An incredible journey of a lifetime to Bhutan, Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Gangtok! - Page 13 - Team-BHP

Chevy_lover · 29th June 2008, 19:36

We then visited St. Paul’s School, where the Shah Rukh Khan starrer “Main Hoon Na” was shot. The school was very beautiful and if I got a chance, I would love to join St. Paul’s to do my schooling again!!!

St. Paul’s is located 7500 feet above sea level and is acclaimed as the highest public school in the world!

The origin and early history of this well known institution, the second oldest in Bengal, dates as far back as the year 1823, when John William Ricketts, a prominent Anglo-Indian leader, conceived the idea of founding a public school to meet the needs of the growing Anglo-Indian population in Calcutta.

At a meeting with friends, parents and guardians of the community, "The Parental Academic Institution", as it was to be known, was established. It began functioning on the 1st of May 1823 in a small two-storeyed building at 11 Park Street.

Chevy_lover · 29th June 2008, 20:31

St. Paul’s School is a wholly residential boys’ school. There are around 700 students from Class 1 to Class 12, with each class having no more than 30 students.

sridhga · 29th June 2008, 20:44

Chevy Lover, Your travalogue is extremely interesting and mesmerising. By the way it reminds me of my honeymoon trip to Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Sikkim. I will post review on those places soon. Your thread makes me feel like going back to North-East again. But unfortunately with blockades going on there it is not very condusive for a peaceful trip now.

Let us wait for better times. But I want to drive in those areas on my own.

Nice Review. Keep going!

Chevy_lover · 29th June 2008, 20:58

There is a stunningly beautiful church in the school premises and the Himalayas act as the perfect background for the church.

Chevy_lover · 30th June 2008, 15:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by sridhga

Chevy Lover, Your travalogue is extremely interesting and mesmerising. By the way it reminds me of my honeymoon trip to Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Sikkim. I will post review on those places soon. Your thread makes me feel like going back to North-East again. But unfortunately with blockades going on there it is not very condusive for a peaceful trip now.

Let us wait for better times. But I want to drive in those areas on my own.

Nice Review. Keep going!

@ Sridhga, thanks for your comments. It is extremely sad that there are so many problems now in the North East. I sincerely hope that all their issues gets sorted out very soon!

There is lots more to come in this travelouge!

Chevy_lover · 13th July 2008, 13:20

We returned to the Mall and had a heavy lunch from the Keventers. We were very thrilled after an exhilarating morning!

The Chowrastha and The Mall!

Chevy_lover · 13th July 2008, 13:47

During the second part of the day, we visited the Ganga Maiyya Park and the Rock Garden. There is a man made lake for boating in Ganga Maiyya Park. There was also a traditional dace program going on there.

RufRoc · 18th July 2008, 14:47

Awesome ... with pics like these, no wonder your thread's still going strong

Chevy_lover · 18th July 2008, 16:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by RufRoc

Awesome ... with pics like these, no wonder your thread's still going strong

Thanks, RufRoc. I will be posting the next part of my journey tonight! I am sure that our journey and photos of Sikkim will be an enchanting experience!

Chevy_lover · 18th July 2008, 23:38

The Rock Garden in Darjeeling!

Chevy_lover · 19th July 2008, 00:55

We then visited the Happy Valley Tea Garden. The famous Darjeeling Tea can be bought here. The prices are high, but the tea is nothing short of spectacular!!!

Connoisseurs all over the world have fancied and valued Darjeeling tea and compare it as "THE CHAMPAGNE OF TEA"!!!

Darjeeling tea is much stronger than any other tea and is famous the world over. Makaibari tea produced in Kurseong, holds the world record for the costliest tea @ Rs. 22,000/- per kg. I have come across articles stating that Darjeeling Tea was sold for Rs. 50,000 per Kg!!!

Darjeeling produces the world's best aromatic tea. Presently Darjeeling has 86 tea gardens which produce about 10 million kilos of tea annually. Tea is grown in Darjeeling from a height of 300 ft. to 6,000 ft. We were told that the output and the quality of tea vary with the altitude. The turnover of the Darjeeling tea industry is nearly 7.5 million USD!!!

Most of the Darjeeling tea estates have China hybrid plants, although some tea estates at lower elevations have Assam hybrids too.

