From Tea Land to Thailand....
Hello there once again!
I hope you are fine and well. Lynn and I are both grand thank you very much!
Well, as the clever ones amongst you will have noticed from the title, India is now behind us and Lynn and I are in Thailand. It's only a short stop in Thailand, far shorter than it deserves as we have only been here for 6 days and tomorrow we're off again - next stop: Cambodia.
I suppose though that we ought to whizz back to India for a short while first so I can fill you in on our final 2 weeks there before leaping back over the Andaman Sea to Thailand...
The last episode of my travelogue noted that we had arrived in Darjeeling in the far north-east of India where we planned to spend a week relaxing in the cooler, hillier climes. We arrived on Friday 10th November late in the day after a nightmare 26 hour journey. We checked into the Dekeling Hotel run by a lovely Tibetan couple and their 4 boys. The next morning, our first full day in Darjeeling, one of the boys offered to go down to the local railway station and get us a ticket each for the "toy train" for tomorrow morning. Sounds good we thought, so off he galloped whilst we settled down to a splendid breakfast of Vegemite on toast. Just as we're polishing off the last crumbs he comes running back to explain that he's got the tickets but he forgot, there are no train trips at the weekend, so we've got tickets for today, this morning, NOW! A quick sprint up to our room to fetch the cameras and a coat and then we're off, negotiating the narrow pathways, leaping down the steps, skipping between ladies off to market, children off to school and stray dogs just wanting to get in the way before landing up on the platform of the Darjeeling railway station.
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is referred to by all as the "Toy Train" because it is a narrow gauge railway measuring only 2ft (60cm) wide. I half expected when we turned up that we would have to straddle the carriage as if we were riding a horse but I am relieved to find that the train is exactly like it's bigger brothers only half the size. Quaint, little, blue carriages with comfy cushioned seats are pulled by an elegant, blue steam engine all dating back to the late 19th century and kept in near pristine condition. Paint a smiley face on the front and you have a very real Thomas the Tank Engine! The railwayline runs from Darjeeling to New Jalpugairi 82km away and takes 8 hours to wind its way up or down the mountainside criss-crossing the road as it goes. We are only doing the 2 hour tourist journey though which is a 45 minute puff up to Ghoom where we spend half an hour pottering around the small railway museum before reembarking the train and heading back to Darjeeling. It's a 2 hour round trip and is thoroughly enjoyable, especially given the beautiful, clear morning allowing us a magnificent view of the Himalayan mountains as we chug along.
The next day we plan to take a trip up to nearby Tiger Hill, leaving at the ungodly hour of 04:00 in order to be there for dawn. We are kept awake most of the night though by an almighty rainstorm and the only thing that's clear when the alarm goes off at 03:45 is that we've got as much chance of seeing the nearby Himalayan mountains as we have of seeing the pyramids of Giza from the top of Tiger Hill. The thought of standing on a freezing cold hill in the pouring rain is not an appealing one so we're both relieved when we find out the trips been cancelled. Later in the day we move from the Dekeling Hotel to the Dekeling Resort. The resort is owned by the same family as the hotel but is further up the hill, just out of town and is a secluded hideaway. There are only 4 'rooms' to let in this beautiful old colonnial retreat and each 'room' is actually 3 rooms. We have our own magnificent living room complete with comfy sofas, dining table, writing desk, open fireplace and satellite TV. The separate bedroom is lovely with, again, its own open fireplace and then there's a nice, big bathroom too. We check in for 3 nights, all we can justify on our budget, before we're due to head back to the Dekeling Hotel in the town for our final 2 nights there. That first night in the Dekeling Resort was one of the best nights yet. We ordered a heavenly range of curries from room service and settled down on the sofa infront of a roaring open fire and watched Villa beat Everton live on the TV. Oh, what a night!!!
The following morning we are due to try again for a visit to Tiger Hill and thankfully when we awaken at 03:45 the morning is clear and still, the perfect weather for mountain watching. Unfortunately, this is the point where you learn which of us had just started a 72 hour stint on the toilet and the other would therefore be heading to Tiger Hill on their own. Any guesses who?...
Well...
I headed for the door armed with full winter clothing and camera whilst Lynn headed to the bathroom armed with full roll of loo paper and sore bum.
I wasn't quite on my own for the trip to Tiger Hill. Monika, the nice lady we'd met on the train from Varanasi whos bag was stolen was going with me and once we got to the summit of Tiger Hill we were joined by the rest of Darjeeling if not all of West Bengal itself.
