November 28 Gangtok to Darjeeling

Sorry there is no time to upload pics. I am still very sick, and we left Gangtok. It was a hectic drive down the mountain . It was very very hot. We stopped at a pharmacy, and I bought various medications to keep me going. Then we started the ascent to Darjeeling. It started to get cooler. It was a strain on the van, and we stopped at the top to change the water in the radiator, and have a washroom break. I took a pic of a lady picking out debris from rice. Chickens all around trying to steal rice!! We had a chai tea, and headed on to Darjeeling. On arrival we stopped at a restaurant with a good view of the mountains. It was now quite cold, so the hoodie was on, and coat. I was told that plain veggie rice would be ok....again big mistake!!!!! The journey was quite long to Darjeeling, but the scenery spectacular. Lots of ferns on the mountain sides. At the end of lunch, the steam train arrived, heading up the mountain.....for tourists, I believe. We got to the hotel, and a very short time later headed out to see Darjeeling before dark. It gets dark early here....as it's winter. I was very weak, and dragged behind the rest of the group, determined not to miss the walking tour. Just as well. We walked upward, which was tough, but made it to a community square, where there was a huge video screen for the locals to watch ANIMAL PLANET!! Kids were playing around. Older kids in school uniforms, looking very smart. We walked up to a Buddhist shrine at the top of Darjeeling. On the way we encountered monkeys eating. We kept our distance.I think the name of the town has derived from dorje which is a Buddhist word. We rang the bells above our heads many times to cleanse ourselves of negative vibes. Lots of coloured prayer flags everywhere.This Buddhist shrine was very important, as it had a Buddhist monk and a Buddhist priest together. This is not common practice. I went for a blessing from the monk and the priest. Very special. The monk intoned prayers in a very low voice, and touched my head with the Buddhist scriptures. The priest then applied a red tikka to my third eye. I found this all very moving, and bowed down kneeling. Both of them talked with me, liked me, and gave me a sweet. This is a square of condensed milk or some kind of soft solid square. We then walked around the monastery, clockwise, turning the prayer wheels, and I said prayers as I did this. During our walk I noticed the swastika sign again, and had seen it many other times too. No, it's not an Indian Neo Nazi group. Abhey explained that the Germans took it from the Indians. Origin of the swastika has religious significance here. The Germans added the red circle, which is not part of Indian heritage. He explained that Indians are part of the Aryan heritage, only skin, hair, eye colour changed over time. I think the sign means happiness.On completion of our walk around this high point of the community square, we went to the Golden tips tea store. This was the best one in Darjeeling. We sat down, and the guy explained all the different types of tea. We sampled them all. I bought some white tea, very very high in antioxidants, decaffeinated and tasted pleasant. Expensive. $30 for 100g. No milk of sugar is needed. I have instructions on the packet to brew a good cup of tea!! After the tea my stomach started again, and I left the group, who went for supper. I came back to the hotel, had a lovely hot shower ( surprise ) and did my blog. I hope the medication will kick in tomorrow, as I can't stand this much longer!! I have been sitting in bed doing the blog, with the Pashmina, which is very very thin, draped around me. It is warm!!! I have an electric blanket tonight so won't be cold!!