Indian plumbing expo

Loo with a view, Thiksay monastery:

 

I can only guess that this is a squat-urinal, and maybe be one of a kind. In fact it's quite forward-thinking in a way due to being unisex. Sorry the photo is so dark, it was in a person-sized cupboard literally in a restaurant kitchen:

    
























No hot water? No problem. Just put an unventilated gas boiler in the shower. Literally start the morning with a bang, and don't worry about that gas smell




A typical public toilet, yes that is poo on the floor. Worse than Glastonbury.

Random cows

Some cows just cruising the streets, this seems to happen everywhere:



Couldn't resist taking a photo of this one:

Breathtaking Leh

Landing in Leh (we opted for the 1 hour flight rather than 3 day bus from Delhi) was a bit like landing on the moon. The town, despite being in the Indus valley, is at 3500m so it has taken us a few days to adjust. Climbing up stairs is still more tiring than it should be!

Leh is Delhi's polar opposite, and as a result is an excellent place to be. The weather is cool (18 degrees-ish, although feels a lot more in the blazing sunshine). The people (mostly Tibetan) are extremely friendly and relaxed. The tourists are mix of wealthy Indians, hardcore western trekkers and hippies lapping up the Buddhism/yoga etc. Most of the accommodation is in small guesthouses, most don't take reservations so you just have to turn up and hope there is space. Recommended by some Austrian guy we met in an internet cafe in Delhi, we landed on a little place called Guest house Ribook, which at 500 rupees a night is pretty basic, but it's really peaceful and below is the view from the garden, so can't complain!

We have another week here so will update further in a few days.

... and back to Delhi again

We decided to visit Ladakh, in the western himalayas (north-western India, in between Kashmir and Nepal). This means going back to fly from Delhi, and despite our previous experience, we opted to get the train back, this time the slightly quicker (21 hour) Rajdhani express.

It could not be more different than before. Despite being in the same class (2AC) we actually have some privacy and a big window through which to enjoy fantastic glimpses of rural india as it goes by. From women riding exhausted-looking bicycles on dirt paths, to children playing in lakes, villages of straw houses, strange men just staring into space, and all manner of dogs/cows/goats just milling about. Even if populations are skewed towards the railway lines, the number of people scattered far from the cities, across the fields and byways is astonishing.

Speaking of astonishment, imagine our surprise to find that rather than just a squat-hole directly onto the track, this train actually has a western style toilet, with toilet paper. King of the castle!

Addendum:
Turns out the train was not perfect after all, 3 hours late getting into Delhi and that toilet roll didn't last long! Also some dude thought 5:50am was a perfectly reasonable time to start playing his music for everyone. 46 degrees in Delhi today, pretty unpleasant but we are getting out tomorrow again!

Darjeeling street food

BBQ corn on the cob (farm grade)



Veggie pakoras nom nom nom



Chicken momos:



Chow mein wrapped in egg

Foggy Darjeeling

After the heat and chaos of Delhi, and a fairly epic train journey, we were relieved to arrive in Darjeeling.
It is much cooler here (highs around 18 degrees C) but also considerably wetter. We arrived in pretty dense fog and naively believed it was sure to clear up at some point - it hasn't.
Perched on the side of a mountain at about 2,200m we should have some pretty sweet views of the Himalayas if only the fog would clear!

Nonetheless, Darjeeling is a charming little town to spend some time in. The people, a mix of Indians, Ghurkas & Tibetans are very friendly. The atmosphere is pretty relaxed with the exception of the constant horns as cars career exceptionally quickly around the tiny streets. Oh and the dogs; there are dogs everywhere and they love to bark, especially at night. But compared to Delhi it is an oasis of calm.

A particularly wet morning today, possibly not the best time to visit a tea plantation, but regardless we went. It was amazing to see the ladies picking tea off the side of the mountain with the mist moving across the hills.

Unsurprisingly Darjeeling is an excellent place to drink tea, we have sampled many different local delicacies from black to green to rare yellow and hope to tick white off the list soon as well.

We have one more night here then we move a little bit further down the mountain for a night in the small town of Kurseong. We then get the dreaded train (a mere 20 hours this time) back to Delhi before flying to the north west town of Leh in Kashmir. It promises a drier, if even colder climate but more importantly those Himalayan views. Leh is one of the few places best visited in the summer monsoon season so hopefully it is a safe bet.

The road to Darjeeling

*Wrote this a few days back on my phone, just haven't had wifi to post it. We've been in Darjeeling a few days now, will update at some point.

Our journey began with a 5:30 taxi to Anand Vitar station in Delhi. The sun rising through the dusty haze was beautiful, and the familiar smells of wee and poo wafted through the open windows. Delhi is really hot even at 6am so by the time we fumbled around the station and onto the train we were already a sweaty mess. We had plumped for the posh '2AC' class, a reserved, air-conditioned sleeper carriage where the beds are stacked just 2 high. We were naively surprised therefore to find ourselves sharing a 4-bunk compartment with another family of 6! We did not venture into the the unreserved bit but I imagine it was like a a hotter version of world war one.

29 hours, many naps and half a bottle of hand sanitiser later, we arrived in New Jalpaiguri and agreed a price with a taxi driver. 1km down the road we were handed to the drivers 'good friend' who thankfully had a less terrible (if not 4WD) car and seemed to be able to drive it. 3 hours of incredible cliff-side rally stage later, winding up through multiple hairpins and bustling hillside towns we arrived in Darjeeling!

Delhi

After an easy flight in a somewhat delapidated BA jet, we arrived in Delhi. Passport control was quick and efficient, they even put more people on desks when a queue formed; pretty much the exact opposite of any US airport. With the exception of an excellent metro system, that is where the organisation ends. Our taxi to the hotel was a typical Delhi experience: After nearly believing some joker who insisted he was our driver, we found the 'official' taxi guys who asked where we were going and shoved us into the worst car ever, which barely went 25mph and kept stalling. After a near-death experience between 2 lorries and stopping for a herd of cows on the dual-carriageway (yes that actually happens) it became clear the driver had no idea where he was going, but between us and his english-speaking mate in the passenger seat, they got us there in the end.

Delhi is not a great place to chill out. Possibly the worst. Apart from the heat (mid 40s during the day, 30+ at night) day-to-day life is something of an onslaught. There has been some crazy stuff to get photos of but we haven't wanted to attract any more attention than 2 sweaty white people already get! We are looking forward to a 27-hour train journey tomorrow, and hope to make it to a slightly cooler Darjeeling sometime on Tuesday.

Welcome - It's actually happening!

So this is my first blog article, and with a bit of luck we will not be too lazy to post more! After months of prevarication, we got our asses in gear, worked out an itinerary and booked flights. You can see a rough plan of our trip here or by clicking the itinerary link above. We are leaving this Friday and the first stop will be India. Turns out it's not a great time to visit India (end of the hot summer, start of the monsoon) but we will see how it goes. The weather forecast for Delhi (below) is looking a bit warmer than England. Still nothing to cool you down like a nice curry!