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So Sikkim is Amazing and beautiful, and someday I will write a chapter on it. On The history of humans and invasion, colonization & “development”. On the other hand, other people have already done that.

I have this story to write, so, if you are interested in Sikkim, do a search and read a book on it’s history. Don’t go there, it has enough trouble and tourists without me sending more.

Anyway, It was a wonderful visit, especially tiger hill, sunrise, Oh that Was Darjeeling?

Darjeeling was before Sikkim and I think where this story starts, cause I bet that’s when Robert Died, When I was trekking up in the Siliguri National forest. In India, The highest national park in the world, (at least that what India claims, I bet china with it’s stolen Tibet has a higher park, but perhaps they are not up to that bit of propaganda, yet . . .

So I was lost in the Himalayan foothills, trying to get to Rimbek and hopelessly far from the trail, when I started to realize I was far from the trail, alone, hiking in a place where a twisted ankle could easily lead to death, with NO Matches! ! ! Important, carry matches when hiking alone. I think I had a dead cell phone (= dead camper) not to mention, when you are in a foreign country, update your sim card so your phone works & you have a # to call in an emergency, 911 does not work in India . . . (or Nepal)

Back to wandering around in the woods, I started to get worried I was lost, realized I had to “rescue” myself, and that I would have to hike back up the thousand feet or so I had so easily wandered down, creek side, riverbank and hill. Going up is a bitch. And yet, the first thing is saw when I headed up was The Corpse of a Red Panda . . .

Now what is a Red Panda? It is a Fox like creature, Beautiful and rare, a spirit animal I had hoped to see on my journey. Seeing a dead one was an omen of a sort, but I could not read it at the time, Perhaps is I had touched it, cut some hair, desecrated it, Would that have “deepened my connection”? Perhaps, but all I did was pause, pray for it’s and my peace, ask it’s spirit to guide me home, and not take a picture and hike up the hill.

Did I know that this was my friend Robert? Is it “true?” Can it be, I don’t know, yet I did and do feel some strange connection, then and now between these events. Obviously I got back up to the road after an interesting 8 hours wandering around that particular few square miles of hillside and ridgeline.

Lo & Behold, as evening fell and the temperature plummeted, I was Picked up by a film crew from Club JR a post production company working for Channel “E” Bengal. My friend Arniban and the guys & Gals there work their butts off making excellent shows 12 hours a day at least 6 days a week and seem pretty dam happy to have “good” jobs in Calcutta . . .

As I found so typical during my journey, these people were kind, interested, friendly and generous with their attention, time, culture and made a effort to take care of me and converse with me in English, take me to dinner in Nepal and get me tucked into a hotel back in India by 10 PM that night. What an adventure!