Darjeeling

Everyone says they like Darjeeling, so don't let my weary traveller, spoiled brat bad attitude ruin it for you. I only like it a little bit. Concrete jungle, crowds, dirt, rubble, water and power shortages, bucket shower, squat toilet, damp laundry, and the normal chaos of India aside, here's what's good about it:
The temperature is nice and cool, while the rest of India (ROI) is a hot mess. There are many friendly travelers at the $2/night hostel and I see them every day. It's always nice to have good people to eat dinner with, and breakfast, and often lunch, too: young kids from Canada, Germany, Australia and an Irish guy on break from teaching in Ahmedabad; an aspiring buddhist writer from Oregon with big blond dreadlocks and a ginger beard. Two old kermudgeons from France and Norway. And a 50 year old gal from Maryland/California bay area with a screw loose... she has her 1997 abnormal brain scan image ironed on to several black teeshirts and hoodies she wears everybday, and is always on a rant about the terrible state of the US debt, federal budget, and how bad Obamacare is.

Darjeeling is so cheap! The big bottle of Kingfisher is only $2, most meals are $2. A small pot of awesome Darjeeling tea is 75 cents at Gelnary's, the cool cafe that has free wifi and yummy banana nut bread! It's hilly and fun to walk everywhere. The toy train is historic, awesome weird and fun.
Otherwise, I'm just taking it easy, waiting to leave for Delhi by train on Monday (fancy 3A sleeper for $30, and the ticket agent informed me that "you will get the food!"), arriving on Tuesday, and flying to Istanbul on Wednesday (layover in Doha)!! Excited! Looking forward to seeing some of Turkey, and meeting my TAMU German friends Sonja and Joerg in Bulgaria! Yay!