What have you accomplished today?

Let's see...
I woke up. Walked down to the clocktower in Darjeeling. Got in a jeep. Waited for about 15 minutes for it to fill up with other passengers and then headed to Tiger Hill to watch the sunrise and light up the Himalayas as it did so. We watched as the 3rd highest peak in the world (Kangchendzonga) changed from a shadow in the distance to a pinkish hue, to beautiful white-capped mountain-tops. On a very clear day, you can even see Everest from there. (We weren't so lucky). Then, we headed back down to Darjeeling, 12 kilometers away...but we chose to walk instead of returning in the jeep.

About 5 kms in, we stopped for a breakfast of momo and tea. Momo are similar to gyoza. Boiled, but sometimes fried, dumplings. The food in this region of India includes a lot of Chinese-influenced foods, such as dumplings and noodles. Then, we continued on, back to Darjeeling and our hotel. Where I showered, read, and then decided that at 9am, I might as well go back to sleep for a bit. :)

The adventure started at 3:45am...just a mere 4 hours after returning home from the pub where our newest travel buddy, Brad, has pretty successfully explained the game of cricket to me. He is Australian, and I think glad to have someone else around who is even remotely interested in cricket. It is huge here in India as well, so there are matches on constantly...and everyone is glued to the tvs. Kids in the streets and on rooftops are constantly playing. South Africans were crazy about it as well...so in the last few months I have tried to figure it out, but you really do need a translator to explain it to you as you watch a game.

So I took a quick nap, and then headed out for lunch, and wound up here at the internet cafe. I am still exhausted, and somehow can't believe that it is only 2pm. Feels like 8 or 9 at least. Darjeeling is amazing. It is beautiful and peaceful and completely different from any other part of India I have ever experienced. Yesterday Rahima and I got permits to head to the state of Sikkim in a few days. It was another experience in Indian bureaucracy. We had to go to one end of town to get the form, fill it out and have it stamped. Then we had to walk that form to another building, clear across town, to have it signed and stamped there as well. Of course, then we had to walk it back to the starting point to have it stamped a third time, and now we are allowed to go. Hmmmm...okay. Why wouldn't that process make sense to everyone?

The computers and connections aren't really consistent or fast here, so sorry for the lack of pictures as of late. I'll get some up as soon as I can. Now I just might go back for another nap. Mmmmm...