Wangdu Festival
Murray and I brought home 3,800 pictures between the two of us. Murray is working diligently paring the 3,800 down to about 1,000. He is about 2/3 of the way through.
Once we get the 1,000, we will do another cut and then one more to come up with our “slideshow”.
Please be patient, photos are coming soon………….
Hotel Druk, Phuentsholing
Hotel Druk, Phuentsholing
Hotel Druk in Phuentsholing was a very classy place and it set a high standard. The reception staff was efficient, if a little bit formal, but nice enough. The room was well maintained and immaculate. The beds were extremely comfortable. AC was much appreciated. There was a flat screen TV (didn’t turn on), WIFI for a charge and bathroom goodies (shampoo, slippers, shoe polish etc). The restaurant staff went a long way to help find Debbie food she could eat.
Tenzingling Hotel, Paro
Tenzingling Hotel, Paro
The Tenzingling Hotel, in Paro, is also on the higher end. It is a bit remote from town but we were so bagged each night that going out in the evening was out of the question. Although simply furnished the room was very spacious, which made for a pleasant stay. It was very clean. There was a TV and free WIFI. Hot water was limited so we showered quickly. The staff was doting and took very good care of us. It was very quiet in the evening which made for good sleep. The heat didn’t work in our room, but there were extra comforters, so we were toasty warm. The buffet was average but different enough each night to make the meals interesting.
Tenzingling Hotel, Paro
Dochula Resort, Dochula Pass
View from Dochula Resort
The Dochula Resort is slightly tattered but still a nice place to stay. The setting is outstanding and waking up to a view of the Himalayas is not to be missed. There is a pair of large high powered binoculars for guests to use for a closer view. The bed was a bit hard but we slept well. The food was only OK, this is an area where the hotel could improve. The rooms were clean. The corridors are reverberant and the noise in the hall travels quite well. The staff was super – extremely nice and polite.
Hotel Gakling, Phobjikha Valley near Gangtey
Hotel Gakling, Gangtey – fixing the “heating system”
The guest house Hotel Gakiling in the Phobjikha Valley was the most ‘rustic’ place we stayed. We had been given the heads up so we were prepared. Our room was in the main building and was warm and well built, whereas our traveling companions’ room was in the back in another building and it was extremely rustic, with an outdoorish bathroom and they woke up to an 11 C chill in their room. There was no hot water and we were warned not to plug in anything as the power surges killed another tourist’s laptop. The staff was very nice and not so formal as other resorts, this was pleasant – it is not necessary to be stuffy and do a good job at guest service. They served the best food (tofu and soya beans) we had eaten to that point in the tour, and the communal atmosphere of the dining/meeting room was great for meeting other travelers and swapping experiences and stories. A new hotel was being built in behind the current one. The valley was most serene and for the sake of a little roughing it, this hotel was worth one night.
Hotel Gakiling, Gangtey – the most rustic bathroom we encountered
Mountain Lodge, Jakar
Mountain Lodge, Jakar
The Mountain Lodge in Jakar, was overall, our favourite place. The biggest issue was the availability of hot water. If you did not have a shower at exactly the right time, and that time varied each day, having a hot shower was not possible. The water was at least not cold so we didn’t have too much to complain about. The wood stove heaters could be a problem in the middle of winter but it was October and we did not have any issues with a cold room. The hotel was very quiet; we were able to sleep through the night easily. The internet at the hotel was about the most consistent we experienced on the trip. The food was excellent and the staff dealt with Debbie’s food allergies very well. The rooms (small, but manageable) were cleaned each day and although it was not necessary, we were provided with clean towels. We found the staff at this hotel to be particularly attentive. The three young people that worked the dining area at this hotel were exceptional.
Mountain Lodge, Jakar
Tashi Ninjay Guest House, Trongsa
Tashi Ninjay Guest House, Trongsa
The best feature of the Tashi Ninjay Guest House, in Trongsa, is the view, which was worth the price of admission. The one issue was there was no fire exit on the floor we were on. If a fire blocked the main exit, the windows were far too high to jump from and the exit at the end of the hall had no stair to the ground. The rooms were quite ordinary, but provided all the essentials. The food was, in our opinion, substandard and needs work. Again, the view made this hotel worth a stay.
