Taxi Ride to the Clouds

We got a taxi to Darjeeling for 800 rupees ($20), which seems like a reasonable fare for two. The other way to get to Darjeeling is the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, but we missed that train by a long shot. Also, it's a ten hour ride going uphill, so taxis are a better option, anyway. Our trip to Darjeeling was somewhat in question because the town was closed to visitors for several days and only reopened two days ago. There were some riots between rival political parties that turned very violent (it's election time here). Apparently, the Nepali Nationalists and the Moaists don't get along very well. Things seemed to have calmed down now, but you never really know when violence might erupt again.

The ride itself was quite an experience. Compared to this road, the Switzerland Trail near Boulder would be considered tame. By Indian standards, the roads in Colorado have far too many guard rails. And most visitors to Colorado complain about the opposite. The ride typically takes about three hours, and except for the last 6 km, that's what it took. And that includes two stops for tea. Unfortunately, the Indians have adopted the barbaric British habit of adding milk to tea. But if you ask nicely, you can get plain black tea. But you must ask. By the time we got to Ghum (8km from Darjeeling), it was almost dark. But we were almost there, and would arrive with plenty of time to check my email and write a post.

Or so we thought. Just outside of Ghum, we encountered what our driver insisted was the worst traffic jam in the history of Darjeeling. The last six kilometers took about 2 1/2 hours. And it was pretty much all after dark, so it got quite cold. The tourist season here pretty much ends in early November. I wanted to have been here in early November, but my work obligations prevented that. By December, Darjeeling gets pretty cold, but still slightly above freezing. Many of the hotels and restaurants are closed now, and there are no regular tourists here. Only me and the diehard backpackers remain. But it's kind of nice. Now you might think I'm being a wimp because, after all, it is above freezing. Colorado gets much colder; and it had already snowed by the time I left. But in America, we only spend an hour or two outside at a time before retreating to our heated buildings. Unless we are skiing, of course. But here in Darjeeling, I don't think there's a single building that's heated. I certainly haven't been in one yet. So it's more like camping and it's harder to get or stay warm.

After our arrival, we checked into our hotel, the Tibet House. They wanted to charge me 850 rupees ($21) per night, but Tamding made up a story about how I was a poor graduate student studying high altitude botany. So we are only paying $600 rupees ($15). The room is the nicest hotel room I've ever had in India, with satellite TV (and HBO), hot showers and comfortable beds with plenty of blankets. Tanding even talked them into giving us a space heater. The hotel is intened to raise money to fund the operations of the local Tibetan cultural center, so I kind of feel guilty about it. So, I will put some extra money in their donation box without telling Tamding (he doesn't want me to spend a lot of money).

Immediately after checking in, I looked for an internet cafe, but they were closed. So, I still couldn't post. But I did find a store that sold sweaters and I got a nice handwoven wool sweater from Nepal. It cost 900 rupees ($23) and Tamding thought I had paid far too much. I probably did, but a sweater like this costs about $150 in the US, so I don't mind the price. I am much warmer now. You might think I came unprepared, but this was intentional. I had a lightweight acrylic sweater that's good for plane rides, but most of my good sweaters have fallen apart. So I had planned on buying sweaters in Darjeeling. What I didn't plan on was the traffic jam.