IWe spent our days taking in the local sights which included the zoo, the Mountaineering Museum, the views of Kanjenjunga the local market, the railway station with the longest running steam engine and just enjoying the tranquility of our hotel and its grounds. Seeing a view of Kanjenjunga took my breath away as the view was unexpected. Unexpected because it was cloudy and because it was so beautiful being elevated above the other peaks and enveloped in cloud. Other highlights included seeing the black leopard with his leopard spots visible only under the right light conditions, the Bengal Tiger, the Red Panda and the Mountaineering Museum..The museum had an Everest map which illustrated all of the routes on Everest. It was really cool to see Sharon Wood's name on the list noting her double accomplishment of putting up a new route with Dwayne Congdon and being the first North American woman to summit Everest. 
I decided that one of the things that I wanted to do was to share a bottle of champagne in each continent that we visit. Finding a wine store in Darjeeling was a challenge. We eventually found one and bought Indian champagne. The store was caged in front with an opening in front to pass money and goods. Not sure what the alcohol laws are in Darjeeling but there seems to be restrictions.
We arranged to have Raj who drove us to Darjeeling pick us up and return us to the airport ($$30). When he hadn't arrived by 4:15 am we called. He was expecting us to call the night before to confirm. He arrived at 4:30 am and got us to the airport in 2 hours, Amazing how fast you can drive 80 km when there is no traffic. The other blessing of no traffic is no horns.
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