Thursday, 14 October 2010
First two days in Darjeeling
Two days into my stay in Darjeeling and the clouds have not yet broken - The air is full of moisture and the clouds steam over the ridges as I walk through the town. The market place is shrouded in mystery with a cloak of fog/cloud rolling around the streets revealing only slowly each of the lights of stores and restaurants as I pass. It is a magical place where people politely nod and call ‘Nameste’ as they pass.
Darjeeling has a wide range of attractions to keep visitors occupied for days. My first visit was to the zoological gardens and Himalayan Mountain Institute museum (100r entry). The zoo is a well designed and spacious environment for most of the animals which are cared for by attentive staff in purpose built enclosures with informative and clearly laid out on small notice boards. I spent at least an hour walking around and was taken by the ‘Red pandas’ who were active and inquisitive strolling over their large purpose built structures, I was captivated by the way in which one of the pair came over to the edge of the enclosure as if to enquire - Why are you so interested in me? Is this close enough for a good shot? And it was.
The Himalayan Mountain Institute Museum is on the same site as the zoo and has some memorable nostalgia from our mountaineering exploits. The Everest exhibit is quite moving with 3D models of the Himalayan range and another of the tallest mountains of the world. There was also an extensive range of climbing equipment from a range of successful attempts on the summit including a pair of tiny boots worn by a climber who had lost his toes to frostbite. Spending an hour here is easy with every exhibit providing an incite into how mountaineering has changed over time - it is hard to comprehend how these brave and adventurous men ever managed to succeed in reaching the peak of Everest with the equipment available in 1953... Simply amazing.
Have met several wonderful people during my stay here including those on gap years from work, holidays and working visits. I would like to take the time to mention Iain and Sarah who I met in Kurseong and who were keen to complete some hiking around Darjeeling - They are a fantastic couple and I wish them every happiness in their future as Ian proposed during their stay here and Sarah accepted :)
Darjeeling has a wide range of attractions to keep visitors occupied for days. My first visit was to the zoological gardens and Himalayan Mountain Institute museum (100r entry). The zoo is a well designed and spacious environment for most of the animals which are cared for by attentive staff in purpose built enclosures with informative and clearly laid out on small notice boards. I spent at least an hour walking around and was taken by the ‘Red pandas’ who were active and inquisitive strolling over their large purpose built structures, I was captivated by the way in which one of the pair came over to the edge of the enclosure as if to enquire - Why are you so interested in me? Is this close enough for a good shot? And it was.
The Himalayan Mountain Institute Museum is on the same site as the zoo and has some memorable nostalgia from our mountaineering exploits. The Everest exhibit is quite moving with 3D models of the Himalayan range and another of the tallest mountains of the world. There was also an extensive range of climbing equipment from a range of successful attempts on the summit including a pair of tiny boots worn by a climber who had lost his toes to frostbite. Spending an hour here is easy with every exhibit providing an incite into how mountaineering has changed over time - it is hard to comprehend how these brave and adventurous men ever managed to succeed in reaching the peak of Everest with the equipment available in 1953... Simply amazing.
Have met several wonderful people during my stay here including those on gap years from work, holidays and working visits. I would like to take the time to mention Iain and Sarah who I met in Kurseong and who were keen to complete some hiking around Darjeeling - They are a fantastic couple and I wish them every happiness in their future as Ian proposed during their stay here and Sarah accepted :)
Acclimatisation in Kurseong
On arriving at Silliguri rumour had it that Dar Jeeling had a strike on and therefore nothing was running!! Luckily I am heading for Kurseong for two days first…
My driver meets me from the train and as the only western tourist I am easily identified J I am informed that the main road and rail link had been blocked by and landslide so we a going to go another route - I guess this is like taking the B roads instead of A roads - However, in this instance you have to imagine that you are driving up a road along mountainsides with nothing between you and the almighty except the skill of your driver and a couple of inches of gravel!! I could feel myself clench inwardly as a looked down over the edges of precipitous drops as lorries and jeeps came cautiously down the road. As the only open route it was being heavily used and it reminded me of the Clarkson South American Challenge program - It was seriously as nerve racking 0_0 The road itself rose ever higher eventually peaking at 1450m and ran along a ridge to the hotel - A beautiful building nestled on the top of a ridge with (on a clear day) outstanding views of the Himalayas. However, the clouds had rolled in as I arrived so I had to make do with the surrounding mountains and tea plantations.
