Waiting for Kangchenjunga

January 27, 2012 by Professor Rollmops

Had I known what the weather would be like for the next eight days, I might have acted more promptly. I had come to Darjeeling not only to see the marvellous hill-town, but also for its famous views of the Himalayas. It never occurred to me that seeing them would prove so difficult.

The first morning I awoke in Darjeeling the horizon was shrouded in a veil of haze. The room was cold with the seeping air outside and for the first time since arriving in India, I nestled under the blankets, feeling deliciously comfortable. The last two days had been exhausting days of travel – from Rishikesh to Delhi, across to Siliguri courtesy of Kingfisher Air, then up to Darjeeling by jeep – and I was happy to take it easy. I sat on my bed and snacked on biscuits, reading about the town.

Darjeeling had only come into prominence in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. The locale first came to the attention of the British East India Company (BEIC) in 1828, when a delegation of company officials stayed in the town and realised how suitable the site would be for a military sanatorium. In 1835, the company leased the area west of the Mahananda River from the Chogyal of Sikkim, traditional rulers of the region. Over the next fifteen years, the population of Darjeeling grew one-hundredfold, thanks to the company’s policy of attracting workers to the region, mostly of Nepalese origin.

When, in 1849, the British East India Company Director Arthur Campbell was imprisoned by the Sikkim Chogyal, the BEIC sent a force to free him, resulting in the annexation of 1700 square kilometres of territory. In the following decades, the BEIC strengthened its grip on the region, gaining control of the passes through the hills, the town of Kalimpong and the area east of the Teesta river, from the Sikkim. In 1864 the town became the official summer capital of the Bengal presidency and by 1866 the district had assumed its current shape and size.

Commercial tea cultivation began in the region in the 1850s and many schools were set up by missionaries. In 1881 the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was opened, connecting the town with the plains far below and further increasing the pace of the town’s development.

When, after independence in 1947, Darjeeling was merged with West Bengal, tensions began to increase between the largely Nepalese population of the hill towns of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong, and the Bengali population of the plains below. The Nepalese population agitated for an autonomous state and the recognition of the Nepali language as the official language of the region. The latter request was granted in 1961. When, in 1975, Sikkim was recognised as an independent state, it again brought calls from the people of the mountains for a separate state of Gorkhaland, with occasional eruptions of violence. In 1988 an agreement between the government and the Gorkha National Liberation Front resulted in the creation of the Darjeeling Hill Council. This, however, did not quell calls for a separate state, and agitation and protest continue to this day. In 2011 the government granted further concessions, with the creation of a new and autonomous elected body called the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, which, whilst not governing a separate state, has more powers than its predecessor.

I found myself quite fascinated by the town’s history and was keen to explore further. Not only did Darjeeling offer exciting views, amazing geography, fascinating architecture, great tea and an interesting ethnic blend, but, perhaps most importantly, the large Nepali population guaranteed one thing: momos – and I love eating good momos.

At half past nine I found the housekeeper in the corridor outside my room. As soon as she saw me, she said:

“Your room is ready.”

“Great. Can I move now?”

“Yes, yes. Come, I’ll show you. It’s here.”

The room was diagonally opposite, across the hall – a mere ten feet away. She opened the door and presented it to me. It was smaller than the previous room, but with a double bed, coffee table and chairs, wall-mounted television, a bedside dresser and a stunning, wide-angle view of the drop into the valley below and across the foothills. At four hundred rupees, a mere ten dollars Australian, it also came with a large en suite. I stood by the windows and thought of the views I might expect when the sky cleared. For now, the horizon was covered in cloud and haze, and I could barely see into the floor of the valley below. The mist rested like hands upon the hilltops, fingers stretching down the wooded slopes.

It took two minutes to shift my few belongings and, at ten o’clock I set off in search of breakfast.

I followed the road down the hill, past the little restaurant and shop in which I’d dined the night before. After a steep and winding leg the street levelled out at what appeared to be another informal jeep-stop. Here the road split into two tiers and, at this junction of climbing streets, stood a triangular building with a rounded prow: Keventer’s restaurant. I’d seen the name in the guide book and knew it to be rather famous, as a shop, in the downstairs section, but primarily for its café / restaurant upstairs. What made this Raj-era throwback popular, apart from its relative antiquity, was the amount of meat on its menu.

