monsoon floods - Koshi River

Several months ago, there were news accounts about the monsoon flooding in northern India. There was much devastation and many people were displaced from their homes. I was to discover that the flooding started up north Nepal, in the Himalayan foothills flowing down the Koshi River valley. A great deal of damage was done including the washout of a large section of the only east-west highway in Nepal. This might explain why with my non-existent understanding of the local language, and the limited English language skills of the people that I talked to, the confusion about the request for a bus to Janakpur, which would have gone on that highway. After I did make it across the Koshi River, by boat, I continued on and notices a lot of very similar blue-tarp tent lining the roadside and along the levees. I assume that these blue tents were the temporary homes for the displaced people.

from India to Nepal

It took three share jeep rides, three pedal rickshaws, some walking and about five hours to get from Darjeeling to border with Nepal. The border was busy and chaotic, and the officials were slow but sure with their paper shuffling and fee collections. And then I was in Nepal. I got very mixed and confusing replies, in very weak English, to my questions about getting a bus to Janakpur. Some people indicated that the bus will leave in an hour, and other people said that there were no buses to Janakpur, my next destination...

share-jeep

In the hill country around Darjeeling, where the roads are steep, narrow, and sometimes very rough, the primary modes of transportation are either walking or taking a "share jeep".

The jeeps, mostly India manufactured small SUVs with just basic features and diesel engines dominate the roads, and sometime clog the roads. They are called share jeeps, because the riders share the cost. The basic quoted price of a ride assumes that about ten people will be in the jeep. If you want to leave early, or not be packed in like sardines, then you can pay a proportionally higher price. It was not unusual to have twelve or thirteen people, plus the driver, crammed inside of what in the US we would consider a four person SUV. The share jeep that I took, traveled the same distance as the train ride coming up the mountain in about a third of the time, but it was a rough and wild ride.

Happy Valley Tea Estates

Darjeeling was established by the British in the colonial days as a hill station for the military to patrol and pacify the northeastern frontier of British India. As it became settled, tea growing was introduced and over time, large tea plantation grew up. Much of the cultivated land around today is growing tea. The Darjeeling region produces about 25% of India's tea and many of the best teas, mainly black (fermented) teas. We took a short hike to the Happy Valley Tea Estate where we were given a sample of the best and we were shown how to do the perfect brew: boil water, add one teaspoon of fine tea per cup to the water, wait for 5 seconds, strain and enjoy. It was good, and the tea preparation master was very entertaining.

Tiger Hill sunrise

Tiger Hill at sunrise is a tradition of some sort for visitors to Darjeeling. Tiger hill is about 7,500 ft, and Darjeeling is about 5,000 ft, so it is a bit higher, but I think that the sunrise and mountain views from Darjeeling are almost as good, and you don't have to get up well before sunrise to catch a share-jeep to Tiger Hill. But it does draw a crowd, several thousand on the morning that I was there, mostly to see the sunrise, with little interest in the first light on the mountains. The tallest nearby peak is Khangchendzonga.

Darjeeling

The Mimalaya mountains as seen from Andy's Guesthouse where I stayed. The tallest of the mountains seen here is the third highest peak in the range. Mt Everest was off in the distance to the right.
On Observatory hill, there was another fine view of the mountains in the distance and quite a few monkeys. The Monkeys didn't seem to be concerned about the people but they kept about five or six feet away...and not monkey business about stealing my camera or anything.

two trains to Darjeeling

I traveled to Darjeeling from Kolkata by train, two trains actually. I first took a night train from the main Kolkata train station, Howrah, north to a commercial city of New Jailpaiguri (NJP). The Howrah train station is a large and busy Indian train station, but I managed to find my train and got on board. I shared the sleeper compartment with two army soldiers and a government development agent. The trip went on schedule, with periodic stops at stations which interrupted my sleep, but it got me to NJP. My first experience with the Indian train system was comforting, the train was on time, well run and my e-Ticket that I purchased over the internet before I left was good-to-go. It was early morning when I arrived in NJP and the Mimalaya mountains could be seen in the clear early morning air.

