Before we left Hong Kong, we checked travel guides and websites for information on lodging in Darjeeling -- we didn't want to find ourselves in the Himalayan foothills without a roof or fireplace for Christmas. Considering the popularity of Darjeeling as one of India's famous hill stations, we found very few descriptions of the town and even less information on lodging. The New Elgin Hotel -- with a hard "g", as we later learned -- was mentioned as one of the better hotels, so we called and booked.

	We picked well. The New Elgin is a wonderfully comfortable hotel at a good rate. Everyone at the hotel was kind and gracious, from the chambermaids and waiters to the front desk staff, whose warmth was matched by the wood-burning stove in the corner of the small lobby.
As you look at these pictures and the sweater-clad creatures, it's helpful to remember that it's winter in Darjeeling. Despite the elevation, however, the temperatures during our ten days were a reasonable 5-12 degrees Celsius and, while it was often hazy, the sun was usually out to brighten things up. That still didn't stop us from wearing long johns every day.
	Once you've decided to leave the warmth of the lobby, you turn right to find a lounge area with the Timber Bar at the end, a piano that I'd appreciate if you didn't play unless you know how, and a spacious dining room which I didn't take a picture of. That cloth dome in the left foreground of this picture is a tea cozy, a thermal muffler that keeps your teapot warm while you're waiting for your companion to put the camera down and join you.
I didn't snap the dining room but I did get a few of the staff. They weren't just smiling for the camera -- this is how they looked every time we saw them.
	You can use outdoor film indoors -- you just have to tell the lab to filter it when they scan it onto PhotoCD. I'll do that next time. In the meantime, I've got my back up against the headboard and I'm shooting the room. It's the lived-in look with the television going for the one and only time we turned it on.
A picture on our last night in Darjeeling with two of the hotel staff.
	But we're getting ahead of our story here. All we're leaving right now is the hotel -- right after we check our film and find our boots...

     
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