Since arriving in India, I hadn’t eaten any meat whatsoever – this despite ordering a mutton biriani in Rajasthan, which contained two large pieces of gristle that I promptly discarded. Here at Keventer’s they offered a variety of meat products, almost all made from chicken and pork: meatballs, sausages, bacon and the like. I sat right near the kitchen – a counter behind which men cooked methodically – in the run-down old interior. Around the walls hung pictures of the views across to the mountains, which only served to whet my appetite for the peaks I’d come to see.

I ordered pork meatballs and bacon and eggs, drawn wholly in by the old world atmosphere. The view offered a splendid fore and mid-ground of rusted, corrugated rooves and wonky wooden frames stacked down the forested hillsides.

The coffee was not great, but passable, and I soon fell to chatting with two young Indian guys; students up from Calcutta. They were friendly and charming and curious about the photos I ’d been taking. After a while they invited me to drinks that evening, and I said I’d certainly consider it, though I knew somehow that I wouldn’t go and felt an early regret at this. Having spent most days walking and taking photographs through the daylight hours, I was almost always too tired to be sociable at the end of the day. I was also enjoying staying completely off the booze on this journey.

After breakfast, I took a long walk around town; down to the bottom of the town, where I’d arrived the night before.

I wandered through the back streets, up and down long flights of steps; found a lane with closely packed stalls behind which men and women worked with old Singer sewing machines. I shook hands with locals, answered their friendly inquiries as to where I was from, and eventually wandered into the meat market. There, in this dirty old shed hung with carcasses, I chatted with several of the butchers and asked them about their work.

One man approached me and said:

“Come with me. I’ll show you how I make mince.”

He led me to a corner of the shed, where, on a heavy, round wooden chopping block, using only a machete, he threw down pieces of meat and hacked them into mince with swift, strong blows.

“How long have you been doing this for?” I asked; a little squeamish from the proximity of his fingers to the blade.

“For twenty years,” he replied. “I am the mince man!”

I watched him hack away at the mince for a couple of minutes; lifting the blade just a short distance and bringing it down with surprising force and accuracy. I took out my video camera to film his impressive action, and it wasn’t long before he had turned the large chunks of fatty meat into finely chopped mince.

“There,” he said. “Mince.”

“Bravo!”

I thanked him for showing me his trade and farewelled him.

I continued my wandering about town, plunging into the tight alleyways of shops and stalls. As with so many places in Asia, the businesses tended to group together according to what they sold: spices, shoes, tea, vegetables. I drifted in and out of the lanes, taking photographs here and there. Most people were friendly and generous with their smiles. Unlike other places I’d been in India, rather than trying to sell me things, they seemed merely to want to be acknowledged.

I took a walk around the circuit of Observatory Hill, then returned to Chowrasta, the main piazza at the top of the town. The horizon remained shrouded and I could see only the foothills. These, however, were beautiful in the dull light; wet and fecund, cool and, here and there, dressed with tea.

Three o’clock found me sitting in another Raj-era café, Glenary’s bakery and restaurant, situated just a little up the hill from Keventer’s. The pale mint walls, white wooden beams, wicker chairs and corrugated iron roof gave it a classically colonial appearance. I sat in the back section, like a wide, closed-in verandah, where a bay of windows faced the valley and the still-obscured mountains. I surfed the internet, ate pastries and drank two rather disappointing cups of tea. As the afternoon had progressed, the air had become increasingly damp with pending fog, until finally, at around a quarter past three, it began to rain.

Having been in India a month during the dry season and having seen no rain for some time, the idea of rain had hardly occurred to me. Perhaps some uprush of humid air from the Sundarbarns had met with the chill mountain breath and dropped its bucket, but whatever the case, once the rain began, it came down hard as hell. It poured for two hours, with little let up, striking hard on the iron roof. It was as beautiful as it was surprising, and for a long while I sat and watched figures darting through the wet below, with torrents in the gutters and cascades from the rooves. The pigeons opposite, huddled under the eaves, were positively ruffled on their multi-generational pile of droppings.

