The Retreat

festivals continued 1

by mantru

june -Ashar ko Pandra (15th day of Nepali month Asar) is a special day for Nepalis to eat curd and chewra (beaten rice). They say that goddess Parbati had given Lord Shiva curd and chewra on this day, so if you take the same this day, you get salvation.

August-On the same full moon day is Hindu's Raksha Bandhan (Thread of Protection) - this day is celebrated by Nepali Hindus as Raksha Bandhan and the priests go to different house and bind a thread on the right hand as a mark of Protection that the Gods will give for another year. WE also tie the sacred thread to our brothers wrist for their protection and goodwill.

Torchlight is essential!

by bladedragon

For me I like to travel light, so I'd recommend you to do so too.
And if you stay in the Mall (Chowrasta), your transport will have to stop about 500 m from the Mall.
So be prepared to carry your luggage from there to your hotel. If you're going there on winter, make sure you bring all your warm clothing.
Winter is about 2-8 C.
You can buy jackets, sweater, ear muffs, beanies, gloves and shawls at the Mall if you don't have one.
Bring your windbreaker too coz it can be quite windy there. There are some pharmacies around the Mall area, so bring your special meds, the generic ones they should have it.
Same goes with toiletries, bring if you have or you can simply buy from groceries store. Bring your camera with your best landscape lens if you have.
Also bring additional batteries coz you won't know when they will have blackouts, then you can't charge your battery. Torchlight is essential due to:
1. frequent power cutoff
2. lights being turned off throughout most part of the town after ~8pm
3. and not yet turned on when you set off to Tiger Hill for sunrise

Some hotels and tea shops have wifi, so if you bring your laptop you can use make use if it.
Bring your travel adapter if you need, power outlet in India uses 3 round pins (2 round pins also works fine).

Chowrasta-horse riding

by mantru

Chowrasta in nepali means four roads,this place is the heart of darjeeling where you can see lots of people whole day thru,its a lively place mostly you'll see youngesters hanging out,lots of eatries aroundyou can drop in for coffee and paneer pakora in Stardust and get a view of few villages on the right will be Manpari busty(village),Toong Soong(my village )and down below Pandam Busty where you can see the tea garden.On the left will be Bhutia busty and below that will be Lebong helipad and public ground.If you have enough time you can hike to lebong thru this way or you can take a cab from the bazar which will take another route thru north point.
You can visit Fiesta which was earlier known as Golden Platter,this was the only place which served ice cream when we were young and candy floss.
Amegoes is another fast food corner where you can fill in if you are hungry.Mostly people just sit on the sides and enjoy looking people passing by.You can also try horse riding ther are small ponies avaliable.Long time ther used to be a race course in Lebong but now its no longer there and most of the youngesters might not know people enjoyed this type of entertainment in Darjeeling.The buildings which houses most of these stores line National store,Oxford book house ect are there from the time of british Raj.
The Bhanu Bhakta Statue is right there towards the mall,he was the great poet who is the founder of nepali language also known as Adhi Kavi Bhanu Bahkta,earlier it was Sanskrit which was taught to the priviledged high caste as the hindu scriptures were in Sanskrit,he gave this language to all the nepalies.

natural history museum

by mantru

A great place to be at, for all those who have great interest in knowing about the history.The museum has a collection of over 4300 specimen . Established in 1903, this natural history museum packs in its folds a rich collection of fauna found in the Himalayas and in Bengal. Among the attractions are included the estuarine crocodiles. This unique museum also has a good collection of butterflies. The mineral forms of various stones are displayed in a very attractive manner in the museum.

VISITING HOURS : 10.00 A.M TO 4.00 P.M
HOLIDAYS : THURSDAY
YEAR OF ESTABLISHMENT : 1915

Darjeeling, tea and a lot more.....

by sachara

Darjeeling -in the north of West Bengal- is situated at a 2.100 M high ridge. Darjeeling has a breathtaking mountaineous scenery and a lot of tea-plantations.

Darjeeling has a cosmopolitan atmosphere with allready 160 years travellers from abroad. Darjeeling is an easygoing place to spend some time, to look around or as starting point for hiking.

Darjeeling is a city for walking. For going around, you have to climb a lot. The houses are on steep slopes.