Dag 10 Bhagalpur til Darjeeling. Ca. 300 km, 7½ times kørsel

I dag havde vi bedre vej og knap så meget trafik. Området var det meste af vejen meget frodigt. Inden vi nåede Siliguri og opstigningen til Darjeeling, begyndte teplantagerne, de er meget anderledes her, end dem vi har i Sydindien. Her er teplanterne meget små og holdt meget lave i højden. ( Assam te)

Hold da helt op, opkørslen til Darjeeling var skræmmende, ca 80 km på meget smalle bjergveje uden nogen form for vejkant. Hver gang vi mødte modkørende trafik og det var ofte, måtte vi holde tungen lige i munden for at komme forbi. Taxierne kører som død og helvede og kunne ikke vente med at overhale os. Da vi endelig nåede Darjeeling, var det heller ikke bedre. Igen smalle veje og meget trafik. Vi fandt frem til vores værtsfamilie (vi havde denne gang booket via Airbnb), desværre havde de ingen parkeringsplads, men det er der næsten ingen som har her. Parkering koster næsten lige så meget, som en lejlighed. Så vi holder parkeret på vejen tæt på deres hus. En hyggelig familie med 2 små børn.

Emma and Roshans bungalow - Vores værtsfamilies hus.

24.5 Distance 300 km, driving time 7½ hours

The long winding road to Darjeeling did take its toll on us.

We started of quiet and easy on NH 31 which was full of potholes, but 4 lanes, so we did make progress. Every time we hid a toll both my face lit up, expecting good roads ahead but it was just ok.

We passed through some of the most lush, green fields, we have ever seen on this journey. It reminded me so much of the Malnad area, bananas, pineapples and areca. The green, green grass of home.

Tee plantation. - Te plantage

Suddenly, in the horizon, we noticed some mighty mountains, the Himalayan range. We now passed acres and acres of tea gardens. This tea is commonly known as Assam tea, and the tea bushes are about half the size of an ordinary tea bush. 

The winding road - Den farlige vej.

We then hit the town of Siliguri, and had our lunch there. From Siliguri to Darjeeling 80 km (the short road) as the main road was closed. This was the most treacherous, winding, scary road I have ever driven on. The road is very steep uphill; narrow so 2 cars can not pass each other, and kamazaki drivers coming downhill. We were on the way uphill, driving on the valley side, which made it even scarier. Following us were local taxis that were determent to overtake at any cost. Blackie kept them at bay.

Heavy traffic - Meget trafik.

We reached the town of Darjeeling and checked into Emma and Roshans beautiful bungalow, which we had booked through Airbnb. No hotels available here as this is the high season. They have a lovely bungalow overlooking Darjeeling and they even served us delicious homemade meals.