This Is Momo

Darjeeling! After the Andamans, we flew to Kolkata, then boarded a night train (niiiiiiight traaaaain!) to the wonderful (not) city of Siliguri, in West Bengal. Darjeeling has no major train station, so to get there, you have to first go to Siliguri, then board a life-threatening jeep for a four-hour ride from hell. Hamish had to ask the driver to stop the car because he thought he'd be sick. You used to be able to get a toy train all the way up, but a landslide knocked out part of the track and it hasn't been repaired yet.

Hello Darjeeling! 2110m/6922ft

We were surprised by how large and built up Darjeeling is; buildings cling to the steep hillside. The town is staggered, so you get great views, but there's a lot of intense hill walking involved. It was cloudy and chilly, and we were unprepared for the temperature drop! We ducked into a tea shop almost immediately and sampled 10 different Darjeeling teas, black and green and white.

Gorkhaland

Darjeeling is home to the Gorkhaland movement, and we saw a lot of signs supporting it. The movement has been around for over 100 years, and calls for a separate state, Gorkhaland, because many of the people in the area speak Nepalese and identify as Indian Gorkhas. It's a politically unstable place; the Naxalite movement also has roots here. We both just read Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowland, which is more about Kolkata, but provides a fascinating look into the Naxalite movement in the 1960s. We saw the hammer and sickle Naxalite symbol a fair amount, too.

Despite "Keep Darjeeling Green" signs, there was a fair amount of this.

We were keen to go on a trek, despite the cloudy weather, and several people told us that the climate would be different (...less cloudy) higher up. So we signed on to do the five-day Singalila Ridge Trek, along the border of Nepal and India in Singalila National Park. You have to go in with a guide, and he arranges for trekking huts/food along the way. Our guide was named DB and he was hilarious and kind. He'd been doing this for 25 years--we asked him how many times he'd done this trek, and he had no idea--too many to count.

Our trek was along the India and Nepal border; left Hamish is Nepal, right Hamish is in India!

If you're interested, here's where we went:
Day 1: Maneybhanjyang --> Tumling (12km)
Day 2: Tumling --> Sandakphu (18km)
Day 3: Sandakphu --> Phalut (22km)
Day 4: Phalut --> Srikola (32km)
Day 5: Srikola --> Rimbik (6km) (jeep back to Darjeeling)

This was day 1 and 2. Clouds clouds clouds.

You can see Hamish and DB up ahead. We passed many Buddhist monasteries and tiny temples along the way, as well as huge weathered Tibetan prayer flags.

DB and Raccoon.

Hamish in Sandakphu, during a brief moment of clarity.

Baby yak! Yak attack!

A few km into day 3, from Sandakphu to Phalut.

Disaster struck when we reached Phalut, when we both came down with terrible altitude sickness. Piercing headaches, dizzyness, nausea, achey joints--it was tough times. We conveyed to the people who ran the hut (DB was several kilometers away, collecting yak butter from the "yak place" at this point) that we were feeling bad, and asked about the possibility of descending. Unfortunately it was blowing a gale, raining, and the road was impassable by jeeps. It was a four-hour walk to a jeep road. They kindly gave us hot garlic water as an antidote, and later DB brought us a "rare plant" to smell. He was very insistent that we only smell it, not eat it. It helped!

Hamish Jackson: The Face of Altitude Sickness. They say that the "healthiest and fittest people" get hit by altitude sickness the worst. We clung on to this "fact."

By morning, we were feeling a little better, but it was a tough 16km to our lunch hut (still no jeep road), where the lady kindly let us have a nap. We dreamed about getting helicoptered away! Luckily the nap, some ramen and multiple cups of tea restored us enough to finish the remaining 16km to Srikola.

Phalut! It was clear in the morning, amazing!

Day 4, in a jungley part of the trek.

DB, our brave and noble guide.

Black bear.

A chicken basket.

One of DB's "friends" (he was very friendly with the ladies of the tea huts).

It's dinnertime for goats.

MOMOS!! Classic, delicious Tibetan dumplings, served with spicy red sauce. DB treated us to about 40 momos (at 8am) on the jeep ride back to Darjeeling. DB said: "This is momo." We all thought this hilarious and laughed much.

