4/19 -- Hike, Home Visits, School Visit

It was supposed to be rainy and chilly today, but that didn't happen. Unfortunately, we should have worn short sleeves for our hike through the rice paddies past several homes, with stops to visit the residents. This was intended to be our first training walk in preparation for Tiger's  Nest, although there was less of a challenging uphill portion than I anticipated. That was the good part.

I had encouraged Jim to bring his lightly used hiking shoes and about 5-10 minutes out from the hotel, the glue on the right sole gave way and completely separated from the shoe, so he went back to the hotel to change shoes. I thought it was taking him a long time to rejoin us and discovered there was a good reason:  when he got there he found the car gate locked and the door at one side of it wouldn't open. The hotel is walled, and he walked all around it to find another way in, he pounded on the gate to attract attention, and finally decided to scale the 6-foot wall.

He got to the top okay, but was where the clothes lines were which were very close to the wall so he ending up jumping down -- remember, one shoe has no heel pad any more -- and bruised both heels, the heel-less one much worse. He found the staff at breakfast, which was why they couldn't hear him knocking. They got him into the room to change shoes and showed him that the weird round thing on the door turned to open it... He was able to complete the  hike, but was no longer walking faster than everybody else.

Jim's foot -- first day

The wall  he scaled -- landed behind
the gates where wire clothes lines were.

The door didn't push open and the
little round thing didn't look enough
like a handle to try turning it.

Foot the end of the second day.

We spent time visiting three families who live among the rice paddies and also learned about native medical remedies from a local. We ended up at a Hare Krishna temple. This is one kind of Hindu temple, dedicated to Lord Krishna, a reincarnation of Vishnu. Enup (eh-NOOP), our Sikkim/Darjeeling guide, is Hindu and explained the background of this segment of Hinduism. We asked the priest a TON of questions and many of us got blessings. We took so long that Chimi started wondering if we had been kidnapped. 

The low plants in the foreground are cardamom, a major crop here.

 

At the base of the cardamom are small yellow
seed pods, which is what is used.

Detail of the yellow jobbies

Our first family: gramma and shy granddaughter

She was a bit more relaxed inside

The kitchen

I got to present her with our gift for her help

One of the farms

Kids ready for school. Uniforms are free til 9th grade.

Another pair ready for school

A home from above

This home is built with bamboo lath in a wood frame, and
covered with colored cow dung plaster. The thatch roof is
getting non-traditional help.

A rice hay rack

Hiking uphill

The fields here are mostly rice and all terraced.

Another homeowner with Enup

Inside of the Hare Krishna temple.

Close by was a very nice multi-family home where we were served lunch. The food was good, but unfortunately, the family members spent more time serving us than talking. We did get an opportunity to try our hands at making kind of a thin rice flour doughnut- some of us more successful than others. It appeared that the most critical skill was stirring the dough around in the oil once it had been dropped in. Our hostess also used her hands to swirl the dough into the water, which was messier for her but gave her more control than the cup we used.

One of the wives demonstrating the process

Trying pour a doughnut shape from a cup.

Our lunch hosts. The man on the right was the chef.

Next was a stop at a local school that taught kids from 1st to 10h grades. We spoke with the head  mistress and several of the teachers, several of whom taught English, which is mandatory in the schools. However, they told us the high school kids were not as solid on the spoken language as we might expect and then gave us an opportunity to interact with them. It was fun and the kids were eager for the attention.

After a little time to recover for the  day, we met for a discussion of a topic that is controversial in the area and explains why there was so much security at the Rumtek Monastery. Before the previous  leader died, he was supposed to write a letter telling  how to determine the next leader, but his #1 subordinate would not reveal the letter after the leader's death. There were 3 other primary subordinates who aligned themselves into 2 groups and each independently picked a next leader. That was in 1980. The question of who is the true leader is still unresolved. The Dalai Lama stepped in and supported one, but that did not resolve things. Recently the other nominee decided to take himself out of the running and married, which is strictly forbidden. The true leader remains unresolved. The feelings on each side were so intense that the  monks were duking it  out and security was brought in to maintain the peace and ensure that treasured artifacts were not inappropriately acquired. They also check each person's ID at the gate to be sure  no one is sneaking in

Next up was a dance performance by two student groups representing Nepali and Bhutia peoples. We were invited to try to dance along with them too. At the end, we were all going to dance together and a guide, Sujay, who is assisting Chimi on this first trip on this  itinerary, asked if we would like to learn some Bollywood steps, so we all signed up. He said we could make up dance steps from normal activities: flying a kite, picking fruit from trees, grinding corn  the old way, and simultaneously screwing in a light bulb and turning on a faucet behind you. It was  hilarious, and really kind of worked. After all the laughter, we had a shamanic demonstration, then adjourned to dinner and then bed.

