It's time to bid farewell to the madness of Calcutta and retreat to the peaceful Himalayan state of Sikkim, tucked away high up in the northeast corner of India and bordering Bhutan and Tibet. I've loved Calcutta, but I am really looking forward to some solitude and quiet time in the mountains. The train journey is unremarkable and goes hitch-free, and I arrive at New Jalpaiguri station - the jumping off point for any onwards travel - very early on a cod, misty and grim morning.
As soon as I leave the station, I am met with the usual barrage of questions and offers of onwards transport. Madam, where do you want to go? Sikkim? Gangtok? Darjeeling? For a change, this is most welcome. There is absolutely no reason to stick around New Jalpaiguri and the surrounding Siliguri area any longer than necessary. The area around the train station in particular isn't exactly pleasant; there is an abundance of beggars and street kids, and the countless people huddled around little fires in patches of wasteground with tarpaulin tents for homes makes the place feel very much like a refugee camp.
So I hop in a shared jeep bound for Gangtok, the "capital" of Sikkim, and some 5 hours later, after a bumpy ride through some very questionable narrow mountain roads, I arrive in Gangtok. Although shared jeeps are pretty much the only way to travel around the Himalayas, they can be a little uncomfortable...drivers wait until the jeeps are FULL (sometimes 10-12 people in one vehicle) before they go anywhere. So get used to the idea of sacrifiicing your personal space for a few hours! And because the roads are so winding and unpredictable, the chances of being saddled next to a young Indian boy who can't stop vomiting are pretty high....
Nonetheless, we arrive to Sikkim by mid afternoon, and I head to a a hostel located near the main market road. It's bitterly cold and thick with mist and fog, and although Gangtok is essentially a city, the atmosphere is heavy. It never ceases to amaze me the sheer hardiness and resilience of people that live high up in mountainous regions like this - homes and buildings are without central heating, without fires and stoves, and without double glazing. Often, there isnt even any hot running water. At home, when the temperature teeters around zero, we can take comfort in the fact that we have warm houses, radiators and fireplaces. It's easy to take these things for granted. For the people here, heating seems to be a luxury and a privelige.
Thankfully in my guest house, there is hot running water (which mostly works, though on a couple of ocassions I have to grit my teeth and brave a cold shower). And instead of a single room I take a twin-bedded room, for the simple reason that 2 beds = 2 duvets. For an extra Rs100, it's completely worth it.
I ditch my bags and decide to have a wander around Gangtok as the remnants of sunshine dispappear for the day. Because it's deepest winter, this is off-season for Sikkim, and there are few tourists around. But actually, I quite like it. It's incredibly peaceful, and a welcome change from the frantic, unrelenting chaos of Calcutta. The people are reserved and almost a little shy, which is refreshing for India, when so often it is impossible to go anywhere or do anything without the curious questions and stares from locals. Here, I feel very free.
Central Gangtok is quite a surprising place in many ways though - despite it's geographical remoteness, it is a modern, well-connected and progressive city. There are designer clothes shops, cinemas, up-market night clubs and food chains like Dominoes Pizza. Every second shop is a liquor store (what else to do in cold places...?) and there are plenty of little cafes and patisseries dotted around the main shopping street. It all seems very Westerised. And yet a short walk uphill to the outskirts of town and life is as you might expect it. Little wooden-shack style houses, dirt roads, chickens scratching around the roadside verges, and beautiful, colourful Buddhist and Tibetan prayer flags adorning trees and buildings.
Although Gangtok itself isn't particularly attractive (development has definitely not been kind or sympathetic to this landscape), the views from just about anywhere around the ciy are nothing short of breathtaking. The snow-covered, craggy peaks of Mount Kanchenjunga (the 3rd highest in the world) and the Himalayas dominate the horizon, and the ever-changing light makes the whole range a total marvel to look at, any time of the day. Some days I am so enraptured; so captivated by these dramatic, humbling peaks that I just sit and watch them for hours on end.
Early the next morning, I decide to hike up to Ganesh Tok, a little temple view-point 6 kms steep-climb out of town. Along the way (as so often happens in India...),I get chatting to a local boy called Depen who invites me to hs family home for tea. Usually, I wouldn't just disappear off to the home of a perfect stranger on the premise of a cup of tea, but there is something so genuine and endearing about his manner and his whole persona that I can't say no. My hike has been temporarily derailed!
