No gentle bird song, or tea factory bell toll to awake me this morning. Just the sound of Darjeeling traffic as it honks it's way by in the street below. No beautiful flower garden to greet me as I draw back the curtains. Just a jumble of wires and rusty roof tops, glimpsed through misted up windows. It's much cooler up here in Darjeeling. I dress quickly, donning various items of clothing, including my trusty old coat and head off for an early breakfast. I don't want to miss any of my fellow home stayers.
I lock my room and wander down the large open landing, as I pass by doors to more rooms I wonder why the Snow Lion is called a Home Stay. It feels more like a cross between a small hotel and a large B&B. I soon discover why. Up 2 flights of stairs, I am warmly welcomed into the families sitting room. Through a haze of wood smoke, the sun light reveals a colourful explosion of Tibetan paraphernalia. Every surface, from floor, to wall, to ceiling has something wonderful for the eyes to feast upon. I sip my tea with mini Noodle and wait in anticipation for breakfast and other guests to arrive. Just then I hear an English voice, it belongs to a lady from California. We soon get chatting over eggs, toast and tea. Mary has also just arrived in Darjeeling - what perfect timing!
I lock my room and wander down the large open landing, as I pass by doors to more rooms I wonder why the Snow Lion is called a Home Stay. It feels more like a cross between a small hotel and a large B&B. I soon discover why. Up 2 flights of stairs, I am warmly welcomed into the families sitting room. Through a haze of wood smoke, the sun light reveals a colourful explosion of Tibetan paraphernalia. Every surface, from floor, to wall, to ceiling has something wonderful for the eyes to feast upon. I sip my tea with mini Noodle and wait in anticipation for breakfast and other guests to arrive. Just then I hear an English voice, it belongs to a lady from California. We soon get chatting over eggs, toast and tea. Mary has also just arrived in Darjeeling - what perfect timing!
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After breakfast we head off to discover Darjeeling together. Down streets filled with bustling traffic, up past shops and bazaars, through the open square, along the tree lined walk way where the marauding monkeys lurch near the market. Watching and waiting to snatch a tasty treat from an unsuspecting passer by.
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Darjeeling is an eccentric blend of chaotic calm. The buildings, the people, a colourful mix. from tiny tin shacks to grand British colonial hotels, from little Hindu shrines on the side of the road to a bright yellow Catholic Church perched up high on a hill. All is influenced by what surrounds this unique mountain town. Nepal to the West, Sikkim and Tibet to the North and Bhutan to the East, a wonderful mix of cultures collide in this brewing pot of a place.
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As we wander and wonder, we hear the sound of drums and voices singing somewhere below us. We discover there is a Tibetan festival of music and dance which happens to be on at the theatre that evening. How exciting! We buy our tickets and head off for afternoon tea. We sit outside Nathmulls tea shop and watch the multicultural world drift by, across the Chowrasta square where the stray dogs lie, soaking up the afternoon sun. These are the most relaxed, healthiest looking dogs I have ever seen. They bother no one and no one bothers them. One of them looks just like Noodle. I wonder how she is fairing, far away back home in Blighty.
  On the way back to the hotel I spot a notice in a shop window, which maybe explains why the dogs and people are so at ease with each other - The dogs and cats are pets of our community |   |
What a wonderful spectacle the theatre and the Tibetan performance turns out to be. Even before we enter the theatre the spectacle begins. A giant Buddha floats on a lotus bloom fountain, flanked by 2 giant mermaids. Stone steps lead up to the elaborate entrance doors where a huge white swan hovers over the door way. Our seats are high up in the circle, the stage far below us soon fills with tiny colourful figures, who create wonderful patterns as they dance and sing. We soon realise as the performance goes on that we are obviously sitting with a group of extremely enthusiastic Tibeteans who wave, clap, cheer and sing along. As the performance comes to an end an explosion of happy noise erupts, Tibetan flags are waved aloft and the singing builds into a crishendo. There is a wonderful atmosphere up here in the circle. What an amazing end to a wonderful 1st Darjeeling day.
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