Friday 4th March
Checked into Lake View Hotel where the Manchester/Burnley/Czech are staying. We walked up to the Buddhist temple and overlooked the town. Its very peaceful and pretty around here, with the artificial lake and the mountains and forest. Went down into town for momos, chaat and chai, we sat on the benches behind the foodstall. A bit later we went to play cricket with the local kids, which the other guys had done yesterday. When we said "England v India", they replied "England v Gorkhaland". We had seven-a-side, so a couple of the local kids were on our team. I batted and bowled ok, getting a score of about 5. The locals certainly have more style than us when playing cricket though they didnt beat us by much, and it was good fun.
In the evening we drank Honey Bee brandy and chatted in the lounge room of the hotel. The hotel is owned and run by a very friendly couple. We are the only ones staying here and it is basically like staying at a friend's house, it is so comfortable. We ordered dinner and although it took a while it was great, dal and parathas and other stuff.
Saturday 5th March.
After porridge and tea I started the 3.5km walk around the lake, but took a diversion and walked along the road out of town, passed some kids who tried to convince me there were elephants in the bushes. I walked up to a lookout across the town and the monastery and our hotel. Then carried on out of town until I came to some benches next to a sports ground, where I sat and read my book.
But pretty soon, 4 young girls and a boy came over for a chat. They were only 11 but their English was good and they were good company for a while. They gave me a flower, which they said I should eat, but although one of them was eating it, I declined. Then they went away and came back and gave me a whole Rhododendron (the national flower of Nepal) as a gift. Later when I said I had friends at the hotel, they brought flowers for them too. After we sat on the rocks in the sun, and they made me take photos of them, they went away again and came back with two gideon bibles/psalms (though,or maybe because, they are Buddhist, not Christian) and a pink oval-shaped candle as gifts. Quite a collection of things to be carrying around, and I will have to leave them at the hotel when we leave.
We walked into the other side of town and they took me to their Hindu temple. But then they were faffing around so I headed back to the hotel and sat on the balcony with Theresa and Charlie, sipping beer and enjoying the view, a lovely afternoon. I walked into town and brought back some momos and chilli sauce. Damo and Andy came back from Darjeeling and we continued drinking and had an excellent dinner again.
We have all just got on really well, lots of banter and chat about music and death and experiences in India. I have enjoyed the food and the chaos and the hospitality, the train rides, cycle rickshaws, cows on the street, colourful saris, monuments and scenery, beaches and bazaars and much more besides. Many of the things which have frustrated me about India have also frustrated these guys so I don't feel quite so bad about how I have sometimes responded to those situations. i.e. being rude! Damo read some of his poems about India.
This has been a great place to spend my last few days in India, (even though it feels more like Nepal than India) and with some really cool people too.
The owner, Sam, let us use his PC last night to check the footy scores, and me and Damo also talked to him about India and Gorkhaland. The Darjeeling Hills are currently part of the State of West Bengal, and the Gorkhas believe that they are badly treated at the moment. Sham said that education is not so good in these parts and none of the technical colleges are placed here, which would bring money and investment to the area. They have their own identity, which brings in tourism, but as part of WB it harder to express this idenity.
Sam is proud to be Indian, despite his Nepalese background. Because India's parts are so diverse, in terms of geography, culture, climate, it is often asked what holds India togther. Sam's answer, similar to what I have read, is 'we all use the rupee, we all use the same water, and we are all different'. That makes sense. Sam also runs a tea factory over the border so often crosses into Nepal.
Sunday 6th March
Finished 'A Passage to India' on the balcony and passed it on to Damo. Went for chaat and momo and chai and walked back up. After watching England beat South Africa, Charlie, Andy, Theresa and I went down to town for dinner, our last dinner in India and it was delicious. Big spring roll and Veg Curry and Parathas (a type of Indian bread) and chai, for less than $3 . Came back to the hotel and watched Liverpool beat Man U, and India beat Ireland. Sam was more than happy to share his living room with us.
Monday 7th March
So, one day before my visa expires, Andy, Theresa and I got a packed shared jeep taxi a couple of hours to the Inidan/Nepali border at Panitanki. The jeep dropped us off, the locals are free to continue on. We got stamped out of India by a fairly lazy guy. I had one last look round at India then we started walking to Nepal.
