This is India?

Ronit's catch phrase which I quickly picked up was 'this is India!', or TII for short, to describe any situation which is unique to India. For example, only half of what is on the menu can be ordered at any given time..."this is India!"

Darjeeling is actually cold, and not just cold because I personally am always cold, but cold compared to everywhere else we have been to in India so far (1 degree celcius, 34 farenheit). We actually needed the hot water shower provided by our hotel (only available 6:30-7:30pm because of water shortages). So many times we have to remind ourselves that this IS still India! The strong Nepalese influence in the area is very evident from the dress, the people, the food and the general beauty of the place. I am definitely very much at home here. We realized we are staying, for some unknown reason, at the hotel the farthest the hill (there is literally nothing after us) so we are thinking of moving closer down to activity tomorrow. When the power in the town went off last night it was definitely creepy to walk up the hill with our measly small flash lights (mine which no longer works properly after visiting the cave....no that is not the fault of the gremlin, Raiza!)

We had breakfast at a tiny cafe which is right out of the living room of a family of artists. They make their own crafts and sell them from their living room. French toast on brown bread with fresh cream anyone? Amazing and so friendly. We were the only ones there but it felt really homey. Even if it is at the top of the hill we will definitely be going back.

Booking our trek today (4 days 3 nights) along with two other travelers we met, hopefully to start tomorrow when the rain stops.

We are going to spend the day planning and walking around a bit more, eating and drinking tea in a bar/bakery/cafe, The Gramery, with a 180 degree view of the clouds and mountains. Mmmm tea.....