Chalsa

Paddy and I returned to the pashmina shop of Mr Chandulal, now my cousin and I seem to have also become Mr Chandulal's son's godfather as I could not pass by the opportunity to buy a couple of cashmere jumpers at 3500R or £35 to you and I. We took Mark and Devindra who also purchased a number of high quality items leaving the final price negotiation to Paddy and I. Paddy decided on a novel approach, namely the Glaswegan technique. Much to Mr Chandulal's surprise he found himself in a headlock with a certain part of his anatomy being threatened unless a larger discount was offered! Mass hysterics all around and another 20% off, the technique seems to work but I'm not convinced that it will travel.

We had quite a late night but wanted to leave in good time to take the diversion to Kalimpong. Paddy drove, I navigated, very badly but we got on the right road which wound its way down from 2000m. It was a beautiful route, incredibly steep and twisty. I was somewhat quiet this morning and looking at the roadbook, the road, the sun beating down and the after effects of a late night all combined to create a perfect storm. After about half an hour I apologised to Paddy for being so quiet but warned him that I might need an emergency stop which occurred about 100m further on. It must have been the first time that I have been car sick in 40 years.

At the bottom of the hill Xavier announced that he was really struggling to turn the steering wheel right so we had to pull over. I think that it's the first time the Xavier has ever worn his overalls but credit where credit is due he manned up and we dealt with the issue systematically. First the greasing points were serviced to not much effect then we checked the steering column and box. The bracket holding the steering column was loose and the box needed steering oil which he had! It wasn't a perfect fix because we couldn't get one of the nuts fully tight, the bolt needs to be re-threaded but it was good enough. We were helped by two incredibly nice men, the first from Kalimpong who went to Dr Graeme's Home, the second being a mechanic. The first would take no money as a thank you, the second is 1000R richer and well deserved. The welcome and hospitality here is fantastic.

We abandoned our plans for Kalimpong as we had lost an hour on the side of the road and pushed onto Chalsa.

Char was taken at Karan's tea stall on the side of the road but sadly no lunch was available. There's quite a military presence in this part of India with plenty of soldiers on the move so we pushed on over the Coronation bridge to find another establishment for noodles.

We stopped at the Sattosh hotel on the side of the road which was no more than a shack but cooked delicious noodles and a bottle of water. Having been joined by Biddy and Bill (Bentley), Alan and Carol (Jaguar) and Ines and Xavier (Fangio) we soon found an enormous and very friendly crowd surrounding the cars. Extraordinarily enough the largest contingent was a bus load from the Salvation Army. Photos were taken, lots of chat was swapped and lunch had. Another fantastic experience.

We arrived in the Sinclair resort in good time. Paddy has run, I have walked and cycled, showered done my washing and am ready for an incredibly early start tomorrow. Before we leave tomorrow morning we are going off in a Jeep to try and find Asian rhino and elephant. It appears that the locals have a better idea of where their local wildlife is located than in tiger country. So it's up at 5.00am and we need the experience the nearly impossible, Paddy needs to be quiet! Then we are crossing the border into Bhutan....how exciting is that!!!

RHC

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