As the sun peaks over the nearby hills just before 06:00 in the morning the whole of the panorama is gently lit up in the most beautiful orange glow. Four of the five highest mountains in the world are visible from here. Mt. Kanchenjunga (3rd highest in the world) is closest and so looms over all the others. Mt. Everest is 140km away but is clearly visible - my first real life view of Everest and I pray it's not the last. I'd love to one day trek atleast to the basecamp of this mightiest of mountains. On the way back down to Darjeeling we stop off at a couple of Buddhist monasteries. By the time I return to the Dekeling Resort it's 08:00 and Lynn's curled up in bed nursing a fever to go with her runny bott. We've both shared the same food for the last couple of days, helping ourselves to each others curries so it's peculiar that Lynn has suddenly been struck down with diarrhoea whilst I'm perfectly fine. We can only imagine the bug was picked up from a dirty glass or infected piece of cutlery. 50/50 chance, I got lucky and Lynn didn't! I order breakfast and Lynn has an orange juice. Within 5 minutes the orange juice has come back out the same way it went in and poor Lynn just about manages to reach the bathroom before Colonel Chunder makes his surprise entrance!
For the next couple of days we don't get up to much. I explore the town on my own, read my book, watch lots of Premiership footie, order lots of curries which I have to devour on my own for a change. Lynn lies in bed, sweats, groans, doesn't move for ages then makes a mad dash for the toilet where she doesn't move for ages again. I save hours of internet time by writing the entire last episode of this blogsite on paper by the open fire, fuelling it with screwed up mistakes as I go before heading down to t'internet cafe and copying it all up again on the site.
After 3 days Lynn is confident enough to leave the room which is a good job as we're heading back to the Dekeling Hotel today! We go on a tour to a tea plantation. It's a big disappointment. It takes 90 minutes in a clapped out van to get there and the tour is terrible. Tea picking season is all but finished for the year and so most of the visit consists of walking around a vast, empty warehouse looking at machines that aren't working at the moment. As an afterthought we're invited to see the actual tea plantation, which is really all I wanted to see in the first place. I envisaged lines of brightily dressed women, big baskets on their backs tossing tea leaves over their shoulders and laughing togther as they make their way through the bushes. Maybe a few months ago I'd have had my wish but when we go the fields are all but empty, the bushes all but plucked and the photo opportunities all but dashed. In the afternoon we go to the Darjeeling Zoo where I get to see some elusive Indian tigers atlast! There's also a family of red pandas there too, a native of this region.
We visit the train station to reserve our tickets for the train to Kolkata for Friday but it's fully booked until the following Tuesday so we've got 4 days more here than we anticipated. Rather than spend this time in Darjeeling we decide to push on further north and go to Sikkim for the weekend. Sikkim is a restricted state and thus you have to apply for a special permit to visit there. We apply, get permission, hire a jeep and driver and 4 hours later we arrive in Gangtok, capital of Sikkim. We are staying in Hotel Tashi Tagey in Tadong (try saying that fast!) which is owned by the sister of the Tibetan lady who owns the Dekeling. It's a wonderful place and the food is to die for! We had the most heavenly aloo parathas for breakfast each day which are like spicy potato pancakes with a vegetable curry, Mmmm!!!
Whilst in Sikkim we visited the enormous Rumtek Buddhist Monastery which is absolutely beautiful. There are many monks studying here and to watch them fully-kitted out in their dark red robes whilst playing volleyball or speaking to mum on their mobile phones is quite a funny sight. Needless to say I took quite a few photographs but my favourite is definately one of a young monk, maybe 7 or 8 years old - shaven-headed, dark red robed and sporting a bright green, futuristic toy pistol. I can't believe that as a monk he'd be allowed to own such a toy but obviously he can. I asked him if I could take his photo and he immediately held his pistol up to his shoulder in a James Bond type pose. Peaceful Buddhist monk turns into one-man killing machine - superb!!!
Sikkim is renowned for its variety of orchids so we made a point of visiting the Whitehall Flower Show to see the beautiful floral display of orchids that they have there. Our guidebook says it is possible to see some 500 different varieties there! Unfortunately, nobody told us it was the wrong month for orchids so all we saw were some very withered chrysanthemums and a few poinsettias. When we emerged 10 minutes after going in, it started to rain and it didn't really stop for 2 days. Back at the hotel we were told that it was snowing at the next village north, 9km away.
We get back to Darjeeling on Monday afternoon ready for our train journey to Kolkata the next day. Whilst watching the news in the evening we learn that a bomb has exploded on the train from Kolkata that we're due to go back on tomorrow. Early reports are that there are 5 dead and 50 injured, over half of them seriously. The news finishes so we head to bed to try and get a good night's sleep.
