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Well, I spent about an hour writing a blog before realising all I had achieved was a complaints letter to IndiaRail. So to make this a little more palatable here's the gist of my problems! A train that was 15 hours late, a journey 4 hours over the estimated time, a virtually unused yet paid for hotel reservation (one of the most expensive so far), arrival at the wrong hotel due to both both having exactly the same name, and very little sleep! That just about summarises a disaster of a journey from Varanasi to Siliguri.
After using my room for little longer than 2 hours I was collected from Siliguri by Pawan, a guy I have been speaking to for sometime about volunteer work. He was different than I had imagined, scatty and full of energy! We drove up into the Himalayas for my first taste of my new remote surroundings. The views are astounding. Pawan speaks incredibly fast so it was a little difficult to communicate but it's to be expected.
I was welcomed into a family home with whom I would be staying with for anything up to 8 weeks! Father, mother, 3 daughters and an adopted son, Bikkey! A real shy and introvert character, wary of eye contact and perhaps lacking in confidence. I settled into my room and it was about then that the isolation kicked in! It was a good 12-20 minute walk on a mountainside to the nearest shops, there is no rickshaws, the nearest large town is 2-3 hours away. I don't think I'v really thought this through!
I tried using the internet, I was warned of only 2G but I hadn't considered what this would entail! 20 minutes to send an email, 30 minutes to access Facebook, impossible to write a blog! The next day I was teaching a small class of kids at an after school club, which I planned to do for the entirety of my time here, as somebody who has never taught before and without access to lesson plan ideas on the internet I became extremely frustrated and went to bed wondering how I can last here!
The meals are 3 times a day cooked by the girls of the family, mainly consisting of vegetables, rice, pasta or noodles and sometimes chicken. Accompanied by a bowl of soup and prawn crackers and other little accompanying dishes. In this heat it is difficult to eat more than a small bowl of pasta so lots is going to waste, much to their bemusement. A dodgy stomach is also not helping the appetite. Say no more!
I set about getting to know Bikkey, he accompanied me on a trip to the local shops. I figured with lack of resources I should get some A2 paper so we could do 'arty things' for the evening class. I wore my flip flops, first mistake! It was a steep descent down a pathway made of large round stones and boulders. Bikkey bounded down like the spring chicken he is, myself struggling to keep up with his twinkle toes!
We approached a shop, I tried to buy the shy reclusive Bikkey a drink or some sweets but he declined. He directed me to a stationary shop to purchase the necessaries and we returned back to the house, and what a flippin climb! Several times I asked Bikkey if he was tired, desperately hoping he would say yes so we could have a sit down! He shook his head politely. The house was in sight and upon reaching virtual collapse I dragged myself up the final few steps. The daughters sat in the porch-way laughing at my state and one of then explained, "Bikkey take you steep way, easy way that way" - cheers you little $**T!!!!!
The evening class approached so I gathered my things together and went to the classroom which is a garage like structure in the property grounds. Everywhere you look are panoramic views, with fluffy clouds hugging the mountainsides such is the altitude. I took a small spongy ball up with me I had purchased from the shop and threw it off Bikkeys head as he sat awaiting the other students. He laughed and we started playing cricket with a broom handle until the others arrived! All very shy but pleasant they came and took their seats, 8 girls and 2 boys including Bikkey. The other boy Rahul, I could tell was a little live wire and instantly brought Bikkey out of himself as they navigated their way around the paints I had put out for them to use! I could see he felt more confident around his friends immediately!
I helped them paint their houses they had drawn, mixing the colours and showing them how best to hold the brushes. It will be very difficult to cater to such a broad age range of 4-12 years.
It wasn't until after the lesson that I really got a sense of each individual character. They showed me a game similar to jax, played with stones, I wowed them with my dazzling juggling skills and they let their guard down to this strange foreign man. They asked me to join in some games with them and before I knew it I was holding hands running round in a circle, then doing the 'okie kokie' followed by a short stint in the middle shaking my hips as they sang and giggled at me! Like an embarrassing drunk uncle at a wedding disco!
We finished with a tag like game throwing the ball at each other before they wandered off down the mountain before nightfall. "Goodbye, thank you" they shouted! It was a good feeling, and although the 'teaching' was questionable we had a good time and it broke the ice.
I still doubt how much help I can be to them, in particular the older few, but they seem to enjoy the novelty of a strange foreign man so time will tell!
I feel at this point I should mention Derek's cousins. 3 lizards I have in my room, considerate little fellas residing only in the upper third of the walls, eating all the flies and mozzies that dare enter! Noisy b*****s these are, they make a weird clacking noise which I try and replicate. I'm determined to talk 'gecko'. I'm pretty sure I have it down to a T but they just ignore me! True story.
