Darjeeling:Stay,Food,Videos

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http://www.thrillophilia.com/blog/interview-with-free-bird/

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[All About Darjeeling]

CHALTE CHALTE DARJEELING:A WALK IN DARJEELING

                   What's so interesting about Darjeeling is the open-mindedness of the city

Darjeeling is a city where most of the places are at walkable distance.Even though the distance could be a little far,and a little heavy on your legs,the journey will be surely worth it and hence doable.What great fun is to explore a city ,just walking.

Footy Advice: Skip the car/vehicle for a change!

Guys,if you missed on my last Travel Video on Darjeeling,here's to guide you through:
/*I know the old videos needs significant improvement,but guys I tried.This would be going through series of edits in coming days*/



DARJEELING WHERE TO STAY

                                                           Revolver,A Must Stay In Darjeeling
                                                                   Image Source: Revolver.in

Revolver(Rs 800- Rs 1200):This Beatles themed restaurant is one of its kind in India.Located within walking distance from Mall Road,Darjeeling,everything from room to service to hospitality to food is at par.The Darjeeling Hills have traditionally been alive with music, both eastern and western, and music was the concept around which hotel and restaurant was thought about. You would feel like home and if in Darjeeling,this place is a must for your stay.

Darjeeling Tourist Lodge(Rs 500-Rs 1000):The WBTDC Tourist Lodge is a favorite with many.Darjeeling Tourist Lodge is located at Bhanu Sarani and it can be easily spotted while walking in Darjeeling.I would chose Revolver over DTL,but if the rooms above are unavailable,Darjeeling Tourist Lodge is another great choice in the same range.

SO..HOW DID IT START?

We started from our hotel,clueless as to where to go next (ok I love Lonely Planet books,but then this trip was altogether on discovering places,so we thought of skipping the details and not even going through Internet or must visit places list).And then we were like "Let's go to the Mall road,the only place we knew about"...a little of course.

The Mall Road is the main market area in Darjeeling,similar to the ones in Dalhousie,Leh,Gangtok or even similar to the flea markets in baga,goa.The mall road leads to Chowrasta.

Note:The "Mall Road" in India has no correlation with the real "Malls".They usually refer to the main markets in Indian Suburb i.e Shimla.So if a Phoenix mall or a Shopper's Stop is what you fantasy,you'd be mistaken,as these shops are real small setups,and bargain here is a must.

HUNGRY ?? DARJEELING HAS LOTS TO OFFER

Darjeeling is a foodies paradise,and the very fact that all the restaurants are located at the half a kilometer distance of the  mall road,makes it all the more better.In the next 3-4 days we did try a couple of restaurants and here's the summary. Kyonki pet puja bhi jaruri hai lol.And Darjeeling has the best of European Style restaurants and food all at the backdrop of mighty Kunchenjunga.

                    There are very few small cities in India,which offers food like Darjeeling

Keventers: Right at the Mall Road is Keventers

Keventers is an open terrace food joint which offers Balcony views of Kanchenjunga a far,the hustle bustle of the mall road and the Darjeeling city in general.Here's why few shots of Barfi was shot(Remember Ranbir proposing Illeana,Keventers was where it was shot)

At the perfect soothing temperature,cold as well as not so cold,we ordered chicken ball,chicken sausage with hot chocolate.Pure Bliss.

Keventers:An awesome food joint with great views.Rating: 08/10

Glenery's: The outlook of the European style restaurant will surely make you think that Glenery's not for you.And that was one of the reasons we skipped it on day 1.But looks can sometimes be deceptive.Believe me,this is one of the most budget bakeries in town.The freshly baked apple pie and the mocha cake was so yum,that I haven't tasted such a piece of years..

                                     .....And I couldn't stop myself from eating more.

I had a freshly baked cake but that was in New Alipore Kolkata 5 years back,brand name "Cakes".They use to sell amazingly brilliant cakes,and the their black forest cake was awesome.Never tasted like that before.Since then,it used to be my regular stopover joint,and I used to survive days and days on cakes..Well the Darjeeling one was quite similar

Back to Glenery's:so well we were so impressed with the snacks,that in those 3-4 days we were frequent visitors at Glenery's until we literally got bored of it.Glenery's also has Internet facility.The bottom part of Glenery's is a bar whie the top a little up class restaurant.

Rating: 08/10

Fiesta:Right at the corner of Chowrasta is "Fiesta".Though not as great as "K" and "G",you can give it a try for some non-vegetarian,and Indian food.The food is not so super great but good food.We had chappatis with butter Chicken

Rating: 06/10

Frank Ross Cafe:Well in Darjeeling,the food joints are plenty.So,if you are vegetarian,or a non-veg or a foreigner,you can survive.This ones at mall road.We had order momos,pav bhaji,tomato soup,thali and pizza.The service is little slow and the food is just OK.

Rating: 05/10

Keventer's,Glenery's,Fiesta and Frank Ross Cafe:

The names are just wow,isn't it?This is Darjeeling and thankfully it has retained its old world charm.

MALL ROAD->CHOWRASTA->WHERE NEXT?

Coming up with a super friendly map,to help you guys out there,to walk on your own.Till then stay tuned.