After 4 terrifying hours, in which we actually did blow a tire (but didn't die), we arrived at our hotel at the top of Darjeeling. The picture at the top of the page is the view we had from our hotel, the Dekeling Hotel. We stayed in the attic double room, which we recommend. As you can see, the view was amazing, although we had to get up at 5 a.m. to really see the mountains before the clouds set it. We could actually stand there at the windows and watch the clouds roll in. We recommend the hotel - www.dekeling.com - mostly because of Mrs. Dekeling, who was very accommodating, especially when we both got sick. We were actually supposed to switch rooms on our third night there, as it was booked by someone else. Because of our illnesses, they didn't make us switch. I actually did not leave the room on the third day and spent it doubled over with amoebic diarehhea. More on this later!

It was late afternoon when we arrived, and we soon had a lovely dinner at a Thai restaurant. We were looking forward to the next two relaxing days. Although we had loved having a driver for our travels throughout Rajesthan, we were glad to be on our own, making all of our own decisions. We were planning to do a little hiking, visit a few museums and maybe a tea plantation. What we didn't know, was that the weather, and the food, would not be as accommodating as we hoped.