The next day was market day, pretty much everything is put on hold, schools off and everybody congregates in the town centre to trade the same old s*** you see on every market. I don't really know why I agreed to go to be honest. I wanted a watch, I thought maybe I could find a knockoff Casio, but no such luck. Loads of rice and vegetables though!
One of the daughters has a small stall selling clothes and behind it is a small eye test centre. Not so much a centre, just a curtain pulled around a 6 x 4 foot area where Pawan offers cheap eye tests once a month. Pawan himself spends 4-5 days a week in Kalimpong with his wife and child.
A man and woman came and asked to see the doctor. When told he was not here they pointed at me and insisted I was the doctor! I considered prodding the squinting woman's eye, squirting a bit of water in and charging her 1000 rupees! I resisted!
Upon returning to the house I knew the next meal was approaching, I'v an incredibly volatile stomach, zero appetite, and they are struggling to understand why this big English man is leaving 75% of his food every meal! I'm desperately trying not to offend them by saying "something in the food is making me s*** every 5 minutes, I haven't s*** a solid for over a week and I feel incredibly sick" but they keep on loading the many plates! I manage to get across that I want just a small bowl of pasta. Which itself was still huge, but I managed. I think we have contrasting cultures, they want to provide more than ample food and ours it so not leave any food before leaving the table!
I'm still struggling massively with the isolation, I like to sit and plan adventures, activities, book trains and look in to things I can do. I can do none of the above and it's becoming an issue! I have to eat when I'm given food, and what ever food I'm given, I have no option of going elsewhere, there are no restaurants, or none I would want to venture in!
I sit down, work through my finances and consider a new plan. I'm not sure where yet but I think I will leave here after only two weeks. Whilst the children and charity work is rewarding and fun as expected the isolation and intense situation of living with a family is overbearing. I am apprehensive about telling Pawan and the family, but I feel my time will be better spent elsewhere. I miss exploring new places already, I feel there is so much more of India I can see. It's a real shame because this place is undeniably beautiful but my mind is made up.
Continued...
I am awoken at 8am again for tea and biscuits which I will inevitably see again far too soon after swallowing! I think my digestive system has completely given up now. I still have that same feeling of isolation and lack of freedom brought about by being part of another families home, time to do something about it.
I spent about 4 hours with a dubious internet connection trawling through the possibilities, looking at trains, flights, and a variety of destinations. I decide the best thing to do will be to head south towards Goa which was my intended location about October. I priced up all the trains and the time it would take, upwards of 65 hours presuming there are no delays.
I received an email from my dad suggesting the costlier option of a flight. If my dad is suggesting more lavish spending then it has to be worth considering. He would go on a 15 mile bus ride to save £1.50 on a multipack of quavers! Haha!
So it's sorted, I have a train to Kolkata and a flight to Goa. I leave in a week! I feel bad for not being more persistent, it would be great to spend more time with the kids, challenge myself more. But it just doesn't feel right, always go with your gut - and my guts certainly saying something's not quite right!
The power cut out (again) just as I was about to email Pawan so I had to walk the scenic yet tiresome trek to the Internet cafe. I tried to explain how the isolation and intense situation of living with his family was too much without being offensive! He struggled to understand my points but I will see him before il leave to fully explain, not that I have to justify myself!
I think many people would tolerate it and seek out the positives to outweigh the negatives but I'm not somebody to sugarcoat my feelings as many people know, if I'm not happy you will know about it! Perhaps the mystique of roaming around India from city to city without restraint has spoilt me and these new confinements are a challenge I should seek to overcome, I just don't have the inclination.
On a more positive note I have spent quite some time with Bikkey, improving his maths somewhat and getting to know the little guy. He told me about his birthday on the 7th October. We played naughts and crosses and other simple games! I took another lesson with all the kids using some test papers printed out at the Internet cafe. It went well and they are all so eager to impress. Cheeky chappy Rahul kept me on my toes and we were soon playing games in the courtyard area. I took time to take some photos of everybody playing framed by the impressive Himalaya backdrop. One girl, Shisti, is the sweetest girl I have ever known! She is the epitome of cute, only 4 years old and grins from ear to ear, absolutely adorable!
I intend on making the most of the remaining week I have here, I would be daft not to.
Continued....
Once again awoken at 8am by the well meaning grandfather. A persistent knocking for tea and breakfast which my stomach certainly doesn't need. I groaned "yes, ok", rolled over and settled back into my slumber. Rude? Probably. Bothered? Not really.
I spent what felt like the entire day cleaning my mound of dirty clothes. What an absolute hassle it is to hand wash clothes in a bucket of soapy suds and by the end of it most the stuff is still dirty. Never again, somebody is being paid to do it!
I tried to eat a few things today and I haven't felt too bad for it, maybe my stomach is on the turn for the better. I chatted to a few friends back in England including my best mate Planty who gets his first house soon. It will be great to go back and see him and Dom all grown up, and by that what I mean is it will be great to have a place to crash when hammered in Brierley Hill and struggling to find my way back to Kingswinford.
