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Other entries in Darjeeling

india is redeeming itself

packed ourselves like sardines into a shared jeep out of siliguri. 3 peeps in the back seat was comfy. adding the 4th guy was just greedy and painful. at least I was properly wedged in for the switchbacks - we gained 5000ft in 90k.

road was 1.5 lanes at best, did a lot of backing up in the 1 lane bits when we lost the 'whose car is bigger' test. took a ten minute pit stop at some random hillside village and got invited into a wedding happening on the roadside!

the mother of the groom invited us in and would have had us stay forever if we could. not surprised - if my understanding of indian customs is correct, the brides family pays for the wedding so of COURSE the mother of the groom is invite happy. inside, the bride and groom were framed by this glittering box - just sitting there on display for all the relatives to sit in chairs and stare back at them. so funny! 

alas our jeep was about to abandon us so made a hasty wedding retreat (still able to get an email address to send wedding pics to - so random), hopped back in for maybe 20k then got a flat. driver was speedy with the jack so back on the road before I could even complain, hit more traffic jams, switchbacks, cool buildings and then around a corner, onto a ridge over a huge valley and bam! were in darjeeling.

darjeeling is a true hill station - town is set into super steep hillsides, buildings built one on top of the other, sweet english feel to the older buildings (at least collonization was good for one thing).

our first night we stayed in a hotel recommended by the siliguri place we stayed. had a cool view n all (saw the himalayan range in the AM before the fog/smog set in) but man it was wicked cold. our room was 8.5C this AM - that's only 1C more than at the orphanage!!!....so we bagged outta the place in search of heaters and sunshine - 2 new requirements in wherever we stay.

found a gem on the main square (and benefited from off season discounts again) - wood panneled rooms, huge sunny windows, our own pot bellied stove, rooftop patio with nepal, tibet and buhtan views, a meditation room, and even pet rats. met the owner - old tibetan dude who used to ride horses doing trading between tibet and india. he has super cool picks of his trips in the 40s: monestaries, snowy mountain passes, his horses, his mates - this guy will be cool to get to know, hope to bump into him a lot more.

overall, this town is *excellent* - totally doesn't feel like india. strong chinese/nepalese/tibetan influence in architecture, food and people - this town doesn't care that its within india's borders.

today we surrounded ourselves with sunshine and feel oh so much better. altho I'm anxious to get into nepal, I think I'll stay here 2 weeks at least - lots to explore on foot, steep hills to start getting me in shape, perfect medium-range altitude (as in same as denver - so SAD 5000ft whoops my ass these days), and great food.

yeah, found a home for a while.

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