After three days of transit (7 hour bus, hotel, auto-rickshaw, plane, auto-rickshaw, bicycle rickshaw, bus, bicycle rickshaw, hotel, bicycle rickshaw, 4 hour winding jeep!) we staggered into the bustling streets of Darjeeling and lugged our 23kg of baggage 20 minutes uphill to Chowrastra, half-heartedly vowing to live the rest of our lives there so that we would never have to travel again. (Ironically the downside of traveling is the traveling.)
We had been too busy being blissful in Nepal to do any Darjeeling research, and so were full of vague ideas of becoming tea connoisseurs within a Himalayan setting - probably with rainbows and frolicking lambs in the foreground. It turned out to be not even close to that time of year so we settled for the alternative of learning about tea within a setting of dense cloud and enjoying the attractions that were visible at 20 metres or less – the natural history exhibits, diverse wildlife, beautiful temples, delicious delicious food, the sweet locals, the intriguingly enormous number of stray dogs and the Beatles Revolver album themed hotel where we could buy coffee made from beans (supercool!).
Darjeeling turned out to be full of surprises that contradicted little suppositions and perspectives I’d never consciously thought about, but had nonetheless. For example: many types of big cat are of a similar weight to human adults; the perfect amount of time to brew a high quality tea is five minutes; a person can survive and walk with their hands when they have no legs and no hips; and Sherpa Tenzing was the first man to climb Mt Everest along with his friend Sir Edmond Hillary - and certainly not the other way around. Ouch New Zealand!
The view from our hotel, the Olde Main Bellevue Heritage Hotel.
The town square on Mall Road, no vehicles or smoking allowed. Dogs rule here at night.
Mall Road, never a lack of dogs... or to our surprise, sweet pastries!
So we're in Darjeeling, we love tea, we missed out in Sri Lanka...
First the leaves are gathered and spread over these tables to dry, the picture below shows the giant fans that keep the air circulating.
Then the crispy but still greenish leaves are then poured down a chute into the 100 year old rolling machines which rub out the flavour. They are then put through screens to sort the high quality tips from the leaves.
Finally the leaves are left to dry on tables (the smell is fantastic) and go through a heat process before being packed.
Some tea sampling... the cup on the right is the famous 10,000 rupees ($270 NZD) per kg silver tips enjoyed by the Queen and other rich tea enthusiasts. Unfortunately it was all gone by the time I took the picture... but it was a very clear colour, and very subtle taste.
Sophie with Mt Everest! (at 4am)
A Buddhist monastery we visited, and below the peace pagoda.
And finished of with a trip to the zoo.
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