A challenging country even for the most
seasoned traveller; India is a place that will excite and assault all of your
senses at once. It will madden you with
its seeming lack of efficiency and then amaze you with its stunning scenery.
We travel off the beaten tourist track
while still managing to visit favourites such as Darjeeling, and the lesser-known
state of Sikkim. Continuing south
through West Bengal the immense size of the country and the huge feat of
travelling more than 200km per day requires transit stops in Malda and
Murshidabad before we make it to our final destination of Kolkata, it is here
that we will say goodbye to Calypso.
Darjeeling
As the steep winding roads were too narrow
for our truck, we jumped in jeeps to take us to this Himalayan Hill station. Riding the UNESCO world heritage toy train,
hiking through National parks and lots of shopping is on the agenda for the
group as well as celebrating Marks landmark 50th birthday. We enjoyed High Tea in the beautiful colonial-era
hotel, The Elgin, as well as toured the Happy Valley tea plantation, which
provided a fascinating insight in to how tea is produced from picking to
packaging.
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| Jeep ride to Darjeeling |
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| Views of Darjeeling |
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| Clear skies, and a view of the surrounding mountains |
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| Thumbs up for afternoon tea at the Elgin! |
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| It was hard to resist putting that tea cosy on as a hat! |
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| Dave |
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| The grand interior of the Elgin Hotel |
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| The hotel's resident dog |
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| Mark on the toy train |
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| Jason, Tina, Louise, Mel, Alicia & Dave on the toy train |
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| Inside the toy train |
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| Luke at Darjeeling Mall |
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| Walking to the tea plantation |
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| Daniel and his tea bag |
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| Happy Valley tea plantation |
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| Interesting signs continue... |
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| Colourful steps in Darjeeling |
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| "Drinks from the Bar"? forever immortalised on a t-shirt |
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| Mark with his handmade silver keyring - his special birthday present |
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| Luke and Bruce enjoying the birthday celebrations |
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| Lorri, Cal & Keith |
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| Wayne, Tina, Dave & Alicia - the ladies are wearing tailor made Sharwas |
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| Brooke, Nico, Mel & Teresa |
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| Daniel & Louise |
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| Jason & Jordan |
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| Mark makes a wish as he cuts into his cake |
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| Matching! Jordan and Dave failed to discuss their outfits before leaving the hotel |
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| Dogs - sleep through the day and come alive at night! |
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| Flower seller on the platform of Darjeeling Railway Station |
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| Lorri and her hiking guides |
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| St Andrews Church |
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| Temple in the mist |
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| Views of the Himalayas from Darjeeling |
Gangtok, Sikkim
We needed to apply for permits in order to
visit the state of Sikkim. Promising not
to cross any border into Nepal, China or Bhutan we are allowed in with a stamp
in our passport. Meeting back up with Calypso saw crew busy
for an afternoon, preparing the truck for her new journey back to Kathmandu. More hiking opportunities, a zoo, more
shopping, tailor made Salwar, box hunting for shipping stuff home, and jeep
rides out to Namchi to see 45m high budda statues kept the rest of the group
busy!
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| Gangtok |
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| Marching Monks |
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| Gangtok stadium aerobics |
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| Dave & the wolves |
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| Jason getting up close to leopards at the Gangtok Zoo |
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| Gangtok town |
Murshidabad
A place obviously not visited by many
western tourists our arrival in town caused a ripple of excitement through this
small rural village. A tuk-tuk tour of
the surrounding temples and the Hazaduari Palace on India’s Independence day meant
the group were treated like celebrities wherever they went, stopping for photos
and being mobbed by crowds of enthusiastic people.
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| Group meal in Malda |
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| Tuk tuk tour |
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| Calypso and an Independence Day parade, Murshidabad |
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| Jason, Jordan, Lorri, Wayne, Keith & Cal |
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| Jordan on a tuk tuk |
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| Footi mosque |
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| Gate to the gardens |
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| Katra Masjid |
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| Looks like a good ladder... |
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| Luke and Mark get to grips with an old colonial cannon |
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| Naispur Palace |
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| Spot the westerners! |
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| Nico, Jordan, Luke & Jason |
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| Mel is invited into a local family's house in Murshidabad |
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| Wasef Manzil |
Kolkata
Our final Indian destination, and for the
groups last day in the truck the Indian roads and traffic ensured it was a long
one. Arriving in the city for the Shiva
festival was a cacophony of sounds and sights as we witness trucks overloading
with dancing people, and pilgrims marching to shrines, bare foot with water
from the Ganges, it was a real party atmosphere.
We say our fond farewells to Calypso, Nico
and Brooke as they turn around and head back to Nepal to begin another Odyssey
adventure!
A tour of the city took people to Victoria
Memorial, a Jain Temple locally known as the temple of mirrors, Mother Teresa’s
house, and the artisan factory producing straw and clay figures for the next
biggest festival, Diwali.
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| Cal & Lorri enjoying the ride through festival, Kolkata |
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| Daniel outside the Victoria Memorial |
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| Victoria Memorial |
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| Jain Temple |
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| Jain Temple |
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| Panorama of Jain Temple |
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| Inside the Jain Temple |
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| Lou, Mel & Tina taking a rest from the heat |
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| The artist creating his masterpiece |
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| Shrine in progress |
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| More shrine making |
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| Interesting buildings in Kolkata |
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| Kolkata street scene |
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| Law Courts, Kolkata |
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| Mother Teresa's tomb |
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| Steve with goat/sheep/pig |
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| Tina & Teresa with their Mehendi artist |
India has been such a colourful and
fascinating country to drive through, here are pictures of the great things you
can witness yourself, it has to be seen to be believed!
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| Crowds gather to watch us prepare breakfast |
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| Leaving the crowds behind |
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| Shrine on its way to Kolkata |
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| No, it's not a wardrobe with legs but the chosen method of transporting large items through congested towns |
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| Houses under the bridge in Siliguri |
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| School bus |
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| Kids making the long journey to school |
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| Livestock market |
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| Lots of fruit and veg to be found along the road |
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| Broken bridge still being used by locals |
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| Another parade, the women are resplendent in their saris |
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| The bemused, quizzical stares we almost got used to! |
Thank you to all who contributed photos for
this edition of the blog, you captured some truly wonderful moments of India.
From India we fly to Bangkok and start the
next leg of our Odyssey Adventure using a variety of different modes of
transport!