After settling in with warm shower and breakfast it was time to enjoy what Kurseong had to offer - A brief 5km hike allowed me to see how people survived and in fact thrived in this difficult landscape. Tea pickers were at work harvesting the precious tips of the tea plants and bagging them in woven baskets on their backs shaded from the sun with an umbrella each - as I passed a group of them returning from work they were all happily discussing life. Further into town you start to see many shops, all seaming to sell everything that you could possibly want - it is a bit like coming across a whole line of spar shops on one street. One store even had dairy milk chock bars… The town was busy with many people shopping for goods in the market, where fresh produce was available, even fish which was lying on banana leaves sliced up or whole ready for you to point to the bit you wanted… Strangest was the fact that some stalls/shops were selling helium filled balloons in gordy colours and even Disney characters, just seemed out of place surrounded by such beauty in the natural landscape!!
At dusk the plantation comes alive with the sound of insects, a grand cacophony which lasts into the night. Takes a little getting used to but a clear improvement on traffic noises in the cities.
Day two in Kurseong was an education in how the landscape had been affected by the influence of people. Recent landslides in the area are due in part to the heavy monsoon rainfall and in part to deforestation of the slopes. These landslides can be seen as scars on the landscape and range in size up to complete hillsides… The landscape has also been heavily influenced by tea production, the major industry and employer in the region, as tea plants have been planted over huge areas and regularly manicured of their fresh growth. Factories are dotted across the area with roads linking the production sites.
Visiting a tea factory/plantation is a sensory experience in fragrance - as you walk into the drying room the smell of tea hits you and only intensifies as you enter the rolling and sorting areas where tea is processed and separated into grades from 1st silver tip quality (appears twig like with silver tips and costs 18000r per kg or about $400 a tea box) down to tea bag quality (black dust)… The smell from the 2nd grade tea is the best, in my humble opinion but come and test it out for yourself. At the end of the factory tour we have a sample of the organic tea. A real pleasure :) The plantation was on steep slopes with a range of plants in the area - I was expecting to see row upon row of tea bushes but in fact there is bio-diversity with a range of plants mixed in with the tea including numerous trees. It is low season for tea production but we see some pickers armed with sickles and baskets making their way around the fields. A great experience when escorted by an experienced guide (this can be organised by any local hotel).
Sitting back on the veranda of the hotel overlooking the valleys either side of the Kurseong ridge it is easy to lose yourself in this breathtaking landscape, especially armed with one of the specialist Darjeeling teas brewed to your personal taste by an on site expert :)
Kurseong is peaceful and calm with stunning views in every direction. Overall an amazing place to come and enjoy while acclimatizing to altitude before travelling to Dar Jeeling on the toy train.
My driver meets me from the train and as the only western tourist I am easily identified J I am informed that the main road and rail link had been blocked by and landslide so we a going to go another route - I guess this is like taking the B roads instead of A roads - However, in this instance you have to imagine that you are driving up a road along mountainsides with nothing between you and the almighty except the skill of your driver and a couple of inches of gravel!! I could feel myself clench inwardly as a looked down over the edges of precipitous drops as lorries and jeeps came cautiously down the road. As the only open route it was being heavily used and it reminded me of the Clarkson South American Challenge program - It was seriously as nerve racking 0_0 The road itself rose ever higher eventually peaking at 1450m and ran along a ridge to the hotel - A beautiful building nestled on the top of a ridge with (on a clear day) outstanding views of the Himalayas. However, the clouds had rolled in as I arrived so I had to make do with the surrounding mountains and tea plantations.
