Darjeeling! (That's India)

Yes, I know I'm a little behind on the timeline of things, but a least I'm still working on keeping you updated!

Way back when....we had our winter break, I took a solo trip. We had a month long break because it's too cold to be in the school. So, my destinations: Jhapa and Darjeeling. I had to choose somewhere that I could get there and back in a few weeks and wouldn't cost too much money.

First, I headed on an all night bus to the southeast corner of Nepal to a region known as Jhapa. It was amazing to see how completely different the southern part of the country is from the hills where I live. It is flat and hot without a big town in sight there. I had heard amazing things about the two schools that the Jesuits run in Jhapa so I thought it would be a good place to visit. I got to see the schools, a totally new part of Nepal, and could stay with the Jesuits. One of the schools is a St. Xavier's school with classes 1 through 10 where the students are taught in English. The second school is in a village surrounded by tea gardens and was built to serve the children of the tea workers as well as the small local farming village. The experience showed me so many new things....from bicycle rides through tea plantations to students running around with no shoes!

After Jhapa, I hopped on a bus to the Indian border so that I could head on to Darjeeling. Darjeeling is a famous hill station that was built up and visited during the British colonial days as a place to escape the summer heat of south India. I had heard a lot about this place since arriving in Nepal, and being that they even speak Nepali there, I thought it would be a perfect adventure.

Once the bus reaches the Indian border, you have to walk to take a rickshaw across this bridge, which is literally the border. The river bed below is a huge expanse of emptiness where you cross between two very chaotic border cities.
I was the only foreigner in site that day and therefore, the only person stopping to get my passport stamped at the two check posts. This one is on the Indian side of the border.
After another bus and a three hour ride in a jeep up a winding, bumping road hanging onto the sides of the hills, I was amazed to see this huge town built into the hillsides. But, the best part was the backdrop, Kanchenjunga, the world's third tallest mountain peak.

Darjeeling was built up during the British rule and although the city is old now, the British influence is still very clear. The road and even the tiny railroad were all originally built during that time. I could not believe how far we had traveled and how big the place was so far away from any other city.
And yes, I was kind of scared of the monkeys.
One of the main tourists sites is the zoo and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. It was the most exciting place I've ever been, but it was interesting. I most excited to see the snow leopards and even though they were in captivity, I can see why people in this part of the world are so enamored with the beautiful animals.

Below is another picture of the mountains from a walking path around the city.