So in a surprise turn of events, I find myself sitting in a tiny little wooden house on the outskirts of Gangtok, drinking tea and eating burfi sweets with the Depen and his family. They are a family of 6, living in a 2-roomed, very cramped wooden shack with no windows, no heating and only an outside toilet. And yet there is such a warmth coming from their house; such a tangible sense of love between the family that I feel really lucky to have met them. I am completely humbled by their hospitality, as they keep feeding me sweets, biscuits, ginger tea...I'm even given a plate of scrambled eggs to eat whilst I peruse the family photo albums. His younger sisters - 2 beautiful little Sikkimese girls who speak English perfectly and with such eloquence - are keen to be my tour guides up to Ganesh Tok. So somehow, I inadvertently agree to take them - Trishti, Reena and next-door neighbour Bopen - along with me. This turns out to be one of the most lovely days that I've had in India so far. It's chilly, but the sun is splitting the sky, and the kids are so excited and happy to come along. We chat constantly on the 1 hour walk to the temple; they are eager to tell me about thier school, their culture and their favourite singers (Justin Beiber and One Direction), and they are desperate to know what life in the UK is like. After we leave Ganesh Tok, we decide to go to the Himalayan Zoo,which is pretty much next door. I'm not particularly keen on zoos, but the kids have never been before, and really want to go...so another couple of hours is spent wandering the hills around Gangtok, looking at leopards and peacocks. Animals aside, the view from the zoo over Kanchenjunga is absolutely incredible; sharp peaks that look as though they are ripping through the clouds below. Breathtaking!
A short distance from Gangtok, and only Rs100 return in a shared jeep is the beautiful and totally peaceful Buddhist Monastery of Rumktek. Whether you are religious or not, Rumtek is most definitey worth a visit, even just for the sheer peace alone. There isn't hours worth of stimulation - just bask in the silence and enjoy the views over the surrounding valleys. One thing that is a little strange, or jarring is the fact that there are so many armed guards surrounding the monastery. It seems bizarre, and a little incongruent with the Buddhist ethos. But armed guards are a common sight at temples and places of worship across the whole country, and regardless of religion.
Although a little out of the way, Sikkim is definitely worth the trek. The people, the scenery, the peace and the Buddhist culture are a most welcome change. Just pack thermal knickers...!
So after a few days in Gangtok wandering the hills, drinking endless cups of masala chai to heat me up and reading on the rooftop of my guesthouse, I decide to push onwards...booking my ticket it easy enough at the SNT stand in town, and I arrive back in Siliguri in plenty of time to take my train to Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh.
My train is due to depart at 5pm, but as I sit at the station, I hear the announcement that strikes fear and misery in to the hearts of many..."The 1700 hours North East Express is delayed by 14 hours..."
14 HOURS. I am absolutely INCREDULOUS. How on earth can a train be delayed by 14 hours? It's so ridiculous that I can't even bring myself to be annoyed, and so my initial reaction is to start laughing. As I already mentioned, the area around the train station slightly resembes a refuge camp....but left with no choice, it looks as though I'll be hanging around here for a while.
The first 6 hours are a breeze - I create a little oasis for myself in the ladies waiting room (which REEKS of pee and is full of men) and befriend a 10 year old Tibetan girl and we become instant pals and chat for a good few hours. As it gets later and later, a thick fog descends on the station, and it becomes absolutely freezing, and quite eerily atmospheric. And soon, I grow really tired...but thankfully I have my yoga mat with me, so I roll it out on the floor, take out my blanket and manage to squeeze in a few hours sleep before I'm rudely awoken at 5am by the chai-wallah..."chai, chai, chai...!"
At 6 am, I check the status of my trainm and discover that it has been delayed again - a further 4 hours. So I spend the morning reading every English language newspaper I can find, chatting, drinking tea and wandering the station. Annoyingly, my warm trainers have somehow been emancipated from me in the night, and so my feet are resigned to flip-flops again. I can only hope that whoever has them now needs them more than I do! Finally, after another couple of delays, my train departs New Jalpaiguri, bound for Varanasi. I smell fairly horrific by this point, am wearing pretty much all of my clothes and am running on some kind of raw adrenaline (combined with chai). But I couldn't be happier, because when all is said and done, the train finally came, I will eventually take a shower and wash my clothes, and I can always catch up on sleep. No disasters, no drama - just a night sleeping on th floor at the station. And it was actually a pretty decent sleep!
And in a rather serendiptious fashion, the train journey turns out to be very enjoyable and passes quicky, adided by some very interesting and philisophical conversations with a German man, also heading to Varanasi.
Isn't is beautiful how a potentially frustrating and miserable situation can turn out to be actually quite the opposite?
GANGTOK
Where to Stay: New Central Modern Lodge, Tibet Road, Gangtok. Hot running water (VITAL!) and single rooms starting from Rs 250. Great views from the roof, decent food and friendly service too.
Eating: Plenty of eating options to suit everyone. Pizzerias, Tibetan Momo shops, typical Indian food. Momos from Rs30.
Getting there: Shared jeep from JNP Station run when full, and cost Rs250 one way. Journey time is 5-6 hours. Lots of little taxis available around Gangtok itself, as it is very hilly.
