One crazy week!

What a crazy week!  Lots happened around the world that will affect my trip.

First off, the Darjeeling region has encountered a strike.  The union there, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), has stopped shipping tea.  They want increased wages for employees and other increased benefits.  Checkpoints are being set up in Siliguri to be sure that tea doesn’t get smuggled out to auction centers. Tea is big business in this region of India.  Right now is the time the first flush typically starts.  I leave for my trip in one month, so hopefully the strike will be resolved way before then.  Otherwise there will be a lot of wasted tea leaves for me to drink.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-05/kolkata/28658903_1_darjeeling-tea-association-tea-industry-tea-producers

Also there was a 5.8 earthquake in southwestern China in the Yunnan province near the border of Myanmar on 3/10/11.  This is the region I will be visiting.  The quake killed 25 and injured over 250 people.  The large amount of damage was due to the shallow depth of the earthquake.  But a big part of the problem was that strict building codes required for construction in seismic areas were not followed.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/news/2011/03/china-rescuers-search-town-after-quake-kills-25

The following day, the earthquake and subsequent tsunami happened in Japan.  What is going on in this world?

On a more positive note, I finally booked my air travel within India and China and got a relatively good price.  I still need to book my train travel from Kolkata to Darjeeling.  I am hoping my hotel in Delhi will do this for me. 

Also a friend in San Francisco has a high school friend that lives near Delhi.  I have been emailing her this week and hopefully we will get to meet up on my way to the Taj Mahal. 

Things are starting to come together, but I still have to do more planning for Yunnan. 

One month to go....

Ok, so the last two weeks have been even worse for checking things off my list.  And in between, I got laid off from my job.  UGH!!!!!!

I got my booster hepatitis shot, Japanese encephalitis, and typhoid pills.  I am still deciding about malaria pills.  I didn’t have such a good experience with the pills when I was in Costa Rica in the early 1990’s.  But I have to decide in 3 weeks when I go back for my 2^nd shot for Japanese encephalitis.  I guess the biggest danger in these parts is dengue fever which is from mosquitos.  So I was told if I put on mosquito repellent with deet several times a day it should protect me from malaria too.   

I did get my Chinese visa.  In San Francisco, the consulate opens at 9:00 am.  But as was the case in 2005 when I last got a visa, you should show up an hour early to wait in line.  This way, you are around 10^th or 15^th in line when the door opens and you don’t have to wait once you get inside.  Because I had PC World as my employer on my visa form, I was required to get a letter from my office stating that I was a tourist and not doing business there.  The media industry and journalists must have a really hard time getting into the country.  So I went back later that day with my letter.  But this time, I could cut the line.  Three days later the visa was ready and I waited outside for an hour, once again.  There are definitely people here that must get visas for other people as part of their livelihood.  They had ten or more passports and they were in the front of the line both days I was there.  I wonder what time they show up to be number one in line?

I am meeting a friend today who has been in these parts and I am excited to hear more details about the places he liked. 

This weekend I will finalize the details and travel dates for each country I am visiting.  It’s supposed to rain so hopefully I will get a lot done!