2,000,000 Words

My family from my mother's side has been cursed. We have a curse that is in some respects good, and in others very bad. My mother is a picture-taking-aholic. Sometimes I think she needs a 12-step program to relieve her dependence from the shutter button. Now I'm pretty sure I'll appreciate all those pictures when I'm older (ok, I appreciate them now), but its a lot of pictures; sometimes dead batteries are my family's saving grace. (You know I love you, Mom) And now this curse has been passed down to me. From my grandfather (don't bring up the topic of their world trip slides unless you want a long family discussion in which a lot is said but nothing is ever done) through my mom, and now to me.
I took nearly 2,000 photos on my 12 day journey to India. That's around 170 photos a day. I've gone through them all and deleted around 800 of the little suckers. The camera will never capture what the human eye can, hence a full Recycle Bin.
Here are a few photos of Darjeeling. It's a pretty incredible place. It was started, more or less, by the British as a sanatorium for British soldiers, and a summer vacation spot for the British living in India. The plains can be unbearably hot, so they would come to the cool mountain sides for respite. They brought the Nepali people in to do the construction, so to this day they speak Neapli and English and not Hindi. It is an area very different from the rest of India, although India is massive and everywhere is something new. This time of year is very cloudy, as in clouds roll in through the windows of the houses, literally. It's quite a sight to see. Click Here for more information on Darjeeling.

And of course tea. The hillside below is full of tea shrubs that have been cut back for winter.

This area is heavy in Buddhism. Below is a monastery and there are Buddhist prayer flags everywhere you look.



I would hate to have the corner room at this hotel.



The Scottish came in and built churches and schools. Darjeeling was once known as a center for education, and Christianity is still big in this are, although Buddhism still has the stronghold. Some of the buildings are quite the imposing edifices.






Currently, Darjeeling is part of the West Bengal state of India. They are fighting for their own state however, Gorkhaland. They are a Nepali people who are Indian citizens, but are not given the credit due to them as Indian citizens. They simply want their recognition.
This is there flag below. The knives on the bottom are called kukuris. They are used for everything from fighting to eating and are a trademark for the Gorkhas.



Paths through the tea estates.



On the clear days (rare this time of year) you can see the Himals. This peak is Kanchenjunga and is the third highest peak in the world.






This is the ropeway. It was used to bring the tea leaves up to the factory. It was still in use through the 1980s but is now just something to look at.



And of course, more tea.