Viewpoints: Ganesh Tok is particularly nice, and only 6km out of town. And is next to the zoo - entry fee for foreigners is Rs50.
As soon as I leave the station, I am met with the usual barrage of questions and offers of onwards transport. Madam, where do you want to go? Sikkim? Gangtok? Darjeeling? For a change, this is most welcome. There is absolutely no reason to stick around New Jalpaiguri and the surrounding Siliguri area any longer than necessary. The area around the train station in particular isn't exactly pleasant; there is an abundance of beggars and street kids, and the countless people huddled around little fires in patches of wasteground with tarpaulin tents for homes makes the place feel very much like a refugee camp.
So I hop in a shared jeep bound for Gangtok, the "capital" of Sikkim, and some 5 hours later, after a bumpy ride through some very questionable narrow mountain roads, I arrive in Gangtok. Although shared jeeps are pretty much the only way to travel around the Himalayas, they can be a little uncomfortable...drivers wait until the jeeps are FULL (sometimes 10-12 people in one vehicle) before they go anywhere. So get used to the idea of sacrifiicing your personal space for a few hours! And because the roads are so winding and unpredictable, the chances of being saddled next to a young Indian boy who can't stop vomiting are pretty high....
Nonetheless, we arrive to Sikkim by mid afternoon, and I head to a a hostel located near the main market road. It's bitterly cold and thick with mist and fog, and although Gangtok is essentially a city, the atmosphere is heavy. It never ceases to amaze me the sheer hardiness and resilience of people that live high up in mountainous regions like this - homes and buildings are without central heating, without fires and stoves, and without double glazing. Often, there isnt even any hot running water. At home, when the temperature teeters around zero, we can take comfort in the fact that we have warm houses, radiators and fireplaces. It's easy to take these things for granted. For the people here, heating seems to be a luxury and a privelige.
Thankfully in my guest house, there is hot running water (which mostly works, though on a couple of ocassions I have to grit my teeth and brave a cold shower). And instead of a single room I take a twin-bedded room, for the simple reason that 2 beds = 2 duvets. For an extra Rs100, it's completely worth it.
I ditch my bags and decide to have a wander around Gangtok as the remnants of sunshine dispappear for the day. Because it's deepest winter, this is off-season for Sikkim, and there are few tourists around. But actually, I quite like it. It's incredibly peaceful, and a welcome change from the frantic, unrelenting chaos of Calcutta. The people are reserved and almost a little shy, which is refreshing for India, when so often it is impossible to go anywhere or do anything without the curious questions and stares from locals. Here, I feel very free.
Central Gangtok is quite a surprising place in many ways though - despite it's geographical remoteness, it is a modern, well-connected and progressive city. There are designer clothes shops, cinemas, up-market night clubs and food chains like Dominoes Pizza. Every second shop is a liquor store (what else to do in cold places...?) and there are plenty of little cafes and patisseries dotted around the main shopping street. It all seems very Westerised. And yet a short walk uphill to the outskirts of town and life is as you might expect it. Little wooden-shack style houses, dirt roads, chickens scratching around the roadside verges, and beautiful, colourful Buddhist and Tibetan prayer flags adorning trees and buildings.
Although Gangtok itself isn't particularly attractive (development has definitely not been kind or sympathetic to this landscape), the views from just about anywhere around the ciy are nothing short of breathtaking. The snow-covered, craggy peaks of Mount Kanchenjunga (the 3rd highest in the world) and the Himalayas dominate the horizon, and the ever-changing light makes the whole range a total marvel to look at, any time of the day. Some days I am so enraptured; so captivated by these dramatic, humbling peaks that I just sit and watch them for hours on end.
Early the next morning, I decide to hike up to Ganesh Tok, a little temple view-point 6 kms steep-climb out of town. Along the way (as so often happens in India...),I get chatting to a local boy called Depen who invites me to hs family home for tea. Usually, I wouldn't just disappear off to the home of a perfect stranger on the premise of a cup of tea, but there is something so genuine and endearing about his manner and his whole persona that I can't say no. My hike has been temporarily derailed!
