Darjeeling
One lesson we’ve learnt whilst travelling: Remember that one person’s opinion is just that, one person’s opinion. Whether that one person writes for The Lonely Planet, whether they're a friend or whether they're a fellow traveler. Sometimes you have to go with your gut and find things out for yourself.We’d heard from a few people that Darjeeling was a let-down. Whilst in Sri Lanka we had overheard one traveller write-off the whole of China to a young, fresh-off-the-plane backpacker."China's crap, don't bother", he said to the wide-eyed impressionable young Canadian."India's OK, but Sri Lanka's better," he continued.We would travel to new destinations with no preconceptions.Despite this, it was hard to ignore the negative comments about Darjeeling, which seemed to increase the closer we got to this town in the state of West Bengal. Tales of excessive tourism and litter kept cropping up.
Although famed for its fantastic hiking opportunities, this wasn't an option for us, due to the time of year we had arrived. As moody and dramatic as the low clouds were, they would have restricted our view too much to have made any trekking worthwhile. Instead, we watched from below as the mist swirled around the mountain peaks and the sun's rays (occasionally) burst through the marshmallow clouds.Our homestay was recommended to us by Tara (who you'll know if you're read our Gangtok blog) and we felt so lucky to be staying there! Little Singamari was just perfect. The rate was excellent and the hospitality was first class. We couldn't have hoped to stay with a kinder family. We ate delicious homemade food and had some great chats. As we walked down the path past huge rose bushes and an array of wildflowers, we knew we we knew our stay was going to be special.
Although famed for its fantastic hiking opportunities, this wasn't an option for us, due to the time of year we had arrived. As moody and dramatic as the low clouds were, they would have restricted our view too much to have made any trekking worthwhile. Instead, we watched from below as the mist swirled around the mountain peaks and the sun's rays (occasionally) burst through the marshmallow clouds.Our homestay was recommended to us by Tara (who you'll know if you're read our Gangtok blog) and we felt so lucky to be staying there! Little Singamari was just perfect. The rate was excellent and the hospitality was first class. We couldn't have hoped to stay with a kinder family. We ate delicious homemade food and had some great chats. As we walked down the path past huge rose bushes and an array of wildflowers, we knew we we knew our stay was going to be special.
As well as its jaw-dropping mountainous backdrop, Darjeeling is arguably most well-known for its tea. After that, it is famed for its toy train. At least that’s what you’re led to believe. The gorgeous film The Darjeeling Limited certainly had something to do with our expectations here. In fact, it was the film that spiked our interest in visiting Darjeeling in the first place, despite the fact that that train doesn't even exist. (More fascinating facts about this amazing film here.) We spotted the train tracks on our way into Darjeeling. Apparently it used to go through the mountains, but now runs parallel to the road. Seeing as we were spoilt with the train in Sri Lanka, we decided to give it a miss.And so we continued on to the tea section of our visit. Although we'd done a similar thing in Munnar, we took a tour of a tea factory and learnt about the processes involved in making the perfect cuppa.
We also visited the The HMI (Himilayan Mountaineering Institute). In order to get here you have to walk through Darjeeling Zoo. Before our visit, the owner of our guesthouse, who is also a Forest Ranger told us about some of the very worthwhile conservation efforts of the zoo, particularly where red pandas are concerned. During our short walk through, we did see some incredible animals: (leopards, tigers, wolves), but zoo’s aren’t really our thing (another topic, for another blog). Although the animals mostly looked healthy, it was just too sad to see them locked up in cages, some of them howling, some of them pacing back and forth, so we didn't spend any time there.
In a matter of moments, the weather changed. Rain came down and the clouds began to hide everything from view. We took shelter under a little shack and then headed toward the town centre in search of momos.
Momos are rad. Such a good little snack. Steamed or fried dumplings full of tasty veg. We discussed in depth how you could make dessert momos by putting chocolate, cake, basically anything sweet inside. Mmmmmm, mouth is watering.We stumbled upon the Hot Stimulating Cafe. Thank heavens we did as this place was such a find. We had walked past it once before and had a giggle at the name. The second time though, we couldn't help but go inside and sit down at a rickety table. Classic rock was playing on the stereo and the whole place was just so cosy and charming! The owner gave us their guestbook to write in and it was just crammed full of compliments, drawings and various other tributes.
After our double helping of fried momos we headed for the town centre.
