Well we woke up this morning, to our surprise, to views of the Himalayan Mountains poking through the clouds. Huzzar! A quick walk before breakfast was in order to take full advantage of the views, and also visit the local temple, and a cup of Darjeeling green tea – before sitting down to a hearty breakfast back at the hotel.
We are now just about to set off to the Darjeeling Zoo which is a world renowned conswervation park for the study and preservation of Red Pandas and Himalayan Black Bears. Then off to a Tea Plantation – one of the most renowned Tea Estates – to give you an idea of the quality we have been told to think of red wine, and that this will be the equivalent of Penfolds Grange!
Yesterday we actually managed a Tea Tasting – tried a variety of different Darjeeling Teas and purchased some of the finest first picked leaves of the season! We also walked from one end of the town to the other, including Observatory Hill, a visit to the Darjeeling Railway station (Toy Train), the old Bazaar markets, and saw some of the grand old buildings of the colonial era. We stopped at the Mayfair Hotel for lunch, where we had a magnificent Chicken Masala Curry. We stopped for some rest late afternoon and also took a live cross from ABC Radio 702, where Robbie Buck gave Sydney a live update of our progress to date.
Later for dinner we had some excellent Tibetan food including a firey chilli Tibetan chicken and ice cold Kingfishers to soothe the heat.
Last day in Darjeeling – tomorrow we head to Gangtok to meet our Rickshaw!
Thanks for the great Post – very COOL!!!