When the rain did finally stop, something extraordinary happened. I was sitting, face pressed close to the glass, watching the play of mist and light across the valley, when suddenly the clouds parted and opened a clear view to the horizon. All the haze had been washed from the sky, which was transformed to a pale blue, dotted with cotton wool clouds. I tried to shoot through the window but the curve of the hill blocked the bulk of the view. I wanted a clear line of sight, for I was dying to see Mount Kangchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world at nearly 8600 metres tall.

I stood up, stuffed my lap top into my bag, sorted myself out and hurried off. It was still drizzling a little, and, worried about my camera, instead of going straight to find a vantage point, I decided to head back to the Hotel Tranquillity (sic) to pick up the small but sturdy umbrella I’d packed in a moment of boy-scout foresight. I raced back to the hotel, which took a good ten minutes, grabbed my umbrella and was about to head off, when I heard voices from the roof, just up the next flight from my room. I walked up the stairs where a door opened out on a flat concrete roof, flooded with rain. Here I found Tenzing, the hotel’s owner, talking with two other guests.

“Hello!” said Tenzing. “Come to see the mountains?”

“I hope so!”

The two other guests were also Australian and we smiled and nodded at each other. Their attention, however, as mine was soon to be, was rooted in the distance. And there, sure enough, was Mount Kangchenjunga. I gasped when first I saw it, amazed by its sheer size. How high up it seemed to go into the sky. It had an unnatural quality to it, as though its extension from the Earth was somehow impossible. How could anything be so big? The towering peaks of stone and snow were nothing short of fantastical. The only problem was that much of the view was blocked by an inconveniently placed radio antenna, a hill and trees. I could see roughly half of the mountain, and that through a tilting of the head and shifting of angles.

I looked as well as I could, but the lack of a clear line of sight was simply too frustrating. I needed a new vantage point, for now clearly was the time to go shoot the mountain. I took a few snaps, made some cheery remarks, then fled down the stairs and out onto Dr Zakir Hussain Street, figuring I should make for the road that circumnavigated Observatory Hill. I scurried down the street towards Chowrasta, past all the stalls, butchers, fishmongers, bakers, fruit and vegetable sellers, chicken and egg sellers; many of them seated up on the boards of their wooden stalls.

When I reached Chowrasta, however, I could see already that I was too late. The sky in the distance was thickening again with white mist and soon everything would be hidden. I broke into a run, down along the side of this hill with its famous monastery and tall Japanese cedars. Yet, by the time I reached the far end of the road, the mountains had once again vanished behind haze and cloud. I stood cursing, deeply regretting having gone back to get my umbrella, and shook a fist at the sky. I wasn’t sure quite how long I was planning to stay in Darjeeling, but figured that some time in the next couple of days I ought to see clear skies. The rain began to come down again and I popped up my umbrella. Stuff it, I thought, there’s always tomorrow.

Posted in Darjeeling, India, Memoir, Photography, Travelogues | 127 Comments

127 Responses

on February 4, 2012 at 3:51 am | Reply Mikalee Byerman

Such incredibly cool pix — I love the contrast between the black-and-white images and the vibrant COLOR!

🙂
on February 4, 2012 at 3:52 am | Reply abichica

It seems like you had a blast… and the pictures are awesome!! 🙂
on February 4, 2012 at 3:59 am | Reply Jbot

There’s so much going on there
on February 4, 2012 at 4:28 am | Reply DoF@theinfill

Great photos. The stacked living is very striking. Thanks for sharing 🙂
on February 4, 2012 at 4:34 am | Reply crweatherford

Wow. Absolutely beautiful shots.
on February 4, 2012 at 4:35 am | Reply char

Loved your picture tour. Thanks.
on February 4, 2012 at 4:41 am | Reply 7theaven

Nice post. The “HEAVY CLOUDS” photo, AMAZING.

It was a nice read. Darjeeling is a pretty place. Had the fortune to visit once when I was young.

