Destination: Darjeeling / Gangtok

So by middle-December someone had a great, daring idea: "Let's go to Darjeeling for Christmas"! "Darjeeling? What the hell is that?" And thus began our journey into the heart of the mighty Himalayas.

As I learned, Darjeeling is a small city atop the chain of mountains that borders the snowy peaks around Kangchenjunga, the third tallest peak on Earth, just after the Everest and the K2. It is the main city of a region by same name that includes a lot of other small hill stations in the most northeastern part of the state of West Bengal, India. Darjeeling is very famous for its delicious, prime-quality teas,which are eported to the whole world. Researching more on the subject, we discovered that another very interesting destination nearby would be the city of Gangtok, capital of the state of Sikkim, even more to the northeast, wichi has a very different mix of population, landscapes and culture than the rest of the country.

The first difficulty was to find transportation there. There are no train routes to Darjeeling, but most people take a train to Siliguri, a city in the same region, and then hire a jeep or buy a seat in one for the 5-hours ride between the mountains until Darjeeling. The problem, as it turned out, is that very few Indians celebrate Christmas, but the date is a part of some end-of-year holidays of theirs, so a lot of people flock to the hill stations to spend the last days of the year in the cold, pure air of the mountains. There were absolutely no train seats available anywhere near the dates that suited us. There were no easy or cheap hostels available on the internet either. On top of that, all the locals we spoke to here had VERY extreme positions - they either told us and swore on their mothers' lives that it was completely ok to book buses and go there without hostel reservations, OR told us we would sleep on the streets, get robbed and murdered if we did such a reckless thing.

So we made a compromise - we booked more or less expensive accomodation for the first two nights in Gangtok, and left the decision about the remaining nights for after we got there and felt the real situation. Then we set foot for the North!

Julia, Ana, Kawshi and Anahí being pretty on the bus

The bus trip there deserves a chapter of its own in the story. We had paid a very expensive ticket of 1,100 rupees (a little over 20 dollars) for an air-conditioned, nice bus for the (supposedly) 12-hour trip from Kolkata to Siliguri. Then we faced the hard truth - in India, no deal is what it seems to be. For starters, as soon as we got to the bus stop, we discovered our bus was cancelled, and our bookings had been moved to another, much worse, no-restroom bus that would depart 2 hours later. For some unbelievable reason, they were charging 500 rupees MORE from each of us for that change of plans. After some aggressive shouting, we were able to "convince" them that it was THEM who owed us 500 rupees back. We got our money back and headed to the bus.

Bending leg and neck in my shared bunk

Me, preparing myself for spooning time

Me, Anahí (from Mexico), Kawshi (from Australia), Julia (from Germany) and Ana Carolina (from Brazil) were settled on the same bus. The girls all had regular seats, but I discovered mine was a sleeper seat, some sort of berth that is set above the heads of seated passengers, and where I was supposed to lie down and have a good night's sleep. I got up into mine and thought "Hey, this is far too small for me... Well, too bad, but I can make it if I rough it up a little". Then, to my astonishment, a nice and respectable Indian sir brought up to my attention the simple and hard fact that the "small" berth was actually meant for TWO people, and that I would have to share it with him. You can see my happy arrangement in the photos.

Not satisfied wiht just having me spooning with some Indian sir all night, the universe was not done with me. As you can see, there was some small place to put our stuff at our feet, and we used it to store the water we had brought for the long journey ahead. Well, the roads were so bumpy that in a few hours the plastic of one of the bottles was broken, and I found my socks and feet to be completely soaked, in a 5-degree cold. Just to understate how personal everything was, the Indian sir was too short to be affected by this misfortune. There and then I learned that one of the most important things in life are DRY SOCKS.

Obviously, the 12-hour trip took 16, but eventually we arrived at Siliguri around noon. There we quickly hired a jeep for our group of 10 people, and once again hit the road towards Gangtok. From that point, things started to improve considerably. The smog that seems to cover all Indian cities I have seen so far became gradually thinner, until it finally disappeared completely. The buildings on the roadsides were replaced by a beautiful forest, and we started seeing monkeys everywhere. The road became steeper, and we were presented with a beautiful scenery of forest, river, mountain and cliffs dotted with small villages and temples.

All the gang

Our driver stopped at the border between the states of West Bengal and Sikkim so we could apply for our permit. The state of Sikkim was an independent kingdom until 1975 before being incorporated into the country, and to this day it is still a disputed territory between India and China. For that reason, all foreigners intending to visit it need to apply for a special permit, just like in Kashmir to the west. It was a pretty smooth and fast procedure, and we were soon on our way again.

We reached Gangtok by nightfall, and went directly to our hotel, and then to a restaurant. We were very tired from the trip and starved by spending 24 hours running on nothing but potato chips, cookies and tea/water. Our joy was limitless when, against all odds in such a remote place, we found a western-like restaurant in which we gorged on pizza (Indian pizza, but pizza nevertheless), noodles, hot chocolate and more. We were so full that the most we could do after that was to go back to the hotel and fall asleep. On the next day, we were able to explore Gangtok.