In the morning we phone the train station and learn that all trains will be running as normal including our one. At the train station there are very few hawkers and maybe a few more army officers otherwise security seems just as lax as before. On the notice board is a long list of casualties from yesterday's train and which hospital they can be found in. Packages lie unattended all over the place and at each one I wonder if it's ticking. We were told on the news that they believe that yesterday's bomb was intended to go off at this train station but because the train was late it went off before it got here. Our train leaves on time and thankfully, is incident free. There are a friendly young couple from Bangladesh in the bunks opposite ours. They are going to Kolkata also. We ask them for how long but they don't know. They said they are leaving Bangladesh because there are governmental problems and it's not safe for them to stay any longer. They hope to return soon but they don't know how long they'll be away for.
We arrive in Kolkata at 07:30 and head to the 'Super Guest House' which our guidebook describes as spotlessly clean. It isn't, and the scattering of cockroaches in the bathroom and all along the underside of the bed will agree with me there!
We have 3 days in Kolkata before our flight to Thailand and we don't really do alot. It's nice to be back in the 30+ degree heat after the weather we had during our final days in the hills. Back to the shorts and t-shirt again! We wander the local market looking at the lovely Indian silks and carvings but in the end we get fed up with the persistent touts trying to drag you into their shops. By the time we head back we virtually walk around in a blinkered state, not daring to look left or right for fear of being taken for an interested customer and wrestled into the shop and forced to look through their array of goods. In the end your patience with their heavy-handed tactics gets thinner and thinner and you just get ruder and ruder, even to the polite ones. Can you imagine it happening back in England?... You're walking down the highstreet and as you pass Marks & Spencer a guy leaps out of the doorway "Socks? You want socks? You looked at my socks! I've got just the socks for you". You're dragged through the doors against your will and into the sock department. "Here, look at these socks. Feel the quality of these socks. Try these socks on. Make me a price. How much? Come on, how much?"
"Look mate, I'm just going to Smiths to buy 'Autotrader'. That's all. Can I go now?"
Back home they'd get charged with assault for this kind of behaviour! Still, it's all part of the experience, I suppose. And I have to say, despite being probably the most frustrating country we've travelled in it is also one of the most beautiful. I took nearly 1,300 photos in 6 weeks and all in all thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I don't think it's somewhere I'd hurry back to but it's definately somewhere I'm glad I've been. And the food's superb! AND I DIDN'T GET DELHI-BELLY!!!
We landed at Bangkok's brand-spanking new airport at 06:00 on Saturday 25th November. By 07:00 we're heading down the ultra-smooth highway in an air-conditioned taxi with soft leather seats. What a contrast to the clapped-out, Ambassador rust-bucket we limped to Kolkata airport in! After a bit of a stop-start-stop-start trip around Bangkok's confusing one-way system our apologetic taxi driver delivers us to the door of the Niagara Hotel in the Silom district where we have a reservation. We're shown to the room and someone turns the air-conditioning and the TV on for us. The TV grabs all our attentions once the blushing young hotel chap realises the explicit close-up porn that he's just put on for us. "Ooh, sorry" he mutters before changing the channel and making an embarassed exit. Flicking through the channels ourselves we find out that there's only 6 to choose from anyway. 3 of them are Thai channels showing mainly appalling local soap operas in Thai so we won't be watching those. The other 3 are all hardcore porn channels in English... well, if I get bored and Lynn's gone to sleep early!!!
This is our 6th day in Bangkok and as you know from the length of time it takes me to write these things I won't have done anything else today. Infact, Lynn explicitly stated that we have to go to the Emporium shopping centre and use the internet cafe situated on the 4th floor. That way whilst I'm starting my 3rd hour at the keyboard she can disappear for a couple of hours shopping instead of sitting behind me and asking "How much more are you going to write? Have you finished yet? Ohhhh nooooo, are you only THERE!!!" She's shopping already, by the way. She went ages ago!
So, 5 days in Thailand, all of it in Bangkok.
We posted our guidebooks to Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Russia to the Girl Guide's HQ here in Bangkok so spent a frustrating 2 hours trying to find it. Lynn had come out to Thailand 13 years ago as part of a girl guide group that helped build toilets for a school in a remote community in NE Thailand. Some of the Thai Guide leaders whom she met are still working at the HQ and so they agreed to look after our parcel of guidebooks until we arrived. It turned up a couple of days before we did which was a tremendous relief as when Lynn emailled the week before and it hadn't arrived after 7 weeks in the post we were beginning to think we'd have an expensive outing to the bookstore ahead of us. Lynn spent a happy couple of hours being reaquainted with the Thai guide leaders she met as a dodgy-permed teenager and when we left she had a bag full of goodies on top of the books we collected. One of the ladies at the HQ even still had a photo on her desk of Lynn and her group from 1993! The rest of the day was spent wandering around the huge shopping arcades in air-conditioned comfort before an early night as we didn't sleep a wink the night before on our way from India.