Again, the photo, it’s AWESOME.
on February 4, 2012 at 4:47 am | Reply mortondesignworks

Amazing how the high country can grab a hold of you and stir something deep inside. Your photographs have captured the “old world atmosphere” magnificently!
on February 4, 2012 at 4:55 am | Reply Hana

Wow, what a beatiful places and photos! I could feel rain in some of the photos.
on February 4, 2012 at 5:05 am | Reply Guillaume Internoscia

so much souvenir, i remember this place was so incredible
on February 4, 2012 at 5:14 am | Reply valentinedee

Very fascinating and quite intriguing. Great photos.

val
http;//valentinedefrancis.wordpress.com
on February 4, 2012 at 5:36 am | Reply David Hall

Wonderful photos and congratulations on being freshly pressed.
on February 4, 2012 at 6:23 am | Reply shil

Beautiful beautiful pictures !!
on February 4, 2012 at 7:07 am | Reply Arindam

Beautiful post. All photographs are beautiful. Feels great to see a post on India in that freshly pressed list. Best wishes to you.
on February 4, 2012 at 7:17 am | Reply Peter Parkorr

you have some really amazing shots there… congrats on being pressed!
on February 4, 2012 at 7:37 am | Reply katesfolly

Vibrant images, great post!
on February 4, 2012 at 8:00 am | Reply bananabatman

Beautiful photos and writing. I almost feel I was there.
on February 4, 2012 at 8:05 am | Reply alice pngen .....

Reblogged this on http://www.blogjelex.tk.
on February 4, 2012 at 8:28 am | Reply Peggy A Thompson

What a story and what photos! Thank you for sharing this part of the world with us!
on February 4, 2012 at 8:47 am | Reply larisakoshikar

I loved your photos. They are beautiful, and the thought and detail you placed in the essay is also excellent.
on February 4, 2012 at 8:49 am | Reply Cafe23

Absolutely STUNNING photos. Wow. Amazing job and a great adventure! 🙂
on February 4, 2012 at 9:00 am | Reply Bold Wandering

Beautiful photographs, the black and white capture such a mood. The vibrant colors of the buildings are amazing. I enjoyed reading about the man who showed you how to make mince. Not my cup of tea, but so interesting and wonderful to be immersed in their culture.
on February 4, 2012 at 10:01 am | Reply Lulu Simawati

beautiful pictures !
on February 4, 2012 at 10:21 am | Reply Cassie

The colors of this are ridiculously beautiful. As sad as I may think some of the pictures look, it just so enhances my mood to look at the bright colors. I love it.
on February 4, 2012 at 1:01 pm | Reply itssrijana

beautiful post and vnice photos ..we could see mt kangchenjunga from our schoolplay groud in kurseong (its in the way of between siliguri and darjeeling) on clear days and in a year there were plenty …
on February 4, 2012 at 1:15 pm | Reply G

one of the best posts, i ever came across on a blog. congrats also for some of the greatest pics.
on February 4, 2012 at 1:16 pm | Reply Dr. Afaq Ahmad Qureshi

Darjeeling came alive with your images and narrative. Superbly written, beautifully pictured. Thanks for sharing.
on February 4, 2012 at 1:40 pm | Reply Vandhana Allay

Such a nice write-up! Did you get to see the mountain finally?? Great to see beautiful pictures of my home town. Thanks.
- on February 9, 2012 at 12:07 pm | Reply Professor Rollmops
  
  Apart from the quick glimpse I caught on that afternoon, I didn’t see the mountains at all. Stayed nine days and went out every morning early, but no luck – too much fog once the sun came up…
on February 4, 2012 at 2:21 pm | Reply Manoj

Great post and photos. Brought back old memories of my days in the North East of India. Great people and excellent scenery. Thanks for sharing.
on February 4, 2012 at 3:10 pm | Reply elindorff

Completely engaging, visually and mentally. Enough is left to the imagination. Your writing flows well, just like the journey you were on. Fantastic pictures, too, needless to say. Reminds me of some of my adventures in South Korea. Well done !
on February 4, 2012 at 4:02 pm | Reply Aarif Pathan

awesome photography 🙂
on February 4, 2012 at 4:02 pm | Reply asoulwalker

I’ve wanted to climb that mountain for a lot of years… I love reading anything about it. Cheers.
on February 4, 2012 at 6:04 pm | Reply ***The LensMaster

