On to Gangtok, rescheduled flight, and close to China

INDIA STAGE 3 We are now on our way to Gangtok, in Sikkim, the North East of India. The journey is spread over two days, but apart from one minor problem has so far gone well. Currently we have just got on the plane at Delhi airport. We left Junglemantra yesterday morning at just after 9am. We were not sorry to leave behind the early morning alarm calls, the bumpy roads and jarring drives, the ubiquitous dust and certainly not The Dictator! Nor were we said to say goodbye to the other guests at Junglemantra, for the simple reason that during our 6 days we had been the only ones there, being royally looked after by the chef, two young lads who acted as waiters and cleaners, and another member of staff. We were sad to say goodbye to Shailin and his father, Vallabh. (Unfortunately Rhea, Shailin's wife was in Delhi during our stay.) We were also sad to leave behind the drives, the beauty of sitting quietly in the vehicles listening for alarm calls, while soaking up the smells, sights and sounds of the jungle. We will miss the colourful birds, the abundant deer, the crazy and entertaining monkeys, and above all our primary target , the tiger. We shared some magical moments with this lovely cat. Sadly, this is a threatened species, with very small numbers. We hope that tigers are still around and increasing in numbers so that one day our grandchild, Charlie, and his generation and future generations can share the same wonderful experience. Our journey to Jabalpur, was along the initial bumpy tracks, eventually joining a good road, although periodically this deteriorated as we passed through the crowded, noisy, colourful and congested villages. Shortly before arriving at the airport, our driver left the main road, and we were beginning to think we were about to be hijacked, but it turned out to be a short cut, avoiding Jabalpur. Odd to turn up at an airport, driving along a dirt track. The airport was extremely quiet when we arrived. In fact, apart from the guard on duty outside the entrance door, and a handful of staff, there was nobody else in sight. They seemed surprised to see anyone, and asked what time flight we were booked on. We advised it was the 14.45, and then discovered it had been rescheduled to 18.30. It was at that time 1pm, so we had 5 1/2 hours to wait. It actually went quickly, reading, sorting out photos and just people watching,as inside the airport were a lot of staff who appeared to spend their time wandering around but not actually doing a lot. There were no facilities apart from a snack bar selling crisps, nuts and chocolates, as well as a few drinks. However, eventually, on time (rescheduled time that is), we were on our way to Delhi. On the flight an English lady was sitting across the aisle. She asked about our itinerary and when we explained we were travelling in India for nearly 4 weeks, she announced in a loud voice on a plane full of local Indian people that she thought we were brave to spend four weeks in India. Back to The Claridges, where once again we had one of the best Indian meals we have eaten. Then this morning back into the traffic and headed to Indhira Gandhi Airport. As we approached a flyover with 4 official lanes of traffic in each direction, a car was stationary in the outside lane. The driver was lighting his cigarette - I would like to think he had broken down and was just having a smoke while waiting, but not totally convinced that he didn't just want a smoke. And now, at the end of the day, we are in Gantok, the capital of Sikkim. 1 hour and 40 minutes flight, and as we walked into the terminal building we were met by a local rep with a porter. Our luggage soon arrived, and then as we exited the airport we were introduced to Abhishek our local guide and Vinod, our driver, who will both be with us for the next 6 days as we visit Gantok, Kalimpong and Darjeeling. A further 5 hours in the car and we arrived at our hotel, Nor-Khill. We have moved to a different part of India, and there are some very obvious differences. We noticed the first one before we even landed, as we viewed Gantok and its environs from the air. The landscape and the vegetation are very different. Every where is very green, and the whole area is mountainous. We soon realised that the green fields were, in fact, tea plantations. Sikkim was originally known as Sukkim, which means Land of Rice, and everywhere there are terraced fields, which as soon as the monsoons arrive will be planted with rice. This change from dry and barren land is directly related to the second change that we have noticed. The weather has changed dramatically. We are now at approximately 1800 metres, and the temperature has dropped significantly. From 46C a few days ago, it is now probably in the low 20s. As we got coser to Gangtok, it started to rain, and as we got out of the car, we needed an umberella to cover the few steps into our hotel. In fact we arrived as a significant thunderstorm started. The third change is that the area appears overall to be more affluent. Of course, there is still a huge amount of poverty, and there is no relationship between what we are seeing and the developed world that we experience at home. People still live in very poor conditions and cheek by jowl, there are still dirty and dusty shops and houses, built with primitive materials and in precarious positions. But there is very little of the litter that we have seen in large quantities in other parts of India. The buildings are, generally speaking, more substantial and the are fewer primitive little stalls along the sides of the road, and some of the shops are modern multi-national stores. In part this may be because Sikkim is treated as a special area by the Indian government. Sikkim was an independent monarchy until Indira Gandhi invaded overnight in order to provide India with a buffer zone with its boundary with China. Now it is given preferential tax treatments, and its roads are paid for by the Indian Government and not by Sikkim. The fourth change that we have noticed, is that as we get closer to China andTibet, the people look different. There is more of an Oriental appearance, and they are much shorter in stature. One thing that has not changed is the love of bureaucracy and paper. On entering Sikkim we had to obtain an Inner Line Permit. We went into a small "office", bare except for a table and a few chairs and were met by a bored, underworked official. He proceeded to complete a form using the details in our passports, entered laboriously, by hand, our details into a large ledger, which must have been in use for years, took our passport photos and copies of our visa and passport, and then issued our permit. While our guide then returned to the Sikkim entry checkpoint to have our passports stamped, we went into a restaurant for a cup of tea and coffee. The bill was 40 rupees (50p), but the waiter still used a calculator to work out how much we owed! One change that is only partial is the driving and the roads. At first as we left the airport, there appeared to be less use of the horn. This is true, but only because in Delhi all drivers seem to us their horns all the time. There is still a lot more use of the horn than we would hear at home. The driving also appears to be less reckless - even our driver admit he would not drive in Delhi. Nevertheless, driving is still crazy, with cars suddenly and with no warning performing a "U" turn immediately in front of us on the roads, and some crazy overtaking of multiple vehicles even when approaching, and in fact while actually going around blind corners. The roads in part are reasonable, but large sections are tracks, both bumpy and dusty. In sections the road is being widened, and traffic is brought to a standstill. Even in large queues of traffic vehicles try to move forward and then end up blocking the road and preventing cars, lorries and buses trying to pass in the opposite direction. Perhaps all this explains why the 70 mile journey from Bagdogra airport to our hotel took over 5 hours. But at last we arrived at the Nor-Khill to be greeted by a welcoming scarf, a traditional greeting, being placed around our shoulders, and a glass of Cherry Brandy.