Chai, Coffee?! Into India: Darjeeling & Sikkim to Calcutta

This morning we saw two men on bicycles ride past us with about 30 live chickens attached to the front and rear, hanging upside down. The chickens were not happy. It's been interesting to see the treatment of animals and meat in both Nepal and India. Raw meat basks in the sun on market counters, whole goats hang from hooks at the front of stalls, and fish are filleted and chopped on the street corner, a lit incense stuffed into the gills of the next victim. Everything is out in the open, it's very different from home.

We are in Calcutta, a giant metropolis where small barefoot men pull rickshaws through the street by foot and the British era buildings are a lasting yet decomposing relic of the not so distant past. The notorious issues between rich and poor are definitely apparent here, but no more than other large cities in the developing world, at least from what we've seen so far.

Our journey into India was long, but actually a breeze compared to other border crossings we've had. We zipped up to Darjeeling in a shared jeep since the Toy Train, a Raj era small gauge railway that would zip English holiday goers to the cool hills for a break from the heat of the Gangetic Plains, was no longer running from Siliguri. Darjeeling at this time of year is cold and cloudy so we weren't able to see the famous views around us, so we spent our time going on long walks up and down the incredibly steep roads to see the sights. We visited the zoo which was actually well done with native species including the illusive snow leopard and red panda. The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute housed a museum with information and gear on display from famous Everest expeditions. It is also the place that Norgay chose to be cremated and there is a memorial to him there. We passed by old churches and mansions left by the British as well as a long standing Tibetan refugee camp.

From Darjeeling we visited Kalimpong for two nights which is another hill station but less populated and subsequently less set up for tourists. We went on a long walk to a monastery and view point which unfortunately took us through a large military base. We also saw a nice art gallery filled with pieces from local artists. Kalimpong also has a large Saturday market which we happened to be there for. We found Santa hats for sale and bought them, exchanging our normal hats for them as we walked around the market. The locals looked at us inquisitively, but most smiled and said, "Merry Christmas" - as if we don't stick out enough!

Venturing further north we went into Sikkim, one of India's smallest states sandwiched between Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan. Our first stop was Pelling which is set on a ridge with spectacular views of the Kanchenjunga massif. We were finally out of the clouds and got a view of the famous mountain scenery that this area is known for on our second day there.

We took a short walk out of town to the Pemyangtse Monastery, one of the oldest Tibetan Buddhist places of worship in Sikkim and still a lively sight today. The walk up was relaxing, we were mainly away from honking jeeps careening down the narrow roads, and the final approach lined with hundreds of prayer flags. By chance we had come on a good day; the entire Gompa was open to viewing and there was a large group of monks chanting as we surveyed the grounds. It made the already serene atmosphere all the more striking being there with a room full of monks chanting sutras in unison, punctuated by a cacophony of horns and cymbals every so often. There were thanka paintings, Tibetan Buddhist murals depicting religious matter, from many different time periods all over the walls on the ground floor. On the higher levels there was a museum with ritual objects and pieces of embellishment from the Gompa going back almost four-hundred years. There was also an exceedingly beautiful miniature stepped pagoda shaped mandala that displayed the Buddhist levels of existence. On the bottom were demons, then the earthly world, on the higher levels the more divine forces, and at the very top Nirvana could be barely glimpsed. There were also helpful gods descending via rainbows to the lower levels to aid beings on their paths to enlightenment.

Itching for some adventure and a way to stretch our legs we decided to do a 3 day trek around the valley which would take us to several places of interest including monasteries, waterfalls, and lakes. We set off for Kecholpari Lake going straight down the valley to the river and then straight back up again. It reminded us of our trekking days in Nepal except that this trail was not marked or easy to follow and we got very lost, hiking up to a ridge and then getting turned back the other way. After a meager lunch of puffed rice and dried chickpeas we walked along the road and finally arrived at the lake.