Would you eat something called a "birizza"? We didn't.

Back in Darjeeling for a day-- Lauren's birthday! For breakfast we had pizza, scrambled eggs, chocolate cake, a donut and a pot of Darjeeling tea, at Glenary's Cafe, a Darjeeling institution. It was wonderful. Then we visited the Happy Valley Tea Estate, which is Darjeeling's oldest and also walkable from the main part of town.

Happy Valley Tea Estate

We took a tour and saw how they process tea. It takes only 22 hours from picking to storage: after tea is picked, they wilt the leaves, several inches thick, in large open beds. They have a special machine that rolls the tea leaves. Finally, it's dried until only 2-3% of the moisture is left in the leaves. It's put in a big container and stored to mature for three months. Then it's ready to sell.

Happy Valley Tea Estate

Happy Valley exports almost all of their tea, with a big contract from Harrod's. Most of the Darjeeling tea we sampled wasn't the Darjeeling we're used to (which is lighter, softer and more fragrant)--the Indian market seems to want darker tea, to use with milk and sugar. But we loved Happy Valley's tea.

Tea leaves, ready for processing.

Another night train (niiiiiiight traaaain!!!) to Kolkata, third class AC, very good. Our compartment-mates were quiet and went to bed early, which was appreciated. A few compartments down a family of 12 was having a feast until 1am.

Victoria Memorial in Kolkata. This man insisted on a photo, but Hamish wasn't totally feeling it. It was disgustingly hot outside.

Terrifying trash can at the Victoria Memorial.

Hey Krishna

We went to a crazy bazaar in Kolkata, where each street has its own specialty, from bangles to metal piping to party decorations (the best one). Anything you could possibly want was there.

Some friendly bangle-sellers.

"Sony Fancy Mirror"-- you can get these at the market.

That night we retreated to a mall, to further celebrate Lauren's birthday (since her actual birthday was cut in half due to jeep ride/niiiiight traaaaaiiiiin). They had a Coffee Bean, which was bizarre to see. We went to a delicious Italian restaurant and ordered a TOWER of BEER, had two thin-crust pizzas and pumpkin ravioli, then saw two back-to-back films in the (air-conditioned!) movie theater. It was great.

TOWER O' BEER

And now, of course, the cookie review. This time Raccoon tried a cookie called "Nice Time." The packet advertizes 0 trans fat on these "sugar-showered coconut biscuits."

"More sugar-drizzled than showered, but they're damned tasty. The perfect accompaniment to a cup of Darjeeling. Truly a NICE TIME."

Taste: 10/10 ("coconutty goodness")
Crunch factor: 9/10
Size: 7/10
Dip factor: 9/10

Modi on top

ALSO, India elected a new Prime Minister last week! This was the biggest democratic election in history, with a 66% turnout. Modi smashed it. Everyone we've talked to is really excited to have new leadership--the Congress party has been in power pretty much since the British left, and it's basically controlled by one family, the Gandhis. Someone we met described Modi as "incorruptible," and we hope that's true. Apparently none of his family members have benefited even a rupee from his work in politics, which is a stark contrast to most politicians here. Congratulations, India!

Too Much Zazen

Hi! It's been awhile, so apologies for how long this one is. 

We spent nearly a week at Bodhi Zendo, a Zen Buddhist center in Perumalmalai, near Kodaikanal, in Tamil Nadu. 

View from Bodhi Zendo

Like the ashram, the center had a schedule, but it wasn't quite so rigorous. Here's what a typical day looked like:

5:30am: gong sounds; get ready for morning meditation
6-7am: meditation ("zazen"; in the morning session, there was a possibility to meet with the master, "Dokusan") ((we did this a couple times-- you go down to a room, and a guy with a long white beard and glasses, wearing all orange, rings you in with a little bell; you have about a minute with him to ask him any meditation-related questions you have)) (((Lauren mistakenly started making small talk with him when she went in, asking him where he was from; this was not the done thing)))
7am: breakfast (which was good, and always involved their homemade bread, and often, eggs)
8-9:30am: "samu" (helping out around the place; Lauren swept up leaves in the courtyard, which indulged some of her obsessive tendencies, while Hamish had the lucky task of cleaning the bathrooms... and raking the Zen garden) ((large sand pit with rocks))
10am: tea break (yes)
12-12:30pm: more zazen
12:30pm: lunch
4pm: a second tea break! with BISCUITS!
5:30-7pm: mooore zazen, along with "silent meditative walking around the courtyard" (that part was really hard, and we got told off a few times)
7pm: dinner (usually silent)
8-8:30pm: moooooore zazen (...too much zazen, at this point?)

