India R&R

After all that machete swinging and brink flinging, we were all looking forward to a couple of days of R & R and our destination was Darjeeling - right up against the border with Nepal. Darjeeling is known for its tea gardens and was a bit more touristy than the other areas we'd been in. (Not hard to beat that, actually...) First we packed on to a local train (oh my) and then rode up a veeeeery windey mountain road in the Himalayas to get to Darjeeling.

Train fun!

Luggage rack? Nah, additional seating!

Here, I'll just tie my bike on the window bars of this train. No problem.

We stopped at a lovely little town on the way - the name escapes me...

We made it to Darjeeling - waaaay up in the mountains! We were meandering around some tea gardens and it was beautiful

It was much easier to get down those terraces than it was to hike back up!

We stayed in this adorable guest house for our two nights there. The warm welcome, friendly family, and awesome food almost made me forget that there was no heat. And it was cold enough to see your breath indoors. Brrr.

No reason to close the door if there is no heat to keep in, I suppose :)

Wandering around the markets in Darjeeling - came across this lovely church

Monks need to shop, too

We also stopped at this amazing Tibetan Buddhist Monestary

The view of our cabin-loft in the guest house - so cute! Albeit, chilly

Another plus? We found a pub right down the road! Well, it was really just the second floor of a restaurant and we were the only ones there but they did serve beer, and we were mighty happy to have a Kingfisher :)

Our last group picture before packing back into the cars and taking the most terrifying drive down the treacherous mountain roads on our way back to Bagdogra airport. The white scarves are gifts from our hosts! Thus begins 48 hours of travel back home...

A much-needed coffee after two weeks, and yes, this is how you spell my name in France, apparently. I think this just might catch on...

Now that I've been home for a couple of weeks I'm still at a loss for how to accurately describe my experience. Amazing, enlightening, exhausting, rewarding, eye-opening, frustrating, and everything in between. At times I feel selfish because I think I gained more than I gave to the community. Memories, friends, lessons, gratitude, perspective... and I left a partially-built bamboo schools and a (very dull) machete.  The hope is that it is a mutually beneficial cultural exchange, of course, but I feel like I made out like a bandit. And all because of your support, love, and prayers. So THANK YOU for helping me Be The Change!

Now who is up for the next build trip??