Set the alarm for 3.45

 The viability in the mornings is crystal clear - so this morning our alarm was set and by 5am we have a front row place on top of Tiger Hill to view sunrise over Kanchenjunga. And it was spectacular - even in the cold morning air it took my breathe away. The crowd roared when the opposite sunrise was reflected on the mountain range. Now back to the hotel for tea and omelet and more snooze! 

Can you help me buy medicine?

I’m feeling rough, in the morning I feel sick and dizzy and then it goes. India really does take it out of you! The wonderful lady at my guest house was an angel, I asked if she could help as she said these were fairy common symptoms for Indians also. Her daughter walked into town and then she translated for me whilst I spoke to the pharmacist and she came back with some tablets. Fingers crossed they work! 

Planes, trains and automobiles

 All best laid plans can go wrong. Thank goodness when I woke up on Friday morning to get the coach to Heathrow. I saw my email from Air India that the flight was delayed and I rescheduled my coach.  The delays kept on coming and I ended up waiting in Heathrow for 10 hours and my connecting flight to Kolkata was moved to a much later one, meaning I missed out on a day of adventure. 

Now Jenny rang me this morning when I was on the overnight train from Kolkata, itself running 3 and a half hours late. The plan was to meet at Bagdogra airport and then head up into the hills. However her flight had been diverted and instead of flying into Delhi she had just landed in Mumbai! Who knows when she will arrive and I hope Air India are looking after her. Meanwhile I took a taxi up the hills, climbing to 4,900 feet to Kursesong, where I will spend the night. Countless hairpin bends and what felt like near misses added to the excitement of going up into the clouds and I have just had dinner, looking over the balcony at the hundreds of tiny lights on the tea plantations opposite, like tiny string lights on a Christmas tree. 

Please can I use your toilet

 Oh the glamour of travel. I’ve had a day of plain food already as yesterday when I was walking to the nearby Jain temple I felt a sudden need to go. And there’s never any toilets! No wonder all around on walls are tiles of gods to prevent men from pissing on the wall. However my need was great, I was even contemplating a narrow alley. Then I saw a kitchen showroom and asked the bemused salesman if I could use his toilet and luckily the staff toilet was made available! Thank goodness!!! 

Incredible India is a detox experience on so many levels! 

The gentrification of Shyambazaar

It’s great to be able to mix up your accommodation on your travels. I could never just stay in bland faceless hotels and love the individuality of smaller guest houses. My Christmas pressie to myself was a four night stay in Calcutta Bungalow, a 6 room lovingly restored town house in North Kolkata. It is stunning and I would say is the best place I have ever stayed. I have a huge suite and a balcony, a roof terrace to take my breakfast. And there’s no telephones in the rooms, you are linked to a WhatsApp group! 

It’s a photographers paradise in Shayambazar. The old houses in the neighbourhood were once home to the rich salt traders in the 18th Century. The tiny side streets are full of small dwellings and on every street corner is a chai stall. Couples come here to have their photos taken by the colourful artwork and the beautiful houses. And of course wherever you go people always say that you are staying at Calcutta Bungalow. Normally I like to be in the centre of town, but I’ve loved exploring this new area, getting on the metro and taking the beautiful yellow cabs. 

Is their bark worse than their bite?

 When I was getting my updated inoculations for travel I was asked by the nurse in Penryn Surgery what was the greatest risk when travelling. It felt so exotic saying rabid monkeys and crazy dogs, but it’s the truth. 

On my street there’s two rival packs of male dogs and they patrol the area with great precision. Barking and chasing anything that takes their fancy, the bin man, a tyre fitter and me!  A guy sitting outside his house sternly saw them off, I did the wrong thing, they saw the fear in my eyes. I need to show a more powerful and unfazed face, the one I did on the overcrowded south bound Kolkata metro today. 

Can you walk two kms Madam

 Obviously Covid, plantar fasciitis and a knee ligament issue has done nothing to help my waist line in recent years. I’ve been travelling in India for almost 30 years and have morphed from a svelte young backpacker to becoming a larger middle aged lady. When I asked for directions this morning to the idol makers alley the young guy on reception asked me if I could walk 2km. Bloody cheek! Actually mate today I’ve walked 18,000 steps, but do need an afternoon nap now! 

Getting ever closer to Kolkata

 Years ago I bought a board game called Touring England, when my mum no longer drove, so we could continue to explore. In the game you create a route across England, where I invariably get Penzance, Carlisle and Dover and no hope of winning. Yesterday I felt I was in the game, waiting to roll a 6 to start, as my flight was delayed from 1.30pm to 10pm so I was listening to Christmas music in Heathrow for over 10 hours and I then had a further 5 hour wait for my revised connecting flight. However in this scenario I am the winner as my adventures start now! I just need to plan a fab long walk for tomorrow. 

My five year India Visa has come through!

One of the legacies that has been left in India is its love of bureaucracy. It used to be so easy to head to the Indian Visa office in Victoria, queue up with your meticulously filled out paper and get your visa there and then. Now you endure a perplexing series of computer errors as you navigate the online system, hence me getting a five year visa for ease of when I want to return. And I will always want to return and can stay up to 182 days - how tempting!!!