Hotel Y.T., Punakha
Hotel Y.T., Punakha
In the Y.T. Hotel in Punakha, we were boarded in a palatial suite – luck of the draw. Again the view was outstanding. We had enough room to hold a party. Our trip mates were not quite so lucky and occupied a much smaller room with a view onto an adjacent wall. Although the beds were twin beds, each was big enough to serve as a double. The rooms were very clean, including the bathroom. The owner took special interest in the restaurant and floated from table to table greeting the guests personally. The food was noticeably good. The owner and restaurant staff were very good to make Debbie a special breakfast for the morning we hiked near the Dochula Pass.
Hotel Y.T., Punakha – sitting room in our “suite”
Hotel Phuntsho Pelri, Thimpu
Hotel Phuntsho Pelri, Thimpu
The Hotel Phuntsho Pelri in Thimpu, is a high end hotel, that we found a bit pretentious. The shortcomings; first, they charge way too much for the use of the internet, to use the business centre, the charge was 6 Nu per minute, the internet café 50M from the front entrance charges 1 Nu per minute; second, the bathroom was not as clean as it could be, for a high class hotel it should be immaculate; third, our bed was super hard, it was by far the hardest bed we experienced during our stay in Bhutan, that said our travel companions said they had an overly soft bed. On the good side, it is centrally located and everything we needed during our 3 days in Thimpu was very handy. The rooms were well appointed; the furniture was appropriate and nice. Even though the hotel was located in the shopping area and there was a ‘club’ adjacent, it was very quiet after 10pm and we slept well. The heat worked and we used it for an hour each evening to take the chill out of the air before we went to sleep. There was more than ample hot water for our showers and we quite enjoyed the luxury while it was available. The restaurant was excellent. The food was good and the head waiter was extremely conscientious. He was diligent in finding food for Debbie and when our travel mate, R, was feeling ill and did not show up for dinner, the waiter put together a meal of bland food and took it up to R’s room so he could at least try to eat something. That action was far beyond anything we expected.
Windsongs
We found Windsongs on the internet before we left for India. It looked and sounded interesting, so we contacted them and ended up prebooking the room. The rate was $60 per night for one of the 2 rooms, a bit expensive for India, but although Windsongs has only 2 rooms and a small chalet, it is 5 star quality.
We left Darjeeling and after the long ride arrived in Kalimpong hot and tired. It took a short while for the taxi driver to locate the place but we eventually ended up at the end of the driveway. Windsongs is on mile 8 on the main road into Kalimpong.
We found the lobby and met Subhadra, the owner, registered, and were shown to our room. We entered and OMG! It is clean, in fact it is immaculate, well appointed, the furniture is top quality, it is maintained, something unusual in the far east, it’s quiet, even though it is adjacent to the main road to Kalimpong and we could not hear any road noise.
Windsongs
Windsongs
Windsongs
The view is to die for, perched on the side of the mountain slope the view is oriented down a long valley overlooking the Teesta River and on a clear morning you can see Mount Kanchenjunga. We thought we had died and gone to heaven.
Windsongs - Breakfast View
The older fellow that works as bellhop, server and just about everything else is great. He does not speak much English and we do not speak much Bengali or Hindi so our communication was minimal, but he worked tirelessly and seemed to be totally self motivated.
Subhadra was the perfect host, extremely polite, friendly and truly interested in us and our travels. She is a wealth of information on ‘what to do in Kalimpong’ and everyday things, like how to get around. Subhadra will have dinner made for you if you order it a day in advance. All the ingredients used are fresh and organic, straight from their own nursery and the meal is made to your specifications. We had an Indian dinner that was just great.
Windsongs only drawback is that it is slightly far from town, but then again most of the tourist things are not in the town itself. This is not an issue for those with a sense of adventure. The solution is to jump in a shared cab on the adjacent road and it will zip you into town for 10Rs ($0.25). There are plenty of taxis near the town center that will take you to places like the Dr. Graham’s School.
