Intro - I didn't want to come to India, |
- but as ever events caught up with me. I was in Nepal, but it has problems with load shedding etc.
And the visa situation was not convenient it costs $2/day and I have to go to the office in Kathmandu to extend it, whereas the Indian visa costs $40 and is valid or 6 months. I thought about flying to another country, but decided I take the opportunity to visit India since I was close by. - I had been to India in 1993 so I decided rather than head south I would start off in the NE corner as it's convenient from Nepal. - So I took 19 hours of buses and crossed Nepals Eastern border at Kakarbitta on the last day of my visa.
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Sat - Arrive in India|
- Border was no hassle .. Easily got bus to Siliguri ..very cheap
- 4pm Arrive in Siliguri City. Wow India feels much more prosperous than Nepal .. Still dirty though ... More hassle from desperate rickshaw drivers, people still inconsiderate hogging bus seats etc. ..
- Found the hotel very easily ..cheap .. Low altitude so no jacket needed.
- It's a long weekend so all tourist info and Sikkim permit office closed for 3 days.
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Phone not working again
more worries
- Bastards after the 16 hour bus journey I switched on my phone and the screen was blank .. Battery maybe . There was no electricity until at 4pm I reached the hotel in India, but no screen again, after 5hrs charging still no, but I noticed after switching on/off 10 times the pattern would vary sometimes the welcome screen almost appearing. Seems like a humidity problem so I put it in a box if moisture absorbing cornflakes overnight .. No in the morning still broken
.. Took the battery out & cleaned the contacts ..I put it back after 20 minutes and wow everything was back to normal
... Except the backup battery warning it is 0% .... It must be disconnected or missing after the repair.
...No it's back now it must have been a humidity problem also.
| Sun - Hanging around in Siliguri | - to recover from the journey & get washing done etc.
- Since it was Sunday most internet places were closed. India has changed; in a whole city of small shops there was a shopping mall , with Indian "Wallmart"
- a local recommended Kalimpong over Darjeeling, better for Republic day etc.
| The most Famous Nepali lived outside Nepal|
- I see the man who climbed Everest with Edmund Hillary the most famous modern "Nepali" Sherpa Tenzing Norgay left Nepal at 18 years old and lived all his life in Darjeeling !
- The area is most ethnic Nepali, but they were brought by the British for tea plantation work.
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