Seeking Sikkim
Today's lessons: 1: The smaller and rougher the road gets, the more likely it is to be the one you're supposed to take (this is not being philosophical)
Lesson 2: Ask directions, OFTEN.
Lesson 3: Shower while there's power. Every town runs to its own rhythm of electricity cycling. (Not a guy out the back generating sparks with a bike, but the times the electricity is shut off and on during the day). Kind of strange given the huge power stations we've seen running off the river. Due to a tactical error Al's into day 3 of 'Newfie showers'.
Today we started letting go of the Western need to get multiple things accomplished in one day and embraced Indian Relaxation Time, along with the head wobble.
We awoke to amazing views of Khangchendzonga, the highest peak in India and the third highest mountain in the world. We were planning to pick up a few supplies, grab the bike and head for the hills. The 'grab the bike' section of the day is where things started to unravel. After an hour or so of sitting around the cafe of the bike owner, we then moved to his office where we spent another hour or so getting a 'map' and waiting for the back up generator to arrive, so we could pay by credit card - because of course we'd reached that part of the day when the electricity is shut off. A quick trip to the permit office and we were off! ....to the mechanic in the next town to fix a rattling sound on the bike. (Renting a bike here in India has been quite the different experience to renting the Russian bike in Vietnam which took about 15 minutes. But a much slicker bike and we've got brand new racing jackets, a toolkit, spares etc. in Vietnam i remember the main piece of kit we had was a bungie cord made from a bicycle inner tube and some twisted wire for hooks)
OK, now we were on our way. We were having a great time as we drove down the mountainside through the Tea Gardens just outside Darjeeling - beautiful twisty roads, sunshine and views!
About 2 hours into the drive we started to get a tad concerned that we hadn't yet crossed the border into the next state, Sikkim. We had been provided a detailed map of the route we needed to follow (see below) so you can imagine our surprise to learn that we'd taken a wrong turn about 30 minutes before. This was the first of many wrong turns we would be taking over the coming days, and we've learned our lesson - ask early, ask often!
The roads between towns are mostly taken up by share jeeps which, unlike tuk tuks or other forms of transport that usually follow the 'stuff as many people in as possible' rule, are quite new. This doesn't make them look any more comfortable mind you, given the state of the roads. Glad we're on a bike - at least we can steer around the worst of the spine shattering craters. So we're seeing lots of jeeps along with the occasional truck, 'walking trees'*, and of course people wandering along with all manner of things strapped to their heads. Yesterday we saw a guy with a massive gas cylinder which he was holding with a strap over his forehead. He had stopped to CHAT with his NEIGHBOUR. Let me tell you, if I was carrying anything strapped to my forehead, there wouldn't be no chitchat.
* we'll try and get a photo of one of these
What the Brits would call a lorry, here are called Goods Carriers. We know they're called this because this is proudly and some what jauntily emblazoned across the back in multi-coloured letters along with all sorts of messages such as God is Good and Please Honk. Oddly, it reminds us of very similar practice we saw in the Philippines. This is kind of fun except for one message which is a little disconcerting: the words Good Luck painted on the mud flaps in large letters.
There is a sense of camaraderie on the roads of Sikkim where the honk of the horn is more a form of friendly comment rather than a sign of frustration. A conversation goes something like this:
Us : Beep beep = I'm coming up your backside!
Jeep: Beep (with hand wave) = OK, it's clear to pass
Us: Beep (as we pass) = Thanks!
Jeep: Beep = no worries!
All this put us just a little behind schedule so we ended up on a 'no stopping for breaks' ride for the last part of the day to reach the town, in the dark. Surprisingly this made seeing the pot holes, or should we say the tiny bits of road that AREN'T potholes, easier to see. So we made it safely into Pelling at about 7pm, had a delicious local meal, and were in bed by about 8! Which was good, because we had an early start planned for the next day...
Said mud map...
Sipping and buying some famous Darjeeling tea
Fast forward... Arriving in Sikkim!
Al in front of a GIANT prayer wheel. You enter the building and spin the prayer wheel 3 times.
