Calcutta and The Darjeeling Hills

Thursday 24th February

Slept in then checked out, left my bag there and after breakfast took a long walk through the crazy streets north to Sheetalnathji Jain Mandir temple, with helpful directions from locals. There are a couple of colourful temples in the courtyard and it was quiet and pleasant, but my main reason for going was because my Mum's father was there during the second World War, Mum has a photo he took there and so I got a similar picture from the same spot.

I headed back through narrow streets, watching the locals working and trading, it certainly puts England and Australia's dole bludgers to shame; no social security to fall back on here, as far as I know. Most of them seem to work seven days a week and maybe from dawn till dusk. The main streets were overcrowded with rickshaws, pedestrians, food stalls, cars, buses, trams, trucks - it is non-stop. Although I usually like the chaos and the noise, and I will miss it when I leave India, today the honking and shoving was a bit much and I started to get a headache. Stopped for egg roll, a bit too much chilly.

Walked around the colonial area, but it wasn't that great. Passed the cricket ground and the cenotaph then back to Chowringhee for masala dosa then grabbed my bag and started walking to Sealdah railway station, couldn't be bothered to engage a tuk-tuk driver cos they would probably try to rip me off. After a while, got pretty tired and got a cycle rickshaw but after a while it was clear he didnt know where he was going so I gave him half of the agreed fare and walked the rest of the way.

I have generally enjoyed the train journeys in India and as this was my last I felt some kind of nostalgia.  This one was a bit different because the train was only half full, whereas they are normally packed to the rafters.


Friday 25th February

Arrived in Siliguri an hour late at 9am. Looked for a bus to Darjeeling but was led by a guy to a pre-paid jeep taxi. Wasn't sure I believed him when he said 'no bus' but the jeep was only a bit more expensive than I had expected the bus to be, and was leaving soon, with 9 other passengers, so I jumped on and it was all good.

Arrived in Darjeeling, 2134m above sea level, at lunchtime. Turned down the room a guy lead me to from the taxi stand, hoping for better and came to the Tower View Hotel, recommended by the LP. It was up a very steep hill, but cheaper and nicer, with valley views, except for the cloud.

Went to local's restaurant and had tasty, spicy, samosa-type snack (called 'chaat'), twice, and 2 chai while reading my Edgar Allen Poe short stories. I found the first story hard going but have now settled into his style of writing and enjoyed it. Went to expensive bakery frequented by westerners, not really my scene so came back to hotel in the cold and rain and watched Aussie v NZ in the cricket and got home made tea. I like to hang out with other travellers sometimes but thats not normally enough reason for me to hang out at over-priced places serving chocolate donuts and expensive coffee when I could be eating dosa or samosas and maybe having a chat with the locals.  Got an extra blanket, its freezing!


Saturday 26th February

Up at 4am. 5 minute walk down the hill into town to look for shared jeep taxi to Tiger Hill. Easy, the fiendly taxi driver found me and 3 others and off we went. From Tiger Hill we watched the sunrise over the low cloud, it lit up the Himalayan Horizon, or some of it. Sunrise is the best time to view the mountains, while it is clear, it gets cloudier as the day goes on. Among others, we could see the peak of Khangchendzonga (8598m), the third hightest peak in the world, and it was spectacular. We thought maybe we could see Everest too but it was a long way away.

After sunrise, and 2 chais, the jeep took us back down to the bottom of the hill where the others continued and I jumped out and started to walk back to Darjeeling, at 7am, 9kms. It was a great time to be walking and watching the people outside the town waking up, chatting to their neighbours and starting their day. I passed empty Ghoom station, where the Toy Trains (diesel and steam) arrive from Darjeeling. I walked along the back streets to Yiga Choling Gompa (Buddhist temple) which has a Buddha and some frescoes, it was quiet. There is a large photo of the Dalai Lama, strategically placed to receive the first ray of sunshine into the temple (at least, it seemed deliberate).

Next, after a fried onion bhaji, I visited the Gorkha War Memorial. The Gorkhas were originally from Nepal, and after the British beat them in a war a long time ago, the British were so impressed with the Gurkhas that they integrated them into the British Army, and they still fight for Britain.

I went to the colourful Druk Sangak Choling Gompa and inside I was lucky enough to witness 100 or so monks sat cross-legged in two groups facing eachother, chanting and playing special drums and horns. They gestured that it was ok for me to go in and watch, so I did. Most of the monks were concentrating but some of the younger ones at the back seemed a bit bored. The frescos and the lanterns and the Buddha were spectacular and I really wanted to take a photo, but not allowed.

