October 5- from the itinerary: Fly to Bagdogra /Glenburn Tea Estate (BL,D)
Depart at 6:15 am with a box breakfast and transfer to airport (7 min drive) for flight UK 725 depart 08.00 /
arrive Bagdogra 10 am. On arrival drive to Glenburn Tea Estate (3 hrs)- closer to 4.5
Pick up was actually at 5:45, I was down at 5:30 and he was pushing me a bit to leave earlier. The packed breakfast was a bit underwhelming. I ended up having a red velvet Krispy cream and a coffee.
After all my issues with airport security yesterday I was better prepared today. Yesterday I almost came to blows with the security gal who kept insisting I had more things to show them in my backpack. Today I separated all things that caused yesterday's issues and then they didn’t like my nail file. I have one more try to get this right:)
Only one French lady fell on me in the bus to the plane- thank goodness I had my hiking boots on so didn’t feel it. Interesting people traveling to Bagdogra included monks in red robes, women in saris, men in Muslim hats as well as the "normal" travelers. Passenger faces are more Asian with higher cheekbones.
And the day is getting better as seat next to me is free- I am a happy bunny!! And I love going bizarre places where having a clear aisle is really only a guideline.
Breakfast was underwhelming
Rain rain rain in Darjeeling- hopefully I will be able to see some views. The weather for flying was perfect with wonderful photo opportunities of the Himalayan mountain range. I was in seat 1D, so the nice man in 1A took these shots for me!! The guy in the row behind me is snoring really loudly.
Bagdogra Airport used to be a military airport. The buildings are still painted camouflage colors and photos are not allowed (see photos below).
As the northern region of India became more popular to tourists/business, the airlines asked the military to turn Bagdogra into a civilian airport. The army moved and set up a different airport, but there are still several military bases nearby and the airforce still has a presence.
This area is really a bit of a Northern outpost and very similar to what I remember from Nepal vs the cosmopolitan southern/larger cities. That said, it’s So nice to be out of the city! Rabindra is my driver.
Road directions are guidelines really.
Here's the route
NH 55- I am now in Northern Bengal. Christian (Sasha's boyfriend) would feel very comfortable here- all army. NH55 is a brick paved highway that is very windy as it goes up and over the pass from Bagdogra to the Glenburn Tea Estate.
It was very civilized to have a picnic at the viewpoint- sandwiches- no crust (egg salad and tuna mayo) and Darjeeling tea served on Wedgewood China. Brownies and fruit. There was no view and it was raining, so picnicked in the car.
Along the way we drove several towns. Sonada, founded in 1893, was at about 5000 feet and Ghoom is at 7000 feet - at the top of pass before going down to tea estate which is at about 3200 feet. There are no cows up this high to block traffic.
Here's Darjeeling
There's a joke about what the successful Indian driver needs: a good horn, good brakes and good luck. According to Rabindra, there is a 4th madame- a good starter.
It got very foggy as we continued up the mountains
As we finally approached Glenburn, we drove through the Tukdah Tea Estate and also started to hear cicadas which sounded exactly like a whistling tea kettle.
Waiting to welcome me were Andrew, the estate manager, and Linus, the intern from Germany via UK (London). Linus is 22 and studying international business.
My room is the Kanchenjunga Suite. On a nice day I should be able to see the mountain.
I experienced two things I hadn't expected in Darjeeling - there are strong connections with Nepal and it is hot and humid with daytime temps of about 60s with 80+ humidity.
The Nepalese were brought over to work the gardens by the original British (Scottish) tea plantation owners and managers. Since then the families stayed and most of the current local population are 4th or 5th generation Nepalese tea worker. They speak Nepalese and this area is heavily influenced by Nepal- I love it.
Linus and I had lunch together - no pictures. Lunch included gazpacho, spaghetti, creamy chicken, eggplant salad, green pepper salad, chocolate mousse.
After lunch we had a 5km hike to a waterfall with Linus and guide. It was very humid. Several interesting things, one of which is that they use bamboo to stabilize building materials.
It was so humid, my clothes were dripping, thank goodness laundry is included.
Other guests included Chris and Liz Reed. She lives in Coventry, but he works for Bechtel based in Delhi working on the second airport. There is another couple from India- JP and Asha who are retired civil servants. They have one daughter who lives in San Jose, not far from my old house.
Here is the menu for dinner (no pictures)
I could see the lights of Darjeeling (top left)
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