ENJOY YOUR JOURNEY-DON'T COMMIT SUICIDE! - Meghalaya, Assam and Sikkim, North-East India

.....previously, madness, mountains and momos in North East India.......

We were ready to travel to the state of Meghalaya and the region of Cherrapunjee, the wettest place on earth. It was the best bus trip, full to the brim of people, produce, furniture, and amazing scenery of steep valleys with massive waterfalls streaming down the huge cliffs, and on the other side, the plains of Bangladesh stretching on into the distance.

Cherrapunjee, Meghalaya

Cherrapunjee, Meghalaya

Cherrapunjee, Meghalaya

Us, Cherrapunjee, Meghalaya

• Here's some facts about Cherrapunjee. On average it has 12,000 mm of rain per year. That's 12 METRES, all within a few monsoon months. In 1974, they had 24,000 mm!! To us, having lived in a very wet area of Australia, Mallanganee, where the yearly average is about 1,500 mm, this is mind boggling!!

Cutie, Cherrapunjee, Meghalaya

The village we stayed in, Laitkynsew, is the base for gorgeous walks through  the "Scotland of the East", with green hills, complete with standing stones, rivers, guys smoking massive pipes, very friendly villagers (second after Tezpur!), stunning viewpoints, butterflies galore, and jungle walks to amazing root bridges, hundreds of years old, built by the ancestors of the local Kharsi people. There are A LOT of steps down to these bridges, but it was so worth it to see how they'd trained strangler figs over 25 years to span the rivers. The fresh mountain water on the way was so refreshing.

Root bridge, Cherrapunjee, Meghalaya

Root bridge, Cherrapunjee, Meghalaya

Root bridge, Cherrapunjee, Meghalaya

Root bridge, Cherrapunjee, Meghalaya

Beautiful scenery on a walk, Cherrapunjee, Meghalaya

The only bad thing about  Cherrapunjee is the lack of budget accommodation (i.e. none!), but we were glad we splashed out 600 rupees for a covered tent (!), even after a massive night storm where everything we owned got soaked! We were lucky to see the force of the weather there, but also to have sunny, dry days for walking.

Our "luxury" tent

Next was a hellish journey back to Assam through huge floods in a jeep, then Richard slipping on wet steps and spraining his hand, followed by a trip back to West Bengal on the dirtiest, crappiest, muddiest, black with grime, leaking rain night train we've ever been on (and we have been on a lot of bad trains in India!!)

• Interesting thing on the trains- transvestites get on and demand money from everyone quite aggressively. They don't actually do anything, so we never give them money (doesn't go down too well), but the Indians all do.

Anyway, we made it to Kalimpong, near the border of Sikkim, via a windy, mountain road with funny signs such as :
"sinking, sliding zone"
"shooting stones zone"
 "watch my curves"
" no race, no rally, enjoy the beauty of the valley",
" safety first, speed next",
"drink whisky, drive risky",
"enjoy your journey- don't commit suicide" !!
"such is the paradox- on our roads, left is right"


Kalimpong is sort of like a smaller, less touristy version of Darjeeling, and it was here we indulged in pork and bacon (the only place we have seen it in India, besides Christian Goa), and yummy local cheddar cheese. We spent hot days walking out to various points around town- the Buddhists gompas (monasteries) had the best views, and chilly evenings on the terrace drinking hot chai and chatting. Mangoes galore here at the moment, but too much scoffing lead to Sal's allergy flaring up in her lips- looked like she'd had a shot of collagen!!

Market day, Kalimpong

Market day, Kalimpong

Kalimpong gompa

Kalimpong gompa, prayer wheels

Kalimpong gompa doors

Kalimpong gompa roof

Entering Sikkim really felt like we'd left India behind. the Nepali, Tibetan, Bhutia, Lepcha, Limboo and other communities, the Chinese/Tibetan food, the reserved people, the clean countryside and air were all a welcome change. We have absolutely loved Sikkim, especially the villages of Ravangla and Dentam, where we spent most of our time.

