Gangtok - Mar 13 - 17

Mar 13 Travel Darjeeling to Gangtok

- Go for walk around Observatory Hill at 6:30AM and have to wake up the guy at the reception desk to let me out of the hotel. I walk counterclockwise and feel that I am going against the grain. I think the Buddhist training of walking in a clockwise direction permeates life here.

- Order bacon, eggs and a small pot of coffee at Glenarys, which apparently is where the foreigners eat. One of the Meghalaya cavers happens by, recognizes me and joins me for breakfast. She has been in Sikkim with Guiome and tells me that 105 Euros/day for a trek is ridiculous. On the way out, she points to another table and says they have also been in Sikkim. I sit down with them, four people from France, and get many good details, including the fact that I should be able to get a trek for $30/day. It frequently works out that travelers help each other with key information, resulting in a better trip. Make the decision to blow off Dhan who I met the previous evening and who wants 105 euros/day to organize the trek I would like.

- Met Mr. & Mrs. Norbu. I explain my idea of the wireless to Mr. Norbu and then have a discussion about how to best market his hotel, and that he might take advantage of his connection to the Dali Lama. He had previously thought of this but is very humble and does not want to blow his horn or exploit his position with the Dali Lama. I explain that he can do it in a tasteful way which would promote his broader interest in supporting Tibet. He was one of two founders of the Tibet Institute in Darjeeling which has been quite successful. I suggest a possible wording that might appear in guide books, like Lonely Planet, “Mr. Norbu has championed Tibetan rights for the past 20 years, founding the Tibet Institute in Darjeeling. His tireless efforts and devout Buddhist beliefs have led to a friendship with the Dali Lama. Anyone with a serious interest in Tibetan culture can learn a lot in a short time by spending a few minutes with Mr. Norbu while staying at the Dekeling Hotel.”

- Mr. Norbu immediately understands the significance of what I am saying and both he and Mrs. Norbu are most appreciative of my suggestions. Mrs. Norbu drapes a Nepali khada (ceremonial scarf) around my neck and gives me a bag of Darjeeling tea as thanks for my kindness and openness. They are a wonderful couple.

- I check out around noon, the desk clerk secures a porter to carry my bag down to the lower area where the jeeps are staged for travel to other centers (specifically Gangtok). He says it is cheaper than a taxi.

- Book the jeep for 125Rs ($3) for the four hour ride to Gangtok. The haze which has hung around Darjeeling for the past few days continues right through to Gangtok. We have an excellent driver, who uses the horn only when necessary. It would be interesting to have Bhupen and Radju spend some time with drivers in this area, as horn usage seems to be much reduced in this area.

- Cross the border into Sikkim. They spray the jeeps before entering the state and people are required to walk across burlap sacks soaked in some pesticide to kill anything on their shoes. They have an outbreak of avian flu among the birds and have killed all the chickens in the area. As a result, any menu items with either chicken or eggs are not available.

- There is some river rafting on the Teesta River. It looks like some class three water which probably goes up a class or two in periods of high water flow.

- There are lots of gravel bars exposed in the river and many of them are being mined. A typical operation has several people digging up stones, gravel etc, and another one or two shoveling this through screens of different sizes to grade the stones. Other people are hammering rocks to make angular pieces about one inch in size. I learn that they get paid 16Rs per bag of rocks. I guess they can fill a bag in about an hour.

- Arrive Gangtok and get situated in the Kanchen Residency. The Modern Central is cheaper and I am learning that the quality of the room is of less importance than being in contact with other travelers. Good thing to know in future.

- Go to the tourist info place and ask about guides and where they are located. The streets are very confusing to me so I decide to call them all and see if any have treks going to Goechala. They want to know where I’m staying and say they will get back to me.

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Mar 14 Settle into Gangtok

- I hear a really loud clanging sound, like someone ringing a dinner triangle on a ranch. This is the sound made by the garbage truck when it makes a neighborhood stop. My stop on the route happens to be 5:30AM. A man stands on the garbage in the back of a stake truck and people pass up containers of trash which he then empties returning the containers to them.