We've done the cultural visits here too which were pretty good. The obligatory trips to the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaeo, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Jim Thompson's House...
The Grand Palace is the most popular tourist attraction in Bangkok and is probably the most spectacular collection of buildings in the city. Wat Phra Kaeo is better known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The emerald buddha itself is rather small and insignificant compared to the great stack of gold and gems that it's perched upon but in a religious context it is one of the most important buddhist icons in the world. It's a good job really that they do put it on such a mighty pedestal of gold and gems because if it was on the floor all the millions of people would be stepping over it on their way to find a statue that looked worthy of all the fuss!
Wat Pho is the largest and most famous temple in Bangkok as it is home to the colossal 45 metre long reclining buddha. Covered entirely in gold it is quite a sight, certainly more impressive than that emerald midget we could just about see through binoculars!
Wat Arun is a mighty temple that looks like a giant pottery rocket about to launch. It is very ornate and completely covered from top to bottom in fragments of Chinese porcelain. Yeah, I took the odd photo or two!
Jim Thompson was an American entrepreneur who is credited with single-handedly reviving the Thai silk trade in the 1960's. He lived in Bangkok in a traditional Thai house which is so beautiful. Set in it's own forest of palms and orchids it's like a little oasis of calm amongst the hustle and bustle of the city. Jim Thompson himself actually disappeared in the mid 60's (I think) and his body has never been found. He was on a trip to Malaysia (again, I think - I haven't got my guidebook to hand so just trying to pull the facts out of memory!) and never came back. Nobody knows what became of him. Was he killed? Kidnapped? Lost in the jungle? Nobody really knows. Anyway, he left quite a legacy behind and there are a number of Jim Thompson Silk shops dotted around the city and the goods are exquisite. Lynn's bought something from 3 different JT shops in 5 days!!!
We spent one day securing our Cambodian visa and we're leaving on a 12 hour bus journey to Siem Reap tomorrow morning. From Siem Reap we shall be able to visit one of the most famous man-made wonders of the world: Angkor Wat.
We've visited the famous Bangkok night markets where copies of designer everything are for sale. I bought a very nice 'Armani' wallet and Lynn bought a nice 'Prada' handbag. Illegal copies of all the latest DVDs and CDs are here. Casino Royale is already available to buy!
Two days ago on Wednesday 29th November Lynn and I enrolled on a Thai Cookery Class at the world famous Blue Elephant Thai Restaurant (there's one in London if you want to go!) for a morning in the kitchen. Along with 6 others we arrived at 08:30 and after being introduced to the chef we all headed down to the local market to try a few things and buy a few things. Back at the restaurant we were led into the classroom where we were shown 4 different Thai dishes being prepared before being given a workstation each in the kitchen to cook them for ourselves. The dishes change daily but on the day we were there we cooked Spicy Chicken Soup, King Prawn Curry with Jackfruit, Chicken and Cashew Nut Stir-fry and Fried Red Snapper with Crunchy Mango Salad. Once we've finished and all our dishes are labelled with our names on we are led down to the restaurant where we get to eat our creations. I have to say, it was delicious! Full compliments to the chef who cooked mine. Oh, that'll be me!!!
After the morning spent cooking and then gorging ourselves on the lovely food we were in need of a nice sit down so we went to the big Cineplex to watch the new James Bond film, Casino Royale. We had 500 baht VIP seats which entitled us to big, no I mean BIIGGGG reclining leather seats with pop up footrests. In to these we are tucked by an attendant armed with fluffy pillows and silky duvets. Then a complimentary glass of pop is set down in our hands and then...Zzzzz.... Actually, I didn't go to sleep, but it was a close thing during the adverts! I was just starting to droop when the film started and perked me up again. Good film too! A bit grittier than the usual James Bond movies and I thought the new Bond actor, Daniel Craig was pretty good depite having had a few doubts beforehand. I certainly couldn't imagine Pierce Brosnan in this film.
We've had a couple of Thai massages too whilst we've been here. Not the dodgy ones that come with "extras" but the genuine ones! Very good. I nearly fell asleep there too!
And I reckon that just about fills you in again on our trip so far. As I said, tomorrow we're off to Cambodia and country number 12. We're definately on the home leg of our year away now with only about 11 weeks to go until we get home. Since we left South America the countries have all been flying by. Just before Christmas we enter Vietnam and go north from there into China and by the beginning of February we'll hopefully be boarding the train to Russia and then a couple of weeks after that we'll be fishing out the key and unlocking the front door to home!
Well, that's it for now. I plan to write the next episode on Cambodia before Christmas so until then, enjoy the cold, wet weather. Don't work too hard. I'm off to find Lynn and then enjoy a bit of sunshine!