We stayed at a homestay for three nights which sat on a ridge above the lake in a Lepcha village, which was the dominant ethnic group in Sikkim before so many Nepalis migrated to the area about two-hundred years ago. We did some pretty serious relaxing there interspersed with some short walks around the nearby hills. Picking up the trail we hiked to Yoksum, a relatively small town that is the entrance to Kanchenjunga National Park. The trail took us through fields of cardamom and bamboo forests, climbing up and down along the trail. The following day we hiked the monastic trail to Tashiding which took us past three monasteries, one of which was completely destroyed by an earthquake. It was another long day of getting turned around, but we persevered arriving just as it got dark.

Tashiding is one of Sikkim's largest monastic complexes and is considered to be the holy of holies (or so says our guide book). A brightly colored mani wall and hundreds of prayer flags led the way to the grounds. The complex was populated by many monks going about their morning rituals or chanting in the main Gompa. We spent the morning appreciating the beauty of the complex that was founded by Guru Rimpoche, the man who brought Buddhism to Tibet, and getting ready for a long sequence of jeeps back to Pelling.

Back in Pelling and just in time for Christmas we checked into a nice room with a large balcony to view the mountains. Sikkim is also famous for their ferns, so we thought it would be appropriate to have a fern for a Christmas tree and we snuck one into our room. We had a relaxing Christmas day, eating copious amounts of goodies that were left in our Santa hats and sampling the local Sikkimise wine and whiskey, all from the comfort of our balcony. We sure missed home, but tried to carry on our traditions with fruit cake, "mimosas" (whiskey and fresh squeezed oranges), and even a Led Zeppelin fueled game of cards.

After some good lazy days in Pelling we headed for the plains, traveling to Suliguri and continuing on a night train to Shantiniketan. It was exciting to move on to an area more markedly different from the mountains and hills that we had been in thus far, and to get our first taste of Indian rail travel. There were many hundreds of people coming, going, sitting, sleeping, eating, and drinking tea everywhere we looked at the station and on the train itself. Everything moves relatively smoothly, though. You want some food and there just so happens to be a hawker right there.

We arrived in Shantiniketan early in the morning and walked through the busy town of Bolpur to find a place to stay. The rest of the day was spent walking the tree lined streets through clusters of large houses adorned with sculpture amidst well landscaped yards around the university that the town had been built around. In the early 1900's Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel Prize winning Bengali artist, decided to take the farmland around his family's home and turn it into leafy refuge for artists. Today is still is a place where many young Bengalis come for a liberal arts education and many more come for a glimpse of some artifacts from the life of the most celebrated advocate of their culture in recent times.

The next day we headed out for Calcutta, where we find ourselves today. It is a lively city full to brimming with people and the resultant smog and noise that comes with them. It also has a definite charm, from the friendliness of the ever-present street food hawkers to the Raj era buildings that surprise you around a bend from a crowded bazaar full of spices, vegetables, live chickens, dishware, jewelery, basically anything. We are also enjoying the many museums that the city has to offer, although we are having a tough time finding them in the twisting streets full of so many delicious distractions!

A church in Darjeeling

A Hindu Temple in Darjeeling, looks like this one gets a little more use than the church.

This bear really wanted to eat all the tourists staring at him, too bad there was a big moat.

Hamming it up in the market with our new Santa hats. 

Colin walking through the cardamom fields on the way to Yoksum.

Tashiding monastery with the majestic mountains in the background.

One of the many rivers we walked down to only to cross and climb up again on our "low altitude" Sikkim trek.

Christmas brunch with improvised mimosas and the view from our balcony.

Santa found us all the way in Sikkim!  Celebrating Christmas with our beautiful fern/tree.

Handmade disposable chai cups litter the streets in West Bengal.

The Victoria Memorial in Calcutta.

St. Pauls Cathedral in Calcutta.

Calcutta is the only place in India that still has human pulled rickshaws.

Some faded grandeur in Calcutta.

Snacking our way through the streets of the city.