Darjeeling - Cuppa Anyone?

So we're being very lazy in Darjeeling at the moment, it has loads of quaint cafes and nice restaurants and whilst we write this we're munching currant buns and something called - heavy cake, it's very chocolately and very rich! Beyond the food, which is scrumptious! The shopping here is very very good, less conning and better quality, and we've manged to get quite a few pressies we hope you'll like!
Yesterday we went on the toy train to Ghoom, it was very funny and there was a lot of reditions of 'thomas the tank' in honour of my name sake! ;) We stopped at a war monument and the history museum of the toy train, but perhaps the funniest moment, as i'm sure matt will agree but i wont! Is when i tried to lean out the window for a nice cheesy photo and discovered, to my horror, that it was covered in pee!!! (Which if you haven't got the jist yet, is just sooooooo india!) So i spent the rest of the trip trying not to bend my knese and avoid trouser contact!
We went to the Darjeeling tea planters club, but... it was fairly empty and a bit expensive to join, then we got chased off the premisis for taking photo's! To be fair i did pretend i couldn't understand english until the lady has practically grabbed the camera from me! Well if they are going to be that un-charitable to poor travellers!
And lastly the fiasco of the travellers cheques, getting money anywhere in india seems to become an absolute nightmare for us, but when you have to bully the bank into accepting your passport as indentifiation you do begin to wonder!
So we're off to the zoo this afternoon and observatory hill. Perhaps the biggest shame is that we still haven't caught sight of the himalayas because of all the mist! The alarm has been set for 6am everyday in the hope of catching a photo!
We'll try and upload some photos now, xxx

Beth: What's your address, yes i should know, but remind me so i get i 100% right!

Dow Hill School

Unfortunately the porter wouldn't let me speak to the headmistress - whose permission i needed to visit the school. Neither would he let me anywhere beyond the gates to take photos. Our only option is to try and email or ring the headmistress and arrange a visit - otherwise this is the best i can do. So frustrating to come all the way to india and to be hindered by a porter on a power trip! Tried to ask some of the school girls, who spoke amazing english,

but they couldn't help.

Kurseong

So here we are, Lauren's heritage hotspot number one!!
Ridiculous train journey where this mean old lady would not let us change beds, even though she had a section with two free beds in it! Saying i had a cold and she was old and wouldn't be able to sleep. So we slept on a very very small uncomfortable bed while this woman snorted, coughed and splurted all night long! We now know why the british are known for our manners, cause we actually have some!!
For our friends who don't know, one of the reasons for coming to India was to see where my (Lauren's) family lived. Shimla was where my great grandmother went to school (St Bede's) and worked as a Pianist at the Gaitey Theatre playing for the old Black and White movies, she was the 3rd best Piano played in India! Calcutta was the home to some of my great aunts, and my mother was born nearby in town called Dhanbad. My grandmother and great Aunt Brenda made the trip from Calcutta to Kurseong, where we are now, on the famous Himalayan Toy Train to go to boarding school. Finally our next stop is Darjeeling, where according to my mother my grandad 'cruised' the local bars!