the last ventures

My final few days were spent in a town called Kalimpong. Lacking the romantic heights of Darjeeling (its in fact several thousand feet lower in altitude), this cute town makes up for it with wonderful nurseries and Tibetan shops (both are wholesale centers for the larger region). Kalimpong is also unique, according to all guide literature, for its cheese (yep real cheese, not paneer) and lollipops (more like milk tootsie rolls).
We went searching for all these things, and found them (in some cases after much walking).
One especially spectacular find was a beautiful hotel up the hills with its own planted grounds. Stretching onto the side of a hill and with the feel of a cloud forest, we wandered amongst orchids, lilies, honey suckle and a thousand other flowers I couldn't name. The hotel had cute little cottages amongst the plants and overgrown bouganvillea. My Bible (ie lonely planet) informs me that these are $60 a night. When I come back for the honeymoon I'll stay here.
On these sightseeing ventures we were accompanied by Teresa's aunt who is in the Navy and flew in to visit her. It was interesting trying for the first time to introduce India to someone new and come to conclusions about our experiences. It was more difficult to do this than I had thought and I sort of dread having to try and answer questions about my experience once I get home.

Kalimpang, India