Gangtok - Mar 14 - 17

- Walk down to the Central Hotel, which is called out in Lonely Planet as the place foreigners congregate. There is a restaurant inside and everyone inside is western. I order chicken biryani but there are no chicken or eggs due to avian flu precautions (ie, all the chickens and eggs have been destroyed).

- Just had a good scare. I am walking on the street when I hear a loud bang, like a large firework (my first thought) but when I turn around I see sparks coming from a power pole and a wire falling down. I scramble to get clear, falling in the process. Fortunately, the line falls away from me and I escape unharmed. It looks like the locals don’t really appreciate what has happened, there is some excitement due to the large bang but otherwise they continue walking down the street.

- At 9PM the heavens opened with lots of rain and an inch of hail. Cars going uphill struggle and slide back. Pedestrians caught on the street scurry for shelter. There is a terrific din as the hail strikes all the tin roofs in the area. I have a grandstand view from my fifth floor window. It stops after fifteen minutes and five minutes later the streets are packed with screaming children sliding, making snowballs, and generally having fun in the fallen hail.

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Mar 15 Finally! Kanchenjunga!

- Up about 5AM, look out my window and there it is! Kanchenjunga! I can see it!!! The view deteriorates over a couple hours till I cannot see it at 7AM.

- Walk up the hill to the Enchey Monastery. Tons of flower garlands are strung up in Ridge Park. It turns out there is an international flower festival in Gangtok on March 14, 15, 16 and many parks and businesses have decorated. Everywhere I go people ask me, “Have you been to the flower festival?“

- Some kids have found a pile of fallen hail that collected under the eave of a tin roof last night and they are giggling and making snowballs. I befriend them so they don’t ambush me.

- Make my way up to Enchey Monastery. In addition to the normal monastery prayer hall, there is a young boys dormitory which I enter. Boys age six to thirteen live here. The room is fifty feet long and thirty feet wide. The far wall has many short tables, eighteen inches wide and six feet long, sticking out from the wall. They are spaced along the wall with four feet of space between each table. On the floor space between tables are two mattresses. On each table are two trunks, about 16 inches wide, 2 feet long and 12 inches high. Each boy has one trunk and one 2 foot by 6 foot floorspace they can call their own. Take almost any child out of the US and put them in the that environment, talk about culture shock. But the boys seems to be happy and are busy amusing themselves, usually in small groups, although when I enter, they are all lined up next to their sleeping spaces, as though doing some sort of drill.

- In the monastery building, I find a lazy man’s prayer wheel that spins due to rising air from a burning candle placed in the bottom of the prayer wheel.

- From the monastery, I continue up to Gashentok, the temple with a superb view of the city. There are more prayer flags here than I could imagine possible, including some old crusty ones that have died (have they gone to heaven???)

- On way to tailor, I see a very photogenic (lots of wrinkles, kind eyes that twinkle) old women and after passing her, I decide to go back and ask whether I can take her picture. I spend 15 minutes talking to her grandson, one of the owners of the Tenzing restaurant. On way back from collecting shirts, I stop at the Tenzing restaurant and talk more to Sonam Norbu Bhutia. His grandmother’s name, (the one whose picture I took) is Dorjee Yaden. She is 92 years old and is still very sharp.

- I take a taxi down the hill to the flower festival. It cost the taxi very little in fuel to get me to the flower show since it is 2500 feet lower than the main part of Gangtok and the vehicles all turn off their engines when they go downhill. It is a bit eerie when walking downhill because the cars in coast mode are so quiet they sneak up on you. There is a huge traffic jam as I get close to festival (this is about 5PM). I abandon the taxi with 500m to go because it is faster to walk. There are tens of thousands of people at the flower show, many of them dressed up for the night out. Upon entering the show area, people are herded on a very specific route past many of the flower exhibitions. I tried several times to follow a side path and immediately, two officials grasp me and are gently steering me back into the flow of traffic. There are many beautiful flowers and flower arrangements, but after an hour I have my fill of flowers for the year.

