Darjeeling is a delightful little town in the foothills of the Himalayas. It's the center of a major tea-growing region. It's unpolluted, and populated with lots of Tibetan refugees. And it was by far the coldest part of our trip.

Here's a view of part of Darjeeling from the hill at the top.

There's a plaza at the top of Darjeeling that fills up with people in the morning.

This is Kanchenjunga, the third-highest mountain in the world. This was taken as we were driving to Darjeeling -- the weather was too foggy the rest of the time for us to go to nearby Tiger Hill to get a glimpse of Everest.

Most of the roads in Darjeeling are very small and steep and are closed to cars and trucks. So people carry stuff on their backs, with straps around their heads.

Even bricks.

This is a cheerful little Buddhist gompa (monastery) which is reputed to have an original copy of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The monk showed us a little yellow scroll in a cabinet.

Here a couple of monks play a one-note concert on a couple of conch shells.

While we were gone, the power was out at our house in California for several days, and the people staying there had to make do without. In Darjeeling, going without power happens all the time -- no problem, you just turn on your generator. This one keeps connections going at an Internet cafe.

This is a little shrine near where we were staying.

These kids loved having their pictures taken, and liked to see them on the displays of our digital cameras.

This is a pretty simple skateboard -- a plank and some casters.

Here's a neighborhood built on a hillside, viewed from Darjeeling's botanic garden.

Here's the toilet where we stayed, a compromise between Eastern and Western styles. (made by American Standard)

On to India: The Toy Train