From NJP I took the "toy train" up into the Himalayan foot hills to the colonial hill station city of Darjeeling. It is called the toy train because it is a small train with narrow gage tracks, the tracks are about two feet apart. The main India train network is wide gage, with rails about four feet apart. When I found the platform at the train station that the toy train was going to leave from, I met a traveler from Singapore and in discussion we found that we had both arranged to stay at the same hotel in Darjeeling, called Andy's Guesthouse, so we became traveling companions. On the train, we met another traveler, a woman from France, and she joined us in our journey to Darjeeling. The train had a small engine and four passenger cars. It didn't go very fast, and when it starting climbing up the hills to 7,500ft on steep side hills, the train tracks zig-zagged back and forth, with the train going forward for a while, then backing up a zig before proceeding with another zag. This was the original train to the hill station in Darjeeling and it passes through some very scenic country and past some small villages where the people came out to watch the train go by. The total distance was 80km and took 9 hours. We arrived in Darjeeling in the late afternoon and caught a taxi to Andy's Guesthouse where the three of us stayed for a couple of nights before going our separate ways on our travels.

Kolkata welcomed me to India

I arrived in Kolkata at 11pm. After I got my checked bag, I got a cab ride into town to my hotel. I got checked in and to bed by 1am. This was after 22 hours of traveling and a 11 1/2 hour time-zone change.

Kolkata (previously named Calcutta) was the former capital of British India prior to the move to Dehli in the early 1900's. The city is a crumbling colonial capital, with some things new, and a few things ancient, but mostly crumbling colonial era buildings and infrastructure.

Kolkata is located in the northeast corner of the main body of India, just south of the Tropic of Cancer. It is warm and humid. The streets are crowded with people, cars, motorcycles, rickshaws, taxis, buses and trolleys. Most cars and taxis honk their horns almost continuously.

The sidewalks are the home for many homeless people, who sleep on the sidewalks at night and try to scratch out a living during the day. The sidewalks are clogged with food vendors and vendors of just about everything else as well. There are several chai tea vendor on the sidewalks of most blocks, and vendors of a variety of stir fried or deep fried foods. The food often smelled great, but the sanitary conditions of the preparation area mostly discourages me from eating much of it.

Many people can speak some English, but it is often limited, and with a heavy accent. Few of the conversations that I overhear are in English.

I am staying at the Broadway Hotel, a modest mid-range hotel. A double room with private bath is 530 Rupees a night (about $12). The hotel has a restaurant in it. I had breakfast, and I was the only person in the room with about 50 tables. After a day of wandering the streets and alleys of Kolkata, I came back to my hotel, and the restaurant was packed with men (no women) who were drinking mostly, and eating a bit, and talking loudly. It was a friendly and boisterous crowd.

Kolkata is a friendly city that feels safe and friendly. Many of the people in the town are Hindus who were displaced from Pakistan and Bangladesh after the partitioning at the end of the British colonial era, and from the subsequent wars.

Tonight, I will take the night train north towards Darjeeling.

The motorcycle riders often do not wear helmets, and those that do, mostly wear helmets that look like construction hardhats.

Lufthansa carried me to India

I flew from Portland to Frankfurt, and then from Frankfurt to Kolkata.

The first flight was about 5,000 miles and took about 10 hours. We flew a polar route, north over Canada, past Calgary, then it got dark before we flew over the north of Hudson Bay and on over Greenland and Iceland before coming over northern Europe to Frankfurt, Germany.

After a 2 hour layover, I had a 9 hour, 4500 mile, flight on to Kolkata.

RainSong Harvest 2008

Up at sunrise.

The pickers are already in the vineyard.

A truck load of Pinot Noir grapes arrives at the winery.

The stems are removed and the grapes are crushed.

The pulp is pumped into the fermentation bin.

a little Fall clean-up at home before I go

Mowed the lawn, put away the outside hoses, turned off the outside water, picked the last few raspberries, cleaned up the zucchini/pumpkin patch and harvested the kiwis.

getting ready to go

My flight leaves on October 21st, to Kolkata (Calcutta) India, via Frankfurt.
I will return on December 4th from Mumbia (Bombay).
I am starting to collect the stuff that I want to take,
with the intention of traveling reasonably light.