One Journey After Another

18 May 08 (Day3 ) - Goodbye Sheraton MughalToday we're going back to Delhi coz we had a flight to catch to Bagdogra. That will be our real journey begin. Delhi and Agra were just a stopover kinda like entree. Today we had breakfast exclusive for the suite room stay. The breakfast was really nice. After breakfast we continue sleeping until 1pm. We check out at 2pm before taking a long bus journey back to Delhi. We arrived Delhi 7.30pm and there's no point staying at a 5 star hotel just for a few hours sleep. So we decided to stay at the Incredible Home Stay in Karol Bagh area. The room was clean and comfortable for its range. After dinner we went back to sleep coz we need to wake up at 6am tomorrow to go the airport.

19 May 08 (Day 4) - Cyclone In Darjeeling
We arrived at Delhi domestic airport around 7.30am and it was so full of people. The airport kinda like 'reban ayam' with no designated gate for boarding. Even the announcement was not that clear. We flew by Air Deccan kinda like Airasia copycat in India. The flight was delay for about an hour coz of heavy traffic and than another hour in the air coz we can't land in Bagdogra due to heavy rain. In the end the two hours flight became three and a half hours. The funny part is, this is the only airline we seen people don't really follow the rule. They simply walk around even when we're about to land.When we landed our driver (Palden) was waiting for us outside the airport. I already prearrange a car and a driver for our 7 days journey in Darjeeling and Sikkim coz I know India public transport is not so reliable. We're so happy coz our driver was very friendly and knowledgeable about the area (i attach our picture together Me, Palden & Neo). The rain just stop and our driver told us that cyclone just landed in Bagdogra and Darjeeling coz along the way we can see a lot of trees fell down on the street. Darjeeling is about 3-4 hours away from Bagdogra (500m) and it's situated at 2100m above sea level. So, there was a very winding and narrow road up the hill. Actually, there are three roads leading to Darjeeling but two of the road was closed due to the cyclone. The driving was really nice coz we drove along the mountain and it's very scenic. Along the way, we stop for some pictures and lunch at Kurseong (KOR-SIANG). The food was not bad maybe coz we're so hungry already. The temperature here was great coz it's cool and windy. I don't remember what time we arrived in Darjeeling but we check in at Viceroy Hotel (one of the good hotel in Darjeeling.... katanya...). the hotel was good BUT the service kinda way below average (not recommended) and we'll be staying here for two nights. After check in, we hit straight to the town on our own coz it's very near to the hotel (we let our driver rest and meet us again tomorrow).
Surprisingly people in Darjelling don't look like Indian at all and they're polite and friendly even though we're still in India territorially. It's really chilly up here as well. After some pictures we went back to the hotel for dinner and then again we hit the town. This time we went shopping coz a lot of nice things they sell here. I felt like wanna buy a lot of things but I don't think we have enough rooms in our bags. People here are not pushy at all (unlike in Delhi & Agra) and it's really convenient for us to browse through before deciding what to buy. We really like this place and can't wait to explore on this mountainous Himalayan region. For now, it's time to sleep.Some History - Darjeeling is made to be a hill station during British time. It was part of Sikkim before British kinda loaned it and eventually it became part of West Benggal state. The people here mostly from Nepali descendant (they called themself Gorkha) and some are Tibetan. Here where the famous 'Darjeeling Tea' grows and the tea is really nice. I can drink the tea all day long. Obviously the main industry here is tea plantation and the 1st flush of a good quality Darjeeling tea doesn't come cheap either. Population in Darjeeling growing at a faster rate and the man made lake that the British built for water supply (good for 10,000 people) is no longer sufficient to cater their population. So, most of people living in town have to buy water supply from a tanker that looks like an oil tanker. During their last election (7 months ago), the separatist party had won and they demanded to be separated from West Benggal and form a Gorkaland state coz West Benggal is too big to care for them in term of road condition, other infrastructures and all. I hope and I think they'll get an independent state soon coz they're not even Benggali. Darjeeling also have the famous 'Toy Train' which is one of World Heritage Structure. I'll tell you more about the toy train on my next post coz we're going to have a ride on it tomorrow.
Note: All the fact I got it from the locals and our driver. I guess it should be more accurate rather than sometime misleading book.

Disclaimer: Since I got a few feedback from you guys about my previous post that smell racism. So, I just wanna stress out here that there's nothing to do with racism. It's just what I experienced and encountered first hand. That was just truly how I felt for the whole thing.