Hotel Mayfair - Darjeeling

This is Hotel Mayfair Darjeeling....a hill resort which once was a summerhouse of the former Maharajah of Nazargunj.Only after few hours we got some inside information that the hill station might face an indefinite strike ....we took no chances and the next morning left Darjeeling...these are the only pictures i have of Darjeeling........Mandira and her daughters Namu-Tani,my kids proceeding towards the lobby..
This resort is very beautiful......


The lobby...they have a huge and i mean HUGE collection of art displayed all over the hotel.....
A view from just outside our rooms....

Gangtok to Darjeeling

Darjeeling is a very famous hill station perched in the foothills of Himalayas...located in the northern extreme of the Indian state of West Bengal.It was a British hill station pre-independence.We covered a distance of 94 km. in three hrs.This road is very narrow,serpentine and follows a constant ascend ....sometimes you feel that your car is about to take -off like an aeroplane.All the vehicles stop at this view point......
Very tall and straight pine trees almost tower the road....this pic is from our moving car.

Kids dressed up in local Nepali costume......i don't know what happened to me,i offered these young ladies my lipstick ...there was a sudden change in them ..their way of talking,walking,smiling,looking changed....later these young ladies even refused some snacks and soft drinks in fear of smudging their lipstick...they are Namu holding my son Kaustubh and Tani holding my daughter Gauri.You can see railway-track for world famous TOY TRAIN.
This is Gurkha War Memorial...Batasia-Loop...5 km. away from Darjeeling.

Namgyal research institute of Tibetology - Gangtok, Sikkim

Gangtok has so much to see..this was my fourth visit there but the first with the kids...our sight seeing was arranged by keeping their comfort and meal times in mind.We skipped many important spots like Rumtek monastery,botanical garden,deer park etc..This institute is within the city and easily accessible so saves a lot of time.Namgyal research institute is a world renowned institute built in 1958 in a typical Tibetan style of architecture.Amongst thick dense oak and magnolia trees on a hill top this structure is placed....it is on walking distance from the STU PA.It promotes research on the largest collection of books and manuscripts on Mahayan Buddhism,there are about 30,000 volumes and translations of the original teaching of Buddha.The museum has an extraordinary collection of antiques,jewelleries and the most beautiful Tankhas(painted or embroidered scrolls).Sad part...PHOTOGRAPHY STRICTLY PROHIBITED.we saw some very beautiful things like old styled precious stones studded silver jewelleries,silver bullet case,cigar holders and many more.....hundreds of brass statues of Buddha and other deities.......one must not miss this spot.

Just wanted to share this picture of Bakery .....it falls between both the spots Stupa and research institute....a cup of coffee is highly recommended here.