If you need a break from the intense pace of India, book a few days at the Windsongs. Even if you are just passing through and get the chance, stay there, you’ll love it and think you are in heaven.
Windsongs - View from our balcony
Fresh Bite Restaurant
A nondescript stair leads to the second floor and a not too visually appealing restaurant with a handful of tables. We got seated in an alcove that had a nice cross breeze on a very hot day; that was relief in itself. The menu was pretty standard for an Indian restaurant with some American type food to round it out. The staff was very nice and took our order quite quickly. The food was cooked as we waited, always good in places with sketchy refrigeration. Rice and Chili Chicken arrived at the table hot. The meal was tasty and we ate for about 300Rs ($6.00), which was about what we spent at lunch for most of our trip to India.
King Thai Restaurant
Upstairs in the mall adjacent to the shared taxi drop off. It was hard to find. The place is rather ordinary but is decorated to the Thai theme. The overall cleanliness was only OK but the tabletops were very clean. The waiter was very attentive and catered to our needs. We ordered honey chicken, rice and vegetables. The food came to the table piping hot and was very good. The price was average.
Dekeling Hotel
The Dekeling Hotel is a simple hotel and it seems like it is half way between a home stay and a hostel. The hotel is centrally located and most of the things you would care to do are easily accessible. Our room faced west and we did not have any road noise at all. We also did not hear the dogs barking at night.
Dekeling Hotel with Dekevas Restaurant on Ground Level
The owner is super nice. She manages to spend time with all of the guests as they pass through and is very helpful with her knowledge of the city and surroundings. Her happy disposition is infectious and we left each morning on a positive note after spending time chatting with her. The staff was friendly and pleasant. The front desk staff was very helpful and answered all our questions. They even loaned us an adapter and pointed us to where we could buy one.
There were two common areas in the hotel and they are a really nice feature. A hotel room can feel somewhat close and the sitting areas give one a place to lounge and read or type on the computer or meet with other travelers and swap tales. There is WIFI in the common area and a computer available for a small charge.
Dekeling Hotel - common area outside our room
Breakfast was hot and filling. Eggs, toast, tea, oatmeal. The food is supplied by the kitchen of the restaurant below the hotel, Dekevas.
There was one thing that really bothered us. There was no fire exit from the floor we were on. There is not a chance one could jump and survive from as high as we were and we would have felt much better if there had been an exit.
Dekeling Hotel - Room 7A
We think we ended up in the “hey this is our last room” room (room 7A) and it did have a couple of short comings. There were three windows in the room – the bathroom window which opened to the outside and two windows that faced interiors. One non bathroom window lead onto an old exit stair that had been built in and in which people resided. We could hear every word they spoke, although we could not understand anything, we did not speak their language. Fortunately, these people went to bed as early as we did, so they did not keep us up. The other window faced one of the common areas. Because the room is hard to ventilate, it had a dank smell which we managed to minimize by leaving the bathroom window and the entrance door open and let the air blow through for about an hour each day.
Dekeling Hotel - Room 7A
For the three days we were there, our beds did not get made or our towels changed, but this is no different at home so it wasn’t a great problem.
The price ($25 Can) was right so these were minor inconveniences.
We would stay in this hotel again but most likely request a different room. There is a wing that looks to be newer or refurbished – we would try a room in that wing.
Dekevas Restaurant
We had just arrived in Darjeeling and had not eaten lunch so we were hungry and did not have any idea where to go. We stopped into Dekevas on a whim. It is in the same building as the Dekeling Hotel. It was good choice. The restaurant is very small (10 people) and it would be crowded, but it is quite a pleasant place. The waiter was very nice and since we were the only patrons at the time he was quite attentive. We ordered rice, fried momos, and chili chicken (excellent). The food came to the table hot (freshly made) and really hit the spot. We would definitely eat there again.
Glenary’s
We did not eat in the restaurant proper so I cannot comment on the upstairs section. We did buy pastries and eat breakfast in the coffee shop.