Dentam view

Dentam view

Highest suspension bridge in Asia, Dentam

Sal on Dentam bridge

Heavy load, Dentam

It's hard to describe how majestic and awesome the mountains are here- the snow capped peaks of Kanchenjunga (third highest mountain in the world) and the rest of the Himalayas towering over the closer hills, with the light changing as the sun rises. We spent many mornings just sitting and watching in awe! Trekking is the thing to do here, but not being into organized/group things, we took ourselves off into the hills, visiting various villages, and gompas and gaping at the beauty. Share jeeps are the way to get around in these parts, and they are great- cheap, quick, clean, limited people allowed on and direct. The food in Sikim is pretty much limited to momos, soup and noodles, but they have a lot of local drinks, and being tax free, we have been loving the local beer and port, both at AU$1 per bottle.

Beautiful Ravangla

View of Ravangla

View of Ravangla

Lovely, but dead, wild cat

Ravangla cutie

We hadn't realized how many different communities live here, and it became apparent during one of our Sikkim highlights- a cultural festival in Rinchenpong. At least 25 different communities buildings, traditional dress, music, craft and dance were on display. We were VIPs here (simply because we are foreigners- they obviously didn't care that we were unshaven, sweaty and scruffy-looking!!)

Holy man, Richenpong festival

Lovely old lady, Richenpong festival

Demonstrating old methods, Richenpong festival

Interesting face, Richenpong festival

Richenpong festival

Joining in the fun, Richenpong festival

Boys dressed to the nines, Richenpong festival

Beauties, Richenpong festival

Different ethnic groups represented, Richenpong festival

Dancing, Richenpong festival

Richenpong festival

Especially cute little girl, Richenpong festival

Praying, Richenpong festival

A special puja (prayer) day at a small Tibetan gompa in Ravangla was the second highlight of Sikkim. Here we sat in with the monks and listened to their low-pitched chanting to pray for "problems in Tibet". We were lucky to experience these two special days.

Prayer wheels, Ravangla Tibeten monastery

Ravangla monastery

Ravangla monastery

Prayer stones, Ravangla

View from gompa

Monk at gompa

We've noticed a few changes in India in the five or six years since we were last here. Food prices have definitely gone up and accommodation has a little bit. Our cheapest room so far was 250 rupees (AU$6), and the most was 600 rupees (AU$15)- our tent! Transport doesn't seem to have gone up at all -a 12 hour train ride costs only about AU$5. More things come in plastic now (apart from in Sikkim where plastic bags are banned), with the biggest loss being the little clay cups chai used to come in now being replaced with plastic cup. A lot of restaurants now have disgusting chai dispensers instead of fresh cups. It may be the north-east region, but the electric supply seems worse than ever, with power cuts several times a day. There is no smoking in any public place now (enforced, amazingly), and the trains have cleaned up their act (in general), with more security, less beggars, and less people moving between 3rd/2nd and 1st class. But overall, India remains basically the same as when we first visited 13 years ago! The biggest difference for us is how we are travelling now.  Having endless time time means we can take all the time we need and have plenty of "rest" days just to catch up on internet, reading, chatting, or when we've been sick (a lot!)

Just have to include these few more funny sings-
"suspect spot? could be leprosy"
"please satisfy yourself before leaving the counter"
"gold medallist gynaecologist"
"do you have a hunk in you?" (ad for men's undies)
"meet ancestral experienced sex doctor"
"commit no nuisance here" outside many businesses


.....next up, holy cows, floating bodies and searing heat in Varanasi.....

MADNESS, MOUNTAINS AND MOMOS - West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya, North-East India

....previous blog post, beach bumming in southern Thailand....

This is going to be a long one- after three months in India, there's a lot to say! So if you want the condensed version, here goes:  

Calcutta- mad
Darjeeling hills- cold
Assam- friendly
Megalaya- wet
Sikkim-  mountainous
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, the details..... we were so happy when we arrived in Calcutta and had a mad taxi drive from Dum Dum airport. We checked into a Sudder street dive, (with the local public urinal out the front ), and wandered around in a happy daze for two days, eating everything we'd missed, and enjoying the crumbling old raj buildings, parks, ghats, river, and the general chaos.

Yes, they still have these here in Calcutta

Chicken man, Calcutta

Flower stall. market, Calcutta

Latest blockbuster! Calcutta

Calcutta street

Then we got sick and were stuck in our scungy room for two weeks being sick from both ends. Ahhhhhh..... now we remembered what India is REALLY like!! We dragged ourselves out of the hole now and again to chat with the many foreigners- mostly Koreans working at Mother Theresa's. One guy had been in charge of picking maggots out of homeless people's wounds for the last 3 years. Mmmmm.

