After the heat and chaos of Delhi, and a fairly epic train journey, we were relieved to arrive in Darjeeling.
It is much cooler here (highs around 18 degrees C) but also considerably wetter. We arrived in pretty dense fog and naively believed it was sure to clear up at some point - it hasn't.
Perched on the side of a mountain at about 2,200m we should have some pretty sweet views of the Himalayas if only the fog would clear!
Nonetheless, Darjeeling is a charming little town to spend some time in. The people, a mix of Indians, Ghurkas & Tibetans are very friendly. The atmosphere is pretty relaxed with the exception of the constant horns as cars career exceptionally quickly around the tiny streets. Oh and the dogs; there are dogs everywhere and they love to bark, especially at night. But compared to Delhi it is an oasis of calm.
A particularly wet morning today, possibly not the best time to visit a tea plantation, but regardless we went. It was amazing to see the ladies picking tea off the side of the mountain with the mist moving across the hills.
Unsurprisingly Darjeeling is an excellent place to drink tea, we have sampled many different local delicacies from black to green to rare yellow and hope to tick white off the list soon as well.
We have one more night here then we move a little bit further down the mountain for a night in the small town of Kurseong. We then get the dreaded train (a mere 20 hours this time) back to Delhi before flying to the north west town of Leh in Kashmir. It promises a drier, if even colder climate but more importantly those Himalayan views. Leh is one of the few places best visited in the summer monsoon season so hopefully it is a safe bet.
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