very basic. A bed (no heater, no electricity actually) and an en-suite toilet. With no flush. To flush, you'll have to fetch water from a container (which felt like ice). We were, however, given a hot water bottle before bed. I don't think I could have survived the night without it! I first hugged it to my chest; then my feet got cold. So I shifted the bottle to my feet. Then my hands got cold. The hot bottle was basically doing a flip-flop mode from top to bottom hehehe.

Sunset from our rest house - with a magnificent view of the Kanchenjanga mountain.

After a meal of hot instant noodles (feels luxurious in that cold, seriously), we went to bed early - around 8pm-ish. I didn't even bother to take a shower - it would have been madness if I had. The clothes that I wore during the hike, stayed on till the next morning! I could barely sleep that night. The cold kept me awake and after a while I finally dozed off. Somewhere in between, I got woken up. Thinking that it must at least be way past midnight, I checked my watch. Goddamnit! It's only a little after 10! Wtf?! How can that be? And that kept me grudgingly going through the same painful process of trying to sleep again.

It is also important to note that the room is dark and the light switch (solar-powered) is partially broken. I desperately needed to pee but couldn't do so as it was too dark. Yes, it was a cosy and fuzz-filled night. 

Up by 4ish am to catch the sunrise (not difficult). It was quite foggy and misty during sunset last night so there are doubts with a good, clear sunrise. 

Amidst my grogginess, I was completely woken up in awe of the scene that unfolds, changing by the minute.

Perfect sunrise!

And towards the west, Mount Everest beckons... :)

Brrrrr.

By 8:30am, the glorious sunrise colours turn to this vivid shade of blue. Then it was time to make our long trek down.... It took us 4-5 hours before we finally got to the nearest town and got a ride back to Kurseong.

Next post - Darjeeling tea plantation :)