The China or China hybrid plant is small leafed and, therefore, difficult to pluck. Some 6,000 shoots of tea leaves and a bud from these bushes make about ½ kg. of tea. But the leaves of Assam variety can produce the same quantity of Tea with about 3,000 shoots.

All Darjeeling teas are hand plucked. The picking and sorting is all done by hand (mostly by women) and the drying process is all done by centuries old coal-fired ovens. The smell inside the factory is just incredible though.

Chevy_lover · 19th July 2008, 01:35

Every tea garden has its tea processing factory. The hand picked tea leaves are brought to the factory in huge sacks and are spread out thinly on tiers of racks or troughs for 'withering'.

This process reduces the moisture and makes the leaf flaccid within a period of about 18 hours. So the leaves plucked today are ready for final processing the next day.

The next stage is called 'rolling' where these limp and withered leaves are twisted and their cells ruptured, so as to expose their juice in the rolling machines. The rolling process continues for 1½ hours.

The leaf is then spread out for about 2 to 3 hours for 'fermentation' in rooms where the humidity is controlled to 95%. After this it is taken to drying machines (temperature 200° to 225° F).

Then it goes to 'sorting' where different quality teas are sorted. The best quality tea comes from the 'leaf' grades ('broken' grade, 'fanning' grade and 'dust' produces lower quality teas).

The view of the St. Joseph's College from Happy valley was wonderful!

Chevy_lover · 19th July 2008, 01:53

On our way back to Darjeeling city, we visited the Museum also. There are some very good animal stuffings there!

Chevy_lover · 19th July 2008, 02:04

This is one of my favourite pics!

Chevy_lover · 19th July 2008, 02:09

There is a very beautiful Church in Darjeeling!

29th June 2008, 19:36	#181 (permalink)
Chevy_lover BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 321 View My Garage	St Paul's School! We then visited St. Paul’s School, where the Shah Rukh Khan starrer “Main Hoon Na” was shot. The school was very beautiful and if I got a chance, I would love to join St. Paul’s to do my schooling again!!! St. Paul’s is located 7500 feet above sea level and is acclaimed as the highest public school in the world! The origin and early history of this well known institution, the second oldest in Bengal, dates as far back as the year 1823, when John William Ricketts, a prominent Anglo-Indian leader, conceived the idea of founding a public school to meet the needs of the growing Anglo-Indian population in Calcutta. At a meeting with friends, parents and guardians of the community, "The Parental Academic Institution", as it was to be known, was established. It began functioning on the 1st of May 1823 in a small two-storeyed building at 11 Park Street. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Travelling ten thousand miles of world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls of books!!

29th June 2008, 20:31	#182 (permalink)
Chevy_lover BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 321 View My Garage	St. Paul’s School is a wholly residential boys’ school. There are around 700 students from Class 1 to Class 12, with each class having no more than 30 students. Attached Images __________________ Travelling ten thousand miles of world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls of books!! Last edited by Chevy_lover : 29th June 2008 at 20:36.

29th June 2008, 20:44	#183 (permalink)
sridhga BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Ahmedabad Posts: 71	Good thread Chevy Lover, Your travalogue is extremely interesting and mesmerising. By the way it reminds me of my honeymoon trip to Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Sikkim. I will post review on those places soon. Your thread makes me feel like going back to North-East again. But unfortunately with blockades going on there it is not very condusive for a peaceful trip now. Let us wait for better times. But I want to drive in those areas on my own. Nice Review. Keep going! __________________ Toyota Corolla 1.8 Automatic 2002 17000 miles sold 2006. Tata Indica DLS NA May 2008, 4000 KM.

29th June 2008, 20:58	#184 (permalink)
Chevy_lover BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 321 View My Garage	There is a stunningly beautiful church in the school premises and the Himalayas act as the perfect background for the church. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Travelling ten thousand miles of world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls of books!!

13th July 2008, 13:20	#186 (permalink)
Chevy_lover BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 321 View My Garage	We returned to the Mall and had a heavy lunch from the Keventers. We were very thrilled after an exhilarating morning! The Chowrastha and The Mall! Attached Thumbnails Attached Images __________________ Travelling ten thousand miles of world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls of books!! Last edited by Chevy_lover : 13th July 2008 at 13:26.

