D-Town

“My darling Darjeeling, oh what can I say,
Since you’ve been gone, the skie’s been Earl Grey,
Where’d you go, my pekoe? So spicy, so sweet,
Without you, I’m drowsy—I’ll crawl back to sleep…”

- Sour Mash Bandits

Yeah, I did it. I quoted my own band. But I wrote that song a long time ago, long before I thought I'd ever actually go to Darjeeling. I just liked the "Darjeeling" flavor of Twinings tea, and thought it sounded cool in rhythm with a Civil War-era fiddle part. I hope you guys did, too -- those of you who heard that particular song.

Some facts about Darjeeling Tea:

- Tea is sold there in grades -- the best being FTGFOP ("Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe"). Sounds silly, right, like I'm making that up? I'm not. I bought a whole bunch of it.

- The tea is also organized like virgin olive oil or wine vintages -- in the order that the plant of origin emerged in the season... but it's misleading. "First Flush," or the first tea buds to appear on the bush, is actually of a lower quality than Second Flush, the buds that appear after the first are picked.

- The proper way to judge the quality of one's tea, like there's a quality-judging method for wine is to hold a handful of loose tea leaves up to your mouth, crush it in your fist, and blow hot air into it, then smell. Then you can say things like, "Mmmm, earthy!" or "Wow, can you smell the strawberry/oak/chestnut aroma?".

The day after we got to D-Town, we had a meeting in the schoolyard of the Red Cross school, where Tom (pictured below, center), the organizer of the Rickshaw Run, explained to us the proceedings of the day. There would be a parade. There would be a marching band. We should stay in line. Afterwards, there would be a soccer game against the local teenagers. We would lose. There would be tea and cakes afterwards.




The people of Darjeeling, unbelievably warm and friendly as they were, lined the streets and the apartment balconies...



They shouted from the roofs...



We made our way triumphantly out of the schoolyard...



Up the road, all 35 rickshaws...



Traffic jam...



Benji, lounging on the roof...



Me, as such...



We picked up hitchhikers, who threatened us with serious physical bodily harm until we let them ride with us, then eventually drive. They subjected us, in addition, to loud, out of tune singing of the "Dhoom Machale" theme song from "Dhoom 2: Back in Action," the Bollywood blockbuster. That last part might have been me, actually.



The band marched gloriously...



And continued to strut long after things ended...



Then, this dirty-minded Frenchman debauched Sally by putting her in a horrid, anatomically-incorrect pose with his rickshaw. Note the fluids dripping out of the wrong side of Sally.



For an article about the Run, check here. I'm on the far left, wrapped in a blanket, eating cake and drinking tea.

Also, if you'd like to read my article about (among other things) the soundtrack to Bollywood blockbuster "Dhoom 2: Back in Action," click here.

Love,
Robbie