Darjeeling Days

Hiking the bike and bag full of bike spares up to the hotel 200 metres above on Darjeeling ridge was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Super steep road full of giggling kids on their way to school laughing away at the plight of the self tortured tourist; I could have rented out a porter.
Refuse to do anything else all day apart from embarking on a short walk and retiring to a bar in the evening with a few pleasantish other tourists. 6 pints and a karaoke interspersed by a scuffle over the mike between two Nepali's an Elvis singer and an angry young man who wanted to sing Cliff Richard.
Fix up the bike on the second day and have a short ride out super steep road descents followed by even steeper climbs back up. Abandon and decide to go for a trek tomorrow. Evening meals in ill ventilated tiny Tibetan place, become overwhelmed by the kerosene fumes produced from the cooking and almost collapse into my beef momos and vegetable thukpa.
Day three sees me out earlyish in misty conditions on the trek some super section of tracks that would be cracking on the bike but would have to carry about 50% so become dispirited. Stumble down the tracks into a cricket match being played out on a 5 yard wide track carved out of the mountainside. Locals produce 30 balls for each match made out of stones wrapped around with cloth and rubber bands. Reckon they have not got enough as ball after ball disappears down the mountain to be chased after by tiny kids whose job it is try to retrieve them. Return to Darjeeling 1/2 mile back up in the sky up super steep steps.