Take care,
Rich
I hope you are fine and well. Lynn and I are both grand thank you very much!
Well, as the clever ones amongst you will have noticed from the title, India is now behind us and Lynn and I are in Thailand. It's only a short stop in Thailand, far shorter than it deserves as we have only been here for 6 days and tomorrow we're off again - next stop: Cambodia.
I suppose though that we ought to whizz back to India for a short while first so I can fill you in on our final 2 weeks there before leaping back over the Andaman Sea to Thailand...
The last episode of my travelogue noted that we had arrived in Darjeeling in the far north-east of India where we planned to spend a week relaxing in the cooler, hillier climes. We arrived on Friday 10th November late in the day after a nightmare 26 hour journey. We checked into the Dekeling Hotel run by a lovely Tibetan couple and their 4 boys. The next morning, our first full day in Darjeeling, one of the boys offered to go down to the local railway station and get us a ticket each for the "toy train" for tomorrow morning. Sounds good we thought, so off he galloped whilst we settled down to a splendid breakfast of Vegemite on toast. Just as we're polishing off the last crumbs he comes running back to explain that he's got the tickets but he forgot, there are no train trips at the weekend, so we've got tickets for today, this morning, NOW! A quick sprint up to our room to fetch the cameras and a coat and then we're off, negotiating the narrow pathways, leaping down the steps, skipping between ladies off to market, children off to school and stray dogs just wanting to get in the way before landing up on the platform of the Darjeeling railway station.
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is referred to by all as the "Toy Train" because it is a narrow gauge railway measuring only 2ft (60cm) wide. I half expected when we turned up that we would have to straddle the carriage as if we were riding a horse but I am relieved to find that the train is exactly like it's bigger brothers only half the size. Quaint, little, blue carriages with comfy cushioned seats are pulled by an elegant, blue steam engine all dating back to the late 19th century and kept in near pristine condition. Paint a smiley face on the front and you have a very real Thomas the Tank Engine! The railwayline runs from Darjeeling to New Jalpugairi 82km away and takes 8 hours to wind its way up or down the mountainside criss-crossing the road as it goes. We are only doing the 2 hour tourist journey though which is a 45 minute puff up to Ghoom where we spend half an hour pottering around the small railway museum before reembarking the train and heading back to Darjeeling. It's a 2 hour round trip and is thoroughly enjoyable, especially given the beautiful, clear morning allowing us a magnificent view of the Himalayan mountains as we chug along.
The next day we plan to take a trip up to nearby Tiger Hill, leaving at the ungodly hour of 04:00 in order to be there for dawn. We are kept awake most of the night though by an almighty rainstorm and the only thing that's clear when the alarm goes off at 03:45 is that we've got as much chance of seeing the nearby Himalayan mountains as we have of seeing the pyramids of Giza from the top of Tiger Hill. The thought of standing on a freezing cold hill in the pouring rain is not an appealing one so we're both relieved when we find out the trips been cancelled. Later in the day we move from the Dekeling Hotel to the Dekeling Resort. The resort is owned by the same family as the hotel but is further up the hill, just out of town and is a secluded hideaway. There are only 4 'rooms' to let in this beautiful old colonnial retreat and each 'room' is actually 3 rooms. We have our own magnificent living room complete with comfy sofas, dining table, writing desk, open fireplace and satellite TV. The separate bedroom is lovely with, again, its own open fireplace and then there's a nice, big bathroom too. We check in for 3 nights, all we can justify on our budget, before we're due to head back to the Dekeling Hotel in the town for our final 2 nights there. That first night in the Dekeling Resort was one of the best nights yet. We ordered a heavenly range of curries from room service and settled down on the sofa infront of a roaring open fire and watched Villa beat Everton live on the TV. Oh, what a night!!!
The following morning we are due to try again for a visit to Tiger Hill and thankfully when we awaken at 03:45 the morning is clear and still, the perfect weather for mountain watching. Unfortunately, this is the point where you learn which of us had just started a 72 hour stint on the toilet and the other would therefore be heading to Tiger Hill on their own. Any guesses who?...
Well...
I headed for the door armed with full winter clothing and camera whilst Lynn headed to the bathroom armed with full roll of loo paper and sore bum.
I wasn't quite on my own for the trip to Tiger Hill. Monika, the nice lady we'd met on the train from Varanasi whos bag was stolen was going with me and once we got to the summit of Tiger Hill we were joined by the rest of Darjeeling if not all of West Bengal itself.