After settling in with warm shower and breakfast it was time to enjoy what Kurseong had to offer - A brief 5km hike allowed me to see how people survived and in fact thrived in this difficult landscape. Tea pickers were at work harvesting the precious tips of the tea plants and bagging them in woven baskets on their backs shaded from the sun with an umbrella each - as I passed a group of them returning from work they were all happily discussing life. Further into town you start to see many shops, all seaming to sell everything that you could possibly want - it is a bit like coming across a whole line of spar shops on one street. One store even had dairy milk chock bars… The town was busy with many people shopping for goods in the market, where fresh produce was available, even fish which was lying on banana leaves sliced up or whole ready for you to point to the bit you wanted… Strangest was the fact that some stalls/shops were selling helium filled balloons in gordy colours and even Disney characters, just seemed out of place surrounded by such beauty in the natural landscape!!
At dusk the plantation comes alive with the sound of insects, a grand cacophony which lasts into the night. Takes a little getting used to but a clear improvement on traffic noises in the cities.
Day two in Kurseong was an education in how the landscape had been affected by the influence of people. Recent landslides in the area are due in part to the heavy monsoon rainfall and in part to deforestation of the slopes. These landslides can be seen as scars on the landscape and range in size up to complete hillsides… The landscape has also been heavily influenced by tea production, the major industry and employer in the region, as tea plants have been planted over huge areas and regularly manicured of their fresh growth. Factories are dotted across the area with roads linking the production sites.
Visiting a tea factory/plantation is a sensory experience in fragrance - as you walk into the drying room the smell of tea hits you and only intensifies as you enter the rolling and sorting areas where tea is processed and separated into grades from 1st silver tip quality (appears twig like with silver tips and costs 18000r per kg or about $400 a tea box) down to tea bag quality (black dust)… The smell from the 2nd grade tea is the best, in my humble opinion but come and test it out for yourself. At the end of the factory tour we have a sample of the organic tea. A real pleasure :) The plantation was on steep slopes with a range of plants in the area - I was expecting to see row upon row of tea bushes but in fact there is bio-diversity with a range of plants mixed in with the tea including numerous trees. It is low season for tea production but we see some pickers armed with sickles and baskets making their way around the fields. A great experience when escorted by an experienced guide (this can be organised by any local hotel).
Sitting back on the veranda of the hotel overlooking the valleys either side of the Kurseong ridge it is easy to lose yourself in this breathtaking landscape, especially armed with one of the specialist Darjeeling teas brewed to your personal taste by an on site expert :)
Kurseong is peaceful and calm with stunning views in every direction. Overall an amazing place to come and enjoy while acclimatizing to altitude before travelling to Dar Jeeling on the toy train.
A brief stop over in Kolkata
The YMCA in Kolkata is the oldest one in Asia and it looks it, the old worn steps on a busy street lead up to a small glass fronted wooden booth (The kind you used to find outside old cinemas) with paintwork peeling from the walls and the woodwork clearly showing its age and with a distinctly musty air. However, the rooms are very spacious and come with AC, a TV and hot shower and bed :)
Breakfast was a quick bite of egg, toast and tea prepared on site in a kitchen I wished I had not looked into… But hey I think I can deal with street food now… Then it was off to explore the city in the one day that I had available - The Maiden (pronounced Moi-Dan) is a large grassed area like central park which has attracted a number of hawkers selling the usual tourist bumph including snacks and postcards, however here you also have a plethora of horse drawn carriages in all colours and hues from the traditional to the space age silver. Each carriage owner states he can give you a cheap ride but the horses look very tired and worn out. A faster way to move around the city is by taxi and these are straight out of a 1950’s USA movie. They are bright yellow and fill every street with vibrant colour, each cab seems also do have been individually decorated by the owner and forget the payment shown on the meter - the prices have doubled this year!!
Sites in Kolkata not to miss are the Queen Victoria monument - Which is a marvellous construction of marble topped with an amazing sculpture entitled “Angel of Victory”. The gardens which surround it are guarded by barbed wire and are meticulously kept. The grounds men are seen constantly working to keep the park in perfect condition while the inside of the building houses some impressive statues of Queen Elizabeth and others - Although you may not take photos inside. Worth the 150r entry fee.
