Darjeeling

We're in Darjeeling, which is due west of Kalimpong about 70km. The roads en route were treacherous and make Smugglers Notch look like Easy St. (Some of you know what I'm talking about). Darjeeling is supposed to be one of the Indian vacation hotspots and is considered a resort town by the nationals. Back in the day during the Raj (British Occupation) the Brits used it as thier Shangri-la and the colonial architecture is still around in some parts today. Easily the biggest draw for tourists (in my opinion) are the vistas on a good day. The picture I took above was taken around 7 in the morning from my hotel room window. The big mass of white looming in the background is Mt. Kangchengdzonga, the 3rd tallest on earth. We haven't exactly been in Mother Earth's good graces, because it has been foggy and overcast everyday we've been here so far. This was probably the best view I've had. The fog can roll in as quickly as the time it takes you to pull out your camera around here, so I'm considering myself fortunate. So far, we've gone to a zoo which had tigers, snow leopards, red pandas (the cutest animal in the world) and other crazy stuff. There are monkeys running around in the street where we are staying.
Tonight we're waking up at 3:30 to catch a jeep to this place called Tiger Hill where folks catch the sunrise over the Himalayas. On a good day, it would be heavenly, but I have a hunch we won't be able to see anything besides alot of orange clouds.
Darjeeling is much different than Kalimpong. The tourist draw means that the locals are more accustomed to seeing "us" around, and most people are fairly welcoming. I think I've finally figured out the staring phenomenon, and it can be widdled down to 2 distinct reasons. Reason one is the "Western culture fascination" which is ubiquitous. Everyone around is all about American music, movies, brands (especially) and WWF wrestling (big time). Come to think of it, the culture is one of the most materialistic I've ever seen, which is almost the opposite of what I expected. The only difference is the poverty factor. Reason number two for staring is a more unnerving cause, but one that is justified I guess. Some people just don't like foreigners. Especially of the light skinned variety. I've learned to cope with the staring and gawking, but it ain't easy. Yesterday at the Peace Pagoda a family from Calcutta made us take like 10 pictures with them, so not all natives want us out.
Alright, this is long...
peace