Oooooh, only 2 weeks ...

In under 2 weeks I hop a bus to Perth, and then via a slightly convoluted route, a plane to Delhi, arriving into the Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 6pm on Saturday 19th April. It seems like yonks ago that I first started planning this, and now here it is. Only two weeks ...

The next day, Sunday 20th April, along with my 15 or so fellow travellers, I catch an Air India flight to Bagdogra, followed by a 3-4 hour drive for the 70 klms or so to Darjeeling. Yes, you read those numbers correctly. I guess that we all know of Darjeeling due to its tea, and the British Raj, in the 1800s. But of course it has a history going back well before that. The name

Darjeeling apparently comes from the Tibetan ’dorje’ (meaning thunderbolt) and ‘ling’ (a place or land), hence dorje-ling, ‘the land of the thunderbolt’. I didn't know that until recently.

And by-the-by I have two dorjes, along with a Tibetan bell (and my various singing bowls) which I have collected in my trips to the Himalaya. You can find out more about dorjes here. I digress.

We have a day and half in Darjeeling, which I'm really looking forward to. There's a bit of Darjeeling history here, but mostly I'm really pleased that we will get to visit the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI). The HMI was founded by Tenzing Norgay in 1954 with the support of then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. It therefore has a connection going back to the 1953 first ascent of Chomolungma (the Tibetan name for Mount Everest), the 70th anniversary of which I was lucky enough to celebrate in Khumjung in May 2023. I understand that Tenzing Norgay's son Jamling Norgay lives in Darjeeling, and has some association with the Institute; not quite sure what that is. Anyway, when I was in Khumjung Jamling gave the most heartfelt speech, which really touched me. You can see the video here - go to about minute 1. So I feel an extra connection to this mountain town I'm about to visit.

I said in my earlier post that my next post would likely be from Delhi or Darjeeling. Looking at the travel schedules, that may now not happen. Stand by on that one. But I did want to share with you a quick look at the hotel we'll staying at in Darjeeling. The Elgin Hotel dates back to 1887, the year after great-grandfather James Campbell visited. It certainly looks pretty stately on their website.

When we are actually on trek (23rd to the 29th inclusive) we'll be quite remote, with no device recharging capability. So during the three days after we arrive in Darjeeling until we set out walking, there may be some blog update opportunities. But after that I'll go quiet for a week, maybe until we reach Pelling, the home of the Pemayangtse Monastery, which I believe James may well have visited. But I get way ahead of myself.

This will be my 7th trip to the Himalaya. I'm all packed (and I'm sure that I will un-repack several times before I head off). Apart from camera gear and electronics, my duffle, clothes, back-pack, poles, etc come in at just 12kgs. Pretty happy with that. Camera gear is checked and double-checked, and batteries charged.

Not much more to do other than count the days ...