Central courtyard, Bodhi Zendo

We're not experienced at meditation, so we sometimes struggled with the zazen, particularly by the evening session. The set-up was interesting; the meditation room had large windows overlooking the beautiful hilly view, and nice wood floors, and tons of cushions lining the walls. You could sit in a chair or on a cushion; most people sat on cushions. Etiquette was very important, and there was a certain order that you were supposed to do things with regards to entering/exiting, chanting, bowing, etc. We just tried to follow what everyone else was doing. 

It was also difficult to concentrate at times what with the frequent coughing fits and old women falling off chairs (do you help? you're not supposed to move).

Nice fuzzy purple flowers that were everywhere in Perumalmalai

We went on a walk to Perumalmalai Peak; here's a view from that day

Bougainvillea at Bodhi Zendo; the place was full of them, purple and yellow and pink and white ones

Buddha, Bodhi Zendo

Including the meals, tea breaks, meditation, and a really nice, clean room (with hot water), it was 400 rupees each a night. You should go!

From there, we went to Karuna Farm, which was 45 minutes away by jeep. It's a farm set on the side of a steep, green hill, run by a bearded mystical-looking guy named Nevil. There's no cell service or internet, so the people who live on the farm permanently (maybe 10 or so) have to communicate by walkie-talkie, which took us back to the mid-90s. Lots of long-haired kids running around. There's a vegetable garden with an epic view of the mountains, and a huge rock called "Rock" on the edge of a cliff, where you can sit and take in the view. We came with our friend Elena, and since everything else was full, we stumbled into the best accommodation they have-- basically a chalet with a balcony on the edge of the cliff. There was a kitchen and a bathtub!

Morning glories were blooming in Kodaikanal/Karuna Farm, and it made everything magical

Eucalyptus forest nearby

Sunrise at Karuna Farm

We also experimented with henna, which luckily didn't end too disastrously.

Do you like her hat and vest? They are plastic bags.

Our lovely friend and travel companion Elena expertly applied the henna

Porridge with mango, cashews and peanuts.

Earthship

At the heart of Karuna Farm is an amazing structure: an Earthship that took Alex Leeor and many volunteers 7 years to build. We had never heard of this building method before, but are now totally convinced. The basic idea is to take old used tyres and compress soil into them-lots and lots of soil, so that afterwards your tyre weighs 200 lbs. Then you stack them up like bricks to make walls. The amazing thing is that you are using a waste product-in Europe and America you can get paid to take away tyres. In India you still have to pay for them, but not much-about 50p to a £1. And the best part is that you can stuff them with any soil whatsoever, so its a viable building method anywhere in the world. To finish the walls you use a mixture more like cob; mud, water and some fibres as plaster.

Alex's Earthship is a step up from the standard though, with a roof that lifts up to allow ventilation and two huge beds for plants to grow in, which are watered automatically via the brown water from the sink and shower. All their power comes from solar energy which saves money and avoids the daily power cuts that are rife inmost of India.

 It is surprisingly big inside.

Earthship interior... note the three cats

Earthship wall-- each bump is a tyre!

Bottles in the wall

Our chalet on the right

From Karuna Farm, we spent a couple days in Pondicherry, a former French colony of the southeastern coast, in Tamil Nadu. We enjoyed walking down the beach, eating French-Indian fusion food and wandering through pleasant, clean parks.

Election time in Pondicherry

Nice old door, remnant from the French

Pondicherry actually was really clean, possibly the cleanest city we've been to in India yet! Keep up the good work, Pondicherry!

