At just over ten weeks, my time in Darjeeling was relatively short. But it was long enough for me to enjoy being settled in one place, to get to know some very nice people, and to grow fond of lots of the little things that make Darjeeling special.Such things include: the rows of potted plants decorating the front of most homes; groups squatting around small fires on the streets in the evenings; people wearing fake North Face jackets; the smiling legless beggar who appears to rise directly out of the ground; the horse stables just off the main square; the rows of tiny raised stalls where sellers sit cross-legged all day among their wares of gloves, woolly hats and pashminas; children of all ages playing badminton on the streets; enjoying a hair cut, shave and head massage all for less than one euro; the monkeys at the temple atop the central Observatory Hill who groom each other in much the same way as the women pick at each other's hair; cashiers giving sweets to customers instead of small change; the way people talk with their love of emphasis ("these momos are SOOOO tasty") and the common refrain "la, la, la"; and the mountain views which I never tired of appreciating.
Of course, a major reason why I'm happy with my winter in Darjeeling is that my volunteering position at the Edith Wilkins Street Children Foundation worked out well. I was impressed with the life-changing help that EWSCF gives to a large number of children and I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to play a small part. My role involved spending more time helping in the office than I had thought that I wanted to do. Although at times that meant doing things like photocopying and data entry, I felt that the office was the place where I could be of most benefit. I was therefore happy to help out there.
I didn't feel ready to leave Darjeeling, but my soon-to-expire visa meant it was time to go. I guess its not a bad thing to leave a place while the going is still good. And thankfully I wasn't leaving alone as two friends who live in Darjeeling (Denna from the US and Helly from New Zealand) were also going to Kathmandu, so we hit for Nepal together.
By the way, for those of you who associate being in India with suffering "Delhi belly", I'm pleased to report that, apart from a cold, I was happily healthy during my three months there. (What happened after having a cheese-burger in Kathmandu is another story - be glad that not everything is included in my blog!)