We stopped in the bakery looking for something sweet. The bon-bons we chose were quite dry and they may not have been made on site but instead were massed produced off site and bought for resale. The baked goods tided us over, but we decided we would not go back to buy more.
The breakfast in the coffee shop was acceptable but very, very slow in coming. The place was not busy yet we waited about 30 mins. for a light breakfast. When it came it was good. The eggs were just as ordered and they had peanut butter (which just happens to be a favorite of Murray’s). The price was well within the acceptable range.
The view from the tall windows was outstanding.
Hasty Tasty
A great vegetarian restaurant on the mall. We stopped in for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed the meal. There is no table service, you order at the front counter and pick up your food when your number is called. The kitchen is visible, the orders come in constantly and the cooking staff work hard and fast to keep up. The restaurant was very busy when we were there, which says alot. The food is all prepared as it is ordered so you can be sure it is fresh, but this does take time. There is a bus person constantly cleaning the tables which keeps the restaurant relatively tidy. We ate pakoras, a huge cheese dosa, and momos. The food is very good and hot, the service is excellent and it is inexpensive. We would definitely eat there again.
The Park Restaurant
The restaurant is easy to find, just down the road from the base of the mall. We walked in and it was reasonably busy, a good sign, the more people the greater the turn over in food. The waiter was very nice and efficient. The food came to our table quite quickly for India. The food was good, although the tandoori chicken was only warm and not hot. The rice was hot. The price was well within the acceptable range. Overall we liked the place and the food.
Shangrila Restaurant
This more expensive restaurant was just off Chowrasta Square. The furnishings were upscale. The waiter was very attentive and trying hard to be upscale, but he spoke very little English. The lights kept going off but we were not sure if it was a restaurant issue or an area issue.
We had Chicken Tikka (a tandoori chicken kebob), Singapore Noodles (it said rice noodles on the menu but we think they were wheat) and Naan Bread. The noodles were hot and spicy. The Naan was sweet. This meal was very tasty and we enjoyed it.
I learn more and more about the clothing in my suitcase every time we go on a trip. Here are some comments from our trip to India and Bhutan.
I took 2 pair of pants – one linen and one convertible technical. I still maintain linen is much cooler, so those pants were worn almost exclusively in Kolkata and the Andamans where it was very hot. The technical pants were quick dry and that came in handy for when we washed clothing and when we got caught in the rain. I wore these the whole time we were in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Bhutan. I did find them hot. I did not use them as shorts, but it was good to have that option. If the weather in Bhutan had been rainy and cold, we would have been in trouble with only two pair of pants, especially if they both got wet and did not dry. I would have worn the technical pants during the day (they would have gotten wet) and then worn the linen pants in the evening for supper and hopefully the technical pants would have dried overnight. Fortunately, it only rained once and only for a short period of time.
I took 1 cotton T-shirt, 2 short sleeved wool shirts, 1 long sleeved wool shirt (long underwear actually), 1 long sleeved collared linen shirt and 1 fuzzie. I wore the cotton shirt to travel in initially and in Kolkata and the Andamans. It handled the heat well. It got very dirty in Kolkata and I should have thrown it out, but I didn’t. In Bhutan, every morning, I started the day in a short sleeved wool shirt, the long sleeved wool shirt and my fuzzie ( it was cool in the hotels and outside). As the day warmed up, I shed layers down to the short sleeved shirt. By about 5 pm, it was getting cooler again, so I started putting the layers on again. I wore one short sleeved wool shirt until it started to smell and then I changed shirts and washed the dirty one. This system worked extremely well for me. I felt that the long sleeved linen shirt was too heavy and hot. I wished that I had brought one of my other lighter weight linen shirts which would have been better for Kolkata. Plus a shirt like this would have supplied abit more coverage/modesty that the cotton T-shirt. Next time.
I only wore my long underwear bottoms twice and it was to warm me up before I went to sleep at night. If it had been colder in Bhutan, though, I would have been wearing them all the time during the day, so I am glad I had them.
I wore my gortex jacket a handful of times in Bhutan when it was cold, and once when it rained. Again, if it had been rainy and cold, I would have been wearing it all the time, so it was good to have it along.
