David S. Demarest

The cool and damp airs of the Himalaya foothills.  So refreshing after the heat of southern India and Bangkok!

But first, a few photos from Kolkata…

   A street scene outside my hotel… 

    The hotel lobby       The hotel sitting room

    My Kolkata room        A ricksaw

I flew yesterday from Kolkata to Bagdroga, spending the evening in Siliguri about 12km from the airport.  In the morning I took a ricksaw down to the “shared jeep” terminal to find a ride to Darjeeling.  Believe me, the choices were many and the offers were flying fast!

By definition, shared jeep is a vehicle that typically holds 10 plus the driver.  Three in the front seat, four in the middle, and four on benches in the back.  A tight fit!  Cost is Rs80, about $2 US, and the drive is 90km and takes about three hours!  Your money can go a long way in India!

The drive was, by and large, interesting.  Numerous small towns, very crooked, steep and narrow road, and lots of other share jeeps.  What was probably most striking was the tea plantations – they are absolutely orderly and beautiful stretching across the rolling – and often – steep hillsides.  It is not often one finds the opportunity to use the word “orderly” when speaking of India.

Darjeeling itself sits on top of and alongside a lengthy ridge at 2,134 meters above see level – about 6,400 feet.  Everywhere you look you have a view, and everywhere you look you see either tea plantations or clusters of houses and other structures scattered across the hillsides.   Did not do much exploring today, but plan on doing so tomorrow.

  Shared Jeeps ready to go Siliguri     Darjeeling plaza

  View from my room