As the sun peaks over the nearby hills just before 06:00 in the morning the whole of the panorama is gently lit up in the most beautiful orange glow. Four of the five highest mountains in the world are visible from here. Mt. Kanchenjunga (3rd highest in the world) is closest and so looms over all the others. Mt. Everest is 140km away but is clearly visible - my first real life view of Everest and I pray it's not the last. I'd love to one day trek atleast to the basecamp of this mightiest of mountains. On the way back down to Darjeeling we stop off at a couple of Buddhist monasteries. By the time I return to the Dekeling Resort it's 08:00 and Lynn's curled up in bed nursing a fever to go with her runny bott. We've both shared the same food for the last couple of days, helping ourselves to each others curries so it's peculiar that Lynn has suddenly been struck down with diarrhoea whilst I'm perfectly fine. We can only imagine the bug was picked up from a dirty glass or infected piece of cutlery. 50/50 chance, I got lucky and Lynn didn't! I order breakfast and Lynn has an orange juice. Within 5 minutes the orange juice has come back out the same way it went in and poor Lynn just about manages to reach the bathroom before Colonel Chunder makes his surprise entrance!
For the next couple of days we don't get up to much. I explore the town on my own, read my book, watch lots of Premiership footie, order lots of curries which I have to devour on my own for a change. Lynn lies in bed, sweats, groans, doesn't move for ages then makes a mad dash for the toilet where she doesn't move for ages again. I save hours of internet time by writing the entire last episode of this blogsite on paper by the open fire, fuelling it with screwed up mistakes as I go before heading down to t'internet cafe and copying it all up again on the site.
After 3 days Lynn is confident enough to leave the room which is a good job as we're heading back to the Dekeling Hotel today! We go on a tour to a tea plantation. It's a big disappointment. It takes 90 minutes in a clapped out van to get there and the tour is terrible. Tea picking season is all but finished for the year and so most of the visit consists of walking around a vast, empty warehouse looking at machines that aren't working at the moment. As an afterthought we're invited to see the actual tea plantation, which is really all I wanted to see in the first place. I envisaged lines of brightily dressed women, big baskets on their backs tossing tea leaves over their shoulders and laughing togther as they make their way through the bushes. Maybe a few months ago I'd have had my wish but when we go the fields are all but empty, the bushes all but plucked and the photo opportunities all but dashed. In the afternoon we go to the Darjeeling Zoo where I get to see some elusive Indian tigers atlast! There's also a family of red pandas there too, a native of this region.
We visit the train station to reserve our tickets for the train to Kolkata for Friday but it's fully booked until the following Tuesday so we've got 4 days more here than we anticipated. Rather than spend this time in Darjeeling we decide to push on further north and go to Sikkim for the weekend. Sikkim is a restricted state and thus you have to apply for a special permit to visit there. We apply, get permission, hire a jeep and driver and 4 hours later we arrive in Gangtok, capital of Sikkim. We are staying in Hotel Tashi Tagey in Tadong (try saying that fast!) which is owned by the sister of the Tibetan lady who owns the Dekeling. It's a wonderful place and the food is to die for! We had the most heavenly aloo parathas for breakfast each day which are like spicy potato pancakes with a vegetable curry, Mmmm!!!
Whilst in Sikkim we visited the enormous Rumtek Buddhist Monastery which is absolutely beautiful. There are many monks studying here and to watch them fully-kitted out in their dark red robes whilst playing volleyball or speaking to mum on their mobile phones is quite a funny sight. Needless to say I took quite a few photographs but my favourite is definately one of a young monk, maybe 7 or 8 years old - shaven-headed, dark red robed and sporting a bright green, futuristic toy pistol. I can't believe that as a monk he'd be allowed to own such a toy but obviously he can. I asked him if I could take his photo and he immediately held his pistol up to his shoulder in a James Bond type pose. Peaceful Buddhist monk turns into one-man killing machine - superb!!!
Sikkim is renowned for its variety of orchids so we made a point of visiting the Whitehall Flower Show to see the beautiful floral display of orchids that they have there. Our guidebook says it is possible to see some 500 different varieties there! Unfortunately, nobody told us it was the wrong month for orchids so all we saw were some very withered chrysanthemums and a few poinsettias. When we emerged 10 minutes after going in, it started to rain and it didn't really stop for 2 days. Back at the hotel we were told that it was snowing at the next village north, 9km away.
We get back to Darjeeling on Monday afternoon ready for our train journey to Kolkata the next day. Whilst watching the news in the evening we learn that a bomb has exploded on the train from Kolkata that we're due to go back on tomorrow. Early reports are that there are 5 dead and 50 injured, over half of them seriously. The news finishes so we head to bed to try and get a good night's sleep.
