If you thought you'd have to give up pony rides to visit Darjeeling you're in for pleasant surprise. But if you think there's any chance that the pony's owner is going to hand you the reins, you're in for a disappointment -- as this couple is paying to discover.

	Chowrasta is a large, open, asphalted area near the top of Darjeeling surrounded by shops, restaurants and small, dark pony stables. During the day, their handlers walk around approaching likely looking equestrians. If the riders are young, they're slung aboard and walked around in a circle for a few minutes. If they're older, they hang onto the saddle horn and get dragged around in a bigger circle by the owner who is also on ponyback.
I never saw anyone look thrilled by either the prospect or the ride. Everyone was just grimly enjoying himself or in the case of this lad, looking for the parents who threw him into the saddle.
	A little sun, a little rest.
Down at the other end of the plaza, five ladies get together for a chat.
	You know how some people have a subtle way of letting you know they don't want their pictures taken? Well, Leela doesn't.
This shot was taken from near the ladies and looking across the parade ground to the far end where the statue is. Just to the right is a rustic little restaurant that has great masala dosas -- a round, paper-thin pastry with potato filling -- but no tea.
	Along one side of Chowrasta, you'll find Habeeb Mullick and Oxford Bookstore, both worth a visit. Oxford has a wide range of books that include a good selection on local geography, customs and people. Habeeb Mullick has every wood, bone, silver and cloth artifact you might want to buy. Sometimes you just have to ask. After seeing handsome Indian men keeping warm and looking cool in manly shawls, I asked Habeeb's if they carried them. A half dozen were set before me. One especially soft shawl was accented by a narrow border of silk embroidery so fine you could run your fingers over it with your eyes closed and not feel it. I asked about the material and was told it was woven from the neck hair of nanny goats. Sold! For US$30.
This is Leela in what appears to be her first Coke commercial. The reason she's ordered a Coke is because we're in the "Masala-Dosa No-Tea Restaurant" mentioned above. Of all the places we ate in Darjeeling, this was the only one that didn't serve tea. I love individuality and eccentricity and the inalienable right to do dumb things. but even I was amazed by the no-tea edict. We kept going back for the dosas, but we remember it most for its contrary spirit.

     
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