Yuksum to Pelling
We arrive in Yuksum, ready and prepared for a good couple of days of trekking around one of India's most beautiful states. After a refreshing nights sleep, (and a refreshingly cold shower) we wake early for a walk around the monastery, lake and town at dawn. We then set off on our hike toward the Kanchenjunga falls. We descend into the valleys armed with water, dates and a stick. The need for water and dates are obvious, the stick, that was for the rabid dog (literally foaming at the mouth) we saw the day before. After an intricate and detailed run through of what we would do if the dog approached it was concluded Charlie would hold it off with the stick and I would repeatedly throw rocks at it until we thought we would be able to either out run it, or eventually kill. It would have been a fight to the death, but luckily it never came to that. We spent some time at the falls before starting our hike to the next one. However we couldn't resist putting our hand out and flagging down the next car that came past, dropping us just short of Phamrongfalls. We spend a bit of time there also, jumping the rocks, reminiscent of our time in Nongriat. The walk back up to Yuksum was also short lived as we flag down the next car that comes along.

That night we meet some good people and spend the night drinking, telling stories and swapping contact details with promises of visits.
With mine and Charlie's nonchalant attitude you can imagine how difficult it is for us to make any decisions, unless it involves food of course. That said we do decide that we would go to Pelling, a popular stopover for Trekkers (and hitchhiker's) on the monastery trail. We checked into Garuda, a room with a great view.
After a couple of nights stay enjoying the scenery we go west, not far from the Nepalese border to a place called Utterey. We stay at one of the local home stays there and enjoy some good home cooking while the rain crashes down outside. The next morning with the sky clear from last nights rainfall, (every cloud has a silver lining) we trek up to Hillery park, a place named after the first person to climb Everest. When Charlie and I reached the top we stood in front of the statue of the first two people to climb Everest, it wasn't quite finished so it was covered (refer to pictures). We celebrated our small victory to the top with a few biscuits, I'm sure not too dissimilar from the two intrepid explorers stood in front of us. We walk down to the suspension bridge, the second largest in Asia, reminiscing of songs of past confessing our guilty pleasures of b*witched and backstreet boys.
Given our half trekker half hitchhiker attitude we hitch to the quiet hilltop village of Dentam, Indulge in some chai and some samosas and catch another ride back to Kacheperri lake. We head up the steep footpath that leads us to Pala home stay, mastered by an 85 year old veteran (who once used to cook for the Dalai Lama) and maintained by his multitude of children and grandchildren. The place was a haven for the spiritual, traveller or local alike. The land was rich with fruit and vegetables, live stock, puppies and looked over by the omnipresent Himalayan range.
After a delicious dinner, made by the Dalai lama's former chef, we sat round the fire while the stars filled the night sky.
As dawn breaks on the mountains we soak up the natural beauty the place has to offer. We walk around the holy lake in the morning, accompanied by our new friend Bruno, the dog. We begin the hike back to Pelling, passing the riverside town of Rimbi. The 15km walk/ skip being one of our favourites yet. We hitch back (obviously) to Pelling where we eat our way through the entire town.
After some homemade porridge the next morning, we get on a bus, then jeep back to Darjeeling. Ready for our long awaited arrival to Nepal.
With waterfalls around every corner, the valleys filled with a profusion of flora and fauna. Famed for its rhododendrons, orchids and red panda. It's a great place to ramble, get lost and meander. Sikkim. You have been sick.