Kanchenjunga

One of the things I was hoping to see when I went to Sikkim was Mount Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world at 8,586 m (28,169 ft). However, I was there during monsoon, when the mountain was shrouded in mist and hidden from sight. Then, on my final morning in Darjeeling, I threw open my hotel window and saw this:

Not the highest mountain in the world, but possibly the most beautiful, though I would have needed a zoom lens to do it justice. My school in Sikkim was located in the foothills just below that mountain.

When I was in Darjeeling, I visited the venerable Oxford Book Store in the Mall. They have an excellent selection of books about mountaineering and about the Himalayan region. I was delighted to discover they had three copies of Under the Holy Lake for sale.