Day 104, Kalimpong [Saturday 15th March 2008]
Previous day: Day 103, Kalimpong [Friday 14th March 2008]
Next day: Day 105, Lava, Gumpa Dara, Samthar Ridge [Sunday 16th March 2008]
Kate's 31st birthday! We have porridge, eggs, toast and marmalade for breakfast. I ask for more toast and the waiter disappears for a few minutes before returning with an empty basket.
"I'm sorry, sir, toast is out of stock,"
He peels back the tea towel that is covering the basket.
"But I brought you some garlic bread."
We set of on a walk to Doleo Hill, the highest point in Kalimpong. We amble through the large and busy market. Lots of people are selling the disgusting, inedible cheese we tasted up on the Singalilla Ridge. We also find an old guy selling the famous Kalimpong cheese, the know-how for which was apparently brought here by a Swiss priest many years ago. It tastes tangy and fresh, like feta. There are also people selling millet, yeast, and tongba bamboo cups, although these ones are plain, without any of the fancy metal ornamentation.
We carry on up past Tibetan handicraft shops, monasteries and rows of quaint Victoria-era houses, eventually arriving at Dr. Graham's Homes, a huge 500 acre site containing schools and churches. The Homes were started over 100 years ago as a school for orphans, but today it operates as a standard school. It had a royal visit in 1912.
We don't make it all the way to the top of the hill, but the views of Kalimpong are spectacular all the way up. It's a tumbledown town, a frozen avalanche of concrete and corrugated iron, flags and 4x4s, all tipping down the hillside.
We sneak back into the Himalaya Hotel with a half-bottle of Indian red wine I somehow managed to find at the beer shop, plus 2 bottles of Hit beer ("Super Strong!"), all hidden under Kate's shawl. Later we watch Dark Water, an unsatisfying thriller starring Jennifer Connelly.
Next day: Day 105, Lava, Gumpa Dara, Samthar Ridge [Sunday 16th March 2008]
Previous day: Day 103, Kalimpong [Friday 14th March 2008]