• We had an awesome night in the hotel in Siliguri, which featured a dinner fit for the elite, though one we could hardly characterize as Indian. A.J.’s dish was the most amazing one, featuring a sizzler (it sizzled loudly as it was brought out) of vegetables and paneer served in a cabbage. The sauce was amazing, and the vegetables rocked!
  • After breakfast, we took a jeep for a two-hour trip to Darjeeling. We were originally going to arrive in Darjeeling the night before and take the toy train back to Siliguri, but since we were delayed a day, we opted for the jeep. The jeep followed the same path as the train, but took two hours instead of eight, so we felt vindicated.
  • The path to Darjeeling was beautiful - it was the only all-green, all-mountain experience we had in India. There were tea plantations everywhere along the way (Darjeeling is known for its teas, as is Asam, a state to the east). As we approached Darjeeling, it became clear that the big-city atmosphere we became accustomed to everywhere else was gone, which was relaxing in its own right.
  • We got a quick (three-hour) tour of Darjeeling, which featured a visit to a Buddhist monastery, a ride to tiger hill (the highest point in the area), and a trip to the War Memorial Batista Loop. The memorial, dedicated to Indian Gorkha soldiers from Darjeeling who had died at war since independence, gave us a beautiful view of the surrounding peaks and valleys. Tiger hill is supposed to be visited at 4 am for sunset, when it is clear enough to see Mount Everest and other fun sights. The fog at noon blocked all visibility, so we took pictures with where Everest would have been, and looked equally happy.
  • Upon finishing the tour, we wanted to get some momo (dumplings, tibetan-style) and Darjeeling tea. We asked someone where to go, and they suggested some chicken/pork places. Upon further prodding for a vegetarian place, he led us down a small alley to a no-menu joint that was hardly more than a kitchen with tables, and definitely didn’t see foreigners. We ordered soup, 8 momos each, and tea, all of which were amazing. I initially thought I was jipped a momo, but after we finished, our waitress plopped another on my plate, reminding me that I only received 7 to start. The bill came to 39 Rs (80 cents) for the three of us. Amazed by the low price, we decided to leave a hefty tip (something that seemed normal in the bigger cities, and still put us at around 40 cents apiece). The waitress ran after us telling us we made a mistake, but we happily told her to keep the rest. Hopefully we didn’t offend anyone.
  • On the way back, our driver stopped at a tea factory (that produces some teas for Tazo, the Starbucks people), where we learned about tea production in a very dark and scary set of rooms, and then bought some souvenier teas.
  • Our driver was pretty cool, and explained lots of things to us. The most interesting involved the independence movement in Darjeeling. From what I could understand, residents feel that because many citizens are ethnically different from the rest of West Bengal (we didn’t see many people from tibet or nepal in Kolkata), they deserve independence. I couldn’t get him to go farther than that, but it was interesting nonetheless.
  • Meredith felt sick on the car ride to the train station. The train arrived on time, and once we boarded, it was pretty clear that Meredith had whatever I had gotten over. Instead of putting her through several days of discomfort, we put her on antibiotics as well, and she woke up in Kolkata several hours later feeling like a champ!