Then Lauren became a security guard

Balloons on the beach in Pondicherry

We've seen a lot of signs about respecting women, which is good... but calling harassment "eveteasing" only makes light of the problem

Seeing double

THEN we spent a few days in Auroville, which is an "international community" and "experimental township" 12km from Pondicherry. It was founded in the late 60s by Mirra Alfassa, known in Auroville as the "Mother." An Albanian woman who lived for much of her life in India, she was a spiritual comrade of Sri Aurobindo, a guru who founded his own ashram and is a pretty big deal in India. About 2,300 people live there now, from over 50 countries; slightly less than half of them are Indian.

"Matrimandir"

The "Matrimandir" is a giant gold golf ball in the center of Auroville. It's incredibly bureaucratic to get inside (to ward off people who aren't "serious" about it). We were only able to secure a pass to get as far as the above photo. We tried to sneak between those bushes on the bottom right and casually walk down that path-- until we were shouted at by an attendant that we "had no senses!" It was a shame, because the inside is apparently amazing; white-walled and white-carpeted, with rays of sunlight and water and features and different rainbow areas where you can meditate. There's also the world's largest crystal inside.

Auroville is comprised of dozens of different communities, in which multiple families live, with names like "Sincerity" and "Solitude." We stayed in "Aspiration" community (namely because it was the first one we stumbled across); it was the first community in Auroville, and some of the members had been there on and off for decades.

Our hut at Aspiration; these are the original huts, from the late 1960s. They were trying to gather up the funds to renovate them.

The community served three big meals a day, and we were able to join them as part of our time there. They had eight huts, and the income they raise from guests contributes substantially to their running expenses.

The Mother herself, in calendar form; we saw her all over Auroville, along with Sri Aurobindo-- most comically on motorcycle bumper stickers

We rented a Hero Honda and zoomed around town, exploring. Hamish visited multiple potters, and we indulged at the Auroville Bakery, where they had pan au chocolat, spinach pie, quiche, chocolate tarts, proper French bread... etc. It was pretty great. They also brew rose & lemongrass kombucha, which was about 50 cents a bottle and truly delicious.

Hamish also got an Aurovillian haircut.

The best haircut/shave experience of Hamish's life, which involved watching cricket and paying a mere 80 rupees. Peterson hit a 6 and a 4 to win the game... happy times

Then we flew to Port Blair in the Andaman Islands, then took a ferry to Havelock Island, where we spent 10 days. Lauren did the open water diving course and Hamish did the advanced course, at a dive outfit called DiveIndia. The water was really clear, turquoise near the beach, and warm like a bath. On the first day, we couldn't believe it-- it was almost too hot. 

The diving was fantastic; we saw parrotfish, clownfish, eels, lionfish, sea snakes, stingrays, triggerfish, barracuda, snapper, pufferfish and tons of alien-like coral. Hamish also caught a glimpse of a whitetip shark! We met some great people, read a lot and ate luxuriously at the Full Moon Cafe... highlights include the crispy tuna wrap, pineapple and ginger juice and bamboo steamed fish.

Clear, warm water

Dead jellyfish--there were tons of them, both dead and alive. We got burned a few times while diving; coming up from one dive, there were thousands of them in the watered and Hamish got one plastered to his face... not a consensual experience. The effects lasted long into the afternoon.

Traveler's tip: one day Hamish ate a coconut that he found on the ground, and then got REALLY SICK. Don't eat coconuts that you find on the ground.

Festive restaurant decor

Lunch

Mangrove roots on the beach; Havelock was full of mangroves (and thus... crocodiles)

Low tide; the tide rose and fell dramatically ever day, supposedly on a 6-hour schedule, though it often felt random.

Beach 3 (Havelock beaches were creatively numbered 1-7)

Buffy, Frodo and Sam, who live at DiveIndia and are the happiest dogs on the island (especially since the rest of the dogs are strays)

And finally... Raccoon's review. This time, he sampled "Nutri Balls" from EcoNut, in Kodaikanal. EcoNut has a bit of a cult following-- we saw their distinctive pots littered around both Bodhi Zendo and Karuna Farm. Raccoon had to get in on the action.

"I don't know what they put in these balls, but they taste worse than kangaroo balls!"

Taste: 2/10 ("sickly sweet; chalk and spirulina")
Crunch Factor: 0/10 ("none to speak of-- they dissolve sadly in the mouth")
Size: 10/10 ("after you've taken one bite, you wish they weren't so big")

Until next time!