Darjeeling Part 1

Adam 12/25/2008

Darjeeling, a little bit of background first. Darjeeling was a British Hill station (where they went when it got too hot in the low lands) which became popular for its proximity to Calcutta, and its potential to grow amazing tea. Due to its elevation and its cold winters Darjeeling is well suited to growing tea. Our stay in Darjeeling was pretty quite (which isn't a bad thing), December is a part of Darjeeling off season due to a hiatus in tea growing and cool weather. The day after we arrived we went out for breakfast only to discover that the town really doesn't wake up until 9am. We did end up finding a place to have breakfast but it wasn't where we originally intended. Following breakfast we proceeded to explore around the town. After lunch we made a visit to one of the local tea plantations only to discover that it was shut down for the winter. A couple had set up shop near the factory inviting tourist in for tea and giving them and explanation of the tea growing and processing in Darjeeling. After an animated explanation they proceeded to sell us black market tea smuggled out of the factory. We of course couldn't pass up the opportunity to obtain some black market goods so we purchase we did. The next day our tea buying juices had started flowing and we went in search of Radhika & Son a reputable local tea merchant who operated in the heart of the local market. This was no easy task since any local Indian market consist of a labyrinth of stalls buildings and anything else you can think of. Eventually we did find Radhika & Son only to discover that they were closed on Thursdays, well something to do on Friday then. After our trip to the market we visited the Botanical Gardens. The gardens started during late 1800s was actually quite impressive. They had a pretty good garden of medicinal plants which were well labeled (Including one labeled Cannabis which had no leaves on it???). The garden also had several closed green house which contained an impressive array of plants. All in all it was an enjoyable visit. After the gardens we trekked back in to town and decided that we would leave the next day. We had done all we wanted in Darjeeling, but our train wasn't leaving until Sunday so we decided to visit a near by town called Kalimpong. There was a cinema near our guesthouse and they happened to be showing one Hollywood movie...The Transporter 3, not exactly my top choice but for less than $2 I decided a movie would be enjoyable. Jim and I went to an early dinner and he went home while I went to the movies. Alright that's going to be all for now since I'm about to call the family. Merry Christmas everyone. Hope everyone will join us next time to learn why we didn't leave Darjeeling the next day...or the day after.