Checked into Lake View Hotel where the Manchester/Burnley/Czech are staying. We walked up to the Buddhist temple and overlooked the town. Its very peaceful and pretty around here, with the artificial lake and the mountains and forest. Went down into town for momos, chaat and chai, we sat on the benches behind the foodstall. A bit later we went to play cricket with the local kids, which the other guys had done yesterday. When we said "England v India", they replied "England v Gorkhaland". We had seven-a-side, so a couple of the local kids were on our team. I batted and bowled ok, getting a score of about 5. The locals certainly have more style than us when playing cricket though they didnt beat us by much, and it was good fun.
In the evening we drank Honey Bee brandy and chatted in the lounge room of the hotel. The hotel is owned and run by a very friendly couple. We are the only ones staying here and it is basically like staying at a friend's house, it is so comfortable. We ordered dinner and although it took a while it was great, dal and parathas and other stuff.
Saturday 5th March.
After porridge and tea I started the 3.5km walk around the lake, but took a diversion and walked along the road out of town, passed some kids who tried to convince me there were elephants in the bushes. I walked up to a lookout across the town and the monastery and our hotel. Then carried on out of town until I came to some benches next to a sports ground, where I sat and read my book.
But pretty soon, 4 young girls and a boy came over for a chat. They were only 11 but their English was good and they were good company for a while. They gave me a flower, which they said I should eat, but although one of them was eating it, I declined. Then they went away and came back and gave me a whole Rhododendron (the national flower of Nepal) as a gift. Later when I said I had friends at the hotel, they brought flowers for them too. After we sat on the rocks in the sun, and they made me take photos of them, they went away again and came back with two gideon bibles/psalms (though,or maybe because, they are Buddhist, not Christian) and a pink oval-shaped candle as gifts. Quite a collection of things to be carrying around, and I will have to leave them at the hotel when we leave.
We walked into the other side of town and they took me to their Hindu temple. But then they were faffing around so I headed back to the hotel and sat on the balcony with Theresa and Charlie, sipping beer and enjoying the view, a lovely afternoon. I walked into town and brought back some momos and chilli sauce. Damo and Andy came back from Darjeeling and we continued drinking and had an excellent dinner again.
We have all just got on really well, lots of banter and chat about music and death and experiences in India. I have enjoyed the food and the chaos and the hospitality, the train rides, cycle rickshaws, cows on the street, colourful saris, monuments and scenery, beaches and bazaars and much more besides. Many of the things which have frustrated me about India have also frustrated these guys so I don't feel quite so bad about how I have sometimes responded to those situations. i.e. being rude! Damo read some of his poems about India.
This has been a great place to spend my last few days in India, (even though it feels more like Nepal than India) and with some really cool people too.
The owner, Sam, let us use his PC last night to check the footy scores, and me and Damo also talked to him about India and Gorkhaland. The Darjeeling Hills are currently part of the State of West Bengal, and the Gorkhas believe that they are badly treated at the moment. Sham said that education is not so good in these parts and none of the technical colleges are placed here, which would bring money and investment to the area. They have their own identity, which brings in tourism, but as part of WB it harder to express this idenity.
Sam is proud to be Indian, despite his Nepalese background. Because India's parts are so diverse, in terms of geography, culture, climate, it is often asked what holds India togther. Sam's answer, similar to what I have read, is 'we all use the rupee, we all use the same water, and we are all different'. That makes sense. Sam also runs a tea factory over the border so often crosses into Nepal.
Sunday 6th March
Finished 'A Passage to India' on the balcony and passed it on to Damo. Went for chaat and momo and chai and walked back up. After watching England beat South Africa, Charlie, Andy, Theresa and I went down to town for dinner, our last dinner in India and it was delicious. Big spring roll and Veg Curry and Parathas (a type of Indian bread) and chai, for less than $3 . Came back to the hotel and watched Liverpool beat Man U, and India beat Ireland. Sam was more than happy to share his living room with us.
Monday 7th March
So, one day before my visa expires, Andy, Theresa and I got a packed shared jeep taxi a couple of hours to the Inidan/Nepali border at Panitanki. The jeep dropped us off, the locals are free to continue on. We got stamped out of India by a fairly lazy guy. I had one last look round at India then we started walking to Nepal.
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