I took a toque and a lightweight pair of gloves. I wore both once, when we got up at 6 am to see the Himalayas. Again, good to have if the weather was cold.
Two bras, four pair of underwear, two pair of light socks and one pair of heavy socks worked well. I rotated the bras, underwear and light socks as they got dirty and got washed and I do not think I would want to go with any less. The heavy socks came in handy a couple of times for cold feet. I took a very lightweight cotton T-shirt as a sleep shirt and that worked well – it got worn when I was cold and not worn where it was hot. I had a one piece swimsuit which got used in the Andamans. I had a long decorative scarf to wear to hide the bulge my neck safe created under my shirt. I also wore it Indian style to hide the strap of my purse lying across my chest between my boobs. The scarf came in very handy and was versatile – only comment would be to take silk, or a fabric that is not hot.
Pretty much every clothing item in my suitcase got used. Some were there for insurance against cold and rainy weather and I am glad I had them along. My choices of clothing worked very well and they only item I would change is the long sleeved linen shirt. My learning is complete and logged for our next sojourn.
It is the start of another bleary eyed day. The last 2 days have been brutal trying to switch our bodily clocks around.
I wake up at 3:30 am starving. I need an afternoon nap, but if I nap I don’t sleep. I try to stay awake but am falling asleep in my chair at 7:00 pm. Make it stop!
India’s time is 12 hours different from Edmonton and that makes adjusting very difficult. Some say that flying east is easier on your body than flying west. We started our trip flying east and had little trouble in India, we flew home west and recovering is a big problem.
Melatonin is supposed to help. It is a natural hormone supplement that helps you fall asleep. I am starting to think that we should be taking this.
Last night I did resort to taking Sleepeeze – a mild sleeping pill obtained off the shelf. I slept later and longer than the previous nights, and my head isn’t as foggy today as it has been.
It is also said that it takes 1 day to adjust for every time zone crossed. So we are looking at 12 days to be fully recovered. It is only day number 4 today, guess we have a few more days to go until we feel like ourselves again.
While we were in the Andaman Islands, we got introduced to bed bugs. Not something that I would wish for. I was the one being bitten, they didn’t seem to like Murray. The bites weren’t numerous, but 3 of the 7 nights I was nibbled on. ICK! ICK! ICK!
We were not convinced that the bites were from bed bugs until we got to Frankfurt and could do some real investigation on the web. Once we were convinced, we then researched what we should do when we got home so as to not infest our house. There are numerous websites that discuss bed bugs and what to do. There is quite a bit of conflicting information out there. Hot water, dryer heat, freezing, dry cleaning, carbon dioxide – it is all suggested
When we got dropped off, we did not go into the house. We headed for the garage and put our suitcases, purses/carry on bags and all the clothes we were wearing inside. I (the bashful one) ran into the house buck naked – hopefully none of our neighbours happened to be looking out the window just then. Murray (the brave one) made me get him a housecoat.
After a visual inspection, we took money and credits cards in the house that night. Left everything else to be dealt with in the morning.
The next morning, we washed all the cotton fabrics in hot water and dried them in a hot dryer .
We visually inspected all the items that had hard surfaces looking for egg clusters. Found none. These items then went into the house.
We were left with our “technical” clothing, the shoes and all the bags. We took wool shirts, nylon pants, fuzzies and gortex jackets. We were not sure if washing in hot water and drying in a hot dryer would destroy the fabrics. I talked to my faithful contact at Alberta Health Services and he assured me that 10 minutes of heat would kill any bed bugs or eggs as they cannot tolerate heat. My contact said that 48 C is the temperature that will kill these critters in seconds (42 C is the temperature of a hot tub’s water). Heat or dry cleaning (chemicals) are the only ways to ensure bed bugs are killed. Freezing does not kill eggs. We decided to put the technical clothing in the dryer first and heat them up dry. Then put them through a hot wash to clean them and then hang to dry, like we always do. (I figure that even if we end up ruining a few shirts, it is still less costly than to get a bed bug infestation.)
