darjeeling

c.1994, I stayed 4 months in an old hotel in Darjeeling.
It dated from raj times, I had a room with attached 'sun room',
very occasionally the clouds would lift, for
a sensational view of Kanchenjunga. The trees trimmed
for firewood conjured strange shapes in the mist/clouds.

The dhobi was a fine man. Paths were vertical,
the tea pickers had especially hard lives; the place
was lovely, looking out, early in the day. After noon the
vast crowds of tourists kept me inside, that was fine too.
The prayer flags were near the Ghoom monastery.

I had to fix all these prints. An interesting article.