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Published: November 7th 2007
Varanasi Chai Stop
This was a great little shop we stopped at. We just sat on the little bench and watched the locals pass by in the street going about their day.Yet another entry… typed in the wonderfully tech. towns of Gangtok, Sikkim; Darjeeling, West Bengal; and Siliguri, West Bengal. It has taken several attempts to load the photos with the maddening slow connections.
But… we came from further south, so we’ll start there… in Varanasi (aka Very Nasty). We were well warned of Varanasi’s high hassle level, and were pleasantly surprised to experience far less than we have done in many other places. The highlight of our time there was our visit to the Ghats (sort of temples) along the side of the Ganges. Our first night we watched some interesting prayer rituals on the eve of the big Durga festival. Not fantastically inspiring, but there were holy men abound, and fire-waving and manic bell clanging, which were definitely worth a look. The next day we returned to the ghats. The riverside area is a labyrinth of tiny alleyways, filled with chai-shops and tailors and all sorts of tiny little business ventures. It is a cool place to wander and gaze, and we went up and down the river to see both of the ‘burning ghats’ that operate 24 hours a day, publicly cremating dead bodies on open wooden pyres.
Holy Man
One of the many holy men that sit by the Ganges, giving blessings for money... It sounds pretty grim, but having seen essentially the whole process, and getting a lot of ‘insider’ info from locals, it turned out to be a very peaceful and even pleasant time. Bodies are wrapped in cloth (gold for an old man, white for a young man, and red for a woman), and carried through the streets to the ghats by family members. The bodies are then dunked into the Ganges River, and river water is poured into the mouth five times to cleanse the soul and release the 5 elements of life (water, fire, wind, earth and spirit I think…). One of the family members (husband or brother or someone similarly close) is delegated with the duties of the ceremony, and is always apparent by his shaven head. Women are not allowed to attend as it is considered that they are not strong enough to bear witness with the proper decorum (the shedding of tears will prevent the spirit from leaving the body successfully, and also, it as been known in the past for some women to commit sati and throw themselves on the pyre!). The body is placed on a wooden pyre, and covered with more wood, and
Durga Puja prayer ceremony
This was a large prayer ceremony at the the Dasawamedha Ghat on the Ganges. Lots of chanting and bell ringing! sprinkled with incense and sandalwood dust, and ghee, and the fire ignited from an eternal flame housed within a nearby temple. Apparently about 300kg of wood is used, and the bodies take 2-4 hours to burn completely, after which the ashes are collected and thrown into the river. There are about 6-10 cremations going on simultaneously at any given time… It seemed like quite a nice way to go… people are obviously upset, but it’s all quiet, peaceful and thoughtful. It seems to us like a reasonable way to go, a few sanitation issues asides. Oh… and apparently, if you die an unclean death (cobra bite, leprosy, pregnant mother and some others) then you cannot be cremated, and instead your body is weighted down, and sunk directly into the middle of the river, which is pretty creepy, when you consider that the water is seen as holy, and people bath in it, wash in it, use it for cooking etc…! Yurg.
We got an overnight train from Varanasi to New Jalpaiguri (nr Siliguri, which is nr Darjeeling), and then a share jeep on to Siliguri. Almost immediately upon entering our hotel Brigid got pretty sick (nauseous and dizzy) and
Wood Piles
The wood piles and temple by the burning ghat. The only picture we could take of the area. ran to the bathroom with what now seems to have been a bout of salmonella. We delayed here in Siliguri for 3 days while she recovered; although she felt much better after only one day, it was still really bothering her, and as the hotel was very comfortable (and had Champions League footy on the box!) we stayed. I also had a sore toe to recover from anyway…!
When we did finally leave, it was for Darjeeling… and we were very excited to finally be getting up into the mountains and away from the heat and dust. We were not however ready for the extreme flip that we were to experience; straight from about 28-32C, dry and dusty, to about 2-10C, and very damp! We were in shorts and T shirt and were very cold! The drive to Darjeeling was crazy. The mountains put Colorado to shame; they are so steep and densely packed, and the roads barely cling to their sides as they wind up and through them, waterfalls dropping hundreds of feet to the road, and beyond, and vibrant green foliage and tea bushes growing everywhere. The roads are insanely bumpy, often constructed of bare rubble, the
Look at my muscles!
Some local Varanasi boys showing off their guns! size of small melons. Darjeeling itself is just as hilly. Lugging our packs up slopes that could ordinarily be used for climbing! There are no rickshaws or taxis in Darjeeling because of the slopes, but there are plenty of porters that will carry your bags 20 minutes up the mountainside for only a few rupees. An unhealthy occupation… they tie the bags onto their backs and bear the weight through a strap that passes around their head and onto their forehead. One slip could easily break their neck!