The Indian Museum houses some dusty relics covering fossils, Ancient Egypt, mammals and man. The building itself is run down with paint peeling and wood mouldering and many of the exhibits seem dusty and poorly stuffed… There had been a clear effort made to modernise some parts including dioramas of the human cultures of India which could make in more interesting for children but beware the mammals exhibits as within this hall you can see small human babies in jars… Not the most pleasant site… Highlight of the museum has to be the Buddhist items including a preserved gateway which is 26’ high with 9’ high walls made using interlocking beams which have been decorated with a range of wonderful images.
Finally no trip to Kolkata would be complete without a trip to Mother Theresa’s Home. This is down a tiny side street and is difficult to find, my taxi driver drove past it 3 times before coming to a halt… It is accessed via a side door where nuns continue to support the needy of the city - inside there is a small shrine to Mother Theresa which is tastefully organised with a few small arrangements and newspaper articles about her life and work. As you leave there is the opportunity to collect some flower petals from the home and place them in a piece of paper with your future intentions written on them. A moving place in its simplicity.
If eating in Kolkata and after a lovely Chinese or Indian meal you can’t go wrong with ‘Jongs’ superb food cooked to perfection and served in luxurious surroundings. Faultless on my visits here J
Breakfast was a quick bite of egg, toast and tea prepared on site in a kitchen I wished I had not looked into… But hey I think I can deal with street food now… Then it was off to explore the city in the one day that I had available - The Maiden (pronounced Moi-Dan) is a large grassed area like central park which has attracted a number of hawkers selling the usual tourist bumph including snacks and postcards, however here you also have a plethora of horse drawn carriages in all colours and hues from the traditional to the space age silver. Each carriage owner states he can give you a cheap ride but the horses look very tired and worn out. A faster way to move around the city is by taxi and these are straight out of a 1950’s USA movie. They are bright yellow and fill every street with vibrant colour, each cab seems also do have been individually decorated by the owner and forget the payment shown on the meter - the prices have doubled this year!!
Sites in Kolkata not to miss are the Queen Victoria monument - Which is a marvellous construction of marble topped with an amazing sculpture entitled “Angel of Victory”. The gardens which surround it are guarded by barbed wire and are meticulously kept. The grounds men are seen constantly working to keep the park in perfect condition while the inside of the building houses some impressive statues of Queen Elizabeth and others - Although you may not take photos inside. Worth the 150r entry fee.
The Indian Museum houses some dusty relics covering fossils, Ancient Egypt, mammals and man. The building itself is run down with paint peeling and wood mouldering and many of the exhibits seem dusty and poorly stuffed… There had been a clear effort made to modernise some parts including dioramas of the human cultures of India which could make in more interesting for children but beware the mammals exhibits as within this hall you can see small human babies in jars… Not the most pleasant site… Highlight of the museum has to be the Buddhist items including a preserved gateway which is 26’ high with 9’ high walls made using interlocking beams which have been decorated with a range of wonderful images.
Finally no trip to Kolkata would be complete without a trip to Mother Theresa’s Home. This is down a tiny side street and is difficult to find, my taxi driver drove past it 3 times before coming to a halt… It is accessed via a side door where nuns continue to support the needy of the city - inside there is a small shrine to Mother Theresa which is tastefully organised with a few small arrangements and newspaper articles about her life and work. As you leave there is the opportunity to collect some flower petals from the home and place them in a piece of paper with your future intentions written on them. A moving place in its simplicity.
If eating in Kolkata and after a lovely Chinese or Indian meal you can’t go wrong with ‘Jongs’ superb food cooked to perfection and served in luxurious surroundings. Faultless on my visits here J
Night Train from Varanasi 0_0
Travelling from Varanasi to Kolkata should have been a piece of cake with a train connection taking 14 hours… However, when I arrived at the Varanasi station bags in toe I noticed that the train did not appear on the schedule board… hmmm
Turns out the train had been cancelled!! PANIC… Over to see the tourist police who then go to the station masters office and after some discussion announce that there is a train which will go from Varanasi to Kolkata which was due to arrive the day before… But was delayed!! For a day!! Anyhow - long and short of it is that the train did appear at 8.30pm and a small band of western tourists three, two Polish and myself all got onto the 3AC carriage and awaited departure commenting on how empty the train was - we were pretty much the only passengers in the carriage… Turns out that not many people wanted to travel yesterday and so had not booked the train - now that it was a day late, few people had turned up to get it on the day… so nearly empty. The train however needed to wait for a slot on the track to depart and therefore did not actually leave the station till 12.30am!! Followed by a marathon 16hr journey stopping every so often to give way to other trains.