In the morning we phone the train station and learn that all trains will be running as normal including our one. At the train station there are very few hawkers and maybe a few more army officers otherwise security seems just as lax as before. On the notice board is a long list of casualties from yesterday's train and which hospital they can be found in. Packages lie unattended all over the place and at each one I wonder if it's ticking. We were told on the news that they believe that yesterday's bomb was intended to go off at this train station but because the train was late it went off before it got here. Our train leaves on time and thankfully, is incident free. There are a friendly young couple from Bangladesh in the bunks opposite ours. They are going to Kolkata also. We ask them for how long but they don't know. They said they are leaving Bangladesh because there are governmental problems and it's not safe for them to stay any longer. They hope to return soon but they don't know how long they'll be away for.
We arrive in Kolkata at 07:30 and head to the 'Super Guest House' which our guidebook describes as spotlessly clean. It isn't, and the scattering of cockroaches in the bathroom and all along the underside of the bed will agree with me there!
We have 3 days in Kolkata before our flight to Thailand and we don't really do alot. It's nice to be back in the 30+ degree heat after the weather we had during our final days in the hills. Back to the shorts and t-shirt again! We wander the local market looking at the lovely Indian silks and carvings but in the end we get fed up with the persistent touts trying to drag you into their shops. By the time we head back we virtually walk around in a blinkered state, not daring to look left or right for fear of being taken for an interested customer and wrestled into the shop and forced to look through their array of goods. In the end your patience with their heavy-handed tactics gets thinner and thinner and you just get ruder and ruder, even to the polite ones. Can you imagine it happening back in England?... You're walking down the highstreet and as you pass Marks & Spencer a guy leaps out of the doorway "Socks? You want socks? You looked at my socks! I've got just the socks for you". You're dragged through the doors against your will and into the sock department. "Here, look at these socks. Feel the quality of these socks. Try these socks on. Make me a price. How much? Come on, how much?"
"Look mate, I'm just going to Smiths to buy 'Autotrader'. That's all. Can I go now?"
Back home they'd get charged with assault for this kind of behaviour! Still, it's all part of the experience, I suppose. And I have to say, despite being probably the most frustrating country we've travelled in it is also one of the most beautiful. I took nearly 1,300 photos in 6 weeks and all in all thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I don't think it's somewhere I'd hurry back to but it's definately somewhere I'm glad I've been. And the food's superb! AND I DIDN'T GET DELHI-BELLY!!!
We landed at Bangkok's brand-spanking new airport at 06:00 on Saturday 25th November. By 07:00 we're heading down the ultra-smooth highway in an air-conditioned taxi with soft leather seats. What a contrast to the clapped-out, Ambassador rust-bucket we limped to Kolkata airport in! After a bit of a stop-start-stop-start trip around Bangkok's confusing one-way system our apologetic taxi driver delivers us to the door of the Niagara Hotel in the Silom district where we have a reservation. We're shown to the room and someone turns the air-conditioning and the TV on for us. The TV grabs all our attentions once the blushing young hotel chap realises the explicit close-up porn that he's just put on for us. "Ooh, sorry" he mutters before changing the channel and making an embarassed exit. Flicking through the channels ourselves we find out that there's only 6 to choose from anyway. 3 of them are Thai channels showing mainly appalling local soap operas in Thai so we won't be watching those. The other 3 are all hardcore porn channels in English... well, if I get bored and Lynn's gone to sleep early!!!
This is our 6th day in Bangkok and as you know from the length of time it takes me to write these things I won't have done anything else today. Infact, Lynn explicitly stated that we have to go to the Emporium shopping centre and use the internet cafe situated on the 4th floor. That way whilst I'm starting my 3rd hour at the keyboard she can disappear for a couple of hours shopping instead of sitting behind me and asking "How much more are you going to write? Have you finished yet? Ohhhh nooooo, are you only THERE!!!" She's shopping already, by the way. She went ages ago!
So, 5 days in Thailand, all of it in Bangkok.
We posted our guidebooks to Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Russia to the Girl Guide's HQ here in Bangkok so spent a frustrating 2 hours trying to find it. Lynn had come out to Thailand 13 years ago as part of a girl guide group that helped build toilets for a school in a remote community in NE Thailand. Some of the Thai Guide leaders whom she met are still working at the HQ and so they agreed to look after our parcel of guidebooks until we arrived. It turned up a couple of days before we did which was a tremendous relief as when Lynn emailled the week before and it hadn't arrived after 7 weeks in the post we were beginning to think we'd have an expensive outing to the bookstore ahead of us. Lynn spent a happy couple of hours being reaquainted with the Thai guide leaders she met as a dodgy-permed teenager and when we left she had a bag full of goodies on top of the books we collected. One of the ladies at the HQ even still had a photo on her desk of Lynn and her group from 1993! The rest of the day was spent wandering around the huge shopping arcades in air-conditioned comfort before an early night as we didn't sleep a wink the night before on our way from India.
