Darjeeling

It was a nice sunny morning so I decided to take an early walk around Observatory Hill. There was some low cloud in the valleys, but there was a clear view towards Tiger Hill and in the opposite direction the Kangchenjunga Range. Kangchendzonga, in Sikkim language, is the third highest mountain in the world. We had breakfast at Pine Ridge - waffles and pancakes. Bridget knew the people there as it was one of her favaorite places to come to eat.

After beakfast we went down to the markets. there were stalls everywhere. it seemed that the shoemakers were all in the same area, and the tailors in another. there were lots of small stalls with several men each sitting behind an old Singer type of sewing machine. We found a shop that Bridget had been told by the male teachers at school, made good suits at fair prices. After Bridget mentioned the suits, Andrew and Daniel decided to get some. We went in and began to discuss prices and materials. When I looked at the price, a tailor made suit with quality material for about $100, I decided to get one as well. They each decided to get three because that said they had longer to live than me. The owner called a tailor who arrived a couple of minutes later and began to take our measurements. We cose our materials, decided on how many buttons on the jacket, and whether to get a split back or not, and then arranged to pick up three of the suits on the 9th, because we leave on the 10th, and one of Bridget's friends would pick up the rest and post them to Australia for us. he owner was an interesting guy who had done lots of things, including being a musical director for Bollywood films. Daniel has an idea that he could take orders in Geelong and get the suits made to order, and then delivered. We'll see what happens. Andrew and Daniel also bought some dress shoes. I wonder how we are going to manage with all our gear and purchases.

After lunch we all went to the pictures to see - The Life of Pi. The picture theaters here have reclining seats, and they also still have intermission. We walked back to the hotel and had spaghetti bolognese and lasagne at the restaurant next door to the hotel. Bridget knew then as we'll.

Up again for an early walk - another good view of Kangchenjunga, then I went to the temple on top of Observatory Hill. There were lots of prayer flags and monkeys all over the place. It was early so they were just opening parts of the temple area. There were some monks at some of the shrines. One was twisting cotton wool into wicks to put into the little chalice type metal cups full of oil that they light. When I got back we all went for breakfast on the roof of the restaurant next door to the hotel. Great cooked breakfast with porridge and lemon ginger tea for about $4. Then we all walked up to the temple and then around the Obsrvatory Hill loop, but unfortunately there was so much cloud and smog that it was hard to see mountains.

We had lunch next door - pizza and spaghetti, and in the afternoon I walked around the city and then down to the railway station to check out the times of the Toy train to Ghoom, also spelt Ghum. The track goes all the way to Siliguri, except for the fact that there has been a landslide and it can now only do about 30 km of the 80 km trip. I then walked along the road for a while. I am amazed at the amount of accommodation built on the very steep sides of the mountain. Every possible space is used, even under a stairway becomes someones shop. Put up a few boards, sit on the ground, or create some sort of bench, and hang up, or display whatever you are selling. Much of the sidewalks, if there are any, are taken up with people putting down a plastic sheet and creating a stall, people repairing and making shoes, and beggars. You are forced to walk on the roads and the constant smell of diesel and petrol fumes is hard to cope with. I know why many of the locals walk around with a scarf - to keep their neck warm, but also to try and cut the fumes. Much of this city is walking only, cars are barred from many of the roads, but motorbikes still ply the roads and walkways. Many of the streets are quite steep and the main form of transport up here is shared Jeep, as many people as they can fit - usually four across the front seat, with a passenger between the driver and the onfloor gearstick, four on the next seat, and four on the back seat unless it is a longer wheel base and they may fit another six to eight. There are also some buses to other towns, and then there are private taxis where you can negotiate a price. 

I got up early again to go for a walk and see what the view was like today, but found that it was quite cloudy. Each morning I have been to the foyer to find that the front door is locked and the security shutters have been pulled down and locked. I have disturbrd the manager and he has unlocked the padlocks on either side of the shutter at ground level. I have no idea what would happen if there was a fire. I walked down to Chowrasta, the main square area wher people congregate of a morning, evening, and in fact, all day to watch what is going on and to sit in the sun. There are not too many places in Darjeeling where you might get sunlight for terribly long. At this time of year sunrise is around 7 am, and sunset is around 4:30 pm.