Author Archives: Björn

All U Need is Tea … Darjeeling that is!

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If your association with Darjeeling is more on the (Special Finest) Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe side of things – well, it was finally time to have a closer look at camellia sinensis during a visit of a tea estate.

First we had to make our way back to Darjeeling (once more through horrendous traffic) and through town for us to get to the Happy Valley Tea Estate. After a downhill walk through the tea garden, we had a guided tour around the small estate museum, followed by a tour through the tea processing facility (no photography here). While the tour was informative, there was mostly not too much to see (this was very different during my visit of the tea factory in the Nilgiris).

After the visit we made it back up to the main road for a transfer into town for a proper tea tasting and an opportunity to buy some of the dried and fermented leaves.

Well – and as it is a short walk from tippy to tipsy, we continued straight from the tea tasting to yesterday’s restaurant for more great food and the best G&Ts of the trip. I call that appropriate behavior in a former hill station of the empire.

Tiger Hill Sunrise

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Today was a very early morning, with us leaving the hotel around 4am to make our way to the Tiger Hill viewpoint – a drive of about one hour. We were here to see the sun rise over the Eastern Himalaya and break its light over some of the giants to the North-West, with Khangchendzonga (at 8586m the world’s third highest) being the most prominent here.

This obviously is a major tourist attraction and the place was packed with other tourists (and per our guide this was not even a too busy day) – it was nevertheless a good thing to do – and the traffic jam the way down probably is just part of the quintessential Indian experience.

Back to India – incredible India

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It’s been a bit less than a decade since I have last been to India – a trip I remember as an action-filled and fairly intense one (read: sensory overload) … It was now indeed time to head back and explore another region of the subcontinent – now focusing on the North-Eastern states of West Bengal and Sikkim – continuing on into Bhutan.

Air India once more got me from Frankfurt to Delhi (on a fairly run-down 787) and on to Kolkata. We made it here in the afternoon and were picked up by the tour leader at the airport. The trip to the hotel tool a while through the Kolkata traffic – and we made it to the hotel after sunset. After dinner in the hotel, some of us ventured out to get a taste of the local beer.

Final Views of Svalbard …

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The trip had come to an end. From Longyearbyen it was back to a sweaty Hannover with some final glimpses of Svalbard from the plane as we were starting the trip back South.

Overall this has been another amazing and mind-blowing trip. Starting with all the different landing sites … similar, but still different; then of course the animal life – from musk oxen, an arctic hare and reindeer to walruses, whales and puffins – plus lucky us to see polar bears on three occasions. Plant life was fascinating as well – to see, what plants and flowers actually persevere and make it through in the harsh conditions up here. A real highlight then all the geological gems we were allowed to see – especially in East Greenland – overwhelmingly beautiful.

I guess, to me the highlights of the trip were indeed the geological attractions in Eastern Greenland – those formations of sedimentary rock in all those colors, nicely layered – as if build by an artist – those simply left me awestruck. The package around this actually added nicely – incl. the animal sightings – but also simply the down-times during which I made use of the amenities of the ship … it was a vacation at last. An epic journey has come to an end – and it is indeed a privilege having been a part of it – and being able to have witnessed what Svalbard and East Greenland have to offer.

Final Impressions at Longyearbyen

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We had made it to Longyearbyen – Svalbard’s capital – in the morning. We were to leave the ship after breakfast. As there was still plenty of time until our flight, a quick tour around town was offered, taking in the main attractions – starting with a drive from the small port to downtown, a tour through the excellent Svalbard Museum, followed by a self-guided stroll through the downtown pedestrian / shopping area for a last chance to catch up on souvenirs. From here it was on to the airport for the flight back South.

Relaxation at Sea

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The trip was now slowly coming to an end. We had left Greenland and were now on our 760nm journey back to Svalbard – a trip of two and half days.

The program on the ship continued … more lectures were offered – and obviously the amenities on the ship were at disposal … true relaxation at sea. Also the traditional farewell cocktail and dinner took place, as did the performance of the ship’s shanty choir.