Sick Richard, Calcutta

The journey continued with an overnight train and jeep to northern West Bengal and Mirik, near the Nepal border, the perfect antidote to Calcutta. we spent a week enjoying the peace and quiet, cute, neat village houses and gardens, a fantastic value room, cool climate, walks around the lake, and eating steaming hot momos (Tibetan dumplings) and chilli sauce from vendors in the evenings. Good place to recover.

Cuties, Mirik

Mirik view

Tea by the lake, in the rain, Mirik

A bit overloaded, Mirik

Flowers! Mirik

Nandi at a temple, Mirik

From here we hit the big town of Darjeeling. We were a bit unsure at first, but once we discovered the great area known as Chow Rasta- a big square in the middle of town, with seats all around, where we could sit with a cup of chai, look at amazing Himalayan views and people watch, we were more than happy to stay here a week.

Beautiful views, Darjeeling

View of Darjeeling town

Japanese peace pagoda, Darjeeling

Some scary toilets, Darjeeling

It was COLD here, and we had to buy hats- Richard had to go for one of those daggy ones with flaps over the ears! We were glad of the fleeces we had dragged all over South-east Asia. The people here are ghorkas- same as Nepalese, and want a separate state- Ghorkaland. There are slogans everywhere on walls in this area, and every day there are big protests in the streets with schoolkids (in their English-style uniforms, complete with ties and blazers), women and business owners. We even caught "Miss Sherpa" on TV, which was pretty hilarious! Porters walk up and down Darjeeling's hilly street with massive loads on their heads- up to 100kgs. It's amazing to see them carrying two gas canisters, or 30 bricks or six crates of soft drinks. The good thing about leaving Darjeeling was the toy train, which took six hours, although it was pretty misty and we couldn't see much.

A chilly Richard, Darjeeling

Toy train, Darjeeling

Next, we entered Assam, via the horrible city of Guwahati, which doesn't let foreigners stay in it's budget hotels, which we discovered after three grumpy hours of searching, and we ended up in a expensive government hotel. We soon bussed out of here, passing through big farming areas to get to Tezpur, a small town on the banks of the mighty Bhramaputra river. It's a town with few "sights", but we loved it! It was quiet and relaxed, and we found one little stall for our 75 cent breakfast of omelette, bread, curry and tea (for the 2 of us!), and a second for our AU$1 dinner of bread, boiled egg, chutney, dahl and tea. The people in the north east are so friendly and honest, but particularly here in Tezpur. We had gifts in shops, people running after us with 1 rupee change, waiting in lines, refusing tiny tips and never overcharging for anything. SO not like India! Sal bought some new glasses, and with a new short haircut (by Richard ) has a new look!

Holy man, Guwahati

Bhramaputra river, Guwahati

Richard cooking our breakfast, Tezpur

New friends

Richard's handy work (hair)

Great bus rides in Assam (so much for the man in Calcutta's Assam tourism office telling me there was nothing to see in Assam!), and the one to Sibsagar through tea plantations, with elephants at the side of the road was no exception. Sibsagar is an interesting town set around a picturesque lake, that used to be the capital of the Ahom dynasty. There are some crazy looking, beehive shaped temples here, that would be major tourist attractions if they weren't so far away from the tourist trail. Travellers don't get to Assam, for some reason- we only saw two other foreigners while we were there- and the second guy already knew who we were from the first guy!

Sibsagar temples

Holy man, Sibsagar

We then bussed it to Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya- a big town with more colonial buildings (but mostly ugly concrete ones), GREAT food to pig out on, which we made the most of (including the best tasting strawberries), a lovely lake/garden area with pedalos (yes, we did!), good internet (a rarity in India, hence three months and no update!), and a TV to watch the IPL cricket finals on. Religion had been a bit of a mixed bag up until now, with Buddhism, Christian and Hinduism being the most apparent, but in Meghalaya things turned very Christian- the missionaries have been very successful here! The local people are Kharsi, and are are quite distinct with their clothing and culture.

Shillong woman

OK, that's enough typing for my two little fingers for a while...... to be continued.................

Richard shave

Latest fashions in hair

More hair fashions

........next up, more North East India- Meghalaya, Assam and Sikkim......