My contact also said to put our bags through the dryer too. They are fabric bags and will fit in our dryer, so that is the plan. I plan on putting our shoes through the dryer too, if they do not bang around too much.
Murray’s jacket and his courier bag were just washed in hot water and hung to dry, as they would not survive the hot dryer. I am hoping this is good enough. I bought some cotton/silk material in Bhutan to make a table cloth, and am concerned about throwing it in the dryer, so I may send it to the dry cleaner.
If you are reading this because you have run into these critters, DO NOT take your luggage into your house, put them into the garage and deal with the clothes etc from there. Use either heat (hot hot dryer for 10 minutes) or chemicals (dry cleaning) on all the fabrics to ensure the bugs and the eggs are killed. Visually inspect all hard surface items for signs of eggs. Of course, please do your own research and do what you are comfortable with.
I think we are handling this bed bug issue properly and my faithful contact agrees that we are doing all the right stuff. This was not pleasant and I hope we do not encounter bed bugs on any of our future trips.
FRIDAY….Turned on the TV in the room, in Port Blair, this morning and found game 6 of the World Series. We both were sitting on the edge of our seats watching the intense game. The game had just tied up in the bottom of the 10th inning when we had to turn it off and catch our pre-arranged auto rickshaw to the airport. Still do not know who won the game.
Going through security at the Port Blair airport was extremely slow, especially for the women. The line-up for the men had two scanners and two friskers so Murray and M got through in minutes. T and I were in line for a minimum 30 minutes because there was one scanner and only one frisker in a curtained enclosure. The guys were starting to wonder what happened to us. We got through and the scanner didn’t like the snub nosed scissors in my bag, so it took another 10 minutes to sort that out. By then our flight was called and we ended up on the stragglers bus out to the airplane.
Once we arrived in Kolkata, we bid T&M goodbye and safe travels home. We are going to stay in touch about our next dive destinations as we all agreed we enjoyed diving with each other. We are now sitting in the international terminal, outside the check in area. We had an expensive but only okay late lunch/early supper in the airport restaurant and will now kill about 7 hours before our flight to Frankfurt.
When we checked in for our Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, the agent was a stickler for weight of carry on bags. The weight limit for Lufthansa is 8 kgs, whereas Air Canada’s is 10kgs. We always pack according to Air Canada’s limits. Well, Murray’s bag weighed in at 10.7 kg, so he would not allow it as carry on. My bag weighed 9.0 kg which he allowed to squeak through. So, we ended up checking Murray’s bag. Note to self – pack to the lightest limit of all airlines being utilized on a trip.
SATURDAY…..We are now in Frankfurt after a long flight and a day walking in Frankfurt. It was almost 1:00 am by the time we boarded our flight, so we fell asleep quickly after takeoff. We both, surprisingly, sleep not too bad. 10 hours passed rather quickly.
My Dad used to complain about children on flights. He wanted a separate section of the plane just for children and their parents – preferably sound proof. I used to get annoyed at him for saying stuff like that, but after our flight, I agree with him. There was a mother and 2 children, a boy about 8 or 10 and a small boy about 2 – 3, in the line-up for security. The small boy had a temper tantrum about who knows what, and I just noted it and then tried to ignore the noise. Well, wouldn’t you know it, but they were sitting right behind us on the plane. Fortunately, mom and 2 year old moved into the center section and were then a few more feet away from us. The boy screamed and tantrummed for hours at the start of the flight until he finally fell asleep. When he woke, he started up again. To cope, we turned up the volume on our headphones. We think there was something not quite right with the poor guy. But the whole area of the plane sitting near him suffered with the noise.
We got to the Ibis Hotel, in Kelsterbach, too early to check in, so we put our bags in the storage room and headed into Frankfurt. We both agree that Saturday is a great days to be in Frankfurt. The populace is out shopping and enjoying life. We discovered a large street flea market, a huge and popular food market (the Strathcona Farmers Market on steroids) and pedestrian streets teaming with shoppers. We stopped a few times just to people watch.
