Resting my legs in darjssling :)

After the trek my legs have stiffened to the point of being unable to cope with stairs properly 0_0

Have spent two days resting in Darjeeling and completing the usual tourist activities including post cards and gently exploring the city. Have found that it is a network of heavily congested jeep roads and stairways - the narrow passages intersecting the roads are universally used for water pipes that lay above ground to allow easy repairs (several of which were leaking). Porters regularly travel along the roads as footpaths are unheard of here! Each porter carries loads that we in the west would find strenuous, but I have seen them carry 2 Huge gas bottles supported on their head straps and even a fully furnished sofa while whistling to warn people ahead of them that they were coming.

Walking around Darjeeling you will see streets, which are dedicated to certain shops/services - for example some are almost exclusively butchers where you find all kinds of meat for sale dangling from hooks and waiting on blocks ready for cuts to be selected by passing customers, while others are dedicated to fresh market goods including purple, yes PURPLE carrots J or woollen goods, which are invariably in the form of shawls and jumpers (I loved the fact that some of the market stall owners sat cross legged on their stalls knitting their wears while you passed waiting for customers to show an interest)… After all it is cold up on the mountains in comparison to the rest of India.

Stomach a little sensitive at the moment but have found that Glanery’s has a cure in the form of Macaroni cheese :)

Eating places in Darjeeling that I would recommend include; Glenery’s for the superb vegetable sizzler (which makes you look like a Genie in a lamp as the steam from the sizzler obscures you from view!!) and simple pasta dishes, Windimere for its high tea (although pricy for what you get in my humble opinion it tops the other high teas available in the area as you get to eat it in the lounge with a warm coal fire and incredibly comfortable seats while the maids wear the traditional English pinnie!), Shangrila has good curries and the Park has good Thai food.

Finally you can watch a Bollywood film at the INOX cinema for 100r (£1.40), I saw ‘Robot’, which I can only state is an incredible ride through a visual cacophony of scenes including sincrininsed robot dance routines and dream sequences at sites such as Macho Pitcho - A superb experience that is 3 hours long including intermission and has optional popcorn ;)

While resting in my hotel room I witnessed a parade along the main street including ladies dressed in Red finery mounted on horses accompanied by a plethora of attendants and banner wielding groups all colour co-ordinated. A fantastic agglomeration of sites and sounds.

At night the one drawback of the city is the noise of stray dogs barking and yelping as they fight for the territory or tit bits in the night while during the day most of the dogs literally lay flat out on the street asleep or wander around begging food from stalls or chasing monkeys who let out a weird roaring noises.