Valerie Goes to India: Darjeeling is My Cup of Tea

From top left: Breakfast with Lola, tea tasting the champagne of all teas, prayer flags at
the Mahakal Temple, the amazing views of Darjeeling, and more Darjeeling tea

Darjeeling became the perfect antidote to the bustle of Kolkata, but not without a price. I spent the entire time, during the jeep ride up to the West Bengal hills, trying so hard not to get sick over the pockmarked roads. A Darjeeling local accompanied us in this trip, though he and Steph were mostly in the ones in conversation as I was enduring a narcotic daze of sleeplessness and healthy dose of dramamine. He was determined to show us a proper display of local hospitality by taking us out to lunch AND taking us straight to our hostel. We appreciated his kindness, so we tried our best not to be rude while we ran up to our room and slept ourselves into a coma, cocooned in thick blankets while Darjeeling's gentle fog visited our room through a narrow slit in our window.

We quickly discover that this anti-quaint-ed town (see what I did there haha) was the perfect place to people watch. The bundled, sweatered and scarved inhabitants walked through the fog and cold of Darjeeling, posing as the perfect subjects for intent and near-inappropriate gazing. The thought of the narrow alleys spilling into the market square, the gas lamps glowing against the deep blue evening sky, the warm sensation of a tea cup between my hands lent me into that fleeting yet profound backpacker's bliss.

The dogs of Darjeeling were definitely a highlight. They were plump, glossy, friendly animals eager to become fast friends with passers-by. I had two favorites-- Lola and Chai. Lola was a resident dog in our favorite Sonam's kitchen who was just spoilt with affection. The other dog, now christened Chai, was a stray in the Ghoom train station. When I left the bench where Steph and I sat to buy some more tea, Chai took my spot and only when I returned did I face my usurper. After my ignored pleas, she ended up scooting over towards Steph so that I could sit down. The sight of us three sitting down on a bench provided us some comic relief for a while, and I let Chai finish my tea as a treat.

Exploring Darjeeling was just wonderful. In search of the Observatory Hill (in hindsight this was a bit too far for walking with flimsy sandals) Steph and I took a walk towards the north of the town, in vain search of the elusive Himalayan view. We found ourselves instead, at the colorful Mahakal Temple, which looked as if colorful rain drizzled around the temple and became suspended. Strings upon strings of prayer flags decorated the temple, glowing bright against the gray fog. In contrast to our other temple experience, this time, our walk was just so serene and the vision of simplicity and quietude was inspiring. The air was so still, reverberating the low incantations of priests, the clanging of prayer bells and carrying the steady perfume of incense, burning low in sand pits.


(a 360 view of the temple - excuse the barking dog, I think he was the one bothering the monkeys)

While we didn't get to see the Himalayas this time, I loved our slow-paced time in Darjeeling, where it was easy to enjoy a hot cup of tea and walk around town. One day, Steph and I even took on tea tasting at Nathmull's and had a blast sampling Darjeeling varieties. Eventually, we befriended some Thai students and the particular kinship that struck between ourselves was truly heartwarming and spoke to the fact that Thailand has become a home.

I was a little sad to part with the more peaceful lifestyle of Darjeeling and apprehensive to face the famed chaos of Varanasi. Thankfully, we found two other travelers, a couple from the US, to accompany us on a long, hot, tiring and trying voyage.