13th July 2008, 13:47	#187 (permalink)
Chevy_lover BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 321 View My Garage	Ganga Maiyya Park! During the second part of the day, we visited the Ganga Maiyya Park and the Rock Garden. There is a man made lake for boating in Ganga Maiyya Park. There was also a traditional dace program going on there. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Travelling ten thousand miles of world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls of books!!

18th July 2008, 14:47	#188 (permalink)
RufRoc BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 133	Awesome ... with pics like these, no wonder your thread's still going strong __________________ Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves coz they'll never cease to be amused.

18th July 2008, 23:38	#190 (permalink)
Chevy_lover BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 321 View My Garage	The Rock Garden in Darjeeling! Attached Thumbnails __________________ Travelling ten thousand miles of world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls of books!!

19th July 2008, 00:55	#191 (permalink)
Chevy_lover BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 321 View My Garage	We then visited the Happy Valley Tea Garden. The famous Darjeeling Tea can be bought here. The prices are high, but the tea is nothing short of spectacular!!! Connoisseurs all over the world have fancied and valued Darjeeling tea and compare it as "THE CHAMPAGNE OF TEA"!!! Darjeeling tea is much stronger than any other tea and is famous the world over. Makaibari tea produced in Kurseong, holds the world record for the costliest tea @ Rs. 22,000/- per kg. I have come across articles stating that Darjeeling Tea was sold for Rs. 50,000 per Kg!!! Darjeeling produces the world's best aromatic tea. Presently Darjeeling has 86 tea gardens which produce about 10 million kilos of tea annually. Tea is grown in Darjeeling from a height of 300 ft. to 6,000 ft. We were told that the output and the quality of tea vary with the altitude. The turnover of the Darjeeling tea industry is nearly 7.5 million USD!!! Most of the Darjeeling tea estates have China hybrid plants, although some tea estates at lower elevations have Assam hybrids too. The China or China hybrid plant is small leafed and, therefore, difficult to pluck. Some 6,000 shoots of tea leaves and a bud from these bushes make about ½ kg. of tea. But the leaves of Assam variety can produce the same quantity of Tea with about 3,000 shoots. All Darjeeling teas are hand plucked. The picking and sorting is all done by hand (mostly by women) and the drying process is all done by centuries old coal-fired ovens. The smell inside the factory is just incredible though. Attached Thumbnails Attached Images __________________ Travelling ten thousand miles of world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls of books!!

19th July 2008, 01:35	#192 (permalink)
Chevy_lover BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 321 View My Garage	Every tea garden has its tea processing factory. The hand picked tea leaves are brought to the factory in huge sacks and are spread out thinly on tiers of racks or troughs for 'withering'. This process reduces the moisture and makes the leaf flaccid within a period of about 18 hours. So the leaves plucked today are ready for final processing the next day. The next stage is called 'rolling' where these limp and withered leaves are twisted and their cells ruptured, so as to expose their juice in the rolling machines. The rolling process continues for 1½ hours. The leaf is then spread out for about 2 to 3 hours for 'fermentation' in rooms where the humidity is controlled to 95%. After this it is taken to drying machines (temperature 200° to 225° F). Then it goes to 'sorting' where different quality teas are sorted. The best quality tea comes from the 'leaf' grades ('broken' grade, 'fanning' grade and 'dust' produces lower quality teas). The view of the St. Joseph's College from Happy valley was wonderful! Attached Thumbnails Attached Images __________________ Travelling ten thousand miles of world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls of books!! Last edited by Chevy_lover : 19th July 2008 at 01:41.

19th July 2008, 01:53	#193 (permalink)
Chevy_lover BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 321 View My Garage	On our way back to Darjeeling city, we visited the Museum also. There are some very good animal stuffings there! Attached Thumbnails __________________ Travelling ten thousand miles of world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls of books!!

19th July 2008, 02:04	#194 (permalink)
Chevy_lover BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 321 View My Garage	The Red Panda is so cute! This is one of my favourite pics! Attached Thumbnails __________________ Travelling ten thousand miles of world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls of books!!

19th July 2008, 02:09	#195 (permalink)
Chevy_lover BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 321 View My Garage	There is a very beautiful Church in Darjeeling! Attached Images __________________ Travelling ten thousand miles of world is better than reading ten thousand scrolls of books!!

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