“It’s just a short walk from the Dekeling,” said jolly Mrs Dekeva, our homestay hostess.

I wonder how much longer Jamie and I are going to believe our dear Gorkha friends when they tell us somewhere is only a stroll away. My antennae should have been twitching when I found it wasn’t marked on my Darjeeling street plan. The Tibetan Self Help Refugee Centre does, however, appear as an innocent dot at the top of the small scale Lonely Planet map of the whole mountainous area. But a quick check (using my finger tip to measure) convinced me it was only 4 kilometres from our starting point. Continue reading »