Well, it is a bit difficult to know where to begin with our time in the north of India. Our experiences were so varied and now that they are passed and we have arrived in Sri Lanka it is hard to sum everything up. They say a picture speaks a thousand word so rather than go on to write a novel I have uploaded a multitude of photos that will hopefully tell the story for us. (and Chris, I know how you prefer picture books!)
I believe I finished the last blog mentioning the horrendous bus journey we had to take to get from Kathmandu to Darjeeling. Well although much time has passed, the horrors of the journey are fresh in my mind and I can say that I will NEVER, EVER do that journey again as long as I live. Door to door it took 24 hours on the worst bus, on the worst roads, with the worst driving. Needless to say we were happy to reach our destination of Darjeeling, where although shrouded in clouds, with no view of the mountains, we cooled off and drank lots of tea. It was an interesting region of India...lots of political unrest and not a day went by without a protest march invlving thousands of people. Whether the march was for Free Tibet or Gurkha Land (this is the Nepali people who have lived in Darjeeling since British rule, who want there own state) the procession was always arranged in orderly sections of men followed by students followed by women.
We had high tea at The Windamere and walked around the town, but really you could feel that the people were not happy here and it came across to us. It is also worth mentioning that Darjeeling is not home only to tea but to the most horrendous knitwear known to man! The wealthy Bengalis head to the hills to escape the heat of Calcutta and obviously forget to pack something for the cold. This is the only reason (read excuse) I could come up with for the fact that they were all wearing these ugly jumpers and putting there darling daughters into flourescent crocheted flouncy dresses. Hilarious!!
So then it was to lovely, lovely Sikkim which deserves a blog of it's own. Lovely people, lovely landscape, amazing scenery Sikkim has it all. You need to get a permit to access this part of India, and it really is like entering another country, which it was until 1975, when the British very kindy gave it to India (never quite understand how they got away with this behaviour) The people speak Nepali, they look very different and they are all Buddhists. They still feel that they are separate to the rest of the country. The central government pumps load of money into this state and it has lower taxes and good schools. The govt wants to keep them happy as this state has only just been recognised or is not recognised (depending on what you read) by China as being part of India. Chinas attitude seems to be 'we won't argue about Sikkim if you don't mention Tibet' Still it is to the advantage of this state and the people certainly benefit from it. The roads are great, transport cheap (all new jeeps ferry you around 6 hour trip about 2 quid) All the children are in school uniform and you come across them even on the most remote village roads in the middle of the forest.
They are also environmentally aware and plastic bags are banned (anyone who has been to India will know how much of a miracle this is)
We had a great time here and will definitely return to do a proper trek. We only saw a very small part of the West and North but there is much more to see here. I think Nepal was probabaly like Sikim before tourism really took off. It is unspoilt apart from the main towns which are growing rapidly. However you only have to head off the main road to see the real Sikkim which is like stepping back in time.
Oh, the other thing worth mentioning is our scary landslide incident. We were in a jeep heading back from the North Valley to Gangtok and it was raining heavily(see photo of waterfall after the rain) When we came around a bend to see a potential landslide that we had to cross things got pretty ropey. I guess I would have felt more confident if the driver wasn't so wide eyed and clearly panicking. The guide got out of the jeep to get a closer look and move some larger pieces of rock from the road. He got back in the jeep absolutely drenched. Rocks kept falling down as we floored it past that section. This was all made far worse by the company of quite possibly THE most annoying man alive, a 'been there, done that' Belgian who kindly informed us during the ordeal, that we needed to be aware of the realities and that 25 tonne of earth could collapse on us in 2 seconds. Needless to say we won't be keeping in touch with the twat.
So sadly we left Sikkim as our flights from Delhi were booked. After the trauma of the bus ride from Kathmandu to Darjeeling we decided to stop being stingy with the cash and avoid the 27 hour train ride in 40 degree heat by flying. Best decision ever.
Delhi was somewhere we had been before and actually had hated. We would not have been there if it wasn't for the flights. So we were blown away by the changes in the city and by how much we liked it there. If it wasn't averaging 42 degrees everyday we would have stayed longer. The temps were unbearable but Delhi has changed so much we even braved some sightseeng to Jamma Masjid (Indias largest mosque) and the Red Fort.
Since our last visit nine years ago, Delhi has converted ALL it's public transport to green gas. Every auto rickshaw, taxi and even the shittiest old rickity buses were converted in one foul swoop. You can't imagine the difference this makes to the air pollution we had experienced previously. It is quite incredible. If India can achieve this with all it's other huge problems then why can't we in the West?
and so, I have written more than I planned but as I write, I relive it and the memories return. We are now enjoying experiencing the delights of a new country, Sri Lanka, which I will no doubt write about in the next blog update.
Until then, lots of love
Will and Raina