We've done the cultural visits here too which were pretty good. The obligatory trips to the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaeo, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Jim Thompson's House...
The Grand Palace is the most popular tourist attraction in Bangkok and is probably the most spectacular collection of buildings in the city. Wat Phra Kaeo is better known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The emerald buddha itself is rather small and insignificant compared to the great stack of gold and gems that it's perched upon but in a religious context it is one of the most important buddhist icons in the world. It's a good job really that they do put it on such a mighty pedestal of gold and gems because if it was on the floor all the millions of people would be stepping over it on their way to find a statue that looked worthy of all the fuss!
Wat Pho is the largest and most famous temple in Bangkok as it is home to the colossal 45 metre long reclining buddha. Covered entirely in gold it is quite a sight, certainly more impressive than that emerald midget we could just about see through binoculars!
Wat Arun is a mighty temple that looks like a giant pottery rocket about to launch. It is very ornate and completely covered from top to bottom in fragments of Chinese porcelain. Yeah, I took the odd photo or two!
Jim Thompson was an American entrepreneur who is credited with single-handedly reviving the Thai silk trade in the 1960's. He lived in Bangkok in a traditional Thai house which is so beautiful. Set in it's own forest of palms and orchids it's like a little oasis of calm amongst the hustle and bustle of the city. Jim Thompson himself actually disappeared in the mid 60's (I think) and his body has never been found. He was on a trip to Malaysia (again, I think - I haven't got my guidebook to hand so just trying to pull the facts out of memory!) and never came back. Nobody knows what became of him. Was he killed? Kidnapped? Lost in the jungle? Nobody really knows. Anyway, he left quite a legacy behind and there are a number of Jim Thompson Silk shops dotted around the city and the goods are exquisite. Lynn's bought something from 3 different JT shops in 5 days!!!
We spent one day securing our Cambodian visa and we're leaving on a 12 hour bus journey to Siem Reap tomorrow morning. From Siem Reap we shall be able to visit one of the most famous man-made wonders of the world: Angkor Wat.
We've visited the famous Bangkok night markets where copies of designer everything are for sale. I bought a very nice 'Armani' wallet and Lynn bought a nice 'Prada' handbag. Illegal copies of all the latest DVDs and CDs are here. Casino Royale is already available to buy!
Two days ago on Wednesday 29th November Lynn and I enrolled on a Thai Cookery Class at the world famous Blue Elephant Thai Restaurant (there's one in London if you want to go!) for a morning in the kitchen. Along with 6 others we arrived at 08:30 and after being introduced to the chef we all headed down to the local market to try a few things and buy a few things. Back at the restaurant we were led into the classroom where we were shown 4 different Thai dishes being prepared before being given a workstation each in the kitchen to cook them for ourselves. The dishes change daily but on the day we were there we cooked Spicy Chicken Soup, King Prawn Curry with Jackfruit, Chicken and Cashew Nut Stir-fry and Fried Red Snapper with Crunchy Mango Salad. Once we've finished and all our dishes are labelled with our names on we are led down to the restaurant where we get to eat our creations. I have to say, it was delicious! Full compliments to the chef who cooked mine. Oh, that'll be me!!!
After the morning spent cooking and then gorging ourselves on the lovely food we were in need of a nice sit down so we went to the big Cineplex to watch the new James Bond film, Casino Royale. We had 500 baht VIP seats which entitled us to big, no I mean BIIGGGG reclining leather seats with pop up footrests. In to these we are tucked by an attendant armed with fluffy pillows and silky duvets. Then a complimentary glass of pop is set down in our hands and then...Zzzzz.... Actually, I didn't go to sleep, but it was a close thing during the adverts! I was just starting to droop when the film started and perked me up again. Good film too! A bit grittier than the usual James Bond movies and I thought the new Bond actor, Daniel Craig was pretty good depite having had a few doubts beforehand. I certainly couldn't imagine Pierce Brosnan in this film.
We've had a couple of Thai massages too whilst we've been here. Not the dodgy ones that come with "extras" but the genuine ones! Very good. I nearly fell asleep there too!
And I reckon that just about fills you in again on our trip so far. As I said, tomorrow we're off to Cambodia and country number 12. We're definately on the home leg of our year away now with only about 11 weeks to go until we get home. Since we left South America the countries have all been flying by. Just before Christmas we enter Vietnam and go north from there into China and by the beginning of February we'll hopefully be boarding the train to Russia and then a couple of weeks after that we'll be fishing out the key and unlocking the front door to home!
Well, that's it for now. I plan to write the next episode on Cambodia before Christmas so until then, enjoy the cold, wet weather. Don't work too hard. I'm off to find Lynn and then enjoy a bit of sunshine!
Take care,
Rich
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