This is one part of India that doesn’t look India…Great chronicle!
on February 4, 2012 at 6:23 pm | Reply 35andupcynicismonhold

hello, there,

you have very good photos, your narration resonates and yes, i can feel the place/s with your stories. it’s a great post, thanks for sharing. 🙂

i love the pics of the houses and the people in the streets, very Asian.^^
on February 4, 2012 at 7:00 pm | Reply Bruce

I really like all the photos, colour and black and white. The multi-story buildings are scary, wouldn’t want the ground shaking if I was in one of them.
on February 4, 2012 at 7:04 pm | Reply hellenjc

Some breathtaking photos here. The heavy clouds and misty photos I love. Very intersting.. Thanks for sharing
on February 4, 2012 at 7:21 pm | Reply filmcamera999

oh…wow! ive never been to darjeeling…always wanted to. just love your photos…what fantastic architecture tehy have there…seems like endless storeys built on each house! more out of need than anything else of course! im actaully green with envy at seeing your pics…wish i was in your shoes…!
on February 4, 2012 at 7:33 pm | Reply csongorbarabas

absolutely brilliant post, loved how you described everything!
on February 4, 2012 at 7:51 pm | Reply golipallyrajashekhar

Nice pics ,buddy
on February 4, 2012 at 7:55 pm | Reply rtd14

I enjoyed your shots. Beautiful!
on February 4, 2012 at 8:06 pm | Reply andehai - take it? "don't be this guy!" tell it! poetic_fragile_respect

LIfe!
on February 4, 2012 at 9:06 pm | Reply webbookmark

Good pics

http://webbookmark.in/
on February 4, 2012 at 9:11 pm | Reply leroywatson4

I to have waited for Kangchenjunga, last June. Darjeeling was enveloped in thick clouds for my five days there. I enjoyed the tea and cake, but staying warm and dry proved a problem. Great article excellent potrayal in word and photo.
on February 4, 2012 at 10:00 pm | Reply douryeh

Reblogged this on and commented:
Thanks for sharing! Great pics & story. @D
on February 4, 2012 at 10:11 pm | Reply Sacha Calagopi

I love the way you write. It’s very dreamlike and you’re obviously a traveler at heart. I’ve been living in India for the past year and a half and I love how crazy this place is. Thank you for inspiring me with your entry.
on February 4, 2012 at 10:53 pm | Reply My “One Lovely Blog Award” Acceptance Speech « HoaiPhai

[…] Rollmops for Waiting for Kangchenjunga, an amazing travelogue and series of photos of […]
on February 4, 2012 at 11:51 pm | Reply jothicharles

Wonderful and great narration too.
on February 5, 2012 at 12:27 am | Reply greenpapayasangha

I was in Darjeeling in September of 2010. Your writings give me a hankering to return. Enjoy the dal baht.
on February 5, 2012 at 12:27 am | Reply gaycarboys

Wow some of those houses look mighty dodgy. That 4 story place looked ready to collapse
on February 5, 2012 at 2:07 am | Reply Y

I love this post. And I envy you, I also want to go to India – a dream destination for me. And you were in Darjeeling? Wow. That’s one of the places in India that I would love to see. Hopefully soon I will get to visit that country. Beautiful photos btw. And congrats on being featured on FP. 🙂
on February 5, 2012 at 2:09 am | Reply aacohen97

Breathtaking colors! I am a WordPress photoblogger as well, I’m glad you like looking through a camera as much as I do!
on February 5, 2012 at 2:10 am | Reply praveenkk04

beautifull post and also photography.. especially tat cured goat’s head!!!
on February 5, 2012 at 2:24 am | Reply 7theaven

I’m looking at this post again.