The Nepali group

Above and below: Bhutia group

Lynn demonstrating the 'grinding corn' step.
Sujay did a much deeper knee bend.

Shaman demonstration

4/18 -- Monastery, Nunnery

Recognizing that we were pretty exhausted from 2 long days, Chimi flip-flopped the schedule and we left at 10am to go to the Rumtek Monastery, the largest Bhuddist monastery in Sikkim. It was established in the 1960s by a lama who escaped from Tibet and is a very popular tourist stop. The head lama gave us a tour of the temple (no pictures allowed inside) and then led us upstairs to a classroom for a lesson on meditation, complete with a practice session. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside anywhere.

Entrance to Rumtek Monastery. Note the guards.

Prayer wheels--The Tibetan influence is obvious

Entrance to the complex

Entrance to the temple--Lama, Chimi (Tour Leader),
Enup (Local Guide), and Sujay (Logistics Specialist along
because this is only the 4th time this trip has been offered).

Our group: Sharon, Shelly, Chimi, Lynn, Cynthia (front),
Lisa (back), Lily (front), Jim, Lloydene

Central atrium

Roof decorations

Finally, we had a chance to view a stupa (grave), but it was up a bunch of steps and I was surprising lethargic. I think it was a combination of dehydration and the altitude of 5200 feet, so I bailed on the last section and had a nice chat with another  lady from the group, Sharon, who was also not quite up to the extra steps.

Next on the agenda was lunch, followed by a visit to Mahatma Ghandi Way, a pedestrian shopping area in Gangtok, at a higher altitude than we had been before. It is a major city built on steep hills. Four of our group (not us) agreed to split into two teams and see how much different stuff they could buy for 200 rupees (about $3). The rest of us wandered around the mall to see if there was anything interesting to buy. There was also a lower  market, 135 steps down, which I declined to look at, given my earlier challenges.

Ghandi and the mall behind him

Sign in the mall. Apparently betel nut chewing makes this
a serious problem here.

Decorations for a Chinese restaurant

Forget the  narrow alley--look at the steep stairs.

Finally, we visited a Buddhist nunnery. There are about 25 nuns in residence, ranging in age from 7 to 91. The youngest came to them from a family who lived two days walk away. They chose this place as a refuge from family difficulties for their daughter because her 14 year-old sister is also there. We had an opportunity to ask questions, got a tour of the kitchen, and were invited to watch a service which featured chanting and tooting on several sizes of horns. After observing for about 20 minutes, we left for the hotel.

Nunnery entrance. Note the lack of security, which is more
normal than what we saw at Rumtek.

Two of the younger  nuns in their room

The worship service. The two long things are deep horns that
are played during the chanting.

The internet was finally up and we had about 20 minutes to catch up before a talk by a young woman who had written a couple books about Sikkim culture and ethnic groups.

Before dinner, we had a presentation from the two teams who had taken very different approaches to the challenge.

One of the books our presenter wrote

Shelly and Lisa decided not to spend more than 10 Rupees (15 cents) on anything and even scored some 1 Rupee items. They had an eclectic collection of more than 20 things,and we roared as they explained their finds. Lily and  Lloydene took a different approach and got enough good luck charms for each of us and our guides by using  Lily's superior bargaining skills to get them all for about half price.

After dinner, it was time for bed again. We are slowly adapting to being halfway around the world. We get to sleep at 9:30 and wake up the first time about 2:30am, then  4:30 and finally 6, although the alarm is set for 7. The real milestone for me will be when I can get to 4:30 without being awake enough to wonder about the time.

4/17 -- Fly/Drive to Sikkim

Although our flight north was at 10:20, we left the hotel at 8am for the 20 minute drive which took about an hour in the terrible Delhi traffic. The plane started boarding around 9:30, which seemed kind of early for a 737, but then we left about a half hour late as they actually waited for a delayed flight and a dozen passengers. 

We headed out in 2 8-passenger vans to go to lunch in Siliguri, a large regional shopping area before continuing to Martam, a village in East Sikkim, about 75 miles north of the airport. The roads quickly became steep and narrow and twisty so  I closed my eyes and dozed to avoid motion sickness. Jim reported that there were very steep dropoffs, no guardrails, and several places where the road condition forced the driver to slow down to a crawl. The 65 mile drive took about 5 hours, which gives you an idea of our average rate of speed.