The scenery of West Bengal is very different from that of Utter Pradesh and Rajasthan, it has gently rolling hills and lots of greenery including palm trees and banana plants. It is also cleaner with less visible rubbish along the tracks.
Arriving in Kolkata the first priority was a cab to the hotel for all of us seconded by a shower. Two trains in two nights is a bit much…
Turns out the train had been cancelled!! PANIC… Over to see the tourist police who then go to the station masters office and after some discussion announce that there is a train which will go from Varanasi to Kolkata which was due to arrive the day before… But was delayed!! For a day!! Anyhow - long and short of it is that the train did appear at 8.30pm and a small band of western tourists three, two Polish and myself all got onto the 3AC carriage and awaited departure commenting on how empty the train was - we were pretty much the only passengers in the carriage… Turns out that not many people wanted to travel yesterday and so had not booked the train - now that it was a day late, few people had turned up to get it on the day… so nearly empty. The train however needed to wait for a slot on the track to depart and therefore did not actually leave the station till 12.30am!! Followed by a marathon 16hr journey stopping every so often to give way to other trains.
The scenery of West Bengal is very different from that of Utter Pradesh and Rajasthan, it has gently rolling hills and lots of greenery including palm trees and banana plants. It is also cleaner with less visible rubbish along the tracks.
Arriving in Kolkata the first priority was a cab to the hotel for all of us seconded by a shower. Two trains in two nights is a bit much…
Friday, 1 October 2010
Waiting for a train on the rooftop Restaurant in Varanasi
This morning I noticed that my forefinger had developed a spreading rash around a larger lump which had been growing for a couple of days - decided to find a pharmacy to get it checked out - Easier said than done - You need to look for a red cross and follow the signs, the one I eventually found was down a very narrow alley and ended up being an open counter behind two shops with a set of shelving filled with boxes of all kinds of medication… The pharmacist seemed to be sitting and waiting for clients filling his time in discussion with a friend. However as I approached and said “Nameste, can you help me?”, he replied in English “what is the problem?”. A quick look at my finger led to the diagnosis “Skin disease” and leaning back he produced a tube of cream which he said to apply twice a day for ten days… No prescription (even though the tube states to be prescribed) and a total cost of 37r (50p). Well, this was very quick and efficient and a darn site cheaper than the NHS! Having accomplished the mission for the day I decided to retire to a rooftop restaurant…
Once settled in at the rooftop restaurant of the hotel I sit back taking in the serene view and supping on a Coke I consider my stay here. The frenetic nature of the place needs to be taken in your stride if you are to make the most of your visit to this holy site. Be aware that if you take a boat ride you will see the burning Ghats, where bodies are cremated openly and that the alleys are a maze of narrow passages that are difficult to navigate and become very congested with people, motorcycles and cows.
The river is in spate after the monsoon rains and the high level of the water means that it is impossible to walk along the Ghats, making the narrow alleys even more congested than normal. The river however seems peaceful as it languidly passes by carrying the detritus eroded from upstream, tree branches are the most common site to be carried past. The water is brown with sediment, which will reward places downstream with fertile soils for their crops (Sorry Geographer showing through) but it has dropped a little over my two day visit and there is are small islands (Sand banks) starting to form within the river channel and the far bank is starting to show its sandy levee.
Small boats continue to ply their trade with visitors being ferried in motorised contraptions between the Ghats - the steady put-put-put of their underpowered engines straining against the current of the river. It is however a slow time for the boatmen as the river is soo high that fewer people are able to be at the Ghats… While rowing boats are not allowed into the channel as they would be swept downstream…
Taking a final look along the tranquil river frontage of Varanasi I find it hard to believe the madness that lies just behind the façade.
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