It’s really beautiful.
on February 5, 2012 at 2:37 am | Reply Raider

Incredible post and some beautiful pictures…
on February 5, 2012 at 3:13 am | Reply Carlie Chew

Your pictures are beyond amazing! Thanks for sharing.
on February 5, 2012 at 3:25 am | Reply INDIATRIPPING.COM

Amazing post about a beautiful place.
on February 5, 2012 at 4:04 am | Reply thirdeyemom

Wow, I love the pictures. The colors are so incredibly vibrant and the contrast with the black and whites are sensational. I would love to visit that part of India. I made it to Delhi and Nepal and was fascinated by both. Congrats on the FP!!! Great post!
on February 5, 2012 at 4:14 am | Reply 潇

so many beautiful colors
on February 5, 2012 at 7:43 am | Reply Filipino Festival

Reblogged this on FilipinoFestival.com.
on February 5, 2012 at 8:15 am | Reply maribetz

Loved this. Beautiful. Will keep following.
on February 5, 2012 at 8:49 am | Reply Talitha

Reblogged this on My Favorite Spaces.
on February 5, 2012 at 9:28 am | Reply soulsandfragments

Very informative. I love the pictures.
on February 5, 2012 at 9:49 am | Reply Rowing Through Life

Absolutely stunning photos, thank you for sharing!
on February 5, 2012 at 10:30 am | Reply tessie sacala (@tessiesweet2008)

These kind of post are always inspiring and I prefer to read quality content so I happy to find many good point here in the post, writing is simply great, thank you for the post.
on February 5, 2012 at 10:43 am | Reply Angeline M

Wonderful pictures accompanied by your wonderful story. Your writing is fantastic.
on February 5, 2012 at 11:47 am | Reply vincitore117

I would like to visit Darjeeling one day.
on February 5, 2012 at 12:30 pm | Reply Brad Beaman

I love your B&W toy train picture
on February 5, 2012 at 1:00 pm | Reply Dr James Stratford

Really great photos, especially the first – they really capture the richness and vibrancy of the place. Thankyou. Ah, and now I want momos too, and maybe some good dahl baht as well.
on February 5, 2012 at 1:39 pm | Reply leephelps

Great shots! I especially enjoyed the colors and perspective of the last one. Congratz on being Freshly Pressed!
on February 5, 2012 at 1:41 pm | Reply Tammy

I love your photos and your story – just beautiful. You’ve captured it well.
on February 5, 2012 at 2:43 pm | Reply geologyfreak

great pics…… those tea plantations look just like heaven ……. 😀
on February 5, 2012 at 2:49 pm | Reply mackerelskies

Lovely! I haven’t had a chance to travel much, and posts like yours do a lot to at least help one imagine what it must be like. Anyone who liked this post should read on to the next one, which is just as good (although what a place to stop the story at!)
on February 5, 2012 at 3:42 pm | Reply vedenl

the photographs are just amazing! the place is really beautiful
on February 5, 2012 at 3:57 pm | Reply tomitomo arts

superb photos!!!!!
on February 5, 2012 at 4:52 pm | Reply Spencer Lim

Just great =D Awesome
- on February 5, 2012 at 4:53 pm | Reply Spencer Lim
  
  Oops… wrongly comment with FB
on February 5, 2012 at 5:37 pm | Reply Professor Rollmops

Thank you so very much everyone for your lovely comments. I’d love to address them all personally, but am absolutely flat out with script-writing at the moment, which is a good thing : )
Thanks again for all your kind words, and yes, I’m very pleased to be on Freshly Pressed,

cheers,

Ben
on February 5, 2012 at 6:34 pm | Reply choconutmeg

These photographs are breathtaking! Especially the first one. I’ve been to Darjeeling multiple times, and oddly, it seems even more beautiful in your pictures than it is in real life.
on February 5, 2012 at 6:37 pm | Reply choconutmeg

Reblogged this on thelifeandtimesofmegha and commented:
This is an absolutely breathtaking photograph taken in Darjeeling- the one right on top I mean. Really, really cool!
on February 5, 2012 at 7:36 pm | Reply sarah

LOVE the third photo!
on February 5, 2012 at 8:13 pm | Reply srinistuff

Great post!!! Love the pictures and I’m so happy to see a post onIndia in freshly pressed section 🙂
on February 5, 2012 at 8:47 pm | Reply swaditi

excellent pics so lively feel!
on February 5, 2012 at 10:07 pm | Reply Michele LMS

