To the Hills! - Darjeeling, Sikkim, Kalimpong
on Jane in India (India), 20/Jun/2011 18:56, 34 days ago
Summer in Orissa is HOT. As in, up to 44°Chot. Plus a lot of humidity, which makes for a very sweaty existence. From May up to the last couple of weeks it was pretty scorchio. It was manageable, by not going out during the day much and staying under a fan at all times. Only the power cuts were unbearable - being enveloped by a wave of heat and staring at the fan willing it to come back to life..So, in the midst of this heat I made an escape to the Himalayan hills! At the end of May I went off for 10 days to Darjeeling, Gangtok and Kalimpong. Richard, fellow Orissan-volunteer was going to Nepal for a month, so I joined him on the north India-leg of his trip.The Epic Journey:I meant to book on the same train as Richard but booked a day early by accident. I think the train was booked up anyway, so I went solo on the (what turned into) 24 hour train to NJP station. When I told my landlady I was going alone to catch a train at 2.30am she was horrified. But I put this down to her over-protective worrying Aunty-ness. Bhubaneswar as far as I am concerned is a pretty safe place and as I've travelled quite a bit on my own, I didn't see the big deal....Until I realised how hard it was to get an auto rickshaw at that time of night. The evening before, I went to the auto rank and finally convinced one of the drivers to pick me up at 1.30am - but he didn't show up! I went out to the street and it was like a ghost town - the streets were dead except for stray dogs, cows and the odd bit of traffic. Every car or bike that passed slowed down to see if I was ok. A man and his son stopped in a jeep and offered me a lift to the station. I hesitated, then followed my instinct and figured it was the best option if I wanted to make my train. Before getting in I checked his registration, which he saw me do and he told me the number which put me at ease. Also I was on the phone to my flatmate Juliet advising her I was taking lifts from strangers. So, note to self not to book trains in the middle of night where possible, but all was well and I was grateful to the nice people for going out of their way to give me a lift.I caught my train, but the carriages were laid out weirdly, so I wasn't able to get through to my carriage from where I got on and had to wait for the next stop. So at 3am I was sitting on the floor of a packed train, then later perched on the edge of a seat (luckily it was after I got off the floor that I noticed a mouse scampering around..). The next stop was half an hour later, so eventually I found my berth, woke up the sleeping person in it, politely kicked them out and waited for them to stop complaining in Hindi (I paid for it, they didn't - tough shizzle!). I maybe got 2 hours rest before the train started coming to life at 5.30 am...The Indian train classes go: 1st, 2AC, 3AC, Sleeper, General. I normally travel Sleeper (3 bunk beds and no AC) - being not fussy, a cheapskate, and liking the atmosphere and the view from the windows that you don't get in AC classes. On this occasion I would have opted for 3AC for such a long trip, but only Sleeper was available. I was a tad worried about the lack of AC, but it turned out to be fine actually. I had a window seat so had a nice breezy journey looking out at the scenery. It was pretty squashy and I didn't really get any sleep, but then again, the ticket cost me 350Rs (a fiver) so who can argue with that!Jungle JuiceMany of the people on the train were travelling from Bangalore up to Guwahati - a 72 hour journey from the bottom to the top of India!! The people in my carriage were like "yes, we've been on this train for nearly 3 days" with a slightly manic look in their eyes.There was a big group of women in my carriage who sold natural medicines. One lady was pointing out my freckles and tried to sell me "jungle juice" to help cure my affliction! She also told me the benefits of her special hair oil - in 2 months I'd have strong hair down to my bum - and showed me a photo album with a selection of very strange old photos of people in the jungle with freakishly long black hair. I think it was her brochure. I wasn't sold, although a few other men bought some oil to stop their hair falling out, and throughout the journey they were putting lotions and potions on one man's legs who had some skin problem..which was a bit gross.The journey was quite enjoyable - watching the constant stream of people through the carriage - men selling all sorts of food, chai, sarees, perfume, then there were people busking and begging. Also theeunuchs- tough looking transexuals in sarees who clap their hands and ask for money. It's said that if you don't give them money they put a curse on you, although I normally prefer to give my money to the street kids instead.fruit seller& men snacking on the trainThe train arrived late to NJP station, about 1.30 am, making it a 24 hour journey (instead of 17). I decided it was too late to try to find my way to the hotel, so I slept(ish) in the "upper class" waiting room until sunrise when the jeeps to Darjeeling started running...DarjeelingAnd then I got to Darjeeling! It was worth the epic journey. Such a beautiful place - a quaint town built up in the middle of the hills. There are lots of steep windy streets, steps and