- There is only one road from the valley, where the festival is located, to Gangtok, and it is really 1.5 lanes wide. This makes for gridlock with many folks still arriving and many already leaving. I walk a mile back toward town, where things start to loosen up. I find a field full of taxis and figure I have it made, only to discover they are all booked for the evening and waiting for their clients to return from the show. I discover the value of a western pocket book when I offer someone 350Rs to drive me back to the city. He thinks about for a moment and then starts his engine and we’re off. I’m sure I paid three times the standard rate.

- It’s close to 9PM when I go to the Tenzing restaurant. Sonam’s uncle buys me a couple of shots and we have a good friendly discussion. I show them the pictures I have taken in Sikkim. They love them, especially the ones of their 92 year old grandma. We show her as well and she asks that I send her a large print. Sonam’s sister, Tenzing (named after their restaurant?), is cute and sits beside me. At 9:50PM, she warns me that my hotel will be shutting the gate and I better hurry back. I arrange to meet Sonam at 5:30AM tomorrow outside the restaurant and he will take me to Pangthang, where I will get the best view of Kanchenjunga. I have a delightful time with their family.

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Mar 16 Capture Kanchenjunga on Film

- I am waiting for Sonam at 5:25AM outside the Tenzing restaurant. The garbage truck comes by, making a ton of noise so I don’t feel bad yelling up to Sonam a few times. However, he does not show. I get lucky and catch an early taxi who is not only willing to take me to Pangthang for some shots of Kanchenjunga, but he speaks good English.

- I finally find a trekking guide who has clients going to Goechala soon, and I arrange to go with this group. I like the guide, he speaks good English (learned in a missionary school), seems quite knowledgable, and is willing to accommodate my needs (good photos mean getting up at the crack of dawn, etc)

- Go to the Do-Drul Chorten, a VERY large (40 feet high) Chorten, with a small monastery built around it. I wander around the buildings surrounding the chorten, and hear lots of chanting from a room containing 150 monks. The chanting and accompanying gonging reminds me of Indiana Jones and the temple of doom. The monk’s low pitched horns just add to the feeling. The music and room full of droning monks draw me ever closer. My spine tingles with the atmosphere and I realize how people can be enthralled by this whole experience. A small dedicated room contains hundreds, if not thousands of butter candles, about one quarter of which are lit. There is a person dedicated to keeping them lit and replacing the ones which have burned all their oil.

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Mar 17 Waiting

- Bikash, the head trekking guide, arranges a tour to Lingdum Gompa. He warned me that my guide for this mini-tour is a newby and does not speak good English. There are many time when I just shake my head and realize that no combination of English words will convey to Newby that which I wish to communicate. Newby also has the habit of wanting to carry everything of mine, open the doors, etc, etc. Seems to be a recurring theme.

- We have breakfast at the Banjhakri Falls Energy Park. It is a small amusement park that is built around a fifty foot waterfall and which also has an energy efficiency theme. For example, there is a small hand push merry-go-round which powers a generator which in turn lights some LEDs and plays music. There is a slide where the slide part is replaced by a conveyor belt which turns a generator. Instead of “sliding” down, you sit on the belt and your weight causes the belt to move. My favorite is the large hamster wheel which has room for three or four small kids who run inside it and power some music. I find the park extremely amusing, but not in the way that was intended. Newby says that it gets crowded in the summer, perhaps because of the large pool.

- Go to the Institute of Tibetology and really enjoy it. They have old Buddhist tapestries (thangkas), which depict various aspects of Buddhism and they are arranged in such way that one gets a basic education about the enlightenment of Buddha. They also have many figurines and some old Tibetan scrolls and books.