We crossed into Sikkim at Rangpo, which was more like crossing a country border than a state border. We got off and walked around and saw a big sign for Domino's Pizza close by. We finally arrived at the Martam Retreat at 7:40 pm. They served dinner when we arrived, but it really felt kind of late to eat. I was glad to get to our room and collapse.

Top 3 photos: on the drive from Siliguri to Rangpo

The trimmed bushes between the white flagged trees are
tea trees. They are kept very short most places.

We arrive in Sikkim

The Sikkim side of the entry gate

Inconsistent Postings Anticipated

We have had such full days and such spotty internet access that we are already far behind in our posts. We'll do our best to catch up, but you may see a bunch of posts after we get home.

4/16 -- Exploring Delhi

We had been to Delhi before in the interim between our Thailand and Nepal trips, but the planes and trains left and arrived in darkness and all we ever did was transfer from a travel mode to an overnight stay and back to transit, so this was a new experience for us.  It sort of wore thin around 3pm when me dual nights of less than 3 hours sleep each night caught up with me, but it was generally pretty interesting.

Buses are not allowed to stop for us to take photos, so we mostly had to shoot thru the bus window except for the two excursions when we got off the bus.  Plus, it was seriously hot. Summer has arrived early and it was at least 104 outside as we explored. This made mostly being on the bus a good thing, but the most interesting parts were out in the heat.

We  met our fellow travelers at 10 am, along with our trip leader, Chimi, a Bhutan native. This is an unusually small group of 8 (which suggests that at least 2 people had to bail after the trip was committed) and Jim is the only man. He will either be run ragged trying to excel at helping all the  ladies or be basking in the attention.

We drove through New Delhi, primarily built by the British, to Delhi, the old city.We ended up spending a lot of time in an old section, near an enormous mosque that looked more like a stadium from the outside. We got a pedicab ride through the Muslim area, then walked through the surrounding  lanes, getting a closer look and explanations of what we saw. There were several old and large buildings that were unused, called haveli . In the past these had been places of business, possibly with residential  space but were no longer productive to use. However, customs keep people from selling because if someone sold the building the local presumption would be that they were bankrupt which would be bad for the real business which operated elsewhere.

Above and below: sights on the way from New Delhi to Delhi

Boys in the background are swimming in this decorative pool.

 

Crowded Sunday Market

Electrical connections in the old parts of Delhi

Lynn and Jim with our pedicab driver. He had
to work pretty hard to pull the two of us.

More wires

Two of three domes in the huge  mosque

Exterior of a haveli. People are hoping to raise funds to turn
it into a hotel.

Our last stop was an unfinished mosque (called the Alai Darwaza) that replaced a Hindu temple, so it was a combination of styles. The very tall tower called Qtub - Minar had been completed as well as a small dome, but a larger tower barely got off the ground and the other domes were poorly constructed.  
 

The uncompleted tower

The complex from a distance

Jim at the unfinished tower

Jim's artistic capture of the tower.

Tower closeup

Above and below: Outside and inside of the true dome

The heat was awful -- 105 -- and we were operating on less than 3 hours sleep we were able to get in before the days' activities started, so my interest  level was somewhat lacking. I was very glad to get back to the hotel and rest a bit before our Welcome Dinner. At dinner, we had either started adapting to heat or the restaurant had really cramked up the AC and we all ended up wearing jackets and sweaters, which was an improvement from melting outside.

The LONG Travel Day to India

Going halfway around the world is never easy. In our favor, we were traveling on Emirates Airlines, which is reputed to be one of the best flying options. A mixed blessing was the non-stop flight from San Francisco to Dubai, which required 15+ hours in a single hop, with only one connection to reach New Delhi, the jumping off point for our tour. Added to that pain was the New Delhi Airport preference for VERY early morning arrivals (and departures....we get to do this again soon to get home).

Our flight left on time Friday at 4:45 pm and arrived a bit early in Dubai 15 hours later, but now it was 7 pm on Saturday there. Our flight to India left at 10 pm and arrived at 3 AM Sunday. (That totaled about 21 hours since our departure and 25  hours after we left home.)  With passport control and hotel transportation and rudimentary unpacking, we didn't get to bed til 5:15am and needed to be up by 8 for breakfast and a tour meeting at 10.

Emirates service was excellent, however and the economy seats on their big Airbus (the long flight) is a lot like the space you get in 'economy comfort' on various US carriers -- 18" wide seats with 34" between them and more recline than usual.

We made it, the bags both  made it, and now all we have to do is recover!