Frankfurt Market
We had decided to go to a couple of the museums that are near downtown. Our first stop was the Architecture Museum. It turned out that admission was free. Our next stop was the Museum of Modern Art. It was free too! Frankfurt has a Program from June to November that on the last Saturday of each month, admission to about 15 museums is free. We just happened to hit the last Saturday in October. If you are traveling o Frankfurt, keep this in mind as the museums charge anywhere from 7 to 12 Euros.
We were amazed at how many people were still sitting in the outdoor cafes, drinking café, eating lunch, snacking on ice cream. The temperature was only about 10 C and yet the Frankfurters were enjoying the outdoor scene.
Haagen Das on the Zeil
We stopped for supper at a great little restaurant in Kelsterbach on the way back to the hotel. The Ristorante Pizzeria Dolce Vita is one of several Italian restaurants in Kelsterbach. It was the first one we came to after getting off the train and heading back to the hotel. The pizza was good, the place was slightly classy, (white table clothes, candles and live flowers on the table), and the waiter was super nice. If you are at one of the many airport hotels around the Frankfurt airport Kelsterbach is quite close and this restaurant is worth a try.
We headed back to hotel and once in our room could not keep our eyes open.
SUNDAY…..Last legs of our homeward bound trip today. Frankfurt – Calgary – Edmonton. See all you Edmonton folks soon.
22 dogs in Chowrasta Square, Darjeeling at the same time while we took a break there
98 steps up from street level to our room in the Dekeling Hotel, Darjeeling
Rs 25 for a 2 litre bottle of water (55 cents)
6 horses available for rides in Chowrasta Square
1 mountain type bike and bike rider c/w bike kit seen in Darjeeling
Thousands of jeeps for hire as taxis to various destinations
Rs 150 ($3 CDN) for a Half Tandoori Chicken (smaller in size than in Canada)
Rs 300 ($6 CDN) for lunch or supper for 2 people
Rs 300 ($6 CDN) for breakfast for 2 people (Debbie- chicken patty/baked beans, Mur-scrambled eggs/toast!)
Thousands of saris worn by lovely women in a million different colours
Two dead bodies
Hundreds of street people
½ the population of Canada in one city – Kolkata
1 Traditional Andaman Island boat – a dongee
Hundreds and hundreds of electric colored fish
30+ C degrees every day
1 – 4 m salt water croc spotted (not by us) near Ranaganar Beach on Havelock Island
Rs 9 bus ride across Havelock Island to “one of the best beaches in the world”
4 divers in a group with each Anadaman Bubbles dive master
2 Debbie sized grouper fish on one dive
4 cows grazing on a concrete median in downtown Port Blair
Rs 25 for a 600 ml bottle of Coke!
Up early with the sun, packed, ate crackers and PB for breaky and we were off to the ferry. Had an auto rickshaw pre-booked to take us from the hotel to the ferry – why is it they always show up 15 minutes early?
Enjoyed the ferry ride chatting with a doctor from western India who was on holidays with his family. He gave us a pretty good idea of where to go and what to see in India.
Arrived in Port Blair, found our hotel and headed out for a walking tour of the town. Port Blair is the biggest city in the Andamans. We found the Cellular Jail near the water. It was built by the British to imprison Indians that were fighting for independence. The prison housed about 690 political prisoners. The treatment of prisoners was brutal, which included whippings, there were many many deaths during the time the prison was operational. In 1947 India gained its independence from Britain and the prisoners were released.
Median Cows
During our walk in Port Blair we spotted a number of unique species. There were Median Cows, Sidewalk Cows, Patio Goats, Garbage Cows, Park Goats and Parking Lot Cows.
Sidewalk Cow
Today is the day that the long journey home begins. We start at the farthest point we traveled to and work our way back home. We have been on Havelock Island for a week and although there is always more to explore, I think we both feel it is OK to leave. Having a short tour of Port Blair is good because we are not likely to return to these islands.
We always return home with mixed feelings. We have established a travelling rhythm and it would be easy just to keep on going, but there is so much we enjoy at home and it will be good to return and get involved with the things from which we have taken a pause.
