It's shots like this that have built my reputation as Chicken Photographer to the Stars. Of all my chickens, this one most resembles a painting.

	The path from the New Elgin Hotel to Chowrasta, the communal parade ground at the top of the business district, ascends past this second-story structure tacked on to the main building. Seeing the door leading to nowhere, I always imagined some fool getting up in the middle of the night and heading towards what he thought was the bathroom. It was an amusing image until I finally noticed the single blue flip-flop lying upside-down outside the door. Ouch. Now I like to think someone else has a sense of humor as well.
Abstract but practical, this shot also benefits from being my favorite color. You see these numbered wood slats covering all the windows and counters of the various small buildings, sheds and huts throughout the main market area. The reason they're numbered is simple: the slats are individual and they have to be put back in order to properly fit.
	A hundred yards down the road from The New Elgin Hotel is where this truck would stop and exchange its cargo of full liquid petrolem gas tanks for empties. The full tanks are then carried up the hills and pathways to homes by porters, who hoist one on their backs like a brutal day pack and then put another on its side on top of that one.
The offerings of the street merchants are displayed in open sacks topped by small glasses filled with whatever spices or powders are in the bag.
	Rounding the bend one early morning, I stopped in the middle of the intersection just as this tractor come roaring over the rise. I had just enough time to point and shoot before they were past me and out of sight. The man in the right foreground is a reminder that it's not always necessary to have the latest in backpacking gear to get the job done. "Yes, sir, and can I show you something in a ripstop nylon or would you prefer an unvarnished pine?"
Another man who eschews the latest mountaineering fashions and equipment. Real men don't need Goretex.
	More of the flavor of the town. Trucks laden with everything Darjeeling needs get a break while their drivers chat, wait for unloading or get a hot glass of tea.
This is the worst sort of guard dog -- uncaged and invisible.
	In Hong Kong, Chungking Mansions is one of the major backpacker destinations for cheap, convenient accommodations. In Darjeeling we have this -- a hostel that's a minature city. It tooks me years before I ventured into the dark recesses of Chungking. Since we were only staying in Darjeeling for 10 days, we gave this interior a miss.

     
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