Incredible view from Gangtok

Because of its history, Sikkim is a very different state from the rest of India. Its people look remarkably different than other Indians, as the state borders China, Nepal and Bhutan, and there is a lot of people with those countries' heritage there. Buddhism is the prevalent religion, despite Hinduism being present. Also, it is considered to be the most environmentally correct state in India - plastic bags are banned throughout the state, and smoking is prohibited anywhere within its borders as well. The city is very clean and well kept, there are rubbish bins everywhere (while they are virtually non-existent elsewhere) and people seldom litter or spit there.

Ganesh Hindu temple

Shy little boy at the monastery

Tibetan museum and Buddhist temple

We hired a car that took us to a beautiful Tibetan temple/museum, in which we learned some of Tibet's history and issues, and seen some Tibetan/Buddhist artifacts, all of it very interesting. Then we went for a ride on Gangtok's cable car - less impressive than promised, but still quite interesting to see the city and the valley from above. After that we took a long ride uphill to see two Buddhist monasteries that have great views of the mountains, as well as being interesting in their own right. At the first one they were flying the Tibetan flag, as you can see in the picture - India houses the Tibetan government in exile, which is headed by the Dalai Lama, and the right to fly its flag is assured in certain places and facilities of Tibetan interest. After the monasteries, we went to see the sunset in a platform nearby, and it was packed full of Indian tourists. As soon as they saw us, everybody started asking for photos, autographs, especially from the girls, and an Indian sir was speaking about marrying his son to Ana, our Brazilian diva. She was the biggest hit there, I have a video of a lot of Indians literally queueing up to take photos with her.

Us and Ana's future father-in-law

Being AWESOME at the temple

Buddhist temple flying the Tibetan flag

Gangtok's cable car line

Buddhist prayer rolls

Cute girl and ger dad posing with master Buddha

Silver and turquoise handicraft

By night, we visited the main market street in Gangtok, to shop for souvenirs and the such. There were some lovely handcrafts in silver, turquoise and other gems, as well as a multitude of accessories, figurines, paintings and much more. It was Christmas night, so we decided to make a Secret Santa among the members of our little group. Unfortunately Julia was feeling sick and couldn't male it, but we held her in our hearts... We went to a Karaoke bar in a nearby hotel, exchanged gifts and amazed the audience with our performances of the precious few songs in English available there. As much as every one of you would like to watch my crushing performance of Pinball Wizard, by The Who, luckily there is no evidence left in any camera.

Pimpin' my way with the hoes, like a boss

Sad face after the denied double kiss

On the next morning we hired another jeep to Darjeeling. As much as everybody had told me about the beauty of the place, I could not have been prepared for having the beautiful Himalayas greeting me good morning at the balcony of hotel room.

The view from our balcony. No words needed.

We spent the first day exploring the city and just walking around, and decided to have a little Braziian party at the hotel room. You know, Brazilians party hard, and.... well, suffice it to say that out of the 10 people who were scheduled to go see the sunrise on top of Tiger Hills the next morning, only 2 actually went, my laptop had its screen smashed by some careless, unforgiving foot, and rumor has it there was at least one shirtless guy, completely wet from the shower he had just had, hanging around in the freezing temperatures at the balcony for more than half an hour. Just chillin' (literally).

Next morning, and by morning a mean something between noon and 1 p.m., we were up again for some mischief. We split up for different activities, and myself and two others went to a paragliding office to check the availability of flights into the valley, which were bound to provide an incredible view. Fortunately for us, there were plenty of flights for the next morning. Unfortunately for me, though, they couldn't take me because I was too big for their equipment. I can't tell you how disappointed I was... Bummer!

Incredible moments are made by incredible people. From back to front: Diego (Brazil), Liz (Costa Rica), Kawshi (Australia), Juanita (Colombia), Fernanda (Brazil) and myself.

The trail to Happy Valley

After setting up the paragliding for some, we met most of the others and went for a walk until Happy Valley, where there are some tea plantations (the other girl who was there earlier said they also grow marijuana there - hence the name, maybe). We started the descent of the moutain through curvy, cramped streets, asking directions to every soul, until we found the track that led to the field. But we could never reach it. The scenery was so lovely, we stopped everytime for taking photos, and by sunset we were still maybe halfway there. We decided to sit down on the grass, just lie there and enjoy the view and the company of each other, basking in the gift of life and nature.

Livin' the good life.

Basking in sunset's glory

Yeah, the sun was pretty much showing off

We took our time on the way uphill, and were very tired by the time we reached central Darjeeling. We just walked a little more around and then went back to the hotel.

Freezing...

