My trip to Darjeeling actually began with grand plans to visit a Wildlife Refuge, cross the border on a day trip to Bhutan, and trekking the Himalayan foothills. Unfortunately, I had eaten something that didn't agree with me (possibly the McDonald's Veggie burger), so I had to take a day off in Siliguri and spent 24 hours in bed or on the toilet. In addition the tourism office had pretty lousy hours of operation, so I decided to just head for Darjeeling and look into trekking when I got there.
After my 24 hour respite, I caught a shared Jeep Taxi up the mountain to Darjeeling. The trip was suppose to take two and a half hours, but turned into an all day affair. Our driver must have eaten at McDonald's as well, because he was stopping every hour to squat behind a tree or use a roadside toilet. At the fifth stop, he came back out with a new driver, I assumed he was swapping out so he could stay by a toilet, but he jumped in the back seat instead. The new driver started the Jeep and broke the transfer case as soon as he put the truck in gear. We hung around the jeep about 15 minutes, and I was wondering how we'd get the rest of the way to Darjeeling but had no one to ask that spoke English. My answer came when everyone started moving to another jeep that had room for our group and our driver slipped the new driver some cash. We transferred luggage, got cozier and finished the journey.
The drive was long, but the scenery was impressive and the air cooled as we climbed into the clouds. When we arrived, the city was cloaked in clouds, and I hiked up the hill to the center of town to check into the Bellevue Hotel. The hotel had it's own charm with wood paneling, a rooftop shrine, small garden and windows overlooking the town square. It was ran by a Tibetan man who had worked with the Dali Lama in his younger years and had old pictures of those days lining some of the walls. The city is draped over a steep ridge so everywhere you go is either up or down and most roads run parallel to one another and are connected by stairs. Despite the fact that I was still in India, the area and people did not look Indian but reflected more of a mix of the surrounding countries of Nepal, China and Bhutan. The city is packed with buildings clinging to the steep slopes, and gives way to lush green of tea plantations and the rich vegetation of foothill forests of Bamboo and evergreens. However, the air was thick with clouds, fog and haze my entire visit so the scenery faded quickly, and I rarely saw a horizon and never beyond to the mountains beyond.
The drive was long, but the scenery was impressive and the air cooled as we climbed into the clouds. When we arrived, the city was cloaked in clouds, and I hiked up the hill to the center of town to check into the Bellevue Hotel. The hotel had it's own charm with wood paneling, a rooftop shrine, small garden and windows overlooking the town square. It was ran by a Tibetan man who had worked with the Dali Lama in his younger years and had old pictures of those days lining some of the walls. The city is draped over a steep ridge so everywhere you go is either up or down and most roads run parallel to one another and are connected by stairs. Despite the fact that I was still in India, the area and people did not look Indian but reflected more of a mix of the surrounding countries of Nepal, China and Bhutan. The city is packed with buildings clinging to the steep slopes, and gives way to lush green of tea plantations and the rich vegetation of foothill forests of Bamboo and evergreens. However, the air was thick with clouds, fog and haze my entire visit so the scenery faded quickly, and I rarely saw a horizon and never beyond to the mountains beyond.
Since the weather seemed questionable with rain and cloudy skies forecasted for the next few days, and I was not feeling 100 percent, I decided against the trekking. However, I did meet two Aussie girls that went on a four day trek during my stay. They reported great weather, saw all five of the major peaks and couldn't stop raving about how well the trek turned out... of course, I was jealous and would have been happier if they didn't talk about it at all.
I also wanted to go white water rafting while I was there and assumed the spring run off would have the rivers rumbling. Unfortunately, that was not the case and the tour groups weren't even running rafting trips because the river was actually too low! My final disappointment was an early morning trip to Tiger Hill to watch the sunrise and try to catch a glimpse of Mt Everest and the other peaks that you can see from the hill on a good day. Sadly, it was not a good day and we couldn't even see Darjeeling five kilometers up the ridge. The sun had probably risen an hour before it finally burned through/climbed over the mist and clouds and into view from the three story viewing station that has been built on the hill to facilitate all the tourist like me, who make this morning pilgrimage. The other tourist were probably the most interesting part of the trip. They were mostly Indian and let out a collective cheer when the sun finally came into view.
I also wanted to go white water rafting while I was there and assumed the spring run off would have the rivers rumbling. Unfortunately, that was not the case and the tour groups weren't even running rafting trips because the river was actually too low! My final disappointment was an early morning trip to Tiger Hill to watch the sunrise and try to catch a glimpse of Mt Everest and the other peaks that you can see from the hill on a good day. Sadly, it was not a good day and we couldn't even see Darjeeling five kilometers up the ridge. The sun had probably risen an hour before it finally burned through/climbed over the mist and clouds and into view from the three story viewing station that has been built on the hill to facilitate all the tourist like me, who make this morning pilgrimage. The other tourist were probably the most interesting part of the trip. They were mostly Indian and let out a collective cheer when the sun finally came into view.
I did take a few tourist trips around the town to visit the Botanical Gardens, Zoo, the Mountaineering Institute, and Happy Valley Tea Plantation. The Mountaineering Institute only made me more disappointed that I hadn't made it on a trek, but I actually had a relapse with my 'Dehli belly' or 'Kolkata cramps' as the case may be, so I was probably better off missing out. We did our own trek down to the Tea Plantation, which the Lonely Planet made out to be a must see, but a drive by would have sufficed. The tea pickers are quite colorful against the green blanket tea bushes, with umbrellas of every shade connected to the baskets on their backs for tea leaves. Anyway, I did not feel the best on the hike down to the plantation, which may have dampened my opinion of the plantation tour. I had no appatite and felt exausted when we got back, and I ended up spending another 24 hours between bed and the bathroom and went to the pharmacy for antibiotics the next day. Despite being ill, I was happy that it happened during my free week between tours, so I had a chance to do nothing... even if I would have much rathered done more.
Despite all the disappointments, I did meet two good guys from Australia that I hung out with through out my stay in Darjeeling. They were traveling through India before heading into Nepal to climb to the first hill station on Everest. They were great company, and I hope the rest of their trip went well. It would have been nice to join them, but I was off to continue my own adventure. All that stood between me and China was another Jeep back down the mountain to catch another overnight bus, and a 18 hour wait at the airport for my flight out of India. Oh joy!
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