stunning views all around. It's very different to the India I've gotten used to in Orissa. Although more touristy, it felt a lot calmer and chilled out. The people look very different in north India - with a lot of Tibetan and Nepalese communities. Even the street dogs are fluffier and mountain-looking! After two nights pretty much without sleep, I spent my first day chilling, having a walk around and then tucked up in a double bed with a duvet and two blankets! In Orissa, it's too hot for even a sheet, so the cold was such a nice novelty!Darjeeling sceneryAfter Richard arrived the next day we went on the toy train, ate momos, drank Darjeeling tea, visited a buddhist monastery, and generally looked around and soaked up the views. The weather wasn't the best, but I managed to get a glimpse of Kangchenjunga the 3rd biggest mountain in the world, from the roof of my hotel:the white mountain peak is Kangchenjunga - 3rd highest mountain in the worldveg momos - tasty Tibetan snackTibetan prayer flags outside a Hindu temple in DarjeelingGangtokAfter 3 nights in Darjeeling, we took a jeep across the border to Gangtok in Sikkim. It was a very scenic journey and after much trekking up hills we eventually found a hotel which would accept foreigners, it was dingy, backpacker-y but cheap. I had hoped to join a tour going to North Sikkim, but didn't have enough time to make the 4 day trek, so opted for some sightseeing around Gangtok, and a trip by Kalimpong on the way home instead. So the following day we hired a taxi to take us to all the sights around Gangtok - monasteries, waterfalls, viewpoints (which were mainly enveloped in cloud) and a blues bar with live music, a rare treat.KalimpongRichard left for Nepal the following morning and I spent the day walking around Kalimpong. At first I felt a bit alone and timid without my travel buddy and was beginning to wonder how I managed travelling around South America all on my own before. But then I ended up having an interesting adventure...Being hypnotised by singing bowls..In the afternoon I wandered into a trinket and crafts shop. I was tempted by the jewellery but was about to leave when the old man pointed out his singing bowls. I hadn't seen one before so he showed me how it worked - a metal bowl with a wooden stick which you rotate around the edge to make a ringing echoing sound. He took out this huge bowl and when it was ringing held it up to my ear. I swear I lost the feeling of where I was for a moment. I looked down at this little old man - with big intense black eyes and I felt a little overcome - like I was momentarily hypnotised!He explained how it is used in meditation and aligns with your chakras or something like that. He showed me how to put pressure on the chakra points while holding the singing bowl at the same level, and I felt like a cold wave at the pressure point. I should probably mention at this point that I had fumado un porrito earlier, but nevertheless I'm convinced I had a moment with that bowl! He also told me that it can be used for massage and you can place it over your breast to prevent illnesses..At this point, when the little old man with the black eyes was holding the singing bowl over his boob, I thought hmm this is an odd moment and decided to get going! I went off sightseeing but I was already sold, and knew I'd be back later to buy a bowl:my new singing bowlMeditation in a Buddhist MonasteryWhen walking around that evening, I walked past a tall western-looking guy. The secondtime we walked past eachother, he crossed the street and said hello. He was a RussianBuddhist with a Dublin accent (he'd been living there). Major hippie. It was the first time he'd seen a foreigner for a few weeks, and when I told him I was from Ireland he hugged me. We went for chai and he told me all about his last 6 months staying in various Buddhist monasteries around India, while I showed off my new singing bowl. (He told me he has two at home, naturally).He invited me to come to the Tibetan Buddhist Monastery where he was staying where they were observing a special puja and doing ceremonies for a week. So I went there at 6am the following morning and joined the puja. I sat at the back with my new Russian friend where he showed me the basics of meditation. I stayed there for hours, watching the monks and listening to their chanting, it was really peaceful. They did lots of interesting rituals - at some points they all put on big pointy red hats and there was a dance routine around the big central place of worship. I had breakfast with the monks - salt butter tea and fried rice and one of them came around with a bowl of holy water, gave us a few drops which we drank and put on our heads. Afterwards, I was told the bowl holding the holy water was actually a human skull - nice! There were two monks playing trumpets which were also made from human thigh bones.It was an interesting day to end my holiday on, and that afternoon I caught my train home - another 24 hour trip back to Bhubaneswar. I felt very refreshed after my holiday, inspired after seeing a different side of India and it renewed my love of mountains!These pictures are from a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery in Gangtok. It was a different monastery to where the puja happened, but a similar, smaller set up (more private so didn't want to take photos there)