Dag 12. Darjeeling til Guwahati. 485 km 10 timer

Vi var tidligt oppe idag. Emma vores værtinde havde smurt madpakker til os, så vi bare kunne stoppe på vejen og spise. Og i dag så vi endelig Kanchenjunga, rigtig flot og majestætisk i morgensolen. De første 3 timer kørte vi kun 75 km, det var ned fra Darjeeling til lavlandet. En rigtig flot tur, men udsigt til bjergene. Dette område af Indien har utroligt mange floder/bække så vi må have kørt over mindst 80 broer.

                                              Big river - En af floderne

Da vi endelig nåede en 4 sporet vej var Michael glad. Glæden holdt dog ikke længe, for indiske hovedveje er ikke for sarte sjæle, at køre på. Der cykles, køres i den forkerte retning, der er græssende geder, de små gedekid ligner små hundehvalpe på vejen. Landmændene driver deres køer på vejen osv, osv. Totalt kaotisk.

                                        Slow moving traffic on highway - Trafik på hovedvej

                                           Small goat on the road - Gedekid på vejen

Undervejs mødtes vi med Janet og Louis, vores rejsekammerater fra Bombay. Vi fulgtes ad det sidste stykke vej til Guwahati.

27.5 Distance 485 km, driving time 10 hours.

Left Darjeeling at 6.30 am. Emma was kind enough to make a packed brunch for us. Clear skies and fabulous views this morning, so we got to see the Great Kanchenjunga in all its might and glory. ( 3^rd highest mountain in the world)

                                                                 Kanchenjunga

The drive from Darjeeling to the plains was very scenic and beautiful. We started at an altitude of 2100 meters, and drove 72 km downhill, to an altitude of 182 meters.

This 72 km took us 3 hours of driving time.

At the plains we crossed as many as 80 river bridges. 

                                          One of the rivers - En af floderne

We then drove the first part through a heavily guarded military area, until we reached the east-west highway. This highway bought a smile to my face, as now we could open up Blackie. This was short lived as all 4 lanes of he highway soon became a  2 way on each side for trucks, bikes, cattle and goats.

                                           Close call - Ikke megen plads

                                          Cattle on the highway - Køer på hovedvejen

We enjoyed Emma’s packed lunch on the highway and as we were zipping along slowly, we saw a BMW parked at a Dhaba. 

                                                                Louis and Janet

This was Louis and Janet our travel companions, who had stopped there for lunch. It was great meeting them and we celebrated with a cup of tea. We reached Guwahati together at 5.30 pm, after driving though an enormous bridge over the mighty Brahmaputra.

Bridge to Guwahati - Broen over til Guwahati 

A long and enjoyable drive.