Darjeeling Day 2

good morning to a party outside our door.
laughing. yelling. arguing. trampling about.
by the time we finally forced ourselves out of our respective warm cocoons (and into the bathroom to pee) the crowd had dispersed.
but a 7 am wake up call when we were so bloody exhausted from the trip up to Darjeeling is just not on.
and so coupled with the lack of hot water-
we checked out.
(as in literally)

hunted down a new hotel at a higher price (yet still only 700 rupees = ~$14)
and wondered what the hell happened to the pleasant weather of the day before.
Darjeeling day 2 consisted of the fog reaching further and further into town - surely to grip us tight and into some freezing hell.
fog is really rather strange like that.
(by the way what precisely is the difference between fog and mist? i've been labeling them whatever i feel like it)
ominous. penetrating. encompassing.
some other -ing words.
and still.
only air.
how weak our little bodies must be.
so easily conquered by nature.
and how consistently chilled we felt the entire day.
no number of chais or soups would chase away the shiver.
and to soothe my unhappy head i bought a hat.
knitted of many colors. with little ear flaps and lined in flannel.
god is good.

but before that.
i must say something about singing.
everyone sings.
well. not everyone i suppose.
well i imagine they all do at some point in their lives.
but not necessarily all at the same time.
in that i heard them all at the same time.
whatever.
my point.
is.
we have heard a great deal of singing in india.
by common people.
who, at times, sound worse than me.
but still.
its all so lovely.
i have no idea what they are saying.
but they have no shame. no hesitation.
its all out singing. (and this is not even inclusive of the chanting - thats something else something entirely)
or humming.
randomly.
suddenly.
at the restaurant. in the store. monuments. rickshaw drivers. chai makers.
everyone. everyone. everyone.
and it only suddenly occured to me.
in Darjeeling.
as michiko and i awaited breakfast in Dawat Restaurant (which we recommend except for the pancake - big thumbs down - stick to the traditional foods).
two family members (they all ran the restaurant together) were crooning away.
one obviously better than the other. (the sister being superior of course - hail to the sisters!)
but no matter!
it may have been nepali. or hindi.
but the singing itself is soothing regardless.
particularly on this early morning when my body craved any little warmth.

now then.
back to the day. i wanted to see the himalaya mountain institute (HMI).
and so off we went a-walking.
the same road of the day before. away from traffic.
past tea farms and the odd church (of which exist, i feel, a disproportionately high number)
past viewpoints that on a clear day would show the hills and mountains beyond but today proved to reveal not a damned thing.
on and on until we reached what turned out to be both the zoo and the HMI.
very well then.
i suppose we will check out this zoo as well. (i was quite excited actually as its been some time since i've been to the zoo - any zoo)
and it proved to be a rather charming surprise.
between the snow leopards and some sort of orange bird (orange seems to be a popular color in india) and wolves (which for no precise reason reminded me of my dog and hence miss her - possibly because two of the 5 wolves present were in a particularly playful mood and they do seem rather dog-like then)
incidentally himalayan wolves are the oldest species of wolves.
i think thats right.
or what the little description plate told me.
anyway.
red pandas. michiko's cutest (i still vote for the wolves) animal of the day.
and mr. tiger.
i had thought originally in my plans for india to see a tiger/nature reserve (i.e. seeing a tiger in the wild) -
i dont even remember the last time i saw a tiger in the zoo.
there is no distinct memory in my brain wrinkles so the idea appealed to me.
however.
im rather glad i didnt.
because this particular zoo tiger.

MR. tiger.

was vocal. and solid (you cannot imagine he was anything but pure muscle)
and had very big teeth.
these fantastic roars which half of us watching tried to emulate even if no sound came out, there were mouth movements happenings (myself included) and he was agitated.
pacing pacing pacing.
staring at us then pacing roar pacing roar pacing roar again.
now.
if i had come across such an animal in the open with no fence between myself and all that roaring.
i would have pissed my pants.
hence.
i feel the decision to cut out the wildlife reserve from my india itinerary was an excellent choice.
in the end.
i still saw a tiger.
and he saw me.
and we parted ways amicably.
each of us in one whole piece.

the HMI institute was interesting actually.
though somewhat shabby exhibit labeling and descriptions.
still the items displayed appealed. tenzing's equipment used.
the actual flags from the various countries that once stood atop mt. everest with each successful climb.
along with relevant articles and photographs of so many different climbers over the years.
i felt so inspired i grabbed a brief summary of courses offered.
basic mountaineering is a month long course, $650 incl room and food.
im so so tempted.

and that was our main event of the day.

at some point in time we ate at
this ridiculously cute (and cheap) little spot of barely held together painted wood - more like a shed than a proper building - but cozy, tidy, and warm within.
everyone jumping over one another to switch out seats as someone else finished.
michiko and i ended up sharing a 4 seater table with two locals who were particularly useful in that we had the chance to examine up close how exactly they ate their thupka via fork and spoon
(and in turn recreate it somewhat successfully)

after a long trek back to our new hotel we were ready for a hot bucket bath.
and thank god.
for once.
there was truly hot water.

and really random (but entertaining to me anyway) indian programming on tv.
i think a soap opera can be recgonized anywhere in the world.
between the sudden close ups and large moist-but not quite crying eyes india has done its part to add to great tv programming.