At many places along the roadside you could see the same Himalayan Peaks. I took the steep walk up to the Japanese Peace Pagoda, which had some cool stone carvings, then to the temple, and back down. Along the roadside the Toy Train came past.
Many walls here have painted slogans such as 'We want Gorkhaland', and many of the shops include 'Gorkhaland' on their signs. This is because most people here are Gorkhas who came from Nepal (so they look Nepalese, not Indian) and want their own seperate state. The people here are great, the women are attractive, the guys are chatty without wanting anything, the little kids are cute and even the dogs looked well kept. No tuk-tuks, no cows, no touts, no beggars.

4.5 hours after starting off, I arrived back in Darjeeling which was buzzing with Saturday shoppers. I had a very long walk around the bazaar, buying woollen socks and warm tracky dax. Helped a french guy by bringing him to this hotel and also met a western tour group that is travelling 'the whole of India in 16 days, by train'. Hmmm.
Had 'chaat' spicy snack again.

There is a small restaurant downstairs and since it was too cold to go very far, I had dinner there. This is also where the family live. A couple of the guys are really into football and we watched some of Wigan v Man U but the restaurant closes at 10:30 and they had no qualms about kicking us midway through the second half.

Sunday 27th February

Freezing cold and damp in my room, but good porridge in the restaurant, possibly the best I have had. I walked out of town along a path that overlooks the valley. Got a bit lost but eventually found path up to The Observatory. There are some Buddhist and Hindu shrines and temples and colourful prayer flags hanging from the trees. The trees block the view so I am not sure why it is called The Observatory. Pilgrims were knelt at one shrine and pouring water and milk? over some tiles.

I continued on, and down a steep path to Bhutia Busty Gompa (temple). It was ok, but I have seen enough temples for now. It was a long steep walk back up to town, but this is all good trekking practice and breaking in my boots. Met some local lads and we went for lunch, chaat again for me but it was too spicy, but I still ate it. I have lost weight and need to eat more so went to another restaurant and got masala dosa, which was probably the best I have had (yet it is a Southern India dish). Read my book and had 2 chai.

After literally chilling out in my rooom for a bit, I went down to the restaurant to see if the cricket was on, but the old guy was watching movies so I sat there and read. A bit later the TV was free so we settled into watch the England innings, it turned into a great match and me, the Swede, the Norwegian and one of the staff had a great evening enjoying the cricket, talking about the rules, and about football. The staff didnt kick us out at 10:30.


Monday 28th February

A bit of a lie-in, porridge, then checked out and walked down the steep slopes and steps to the jeep taxis east to Kalimpong (1250m). Waited about half an hour until all the seats were sold, then off we went, 10 in a jeep. The scenery was good along the way, the mountains, the valleys, the rivers and forests. Decided not to stay in cheap and nasty hotel in town, instead walked up a bit to the LP-recommended Deki Lodge and it was worth the walk. The room is more comfortable than last nights, they have carpet instead of stone cold tiles and I don't have to sit here with all my clothes on.

After a cold shower I wandered back into town. Its warmer here than in Darjeeling. Got late lunch then internet cafe. Had a bit of a walk around, and came across a wedding, the bride and groom in traditional Hindu dress. If I had hung around they might have invited me in (Indian hospitality being what it sometimes is), but they were eating and would have insisted I ate with them and I was full of noodles so better that I wasn't invited.



Tuesday 1st March

slept in, because I can. After porridge, bought new sunnies to replace broken ones, and headed south out of town. Walking uphill with the strong sun directly above made me wish I had worn just a t-shirt and shorts. Walked for about 5kms, past small houses and shops lining the road. Some good views but a bit misty. Came to a military area and thought I might get turned back but they said Hi and waved me on. Came to Zong Dog Palri Fo-Brang Gompa, or Durpin Gompa. Decided to come back to it after heading to the viewpoint. There was a large group of young school kids and they were very excited when they were allowed to climb aboard an army truck, that actually said 'school bus'on it.

I found the viewpoint and it looks over the valley and the Teesta river. There was no shade so I didnt hang around. I walked up a narrow dirt path, hoping to come out round the back of the monastery, which I did, via the army's helipad and an old farmer and his one cow.

The monastery was closed so I watched the students play volleyball then sat on the steps round the side of the monastery and read. A couple of old ladies came past, turning the prayer wheels and looking at my book. We watched some kids on the school field below playing football.