We enjoyed a quiet couple of days sipping tea, and wandering the mountainside and nearby tea plantations, gazing over spectacular views. We also enjoyed watching the tourists… there are hundreds of apparently wealthy Indians that visit Darjeeling, and they are more unprepared for the cold than we were! They walk the streets huffing and puffing under their newly acquired and bundled wooly hats, gloves, jumpers and scarves. They look like toddlers they’re so wrapped up! Ha ha ha ha. We visited the small local zoo, and the mountaintop Buddhist temple, and despite promises, we never did get a view of Khangchendzonga and the Himilayas, as the whole place was thick with
Darjeeling, West Bengal
A view of some of the city from the Happy Valley Tea Estate. clouds, wisping through the streets like in a Hallowe’en’ movie. We met several people who had made a 3am trek to Tiger Hill to watch the sunrise on the mountains, and after hearing their disappointment at seeing only cloud, we are very glad that we didn’t do the same!
After Darjeeling we went to a nearby town called Pelling, by way of several share jeep rides through even more spectacular mountains. There are places where huge landslides have stripped the road from the mountainside and are being rebuilt (VERY slowly; they chip rocks into gravel by hand!!!) by just a few hard-worn looking locals. It poured with rain all night in Pelling, leaving the skies clear as we set of on a 2 day hike the next morning. The mountains were more than visible! Khangchendzonga loomed up, white and sparkling with snow, only about 30km away as the crow flies. It was a great thing to see and filled us with energy, which was a good thing, given that our 13km hike (according to our guide book) turned out to be really 34km! We arrived at Khecheopalri Lake very foot-sore, but somewhat pleased having cheated and hopped onto a
Our resting spot
We took a walk through the tea estate and hid in the bushes for a rest. passing jeep for the last 4 Km. He overcharged us (the fare was a whole $1.10 for both!) but it was more than worth it. The village of Kecheopalri was tiny, with just a dozen or so shacks and three families living there, and we barely got fed, thanks to a rambunctious election celebration party that had commandeered essentially every provision in the place! We relaxed for a while at the holy lake nearby, and having bullied someone into cooking us some food we settled into our horrible room for a cold night’s sleep. Our next day’s hike was apparently only 9km… not on a road this time, but over and round the mountains on an intricate network of tiny meandering paths and trails, which led over a couple of hair-raising bridges! Brigid beat me almost senseless with a full bottle of water in an attempt to kill a bee. Her aim (or perhaps her sense of humour?) definitely needs improving! It must have been a rare sight for any locals nearby! We got lost several times and finally made it down to the road after about 4 hours’ slog (our guide book said 1 hour for this leg!). We
were accompanied by an ‘interesting’ Russian couple who were ‘not officially’ married, and we went separate ways when the trail split off from the road, us sticking to the surer, easier road! We cheated again, to greater effect this time; our hotel owner from Pelling drove by escorting some family members on a tour of the mountains, and he insisted on taking us along to see the sights, and back to Pelling to his hotel, where we had left our packs. A whole 3 or 4 hour drive, for free, with interesting company, and a free and tasty dinner back at the hotel. He has promised to meet us at the airport in Calcutta and take us to stay with his family before we leave for Thailand, but we will see if that really pans out or not! We were happy to be back in a nice room… it had been 7 days, since Siliguri, that we had even had access to running water, and this water was HOT! We ‘showered’ from a bucket and got into clean clothes and slept fantastically after all the hiking. The next day the mountains were again visible, and we took a last look
Tea Pickers
Just looking at them makes my neck hurt! Better enjoy that next cuppa you drink! at them before getting on a jeep to Gangtok.
So here we are. Today is a maintenance day… our clothes are being laundered, we are eating good food, calling home and writing a blog. There is a big football tournament going on here at the moment (the Governor’s All India Gold Cup), and yesterday we watched Bhutan and Tibet draw 2-2 before the game was called short due to lack of light (we think… we left during the long on-pitch conference that materialized!).
The food up here in the north is very different from everywhere else we’ve been, and the people look far more Chinese in appearance. They are also much more outwardly friendly, laughing aloud frequently, and ‘Namaste’ing you whenever you walk by. It is truly a different country up here. While on the hike, we truly felt like we are in a corner of the world. It is so remote and untouched and a beautiful place few people get to see.
We passed through Darjeeling for another two days and in Siliguri for one night. Now we are on our way to Assam by night train.
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Andy Q
non-member comment
hey guys, i'm loving the blog. I think this instalment is my favourite so far...i'm so jealous. The scenery looks stunning and you are in the home of tea! how perfect. Let me know if you meet Earl Grey...