I'm alive!!

Just haven't had internet access for over two weeks, that's all. The nice thing about it is that every time I don't update, it means that I'm too busy doing something other than sitting in front of a computer. The past two weeks have been quite busy, as you can imagine.
Last weekend we went to Kalimpong, and met up with everyone else in the group to celebrate someone's birthday. It was good fun, and the area around Kalimpong is stunning. I thought Ghayabari was beautiful, but it pales in comparison. Because it's that much higher up in the Himilayas, Kalimpong and the surrounding areas are much cooler and greener. The tea estates are much more lush and green, and there are more trees everywhere as well. The drive into Kalimpong actually was a bit of a highlight. The town is near a big river called Teesta River, and so you have to drive down these steep switchback roads into the valley and then back up again to get to Kalimpong. Not only is the view incredible, but along the way we passed through tea estates that were so lush you could smell the tea as you drove past. We definitely want to go back.
About an hour away from Kalimpong is a small town called Pedong, where several other volunteers are teaching at a school and a monastery. There was a dance festival going on at the monastery that weekend, so not long after arriving into Kalimpong, we headed off to Pedong to watch. Again, the scenery in the area is incredible - so green and lush. I really enjoyed looking though the monastery, and the dancing was very interesting. It was to go on for 3 days, but we only watched about an hour's worth, before the monks gave us lunch. The dancing was so different from anything I'd seen before. Apparently the monks had been practicing for months for it as well. They had the most incredibly ornate costumes, and did lots of twirling around to the slow beat of drums, cymbals and horns. We never did quite find out exactly what the festival was in celebration for, which was a bit of a shame.
This past week went well at the school. It was short because of Easter holidays, which made it even better! We're starting up a few extra-curricular things this upcoming week, which makes things a bit more exciting as well. We've managed to have a 5 day weekend because of Easter, which was a welcome surprise. Mr Thapa's explanation was that because there are so many Hindu and Buddhist holidays throughout the year, it's only fair to celebrate a few Christian holidays as well - I'm certainly not complaining about that!
This weekend has actually been so much fun. Our plan was to head up to Sikkim for the weekend with a few other people from the group, but when we arrived in Darjeeling on Thursday evening, plans had changed and no-one wanted to go. Instead, we went to Mirik for a day. Mirik is lovely. It's a little town on the edge of a(n artificial, but still very pretty) lake, overlooked by a monastery. It was very quiet, and non-Western touristy (lots of Bengali tourists about). We stayed at a lovely little hotel run by the most adorable old man (with Coke-bottle glasses) and his wife, who had a little boy who ran around offering us tea and making sure our hot water and lights were working. They were all so sweet. There isn't all that much to do in Mirik, but we had a really nice relaxing day, having a picnic lunch by the lake, and then checking out the monastery after. I do hope we'll have a chance to look at a few more, because they're absolutely stunning. We got to watch the monks just as they were finishing up prayers as well, and then went for a quick walk with some of them afterwards.
The next day we weren't exactly sure what to do, so we headed back to Darjeeling, with the vague plan of just seeing where we could go when we got there. At the jeep stand, almost completely on a whim, we decided to go to Manaybanjang (totally not spelt correctly, I still can't even say it properly!). Once we got there, at about 2:30 in the afternoon, we found that just about our only way out was to go on a 3 day trek to Rimbik. So, completely out of the blue, we decided to do it! We hired a guide and a porter (felt really bad about the porter, but having not exactly expected to go on a trek, I didn't pack lightly, and the porter was really cheap, especially split between 3) The first day we walked 11km, and so had to rush to reach our destination, a village called Tomling, before it became dark. It was all uphill, some of it basically steps up a mountain. Our guide was really nice - didn't actually find out his full name, but he was from Nagaland and went to school in Kurseong. It took us about 3 hours, which was an accomplishment to say the least! The best bit of the night, however, was finding that we would be spending the night in Nepal! We literally walked past border markings on our way up, and had to go through a couple of checkposts as well, but it was still a surprise to find a "Welcome to Nepal" sign when we arrived!! Tomling is basically a few houses and trekking lodges - tiny tiny. The place we stayed in was lovely (though anywhere indoors was a welcome sight by the time we were finished), and the food was incredible. Even though it was absolutely FREEZING outside, we were cozy under multiple blankets and a hot water bottle!
The next day we were up at 5:30 to look at the view, which wasn't entirely clear, but still incredible. I also managed to almost fall off a small cliff, which certainly woke me up with a bump (my left thigh is still really sore!). Me not watching where I'm going and tripping was a common theme throughout the weekend. After a delicious (and enormous) breakfast, we headed off for our 19km trek up to Sandakphu, which is 3636m above sea level. It took us just about all day, and again we were exhausted by the end, but it was such an accomplishment and really enjoyable. That night it was even colder, with an icy cold wind, but we spent most of the evening huddled by a stove, drinking tongba (warm beer made from millet - not my favourite!).
We were up at dawn again yesterday, this time for a 21km race down to Rimbik in time to catch the last taxi to Darjeeling at noon. It was really steep (painful on the knees and on the feet), but we made it with about 45mins to spare, just in time for a slightly harrowing 4 hours back to Darjeeling (switchback roads + steep descents + minimal suspension + high speeds = a journey that felt more like something out of an amusement park than a regular jeep drive). I think we all slept really well last night - I know I did! And having a hot shower in the end (after 3 days of nothing!) was the best reward I could have asked for.
Today we're finishing up in Darjeeling before heading back to Ghayabari this afternoon. After such a long break from the school, I have to admit that I'm feeling somewhat reluctant to go back, and would be quite happy to continue travelling around a bit more! But I know that once I get back there I'll get into it.
I'd better finish up now, as I have a few more things to do in Darjeeling, and I'm always on a deadline. Hoping to have a bit of time next weekend, but who knows? I'll try to get pictures done there as well. Hope everyone had a happy Easter!