Day 5 - Siliguri to Darjeeling

This morning I purchased a ticket on a 4x4 jeep taxi to Darjeeling.It cost $1.64 cents. My hotel for the night was $5.00. Now the way the taxi works is that it holds 8 passengers (close quarters) and leaves when it has 8 passengers. I left - went, got breakfast, and returned and met an Australian couple who had just purchased all 8 tickets in a jeep, and they asked me to join them. OH BOY - DELUXE travel.

Of course we had to make a tire repair stop, and then a tourist stop while driver made a phone call. I picked a little tea. Darjeeling - where we're going is world famous among tea drinkers.

The trip took 3 hours on really narrow, un-constructed roads with treacherous drop offs.
Now, Darjeeling is in the mountains, and there are no valleys here. We got off at the bottom of mountain, and our hotel - all hotels, were way up the "hill". For those of you that have been to Honduras - think - YASI with hotels screwed into the side of the cliffs, and you're at the bottom with your rucksack. Oh yea - there are NO TAXIS OR TU TUS HERE!.

By the time I reached our objective hotel I was BEAT. They had rooms but no singles without a bath. The hotel had two such rooms, but they were full and there was a waiting list. The single cost $3 and the double that included a private bath with hot water was $6. This hotel also has a restaurant. Well the altitude had a affected my brain, or either it was normal acting self, and I heard myself saying "no way". and I left the hotel walking up hill again and could see no hotels.
Then - bingo - I wake up - realize the nice room is only $1 more than I paid last nite, and 5 days here would only cost an extra $5. I went back - got the room - ate a great lunch with a view overlooking the entire valley (so does my room view)

There's something about getting in to 100's of rubees that affects good logic.
Help me Lord!!