Enjoyed your photos and the history lesson on Darjeeling! . . . Hope you had the treat of sunshine at some point!

http://arabianmusings.wordpress.com/
on February 5, 2012 at 11:48 pm | Reply Subhakar Das

Share your fondness for momos, which is a Sikkimese dish. That said, what a fascinating post and what remarkable pictures. You write with an anthropologist’s eye.
on February 5, 2012 at 11:56 pm | Reply TonjeAndTheWorld

Amazing photos!
on February 6, 2012 at 12:49 am | Reply Chaks

nice post and good photographs.

TechSmartLife
on February 6, 2012 at 12:59 am | Reply Siddharth Shanker Mishra

Thanks for coming in India. your pics are awesome as Darjeeling. You are welcome.And ones more… Dhanyawaad….
on February 6, 2012 at 1:05 am | Reply carminix

awesome pictures!
on February 6, 2012 at 2:57 am | Reply Miss Wearer

I love the pictures of all the homes although I dislike the picture of the goats head. Its something I had to quickly scroll down through. Otherwise great, really interesting blog!
on February 6, 2012 at 4:07 am | Reply enoughpixalready

Wow!!
on February 6, 2012 at 4:23 am | Reply josephwhitehouse

Poetic memoir and fantastic photographs. I had never really considered traveling east prior to reading this article, now I may just have changed my mind.
on February 6, 2012 at 4:42 am | Reply blackshepherd

I’m writing from a coffeeshop in South Boston, Massachusetts called Amsterdam Cafe…we have dreams…having a good cup of coffee and just finished half of a very good roast beef sandwich with dijon on rye (toasted)) and reflecting on the enormous differences between cultures…certainly we don’t have any mountains like the ones you describe anywhere near here…but we do have some really good ones within 100 miles…I feel lucky…even blessed to be here…plus…it’s Super Bowl Sunday and the Pats are in!!! I’m content. I enjoyed your post and hope to follow in your tracks one day…so thank you!

As for there always being tomorrow….I think it’s more accurate to say “there always has been tomorrow…” But I’m as hopeful as the next person…good luck in your travels…sounds like fun! Peace!
on February 6, 2012 at 10:03 am | Reply ikkimassu

uwooww *speechless*
great great great great picts..
and there so crowd o.O
on February 6, 2012 at 12:17 pm | Reply tammiromanee

Amazing photography that captures the moment! Talented!!
on February 6, 2012 at 3:26 pm | Reply nutza9910

nice story
on February 6, 2012 at 3:36 pm | Reply bkweblog

Real beauty lies within the nature. Just great photos. Thanks for sharing.
on February 6, 2012 at 4:02 pm | Reply neelimanair

wow! hop u had a nice time! nice photos! 🙂
on February 6, 2012 at 5:15 pm | Reply aidyearts

cool photos!! particulaly i love the top photo. Its a vivid colour . I love all photos that has detailed great pictures too, Thanks for sharing
on February 6, 2012 at 7:03 pm | Reply wanderfulworldtac

GREAT photographs! Really stunning 🙂
on February 6, 2012 at 8:21 pm | Reply skintinthecity

Your photos are truly amazing. here in Glasgow this morning it’s foggy and grey. This piece transported me and had me wanted to dust down my rucksack and take off. I might just do it! Thank you – for me this is blogging of the best kind, great writing, stunning pics and a window into a life I’d never otherwise see.
on February 6, 2012 at 8:48 pm | Reply Through My Eyes, Through My Mind

Exquisite writing. Great pictures. The combination is awesome!
on February 6, 2012 at 9:29 pm | Reply pallavispoojary

This is just awesome…great post & lovely pictures… 🙂
on February 6, 2012 at 10:07 pm | Reply Nishanth gowda

I had been to Darjeeling(India)! one of the greatest place on the planet!
on February 6, 2012 at 11:29 pm | Reply mjspringett

you provided a wonderful vicarious adventure for me this morning, thanks and good luck in your venture, wonderful photos MJ
on February 7, 2012 at 12:10 am | Reply Lizzie Ross

