What the fog !

We left Nepal (after a long journey by local buses) to arrive in Darjeeling, up the hills, on a foggy day. The fog was so thick we only discovered the mountains around after 4 days.

 

 

 

Misty town between the tea plantations. Narrow dark gray streets going up and down (but mostly up). Darjeeling looks like a beautiful British old city ...that was abandonned and let to the care of no one. The place is lively : Streets busy by small markets, people washing outdoor, street dogs, icones of Shiva or Ganesh in the corner... Like any indian town that would have teleported in the middle of a British ghost town, between colonial houses and surrealist clock-tower. And Darjeeling was a British city, founded in the hills after the colonial army took the region around (Gorkhaland) from the Kingdom of Nepal to incorporate it inside the Bengale province. Still people here keep a strong Himalayan identity. Yesterday we had a taste of colonial empire at tea time. Tea and scone in fancy British style house.

 

We really are in love with Darjeeling. The town is tranquil and the people welcoming. The small streets are familiar. The weather is chilly, or even cold when the clouds come down. It feels like home. Here we had opportunity to try not only the best tea, but also the best food! A few good adresses here have put our stomacs in joy after the daal bhat diet of Nepal. In Hasty Tasty, a self-service Indian cantine, we had some of the tastiest Indian meals so far. Everything was good : the thalis, the uttapams, the masala dosas, the malai koftas... And all those great things costed nothing at all! In Darjeeling we also had the best breakfasts at Sonam's and the best beer snacks at Gatty's for something "not Indian".

 

Obviously I can't write about Darjeeling without writting about tea. Here we stand in the Kingdom of Tea. Walking around the tea plantations we enjoyed the rare sunny and warm weather in Darjeeling before to reach the factory. The factory is closed in December but a funny woman welcomed us in her shop to give us a taste of the local tea. Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe Number One is the name of this very special Darjeeling tea, she says with a singing voice. This "golden tea" is not really black, and not green either. Very mild. Its preparation is the most impressive. Only 2 or 3 seconds in boiling water and the tea is ready. The woman threw the boiling water through the tea, and that was done! From Darjeeling's tea leaves are also made green and white teas.

From today we'll be in Ghum, a village near Darjeeling (7km). A recent earthquake demolished a buddhist temple. We proposed our help to the monks and so we'll spend the next week with them working together. And to reach Ghum, a short ride in the Toy Train!