On the evening I sat on the computer with Bikkey showing him some educational games on Encarta, matching animals with their names, a few simple sum games and matching flags to countries. There were visitors this evening, two youngish guys, maybe 16, I guess they were family members or friends. One came to watch us playing and helped Bikkey a little. He disappeared off down the hallway, towards my room and I just had a gut feeling to make sure he didn't take a detour for a nosy in my things!
I pulled back the curtain door cover and there he was the cheeky little f***nut, stood there with my wallet in his hand! The red mist came rather quick and I envisioned myself slinging him through the first floor window. The me of old would have kicked the chap all the way down the mountain but I calmly checked my wallet and took a seat.
He fumbled and tried to make conversation about how I was and where I had been, telling me how nice my sunglasses were. I was completely disinterested and could see the panic in his eyes. I think perhaps curiosity had got the better of him rather than a malicious act. I cut his waffling short, "these are my things, if anything is missing I will break your neck, now I suggest you get the f*** out". He sheepishly backed away and said "sorry about this thing" probably quivering at the thought of me going downstairs and telling everybody what I caught him doing. I won't, I can't really be bothered but it just about puts the icing on the cake and reaffirms my decision to move on. I consider leaving first thing in the morning but I have trains and flights booked for early next week so I may as well see it out. I'm also visiting Pawan in Kalimpong for the weekend which will be another small adventure, a bigger town still in the mountains hopefully a little easier on the tourist! A Domino's would be nice, or a Subway. Wishful thinking!
Continued...
6am the alarm starts going on my ipad and soon after a banging on the door signals it's time to get the shared Jeep to Kalimpong. Bleary eyed I follow Poonan down the cobbled mountainside for one last time! Barely able to see I swipe the sleep from my eyes and struggle to keep up, she hurries in front to confirm our seats as I saunter behind.
We hop into the converted long wheel base Jeep and I presume each of the three rows has 2 or 3 passengers. Of course I'm incorrect there's 4 on each! This is India! Now I'm not the most upbeat of people in the morning so you can imagine the huffing and puffing as I sandwiched myself in for the 3 hour journey! Especially pissed off that both other rows only had 3 people on, trust me, the biggest bloke on the bloody thing to be sat on the row of 4!
We started along the incredibly bumpy road, my head bouncing around like a nodding dog whacking off the curved steal roof. Poonan and the rest heard the conks and grimaced apologetically. I looked and laughed helplessly trying to shuffle myself into a position that didn't result in bruises! I considered going on the roof but the journey was long and it was rainy in parts. Sitting on the roof of a jeep or bus is on my 'to do list' in India, maybe I will try on my way back to the train station but it doesn't look the comfiest and I was imagining a 30 minute trip, not 3 hours!
We were held up by several landslides along the way, each eating into the narrowing road. They were being repaired by groups of peculiar middle aged men and women with nothing more than a few bags of sand and cement! Dangerous work I would imagine as they stood there on eroding cliff faces with their shovels, grinning at the white boy like a tinned sardine - Health and safety my arse! I shouldn't complain about the journey conditions really, it cost £1 and is something locals do without much fuss! And I arrived in one piece.
Upon arrival I was met by Pawan who drove myself and Poonan to his house. A small rented 4/5 room place set high up. Kalimpong is considerably higher, colder and visually more dramatic than Gorubathan. Much more like I had envisaged. You could look down at the clouds hundreds of metres below and across at the peaks of the opposite mountains. His daughter and adopted daughter were there to greet us, both extremely sweet and welcoming. I used his internet to clear up a few bits of travel issues I was having with my pending flight and check the usual social media crap - a few more couples having very public breakups, a few drunken weekend photos and a barrage of "I'm never drinking again" statuses.
We venture into town down the horrendously bumpy roads. Pawan shows me the main market place and we get a few snacks to take back to my room. I'm not staying with the family but in a Christian Hostel, full of young boys and girls, many if not all of them orphans. I was wary at first but I have my own room - it's set right up high on the top floor, is really clean, very private, pretty much perfect! Apparently the view is stunning and overlooks the whole of Kalimpong and the below valley but the misty clouds had rolled in by the time I arrived. As soon as I awake tomorrow I plan on looking out and taking some pics, fingers crossed for a clear day.
After settling into my room and having a brief nap I did the short walk to Pawan's house to meet his wife and have dinner. We sat down and talked, it was clear they were much more aware of western cultures and preferences than Pawan's parents. Kalimpong on the whole is a lot more westernised, not to the point the beauty is spoilt but enough so people are aware of the need for bottled water! I discussed my time in Gorubathan and they understood my issues. I think it comes down to I didn't feel I was doing anything I couldn't have been doing in the UK and being a whole lot more restricted! In the day I would sit and play solitaire and look at the view and in the evening teach a fun class of children, but I didn't need to go to India to do that.