Two literary references (that I know of) to Kanchenjunga: one in Rumer Godden’s Black Narcissus, and the other in Arthur Ransome’s Swallowdale (2nd vol of his Swallows & Amazons series). Thanks for providing the photos and narrative — they make me want to read those books again (saves the cost of actually going there, but I haven’t taken that off my to-do list).
on February 7, 2012 at 1:54 am | Reply yatin

awesome photos loved viewing them …. as a fellow photographer was very inspiring thank you !
on February 7, 2012 at 2:14 am | Reply foodschology

Darjeeling! I want to see that mountain! thanks for sharing, your pictures are wonderful, especially the black and white mountain 🙂
on February 7, 2012 at 2:26 am | Reply whattheluxe

Cheers for a beautiful journey and fabulous photographs,

-Shabana
on February 7, 2012 at 4:09 am | Reply sheokhanda

beautiful….
on February 7, 2012 at 4:28 am | Reply BenAllen.ca

Loved reading that. Definitely brightened up my dull day at the office!
on February 7, 2012 at 6:20 am | Reply Professor Rollmops

Again, thanks so much to everyone for your lovely comments, I really appreciate you taking the time to read my story. All the best!
Ben
on February 7, 2012 at 6:29 am | Reply rohankale3

That place is incredible. I will visit Darjeeling once more after I step on my lovely destination, NEPAL and Bhutan.
on February 7, 2012 at 2:43 pm | Reply iprabhdeep

Awesome pics !!!!!!
life touching………..
on February 7, 2012 at 4:21 pm | Reply trebortheklaf

Reblogged this on treborsaysitat.
on February 7, 2012 at 4:46 pm | Reply Sophia

You know you’ve done a good post when the reader’s left yearning to visit the place you’ve illustrated – I’m yearning to go to Darjeeling – the pics won me!
on February 7, 2012 at 6:48 pm | Reply serayasemesta

nicer ever!

really glad to view this..enhance my ‘cakrawala’..
on February 7, 2012 at 10:57 pm | Reply literarykitty

Beautiful colours – wow! 🙂
on February 8, 2012 at 12:01 am | Reply Haiku bear

I so know your frustration!!
Me and my partner were there for around 5 days. We enjoyed a lot of food and the zoo, and the Happy garden tea estate, but we never saw Kanchengjunga! It also rained, but it was at night and my partner grazed his shin when he put it in one of the great big holes that serve as drains.
It’s great to read your account of Darjeeling. I have to admit I know almost nothing of the history, although I was aware of the whole Ghorkaland unrest situation, and I also realise now that I saw almost nothing of what you’ve written about! I must admit I was quite fat, and the altitude seemed to affect me somewhat. So we stayed mainly around the chowrasta.
And yes how about them momos! A Nepalese coworker bought some to work for me, and it instantly brought back memories!
Thanks for a great blog!
P.S. Your writing is superb!
on February 8, 2012 at 12:14 am | Reply needtotaste

GREAT photos!
on February 8, 2012 at 1:18 am | Reply ayan

lovely photos
on February 8, 2012 at 1:25 am | Reply missgoodlife

Beautiful pictures and excellent writing. When I read your post, I almost felt like I was actually in Darjeeling. It is definitely a place that I want to visit in the future…
on February 8, 2012 at 3:53 am | Reply katemadison365

I’m in awe over your experience, photographs, and your time there. But I’m left with one question, which you may have already answered (my apologies if you have and I simply missed it) – did you ever get your shot??
on February 10, 2012 at 8:58 am | Reply #7086育つ雑草

Thank you for all these marvellous pictures!!!
on February 10, 2012 at 2:02 pm | Reply Alffy

Truly amazing scenery. I love the photos.
on February 11, 2012 at 3:58 am | Reply Prema LaNay

Reblogged this on A Growing Woman's Tales ♩♬♪♫.
on February 13, 2012 at 4:56 pm | Reply loriinthesky

This was lovely. Thank you for reminding me how much I want to go to India.