Of course, you must open ur shoes before entering.
Falling in love with the dogs of India, one canine at a time.
Lesson 2: Ask directions, OFTEN.
Lesson 3: Shower while there's power. Every town runs to its own rhythm of electricity cycling. (Not a guy out the back generating sparks with a bike, but the times the electricity is shut off and on during the day). Kind of strange given the huge power stations we've seen running off the river. Due to a tactical error Al's into day 3 of 'Newfie showers'.
Today we started letting go of the Western need to get multiple things accomplished in one day and embraced Indian Relaxation Time, along with the head wobble.
We awoke to amazing views of Khangchendzonga, the highest peak in India and the third highest mountain in the world. We were planning to pick up a few supplies, grab the bike and head for the hills. The 'grab the bike' section of the day is where things started to unravel. After an hour or so of sitting around the cafe of the bike owner, we then moved to his office where we spent another hour or so getting a 'map' and waiting for the back up generator to arrive, so we could pay by credit card - because of course we'd reached that part of the day when the electricity is shut off. A quick trip to the permit office and we were off! ....to the mechanic in the next town to fix a rattling sound on the bike. (Renting a bike here in India has been quite the different experience to renting the Russian bike in Vietnam which took about 15 minutes. But a much slicker bike and we've got brand new racing jackets, a toolkit, spares etc. in Vietnam i remember the main piece of kit we had was a bungie cord made from a bicycle inner tube and some twisted wire for hooks)
OK, now we were on our way. We were having a great time as we drove down the mountainside through the Tea Gardens just outside Darjeeling - beautiful twisty roads, sunshine and views!
About 2 hours into the drive we started to get a tad concerned that we hadn't yet crossed the border into the next state, Sikkim. We had been provided a detailed map of the route we needed to follow (see below) so you can imagine our surprise to learn that we'd taken a wrong turn about 30 minutes before. This was the first of many wrong turns we would be taking over the coming days, and we've learned our lesson - ask early, ask often!
The roads between towns are mostly taken up by share jeeps which, unlike tuk tuks or other forms of transport that usually follow the 'stuff as many people in as possible' rule, are quite new. This doesn't make them look any more comfortable mind you, given the state of the roads. Glad we're on a bike - at least we can steer around the worst of the spine shattering craters. So we're seeing lots of jeeps along with the occasional truck, 'walking trees'*, and of course people wandering along with all manner of things strapped to their heads. Yesterday we saw a guy with a massive gas cylinder which he was holding with a strap over his forehead. He had stopped to CHAT with his NEIGHBOUR. Let me tell you, if I was carrying anything strapped to my forehead, there wouldn't be no chitchat.
* we'll try and get a photo of one of these
What the Brits would call a lorry, here are called Goods Carriers. We know they're called this because this is proudly and some what jauntily emblazoned across the back in multi-coloured letters along with all sorts of messages such as God is Good and Please Honk. Oddly, it reminds us of very similar practice we saw in the Philippines. This is kind of fun except for one message which is a little disconcerting: the words Good Luck painted on the mud flaps in large letters.
There is a sense of camaraderie on the roads of Sikkim where the honk of the horn is more a form of friendly comment rather than a sign of frustration. A conversation goes something like this:
Us : Beep beep = I'm coming up your backside!
Jeep: Beep (with hand wave) = OK, it's clear to pass
Us: Beep (as we pass) = Thanks!
Jeep: Beep = no worries!
All this put us just a little behind schedule so we ended up on a 'no stopping for breaks' ride for the last part of the day to reach the town, in the dark. Surprisingly this made seeing the pot holes, or should we say the tiny bits of road that AREN'T potholes, easier to see. So we made it safely into Pelling at about 7pm, had a delicious local meal, and were in bed by about 8! Which was good, because we had an early start planned for the next day...
Said mud map...
Sipping and buying some famous Darjeeling tea
Fast forward... Arriving in Sikkim!
Al in front of a GIANT prayer wheel. You enter the building and spin the prayer wheel 3 times.
Of course, you must open ur shoes before entering.
Falling in love with the dogs of India, one canine at a time.
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