Well haven't had the time to pen anything since quite a while now. Been too busy dealing with life and my alcoholism though i've been trying to cut down as much as I can. I seem to have put on quite a lot of weight. Well this would be the last bit of the backpacker diaries for now until March... Well Yes March it is when me and Mikhail are headed on a trip again and this time probably for more than 30 days. Well where we are going is decided but will let you fellow readers know later. :P

Well the next morning i wake up to the sunrise in Darjelling and go to the oldest and the most famous coffee shop around. A chicken burger and some amazing coffee costed me 35Rs. Rathan and I spent 70 totally for a heavy breakfast. We were out of funds already and needed to do something about it. Rathan happened to call a friend in Australia and we picked up funds from the nearest western union outlet. Darjelling was growing on me... The people are the place and the way things were, I just felt like staying back. It was in Darjelling that i was being asked by women if I were single and have a girl friend and weird questions. haha... They wanted to know my entire background 5 minutes into a conversation at their shops. Well yes I do have this obsession of picking up shoes, shawls, jackets and mufflers where ever I go... "Adds to my collection". Though I hate shopping I can be an impulsive shopper at times picking up lots of junk and it so happens I always have buy another back pack which eventually becomes a front pack. So in total a tent, a sleeping bag, a back pack and another bag on my chest... Hmmm now thats some weight, its all good over a period of time you get used to it. :) When people look at you they feel your a potter but only a backpacker would understand this way of travelling.

Rathan decided on leaving and he did leave early in the afternoon. It was after he left I felt I need to leave as well. There was some kinda quietness and I didn't really like it. We had been traveling together for almost a month now and we became the best of buddies. Wouldn't really mind backpacking with him again. :)

In a hurry I took the next available cab to Siliguri. Thats where Ratan was headed so he could take a bus and go to Calcutta and back to Bangalore. I reached only 15 mins before he could start of to Calcutta. Now came the moment of deciding. I was back on the road and needed to head to another destination. I asked Rathan to leave and wanted more funds so asked him to transfer the same once he is in Calcutta. I took of to Gangtok at 7 in the evening and spent only a night. The next morning I got back to Siliguri and to my left was Bhutan again 2 hours away... this is when sent a text to Mikhail from. :) Took a bus to Calcutta and stayed at a guest house called Capitol for 200Rs a day. The weather in Calcutta was quite nice... raining and everywhere around were preparations going on for Diwali and Kali Pooja. The first day i took a shower and walked around lindsay street and park street. Called a friend who gave directions to the taxi driver. A friend of his joined us and we polished some really old dry wine and I was already tipsy.

Drove around the city and went to quite a few pubs and discotheques. Soho was where we finally landed and what a surprise. I had 4 pints of fosters and my bill was 1000Rs. Well I haven't spent that kind of money throughout the trip on alcohol. This was literal extravaganza with women and men dancing away to Hindi Music. Why was everyone looking at me?? what was wrong with me?? It finally dawned to me that I looked like an alien to them with all the junk in my hands, legs, neck and my hair. Even my clothes seemed alien i suppose. Shorts and a T shirt with Slippers. lol. Yeah and how can i forget my beard.

Well whatever happened that night was quite nice. Though it was Hindi music and a discotheque yet it gave a feeling of the city being alive in the darkness of the night and people not being troubled for dancing and having fun unlike Bangalore.

The next day I woke up quite early and went for breakfast to a restaurant in the next lane. Had a very heavy breakfast which comprised of two chicken club sandwiches, Orange Juice and a glass of milk. No wonder I've been putting on weight.

Met an English couple and we decided on going out for a drink later in the night. Well we did go out for a drink and got so drunk that we didn't know our way back to our hotels. Some place else it was. A nice small place where live bands perform at the Park hotel but too loud for the space.

Well We did manage to reach our hotels eventually. The next morning I met Portugal woman who just reached Calcutta at the same breakfast hotel. She seemed rather charming and struck a conversation with me. Well this was interesting because she figured out I wasn't from the north for the way I speak and had all the good things possible to speak about South Indians. Well the moment of truth, i finally figured she's been back packing since the last 2 years and has only two more countries to travel to. Australia and Thailand and the lady told me she was in Calcutta only for a day. Unfortunately it was this day that I had to leave Calcutta because of Diwali being on the same day and it was extremely difficult to get a flight. I was running out of funds and couldn't really afford to waste any more time. With great difficulty I did tell her that I need to leave today but we can spend the rest of the day together and we did. We walked around on the streets of Calcutta. Park Street, Victoria and many other places doing some petty shopping and me buying sweets for my family. Well nothing interesting now I really did have to leave, my flight was at 5:00PM and I was mesmerized by this woman. :D hehe. I bid her goodbye and left to the airport and we promise we shall meet each other on our next long backpacking trip maybe in 2010. :)

Well before i left to the airport I ensure I gulped down quarter a bottle of Rum, i was going home... and yes home was calling. Though I don't like Chetan Bhagat I bumped into one of his books called 4 mistakes of my life. Reading the blurb which said the novel is based on a true story, inspired me to buy it for a quick read. Well I started the book before I got through the security check and completely lost track of what was happening after that. I don't even remember when I reached Bangalore and when I boarded a bus to get back home. By the time I finished the book I was already home and I was like wooow... that was quick, what happened??? lol... time travel???? Black hole??? hmmmm.....

Well im home I thought... and yes i was home... Now I await my next trip in March. Hope you readers enjoyed what you read so far.