As I was about to leave, they opened up the monastery, some monks entered and settled down to some chanting and music, the same as the other day, which was great. I walked around inside and took some pix. I walked back into town and found a restaurant serving chaat. Then I walked a couple of kms to St Theresa church, which was closed, but some guys were playing cricket in the park nearby so watched them for a while. Its not like i was desperate to see the church, its usually the things you see and hear along the way that makes it interesting.

Back in town I went to MacFarlane church but couldn't get close as the gate was closed, but I liked the design of the tower. Late afternoon I walked up the hill, north past my hotel vaguely looking for another temple but not really fussed when I couldnt find it. On the way back I stopped for momo and chai at a small family cafe. I dont think they normally serve chai, the mother sent her daughter next door and she came back with tea in a disney-themed tea cup.

Heading back to the hotel at dusk, a large pink domed building down a side road caught my eye. I left my boots outside and was pleased to see that it was very bright and colourful inside. Along the side were large Hindu dioramas set back into the wall and at one end were bright colourful shrines. Lots of pastel pink and green, maybe kitsch to some but I really liked it the Mangal Dham temple, a pleasant surprise at the end of a rewarding day, it was dark when I left.


Wednesday 2nd March

Checked out and walked down to the jeep taxis, 2 samosas while waiting. Back in Darjeeling, carried my bag up the steephill towards the hotels. Met German Markus and we checked into a cheapie. Got chaat on the way back down the hill then walked a couple of kms to the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park which includes the Himalayan Mountaineering Museum. The musem was pretty good, they have lots of old mountaineering equipment including from Everest ascents, there is some history, photos and newspaper cuttings. Stuff about Mallory who whose frozen corpse was found many years after he went missing, and of course about Edmund Hillary and Tenzin Norgay who was Hillary's sherpa (I hadn't realised he was Indian).

I don't generally approve of zoos but was tempted because I heard they had Siberian Tigers, and of course zoos always talk about their breeding programs. But in the end, my view has not changed, these magnificent animals should be in the wild. To be fair, it is a fairly natural environment, on a hillside, the enclosure   ringed by wire fences. I saw Clouded Leopard, Black Leopard, Snow Leopard and Common Leopard. The Clouded Leopard was just pacing around and around in circles, seemingly gone crazy, as I am sure they don't do that in the wild, it knows it is trapped.

Further down was a huge Indian, not Siberian, Tiger. Its outside area was about the size of a lounge room. It was amazing to be so close to it, about 2 metres away, with only a couple of horizontal metal bars and the wire fence between me and the tiger. I sat on the pavement for ages just watching her as she paced up and down and lay down and pulled all the classic Tiger poses, including one where she was staring right at me. Sadly, as she paced she was growling very loudly and she certainly sounded distressed to me.  Every now and then, locals would come past and ignore the 'Silence' sign and chat away, often only staying long enough to have their photo taken with the tiger in the background. I was a bit surprised to find out that they feed tigers cow meat. I could have sat there for much longer.


I wandered around a bit more, watched the wolves being fed dead cow meat, and found the Red Pandas, among my favourite animals, and a black Asiatic Bear and some Common Langurs, being fed bananas and chapatis. I went back to watch the tiger for a bit longer before closing time.

Snacks and chai on the way back to the hotel, then in the evening Markus and I walked back down for street noodles and then back up for chai in a small cafe.

Thursday 3rd March

Walked all the way back down the hill to the jeep taxis and we headed downhill to Kuresong. The guys in the jeep were talikng about the cricket and they told me about England v Ireland. They were a jovial bunch. At Kuresong the hotels were booked, expensive or grotty so decided to give it a miss and head straight to my next destination. Had to wait an hour or so for the jeep to fill up and leave so I sat on the wall reading the newspaper.

The drive here to Mirik only took a couple of hours and was quite picturesque with the hills, valleys and tea plantations and Hindi music playing. As I got out of the jeep these English guys enthused about a hotel up (another!) hill. They didnt really give me good information and the locals couldn't help me so I was pretty fed up after walking uphill with my bag for 20 minutes for no reason. Checked in to hotel down by the road.

Went for a walk, looks like a nice, quiet town. Met the English guys again, they were in the pub. After I got some street noodles, I walked up with them to their hotel, no wonder I hadn't been able to find it. But it is nice, but it better than here, so will check in there tomorrow.

I was pretty grumpy today (or maybe it started with the caged tiger yesterday). Just got fed up of lugging my bag up and down steep hills, and the cold. And the stupid guy who insisted on buying me chai but who was just networking and collecting foreignors emails addresses. I told him he wasn't getting mine.