There is no timetable

It's been a happy coincidence that we are travelling around in one of the biggest Hindu festivals of the year, Durga Puja -apart from being a religious festival for the Hindus. While the rituals entails ten days of fast, feast and worship, the last four days - Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami - are celebrated with much gaiety and grandeur in India and abroad, especially in Bengal, where the ten-armed goddess riding the lion is worshipped with great passion and devotion. There's the most elaborate temporary temples all around every town, with light displays displays and spectators all in their finery and they seriously look real! In Kolkata we saw a huge display of statues and that evening it was shut down, as tens of thousands of devout came to see the and people were seriously injured and crushed. Now we're in Mirik the festivities continue and a parade with floats goes through town. 

Later we head to the temple in the forest and are promised that there will be great festivities in the evening, and sure enough when we come out of the restaurant there's a parade with a fire pit being taken round town, and so we head back up through the forest by torch light in the evening to join the the festivities and are so warmly welcomed. Asking what time the fire pit will arrive I am told "there is no timetable, they are just walking" 

Waitlist just wait

It's quite a feat to get tickets on Indian trains. You can buy them online, but you have to be quick! Most open one month before, and there's a whole system of wait list tickets, where you have to wait for people to cancel and then you get closer up the list to get a ticket. So we end up in Kolkata train station waiting for the 10pm train wishing people weren't going to turn up, as we have one ticket out of four confirmed and were Waitlist 1,2 and 3! Eventually we were allowed on the train and it set off before we had a chance to catch up with the train inspector. Then some helpful passengers swapped round there seats and then we were all able to sleep, by sharing a couple of bunks, and then arrive refreshed at our destination.  All aboard the Darjeeling Mail. 

"Women mustn't sit at the back of the boat "

It's great to be staying at the four star floating hotel, as you can look out of you bedroom window onto the river and see the fishermen and working boats go by. Taking the local ferry across the river to see sunset was a reminder of how difficult it is still for women. When we got on the boat and started striding towards the back where there were seats, we were told that women mustn't sit at the back of the boat, downstairs near the engine, with no view, is perfectly the best place to keep us!!! 

I can see baggage carrousel but I can't get to it !!!

 So mystery solved, after a noisy night flight and the most chaotic landing, with most passages dipping into the overhead lockers as we were still on the runway I tried to work out how to get my rucksack. So I found a couple of helpful guys in Dhaka immigration and eventually convinced one of them that the only solution was for him to get my bag and bring it into pre-immigration so I could stay in the airport. So fingers crossed, both for the bag being there and him finding it, but it turned out to be a successful mission and then I sat in the empty transit lounge, waiting for their shift to start!  Now I really have to slow it down and get into the slow slow pace of Asia.  

International flying

So it's been quite an adventure to organise this trip. 6 months ago I booked a return flight to Dhaka, to meet and travel with a friend who is living there and her folks, who are coming in from Australia. After organising an interesting trip round Bangladesh, from coast to tea plantations our organising was in vain. Due to increased security issues independent travel had become too dangerous,  unable to change my flight I had to get an additional flight to Kolkata from Dhaka. And here's where the fun begins. My backpack can only be checked in to Dhaka and no one can tell me if I need to get a visa, just to pick up my bags, as you need to go through immigration before picking up bags. It will all become clear as the journey commences!  It's only 8am and I've already been up 4 hours, it's an interesting experience getting the first tube! 

And I'm off to West Bengal !!!

At breakneck speed a new holiday has been planned, a new spreadsheet itinerary created and new adventures mapped out. For ease of time and cost I've now booked a connecting flight from Dhaka to Kolkata and will be meeting my Aussie friends for an adventure in West Bengal. Thank goodness that you can now get your Indian visa online, saving a freezing cold early start queuing round the block.

The countdown has begun

What a week!!! Amid the constant buying of hand gel, tissues and many  other essential items for travelling in Asia there's a new worry. The world is such a politically and socially unstable place and the threat of terrorism becomes a factor when planning travel. Still it's full steam ahead  and we're looking at alternative destinations and it's all about being sensible and safe. This is going to be a challenging and amazing adventure!