After a good nights sleep we were unsure what we would do today. Everyone told us that all of the places of interest are too far from the 'city' centre to walk, so we would need to rent a taxi for the day. We decided we would walk into the centre to have breakfast and then decide what to do. The waiter in the restaurant was really nice and helped explain a lot of the Indian dishes available. He had a fantastic moustache and was a great help, so we had to take a photo of us together.
After studying the map, we decided that we should try walking to visit the Buddhist Enchey Monastery. It didn't look too far, even though it was all uphill. On the way we discovered several sets of big steep steps which cut the corner of the winding road to the top. Accidentally, we stumbled across a beautiful park which we had a good look around. We took our time but eventually made it to the top. We had arrived at the monastery! They were completing a lot of restoration work but we got to see great views and visit many temple areas.
With our new found hill climbing confidence, we thought we would keep going and try to make it to Ganesh Tok. The Hindu temple is famed for its majestic views. So, off we went! Again we took a few sets of steep steps to cut corners which wound their way through small villages. We walked on small paths and rocky roads but we made it! We rewarded ourselves with a cup of chai from a lady at the roadside.
Just before we entered Ganesh Tok, we were approached by a young couple on holiday from Kolkata. They wanted a photo of us all together, so we obliged. They were fun and we may well see them again in Kolkata. Ganesh Tok had great views, though we couldn't see the biggest snow capped mountains due to the cloud.
We watched a couple from Nepal being blessed and they explained the ritual plus shared a few of the delicious sweets they were given as part of their blessing. Next door to the temple there was a haunted house. It was a disused building that a few local teenagers had comendered, covered the windows, made a sign, dressed up as ghosts and charged an entry fee. They would then scare you by jumping out when you least expected it. It looked fun but we didn't go inside!
We followed the same route down from the top but stopped for lunch at a café in a park, outside a school. It was good food, in a beautiful setting and very peaceful. That is until the school football team came to celebrate their victory. They all had a carton of apple juice and a huge dumpling, called a Typho. One of the team came and introduced himself and very proudly told us he was 'Man of the Match'. The boys were all very polite, uniforms immaculate and explicably well behaved!
After making it back to the hotel, we had a little rest before hitting the town for the night. We were all set to party until the early hours, however, everywhere closed at 9pm! We just had time for tea and cakes before we returned to our hotel.
After studying the map, we decided that we should try walking to visit the Buddhist Enchey Monastery. It didn't look too far, even though it was all uphill. On the way we discovered several sets of big steep steps which cut the corner of the winding road to the top. Accidentally, we stumbled across a beautiful park which we had a good look around. We took our time but eventually made it to the top. We had arrived at the monastery! They were completing a lot of restoration work but we got to see great views and visit many temple areas.
With our new found hill climbing confidence, we thought we would keep going and try to make it to Ganesh Tok. The Hindu temple is famed for its majestic views. So, off we went! Again we took a few sets of steep steps to cut corners which wound their way through small villages. We walked on small paths and rocky roads but we made it! We rewarded ourselves with a cup of chai from a lady at the roadside.
Just before we entered Ganesh Tok, we were approached by a young couple on holiday from Kolkata. They wanted a photo of us all together, so we obliged. They were fun and we may well see them again in Kolkata. Ganesh Tok had great views, though we couldn't see the biggest snow capped mountains due to the cloud.
We watched a couple from Nepal being blessed and they explained the ritual plus shared a few of the delicious sweets they were given as part of their blessing. Next door to the temple there was a haunted house. It was a disused building that a few local teenagers had comendered, covered the windows, made a sign, dressed up as ghosts and charged an entry fee. They would then scare you by jumping out when you least expected it. It looked fun but we didn't go inside!
We followed the same route down from the top but stopped for lunch at a café in a park, outside a school. It was good food, in a beautiful setting and very peaceful. That is until the school football team came to celebrate their victory. They all had a carton of apple juice and a huge dumpling, called a Typho. One of the team came and introduced himself and very proudly told us he was 'Man of the Match'. The boys were all very polite, uniforms immaculate and explicably well behaved!
After making it back to the hotel, we had a little rest before hitting the town for the night. We were all set to party until the early hours, however, everywhere closed at 9pm! We just had time for tea and cakes before we returned to our hotel.