Darjeeling - Day 2

On a clear day, you can see the Himalayas from Darjeeling, including Kanchenjunga which is the 3rd highest mountain in the world. During this time of year the view is very hazy. Lucky for us, the view cleared for about half a day after 20 days of no view. We had picked the right day to go up to Tiger Hill to see the sunrise. Tiger Hill is usually full of very loud tourists. Interesting enough, the tourists there went to see the literal sunrise. So although the third tallest mountain in the world was in front of them, they all chose to look right to watch the actual sun. Once the sun came up, they all left and didn't wait to see the mountains light up.

Kanchenjunga and the Himalayas from Tiger Hill

View from Tiger Hill

Sun rise from Tiger Hill

 After Tiger Hill we stopped by a couple monasteries. One in particular was very interesting. Prayers were happening when we were there, and we were able to walk in the building while the monks recited prayers and played all kinds of instruments. I also met a cute puppy which loved getting some attention.

View of the building where prayers were being held

A monk walking around the monastery

The monastery puppy

View of the Himalayas from the monastery

Leaving the monastery

After the monastery we were ready to get back to the hotel and have breakfast. By then it was probably only 7am. The owners of the hotel are Tibetan and have a Llasa Apso (a Tibetan breed) named Doma.

Doma the Llasa Apso

For the rest of the day we mostly relaxed and had lunch. I had some really good chili garlic noodles at a Tibetan restaurant below the hotel. Joel returned from his trek early, so we all decided to try to get high tea at the Windamere. Unfortunately they were booked, but we did come across another monastery on observatory hill with lots of monkeys.

A baby monkey playing in the prayer flags

After our failed tea attempt, we went to an American style bar and found some pretty decent macaroni and cheese for dinner.