So in a surprise turn of events, I find myself sitting in a tiny little wooden house on the outskirts of Gangtok, drinking tea and eating burfi sweets with the Depen and his family. They are a family of 6, living in a 2-roomed, very cramped wooden shack with no windows, no heating and only an outside toilet. And yet there is such a warmth coming from their house; such a tangible sense of love between the family that I feel really lucky to have met them. I am completely humbled by their hospitality, as they keep feeding me sweets, biscuits, ginger tea...I'm even given a plate of scrambled eggs to eat whilst I peruse the family photo albums. His younger sisters - 2 beautiful little Sikkimese girls who speak English perfectly and with such eloquence - are keen to be my tour guides up to Ganesh Tok. So somehow, I inadvertently agree to take them - Trishti, Reena and next-door neighbour Bopen - along with me. This turns out to be one of the most lovely days that I've had in India so far. It's chilly, but the sun is splitting the sky, and the kids are so excited and happy to come along. We chat constantly on the 1 hour walk to the temple; they are eager to tell me about thier school, their culture and their favourite singers (Justin Beiber and One Direction), and they are desperate to know what life in the UK is like. After we leave Ganesh Tok, we decide to go to the Himalayan Zoo,which is pretty much next door. I'm not particularly keen on zoos, but the kids have never been before, and really want to go...so another couple of hours is spent wandering the hills around Gangtok, looking at leopards and peacocks. Animals aside, the view from the zoo over Kanchenjunga is absolutely incredible; sharp peaks that look as though they are ripping through the clouds below. Breathtaking!
A short distance from Gangtok, and only Rs100 return in a shared jeep is the beautiful and totally peaceful Buddhist Monastery of Rumktek. Whether you are religious or not, Rumtek is most definitey worth a visit, even just for the sheer peace alone. There isn't hours worth of stimulation - just bask in the silence and enjoy the views over the surrounding valleys. One thing that is a little strange, or jarring is the fact that there are so many armed guards surrounding the monastery. It seems bizarre, and a little incongruent with the Buddhist ethos. But armed guards are a common sight at temples and places of worship across the whole country, and regardless of religion.
Although a little out of the way, Sikkim is definitely worth the trek. The people, the scenery, the peace and the Buddhist culture are a most welcome change. Just pack thermal knickers...!
So after a few days in Gangtok wandering the hills, drinking endless cups of masala chai to heat me up and reading on the rooftop of my guesthouse, I decide to push onwards...booking my ticket it easy enough at the SNT stand in town, and I arrive back in Siliguri in plenty of time to take my train to Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh.
My train is due to depart at 5pm, but as I sit at the station, I hear the announcement that strikes fear and misery in to the hearts of many..."The 1700 hours North East Express is delayed by 14 hours..."
14 HOURS. I am absolutely INCREDULOUS. How on earth can a train be delayed by 14 hours? It's so ridiculous that I can't even bring myself to be annoyed, and so my initial reaction is to start laughing. As I already mentioned, the area around the train station slightly resembes a refuge camp....but left with no choice, it looks as though I'll be hanging around here for a while.
The first 6 hours are a breeze - I create a little oasis for myself in the ladies waiting room (which REEKS of pee and is full of men) and befriend a 10 year old Tibetan girl and we become instant pals and chat for a good few hours. As it gets later and later, a thick fog descends on the station, and it becomes absolutely freezing, and quite eerily atmospheric. And soon, I grow really tired...but thankfully I have my yoga mat with me, so I roll it out on the floor, take out my blanket and manage to squeeze in a few hours sleep before I'm rudely awoken at 5am by the chai-wallah..."chai, chai, chai...!"
At 6 am, I check the status of my trainm and discover that it has been delayed again - a further 4 hours. So I spend the morning reading every English language newspaper I can find, chatting, drinking tea and wandering the station. Annoyingly, my warm trainers have somehow been emancipated from me in the night, and so my feet are resigned to flip-flops again. I can only hope that whoever has them now needs them more than I do! Finally, after another couple of delays, my train departs New Jalpaiguri, bound for Varanasi. I smell fairly horrific by this point, am wearing pretty much all of my clothes and am running on some kind of raw adrenaline (combined with chai). But I couldn't be happier, because when all is said and done, the train finally came, I will eventually take a shower and wash my clothes, and I can always catch up on sleep. No disasters, no drama - just a night sleeping on th floor at the station. And it was actually a pretty decent sleep!
And in a rather serendiptious fashion, the train journey turns out to be very enjoyable and passes quicky, adided by some very interesting and philisophical conversations with a German man, also heading to Varanasi.
Isn't is beautiful how a potentially frustrating and miserable situation can turn out to be actually quite the opposite?
GANGTOK
Where to Stay: New Central Modern Lodge, Tibet Road, Gangtok. Hot running water (VITAL!) and single rooms starting from Rs 250. Great views from the roof, decent food and friendly service too.
Eating: Plenty of eating options to suit everyone. Pizzerias, Tibetan Momo shops, typical Indian food. Momos from Rs30.
Getting there: Shared jeep from JNP Station run when full, and cost Rs250 one way. Journey time is 5-6 hours. Lots of little taxis available around Gangtok itself, as it is very hilly.
Viewpoints: Ganesh Tok is particularly nice, and only 6km out of town. And is next to the zoo - entry fee for foreigners is Rs50.
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