Certainly not what we were expecting to see. Breakdancers keeping it real. Such a beautiful bandstand to spend the day in, learning to pop and b-boy.Standing with your back to the bandstand was this wonderful view. Once again our new destination felt totally different from every place we had visited in India. Yes it was very touristy, like people had told us it was, but it was its own version of touristy. We were happy to be there in spite of the rubbish and the tourist tat, because it was new and mostly it was bloody beautiful.
That green building on the right in the photo above, that's the Oxford book shop. It's a wonderful shop to be in. It was full of thousands of interesting books and although it felt very British, many of the books were about India, Buddhism and philosophy.
Next we headed for tea and chocolate at Glenary's, a cute coffee shop/bakery with good wifi.
We found some internet whilst sipping Darjeeling's finest and googled our usual search terms “Insert area name + vegan". This little beauty showed up and it was just next door.
Vegan Waffles, OH MY S*@T
This was followed by some lovely music which we stumbled into on the side of the street.Here are some more snaps of wonderful Darjeeling.
Last but not least, we hit the cinema (again). Oh what an experience. Small and a little moist. The audio was turned down to 5 out of 10 and there were English subtitles the whole way through, even though the film itself was playing in English. There was also an intermission which came out of the blue. The film came back on without any warning. Keeps you on your toes that’s for sure.
All in all, Darjeeling was a great experience. A heart-warming little homestay with lovely people that were kind and welcoming. The landscape was wondrous. You won't bump into Adrien Brody there, but go with it and the whole place becomes truly captivating.
We also visited the The HMI (Himilayan Mountaineering Institute). In order to get here you have to walk through Darjeeling Zoo. Before our visit, the owner of our guesthouse, who is also a Forest Ranger told us about some of the very worthwhile conservation efforts of the zoo, particularly where red pandas are concerned. During our short walk through, we did see some incredible animals: (leopards, tigers, wolves), but zoo’s aren’t really our thing (another topic, for another blog). Although the animals mostly looked healthy, it was just too sad to see them locked up in cages, some of them howling, some of them pacing back and forth, so we didn't spend any time there. In a matter of moments, the weather changed. Rain came down and the clouds began to hide everything from view. We took shelter under a little shack and then headed toward the town centre in search of momos.Momos are rad. Such a good little snack. Steamed or fried dumplings full of tasty veg. We discussed in depth how you could make dessert momos by putting chocolate, cake, basically anything sweet inside. Mmmmmm, mouth is watering.We stumbled upon the Hot Stimulating Cafe. Thank heavens we did as this place was such a find. We had walked past it once before and had a giggle at the name. The second time though, we couldn't help but go inside and sit down at a rickety table. Classic rock was playing on the stereo and the whole place was just so cosy and charming! The owner gave us their guestbook to write in and it was just crammed full of compliments, drawings and various other tributes. After our double helping of fried momos we headed for the town centre.Certainly not what we were expecting to see. Breakdancers keeping it real. Such a beautiful bandstand to spend the day in, learning to pop and b-boy.Standing with your back to the bandstand was this wonderful view. Once again our new destination felt totally different from every place we had visited in India. Yes it was very touristy, like people had told us it was, but it was its own version of touristy. We were happy to be there in spite of the rubbish and the tourist tat, because it was new and mostly it was bloody beautiful.That green building on the right in the photo above, that's the Oxford book shop. It's a wonderful shop to be in. It was full of thousands of interesting books and although it felt very British, many of the books were about India, Buddhism and philosophy.Next we headed for tea and chocolate at Glenary's, a cute coffee shop/bakery with good wifi.We found some internet whilst sipping Darjeeling's finest and googled our usual search terms “Insert area name + vegan". This little beauty showed up and it was just next door.Vegan Waffles, OH MY S*@TThis was followed by some lovely music which we stumbled into on the side of the street.Here are some more snaps of wonderful Darjeeling.Last but not least, we hit the cinema (again). Oh what an experience. Small and a little moist. The audio was turned down to 5 out of 10 and there were English subtitles the whole way through, even though the film itself was playing in English. There was also an intermission which came out of the blue. The film came back on without any warning. Keeps you on your toes that’s for sure.All in all, Darjeeling was a great experience. A heart-warming little homestay with lovely people that were kind and welcoming. The landscape was wondrous. You won't bump into Adrien Brody there, but go with it and the whole place becomes truly captivating.