Darjeeling. I have already decided that I will indeed be returning to Darjeeling in my life. Even though I certainly will not do it justice, I will say that it is sort of India, Switzerland and Colorado all combined into one magical place. Our journey has quite the tale, and I am more than enamored with this quaint mountain stop, as it is dearly referred to.
We took off from Kolkata at 10:00 pm on a sleeper train! What an experience! We traveled by the common sleeper train, and I was able to share a cabin with some of my group members. It was such an interesting experience that I'm still not sure what to make of it. We had a few strange Indian men staring at us for a while, then we were solicited to by transsexuals, and then I slept on top of my bag with my passport literally in my underwear as I fell asleep. With all of this madness and chaos...I slept like a baby. I was rocked back and forth all night, and I woke up ready for Darjeeling!
I won't go into every single thing that we did in Darjeeling, because I think that would be silly and boring, but I will recap my highlights. Darjeeling has a small-town feel, but it is quite populated. There are people of a more Asian descent in Darjeeling because it is so close to Nepal and Tibet. Everyone dresses like an Indie snow person, wearing miss-matched blankets and shawls while looking so hipster without even trying. The dogs are the furriest, most beautiful dogs I've seen in India. I wanted to gather a large number of them and take them to the mountains with me for warmth and companionship.
The first night, we just bopped around Darjeeling, enjoying the streets, the shops, the smells, the overall splendor of this fond city I love. Every shop keeper that we went to kindly called out, “Scarf, mam?” “Mam, what are you looking for?” But it wasn’t in a demanding or irritating manner the way that it is quite often in Kolkata. It was a gentle suggestion, and almost all of the sellers were women. You don’t see that in Kolkata due to the difference of gender norms in both societies. We went through knick-knack shops, searching among treasures, deciding whether they were assembly-line replicas or genuine artifacts of the ancients.
Early in the morning we arose to see if we could view these mysterious Himalayas and to see the beauty of the sunrise. So many times I’ve seen the sunset and marveled at its merging of colors, running across the sky, but I have not reveled in many sunrises. This perhaps has a correlation with my loathing of early mornings and my not-so-sunny disposition when I awake early. We were admiring the sunrise while singing the “Circle of Life” to encourage the sun and to mark the momentous occasion when, and I do mean literally, the peaks of the Himalayas appeared out of the air! It was a bit of magician trickery and who knew that mountains could be so spritely? However, we did see the peaks, even though it seems but a smudge on a photo.
After this delightful viewing, I retired to the comfort of a Western restaurant, Glenery’s where I had a warm cup of cappuccino, eggs, and yes, I’ll admit, bacon. I do love my bacon. The next stop we ventured to was the Japanese temple and the Peace Pagoda. It was marvelous. We viewed gigantic, looming statues of Buddha, but the size of these statues did not diminish the friendship I felt when looking up into those big, gold eyes. The Peace Pagoda was such a treat to see, especially being a Peace Studies major. I knew somewhere, some people understood the value of a Peace Studies major. I only hope this catches on more in the US. The sign in front of the Pagoda read, “The very appearance of the Peace Pagoda in itself is an embodiment of Buddha which radiates the message of non violence and it purifies the land and mind of the people. Thus the Pagoda stands as the core of spirituality and peace”. I wish the message of nonviolence and the purification of the land and mind of the people could be written across every war-torn land in this world.
After this reflection, we attempted and I am thankful to say achieved a daunting feat. We survived the cable car that carries passengers across the vast hills and trees of the Darjeeling terrain. Quite a bit ago there was a terrible accident in which the cable car broke, killing some people. It has opened recently, and according to the newspapers, it has now passed the safety regulations. I’m still not terribly convinced, but I did survive and the view was breathtaking. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t whispering a thousand prayers under my breath as we glided on top of the depths and crevices of the hard, rocky, low, ground.
Sunday morning was our date with Tiger Hill. From here, we watched another sunrise and also the Himalayas. We had a better view this time from up high, and we were able to watch the beauty of creation in action. I actually don’t believe there is a more marvelous sight than watching nature or what is natural come to life right in front of you. I like to compare it to having a baby. My other highlight from Sunday was that we went to a museum, and I was able to see a momma monkey nurse her baby monkey. Of course I took a picture of it, and of course I stared at this for quite some time. I also met the most proper bear who sat on his bum while eating an apple. He was a sincere gentleman, and I know that I would have been quite proud to have him as a prom date.
Overall, which I actually despise that word because it just makes everything so vague, Darjeeling is a place that will always remain dear to my heart. I am already envisioning myself coming back, but for longer this time and perhaps with a gorgeous, grizzly, European hiker. I’m just saying. But seriously, it was a majestical wonder, and it is creating severe loathing of Kolkata now that I am back. I do miss the mountains, the colder weather, the smiles of the beautiful people, the small-town feel of the community, the beautiful dogs, the quiet, the forests, I could go on for eternity. The point is, it was my favorite part of India so far, and I am most certain it will remain so. If I recommend someone to India, I am demanding that they go to Darjeeling. To miss this eloquent hill stop would be a shame.
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