Sorry, but its worth it if at least 3 people might understand, no?
Darjeeling. Now there's a nice name. It means "land of lightning" I believe, though in exactly what language, I'm not sure.
Everyone I'd spoken to had said not to go there as it's too cold at this time of year. But it was now or never, and I fancied a nice cup of tea. Actually, I don't really like Darjeeling tea, but I didn't want to go to Assam right now as things seem to be kicking off. And in case you're wondering, it was tribal people from Assam who first showed the british how to make tea, and it was the british who decided to plant it in Darjeeling. I digress...
It wasn't so cold when I arrived, so I went for one of the oldest hotels in town: at the highest point, lots of charm, a 3-room suite, 3 resident mice, very cheap (off season), no insulation, and a very old electric heater. I've could've got more heat from a match. It was SO COLD. 4 blankets, 2 duvets, thermal underwear, still cold.
But the views! The backdrop to the town is the Kangchendzonga range (part of the Himalayas), which has the 3rd highest mountain in the world. More on that later. It wasn't clear enough to see Everest, which was a real shame, as was the fact that I didn't use my camera for the 2 clear days I had in Darjeeling. And then the clouds came down. Or maybe they came up. In any case, 2 days of cold, cloud, very few backpackers, and a town that goes to bed at 8, became mildly depressing. I read. A lot. In fact, I've read more on this trip so far than on the whole of the last one.
Anyway, I'd had enough of being cold so headed to Kalimpong (about 800m lower), with the intention of travelling onto Bhutan.
Kalimpong was great. I was really lucky with the weather, had an amazing hotel (where Hilary & Tenzing stayed pre-Everest), & spent most of my time gazing at this view from my balcony:
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Himalayas. I've never seen anything like it. Just the name is awe-inspiring, but to see part of them in the flesh is a genuine privilege. OK, I know you want more... The peak on the right is the aforementioned Kangchendzonga.
The West Bengal hills really didn't feel like India to me. I realise I'm saying that a lot, but that's the way it is. No one place defines the feeling of India in the same way that no one place defines Europe. This (very new) country is really more like a continent. Its so big, so diverse in environment, culture, language etc, it has a larger population than Africa. I could go on. Oh yes, the hills. The Nepali/Tibetan influence is visible everywhere which, put simply (crudely) is more relaxed, more friendly, and almost hassle-free compared to most of India.
Now, according to the book, the Bhutanese powers that be had relaxed their $200/day tourist fee in the city of Phuentsholing, just across the border for Jaigon. Having decided to risk travelling through a political strike, packed my bags and bought my bus ticket, I was having lunch with an American guy when the owner of the restaurant overheard our conversation and told me Bhutan was no longer open for free, and hadn't been for a couple of years. I verified this on the interweb and narrowly avoided 12 hours of nervous buses only to be turned away at the border. So I stayed in Kalmipong for one more day, which was nice.
I was quite sad to leave the hills. But I intend to see the Himalayas again, from the other side, while I'm in India, and I was in the mood for some hot weather again. And my jeans needed a wash. Here's the best mode of transport in the hills, minus the 6 people clinging onto the back/sitting on the top:
And here's the Teesta river as seen from the road from Kalimpong to Siliguri:
Siliguri is without doubt the worst place I've been in India. All the downsides, none of the positives, but it is the major train station to/from the northeast. Still, I only had a few hours to kill. Or so I thought. Having survived 6 hours without pulling any hair out, I went to the train station, where the flashy digital bulletin boards only display information on the train that's most recently departed (along with 6 lines of scrolling "don't set fire to the train, don't cook on the train, don't push people off the train, try to stay inside the train while its moving, this board designed by BEC, Bangalore flash flash flash). I queued to ask for the platform number. Nice man said platform 3. Went to platform 3, 9.30pm, 1 hour early... At 11.30pm, I went to ask when it was expected and THE SAME MAN told me "2pm tomorrow." 15 hours late. Nevermind, I eventually found a hotel that was still open, and delayed my journey to the heartland of Buddhist and Hindu pilgrimage until the next day...
