Whether the veganin can claim any credit, or it was simply that my body had struggled back to health I can’t say, but I certainly felt ten thousand times better this morning. After my enforced confinement, remarkably perky + eager to be out, in fact. I even treated Val + Annabel to my own edited version of the hits from Jungle Book – can’t remember why. Val + I climbed up the hill to a snack bar advertising bacon rolls + bacon burgers to sample their wares, + then wished we hadn’t, + then moved along to the Youth Hostel to look at the sleeping bags they have for hire, + to get some advice on trekking. With me feeling as fit as I now do, + with the weather clearing – we could even see the mountains this morning – we have decided to go on a short trek. Our first positive step was to go down to the Foreigners’ Registration Office to get positive permission for it. It took some time to round up someone to help us. Eventually, when we had done so, the man told us that really it was a holiday, so he shouldn’t be here at all. On reflection, it has just occurred to me that this may have been a plea for baksheesh, but at the time my natural naivety carried me thro’ a potentially difficult situation. All we thought then is that we should round up Annabel, who had also expressed some interest in going on the trek, to get her own permit, since the official might disappear at any moment. She was as scatty as ever, appearing in a flustered state, + without her passport. I don’t know how she will cope with trekking, being small + frail + not apparently the outdoor type at all. While engaged in bureaucracy, I took the opportunity to have some passport photos taken, the first time I’ve ever gone thro’ the business not in an automatic box. It is relatively cheap to have such photos taken here, + as it is likely I will need some more, it seems sensible to have some done.
We then went to one other place where equipment can be hired, an independent place called Summit Tours. It didn’t prove to be too efficient however – after some goading they came up with one sleeping-bag, + 2 tatty + much-patched down jackets. Our idea was that these last could be used in combination with the Youth Hostel bags, which were rather thin + beaten + too short. Summit Tours told us to come back in the afternoon, so I took responsibility for doing that, for collecting all the gear in fact, since Val was keen on visiting the nearby Buddhist monastery at Ghoom. My own self-appointed tasks proved more difficult than I had anticipated – the Warden of the Youth Hostel wasn’t in, necessitating 2 walks up that hill. At Summit too, they weren’t ready for me for some time. At first, they were dealing with Dave + Suzanne, surprisingly. Surprising first because D + S hadn’t been planning to go trekking at all, second because I’d met Dave earlier who had been about to walk out, more or less permanently, on Suzanne, + third because they were being supplied with 2 sleeping bags, the very things we had wanted + been assured they didn’t have.
When Val returned, she was with Annabel, + they were both in hugely high spirits. Val hadn’t gone to Ghloom (just as well, for it was far further than she had thought) but had spent the afternoon shopping. The particular reason for their hilarity was that they had exchanged a fake bottle of French perfume made in Thailand, cost $2.20, for a hand-knitted chunky sweater, value at least $10. I pretended to be horrified at their callousness, but business is most definitely business, + that this was a positive display of supply + demand. The 3 of us went out to celebrate with a meal at one of Darjeeling’s better restaurants, Glenarry’s. It was very nice, tho’ also very expensive. To complete the celebration, I bought 3 bottles of beer (called Lager 2000) to take back, partly because I thought I’d enjoy it, partly because I thought Dave wouldn’t mind a drop too. In both respects, I was absolutely correct.
Phew – being ill is not good at the best of times, but when one cannot access all of the comforts of home, it can be pretty miserable. So we could have been in a worse place for me to convalesce.
