I found out today (our last day in the hostel) that we can use our own ethernet/computer for free internet. Apparently people have been keeping it secret because they didn't want others to know, but now I have some free internet. Of course there is a line to use it now. But fortuneately for you, this means you get to see pictures of the hostel! While we were taking pictures the lens kept fogging up because of the humidity. In between every picture we would have to hold the camera in front of the fan so that it would be clearer. That's why the pictures are so fuzzy... Yesterday was hectic while looking for apartments. Today Andrew and I are going to go shopping to buy some cotton outfits (we've waited a bit to see what others bought) and some post cards. Going to take it easy today, tommorrow we have a 9 hour bus ride to Mussorie. At least it will be airconditioned. *EDIT* Now it's later in the afternoon, and there is no line to use the internet so I don't feel guilty about writing more. Andrew and I went out with some others to go shopping. I got a cotton sari that is dark blue. I'll wear it later and take a picture, it's very pretty. The guy wanted 2600 Rs, but then I got him down to 350 Rs, so I bought it. That's about $8. For a whole outfit! A shirt, pants, and scarf were all included. I like it a lot. Andrew bought some really cheap cotton shirts (western style and plain of course) for 30 Rs each, about $0.69. So it's kind of fun to buy stuff, but it's hard work haggeling and such. Right now the Euro Cup for soccer is going on, last night it was Spain vs. Russia so Andrew and I and about 20 other people went to the sports bar across the street from the hostel. It was full of mostly other foreigners (a lot of Europeans). We met people from all over Australia, France, etc. It was a lot of fun. FYI drinks cost the same here as they do in the United States, about 250 Rs. Andrew seems to have fun talking to the people on the street, even if he doesn't want anything. Sometimes it turns out to be amusing. A man approached him and told him to read a little notebook he had. It was full of testimonials that this guy had about his ear cleaning business. Aparently, this is a big business around here. Guys go around with wooden sticks and offer to "clean your ears" for a small fee. It was funny because this guy had the book (written in English--and this guy obviously didn't know English) full of people saying how amazing it was. Of course, Andrew didn't let him anywhere near his ears, but it was a good story.
We woke up at 6 am to catch the 7 am taxi (170Rs each). They obviously weren't kidding about the taxi being booked. Even at such an early time the taxi stand was packed with people yelling for a taxi to Pelling, most looked really frustrated and we were glad that we had our tickets the day before. The taxi was packed full, at one point we had 18 people crammed in there (two were kids). The kid sitting on his mom's lap next to me would fall asleep and collapse onto my lap. Although it was kind of cute, it became annoying towards the end of the 5 hour jeep ride. Finally I put my small backpack on my lap and leaned forward to try to sleep. Andrew and I both joke that after the 36 hour train ride to Silliguri and all of these share jeeps, the plane ride home will be a snap. We got to Pelling at 12:30 pm and checked into the Hotel Garuda (300 Rs a night for their best room). It was clean but the toilet had to be jiggled in order to work. We ate lunch at the café in the hot...
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