Those of us that couldn't make it to see the sunrise before woke up at 3 a.m. to take a 4 a.m. jeep ride to the top of the Tiger Hills. It was freezing cold, so we took as much protection as we could from our available clothing, and also took some blankets from the hotel. The way up was uneventful for the sleepy crew, but the incredible cold up there soon woke us up fully. The jeep dropped us as close at it could, but we still had to walk some 15 minutes until the very top.

The whole sunrise experience was uncomfortable at first - it was unbelievably cold and windy, and also very crowded as people pushed for the best viewing spot - and then magical. I think it is a good metaphor of the whole Indian experience: extremely hard and unsettling, but full of magic and treasures for those who endure it. I will never forget the growing aniticipation as the sky gradually cleared, and then something I cannot find a better word for than exhilaration as the sun started rising. It was extremely beautiful, and touching. People started hooting as the sun rose, and the great landscapes became visible to us. The snowy peaks at a distance, the beautiful valleys, the cities and villages at the foothills. It was a moment to treasure in years to come, and I cannot help but wonder how great would it be to experience it again alone, in a contemplative mood. No wonder that monks of all religions choose to build up their monasteries in such regions - I believe nowhere else in the world gives you a greater view of God's (or gods') marvels, and a closer connection to the mysteries within oneself.

People waiting for the show to start

And it starts...

... and reveals amazing things.

Panorama of the situation. Not bad, huh?

We walked back to our jeep, and started the way back. Juanita, our Colombian darling, and I got off the car in the middle of the way, at an interesting Buddhist monastery where we met Anahí, from Mexico, who had been there all morning. We spent most of the morning there, among prayers and monks. One of them was very friendly, and took us in a private tour - he showed us the room where they received some pilgrims who came from all around India and Nepal and gave them food and rest. Afterwards he took us to the Lama of the place, the Buddhist master of the monastery. He taught us the ritual to approach the Lama and receive his blessing. The funny thing is that we were expecting some respectable old guy, but we were presented with some 16-year old boy giving blessings and looking venerable. Then our history came back to us - while in Hinduism the Gurus are old, studied, wise people, in Buddhism the Lamas are the reincarnation of past masters, and they are recognized by other Lamas since they are born. So, our teenager Lama gave us a wordless blessing and a red string for protection, and we were done.

The "oops-forgot-the-name" Monastery

View from the monastery, with prayer flags

Pilgrims in prayer

The monk teaching us how to recite mantra-beads

My little new friend at the monastery

Anahí, Juanita and I

We left the monastery and walked back downhill for an hour or so until the hotel, where we just had the time to eat something, meet the others, pack and leave for Siliguri, where we were supposed to take our bus back to Kolkata. We said goodbye to beautiful Darjeeling, jewel of the Himalayas, and hit the road again.

The walk downhill

Farewell, Darjeeling...

In Siliguri, more "nice" surprises with Indian transportation: our bus was scheduled for 6:30 p.m., but didn't make it to Siliguri until 10 p.m. To pass the time, we tried to find someplace to sit and drink, and we found a place that had the somewhat interesting slogan of "family restaurant". We entered, and the main bar had somewhat strange lighting, in tones of purple and pink. We just sat there and started feeling we were somehow unwanted there. Then one of the girls went to the restroom and discovered the truth - the place was actually some sort of brothel, and we had a lot of girls in our group. We soon took our things and left, more than a little unsettled by the ironic "family restaurant".

Our bus was finally there, and we started the long journey back. This time I had a regular seat, which was bad, but at least not intolerable. I would have been really uncomfortable at the same seat if I hadn't gone through the experience on the way there, but I was actually happy this time - everything in life is really a matter of perspective... The return trip took even more time than the other - 20 hours or so. At some point during the afternoon, we suddenly stopped. Most people got off the bus to see what was happening: a bus some 500 meters ahead of us had flipped over, and was blocking the road. Fortunately there were no dead, but some people were injured. We had no way to help, so we just waited. We thought we would be stuck there for hours - in the western world there would be ambulances, and the the police, photos, inquiries and all the like, which were bound to take some time. But this is not how India works, baby, not at all. Some rickshaw-like "ambulances" came in and took the injured. Then, a hundred or so Indians simply approached the bus and with their bare hands flipped it back up. When the bus was on its wheels again, they just pushed it until it fell down the steep roadside, and that was it. The road was clear, and life was back on its track. I was so fascinated about it that I forgot to take photos, sorry.

It struck me that the fillped bus could easily have been ours. While we were waiting, we met this British guy on the road. We comes over to India, and specifically to West Bengal, almost every year, and has done so for the last 30 years. There was a second lane of the road under construction just besides us. He looked to the accident, and then to the unfinished road, and said: "At least they are building another road.". We nodded. He continued: "And this is probably going to be a good road. And then they will drive even faster and crazier. And things will just be much worse anyway". Nobody argued that.

After more long hours in the bus, we finally reached Kolkata. We went to a Pizza Hut to celebrate the success of our journey and then, tired but happy, went home and back to our "normal" Kolkatan lives.

I will forever miss Darjeeling, Sikkim, and the mountains.