Well away from the stronghold of Hindu traditions synonymous with India, firmly in Gurkha territory I was treated to my favourite and much missed beef, it's been over 6 weeks and that's 6 weeks too much! Accompanied by rice (of course) onions, potatoes, soup and bread! Far too much but very very tasty.
I like Kalimpong, it's a shame the volunteering work wasn't here and with more involvement from Pawan and his wife, they both have a good understanding of foreigners, probably through exposure and better education than the secluded Gorubathan has to offer.
I also stopped off at a Buddhist Monastery earlier in the day, not far from the Hostel. I wondered around and took pictures but the fog detracted somewhat from the colours and gold shrines. I'm not sure if Iv mentioned it before or to anybody in fact but Buddism is the only religion I have any interest in what so ever. The way they live their life, the beliefs and scriptures of how to treat others are admirable and the Dalai Lama is somebody I would love to meet. I don't believe in reincarnation but their is something to be learned from a culture of people who profess peace, tranquility, love and hope amongst all regardless of race creed or colour. There is a much larger temple across town Pawan told me about, I plan on visiting tomorrow and delving a little further into the mystique of Buddhism!
I awake nice and early, I can hear rumblings of laughter from the dormitories below as the children awake from their slumber. Although I snooze for a few hours, until about 8:30 when I am awoken once more by a huge chorus of hymns. I felt fresh and like I had a good nights sleep, the mattress here is 4 inches thick whereas in Gorubathan I was just sleeping in a an inch thin mat, and that is no exaggeration!
It was unfortunately very misty and visibility meant there was no view I had hoped for but I trundled down he cobbled path to Pawan's regardless. I spent the morning relaxing for a few hours, a cup of tea, checked emails then we headed off to the Buddhist temple across town. The clouds cleared slightly and we arrived to a chorus of prayers and chanting. With it's gold turrets and elaborate mural walls it was interesting to just wander around the outside, I didn't dare venture in but watched from the doorway for a short while. I took some pics along with Pawan and his family. I really appreciate his great hospitality whilst in Kalimpong, his family has been exceptionally accommodating and I feel like I want to buy them a gift but am flummoxed as to what!? Maybe an envelope with a little money to take the family out for a meal would be best.
On the afternoon I return to the Christian Hostel where I was met by a barrage of smiles from chirpy little kids all wanted to shake my hand, I duly obliged. One was playing a guitar, reasonably well I might add! I chatted to them all and answered their many questions before I showed them some games on the iPad. It never fails to intrigue kids, especially from deprived backgrounds and they were soon knocking on my door, "excuse me sir, may we have just one more try" - how could I say no.
The air had cleared and for the first time I had a full view from the balcony, it was stunning! Like a bowl shaped football stadium the hillside was a crammed with buildings of all shapes and sizes and in the distance mountains and more mountains. I made a paper aeroplane and challenged the kids. We all threw them off the rooftop at the same time. For the record I definitely won, although I let one of the little nippers take the glory! We played around taking photos and they posed in their usual silly poses, influenced heavily by western fads - like throwing gang signs and making the peace sign or simply just flicking the V's, Cute nevertheless!
After a brief nap I was awoken by squabbling in the street, it appeared two girls had had a fight and now there was about 30 people all having a heated debated as one girl pointed to a lump on her head! I wouldn't mind but I wasted at least 45 minutes waiting for set 2. It never came so I went to Pawan's for dinner! I simply can't leave without giving some kind of thanks. They are not a rich family and they have fed me like a king! For dinner was Popadoms, rice, dal, cucumber, homemade chips and a gloriously flavoursome chicken in a tomato chilli sauce. Hands down the best I have had in India. It even beats the lavishly expensive Chicken Masala I had in Agra. We talked and chatted about everything and nothing, about how the benefits system works in he UK, much to their astonishment. I explained how their is much tension hyped by the media between different cultures and migrants and how the system can easily be abused, he understood perfectly and acknowledged how s***e the government is. Amen to that my Christian friend!
I returned back to the hostel, by now it's raining heavily. I settle down and prepare to write this blog and I still hear quarrelling!? Surely not....yes they are still at it 3 hours later in the pouring rain, unbelievable. Finally 4 hours go by and they disperse the main antagonists into the house opposite my window. I consider throwing a brick through the window to see if I can get a mini riot going but I need some sleep.
The start of another lengthy journey tomorrow from one far corner of India to the other. Jeep, train, rickshaw and aeroplane totally around 36 hours, I'm excited but apprehensive also, each journey has a huge capacity to go wrong and have a knock on affect which could be expensive! Here's hoping to no landslides, no delays and a comfortable Jeep journey. I should be so lucky!
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