Friday, April 29, 2011

Singalila National Park



My original idea for trekking was in Sikkim. I heard there were unbelievable views but the mountains had not been cluttered with debris like the Annapurna range in Nepal.

I tried to get a trekking permit in Delhi as I heard there was an office there. The day I went there were 4 French tourists ahead of me in line when the office opened. Then when it was my turn, I was told I had come to the wrong tourist office. This was the India office. I needed to go to the Sikkim office on the other side of town. This was impossible. I would not make it there and back before my taxi would be arriving for the Taj Mahal. I would have to get the permit in Darjeeling.

It turned out that while I was at Makaibari Tea Estate, I was connected to Pasang. He led trekking groups and was a registered guide. He was taking another homestay family to Sikkim on May 10th. Too bad the timing didn't work because it would have been nice to join a larger group.

We started talking about the trek and he asked me if I had a permit. I said I didn't have it yet but maybe I could get it in Darjeeling. He told me in the Darjeeling office it can take 3 business days, so it would be better to go to Siliguri for the day. I told him, to be honest I didn't want to waste a day down the Hill Cart road and back up. It's a harrowing experience.

So he threw out another option. He said we could do a 6-7 day trek in Singalila National Park and see some gorgeous views. I wouldn't need a permit in advance and it would be cheaper. Ok, I was in. I told him I am not a fast hiker but that I am persistent. I had been up to 10,000-11,000 feet before, but not above that. He thought I would be fine. When he gave me the details, it seemed like a lot of mileage, but we built in an extra day in case of the unknown.

So on Monday, we started out. The plan was to leave from Darjeeling and drive to Manibhanjang.

Day 1 - Manibhanjang to Tonglu
Day 2 - Tonglu to Sandakphu
Day 3 - Sandakphu to Phalut
Day 4 - Phalut to Raman
Day 5 - Raman to Rimbick
Day 6 - Rimbick to Darjeeling

It took about 2 hours to get to Manibhanjang. The town means something like prayer valley. It looked much like rain the entire drive but cleared up some by the time we arrived. To hike in Singalila National Park, you need a guide. We also got a porter who carried his own bag and mine and was still a lot faster than me. We had to check in with border patrol since we would be crossing into Nepal on and off as the park is on the border with India and Nepal. The woman in our shared taxi to Manibhanjang has a guest house in Tonglu, Nepal. That would be our first overnight.

The trek was nice. Everything is so green. It was nice to be away from beeping horns and other people. You see a lot of Japanese pine trees at the beginning. These are prevalent throughout the area. We also saw many rhodadendrum plants in bloom. Pasang saw some strawberry plants with tiny and sweet baby strawberries. He picked some for he and I. The whole day we would be climbing. Sometimes the climb would be on a grassy area. Sometimes we would be on a narrow stone path. Less frequently, we were on the road. The great part of this hike versus hiking in Sikkim, was throughout, we would be hiking from village to village. We could get food and water and also spend the night without having to carry excess equipment.

We had a quick stop for tea near a Buddhist temple. The temple kept moving in and out of the fog as it was very misty. Our next stop was in Nepal for lunch. This is where the inclement weather started. While eating we had hail, rain, thunder, and lightening. After I finished my noodles, we put our rain gear on and moved onward. We wouldn't stop again until Tonglu. We had all these weather conditions on and off for the rest of the afternoon. Along the way, it seemed like the good weather was always just behind us. But that left some nice views in the clouds and mist. By the end of the day, the continuous rain and hail had gotten some of my clothes wet. And I realized my boots were not waterproof.

After Pasang showed me my room, he said I would have a "fire" and have tea. I said ok. The tea came first then after that a fire of hot coals actually appeared in my room. Whoa, was that a nice surprise! It warmed my entire body. Thank goodness for the fire, otherwise I would not have been able to start the following day dry.

It started raining again quite hard and I was glad to be inside. Dinner was pappadum, rice, daal, potatoes and squash, and potatoes with green beans. Before that I was given garlic soup and popcorn in my room which supposedly helps with altitude sickness -- just in case. We had walked 11 km, and climbed over 700 meters to 3070 since Darjeeling. Since Pasang works at Makaibari, he brought some nice Darjeeling tea along for us the entire trip.

After dinner, I was just heading back to my room and I noticed the sky was so bright with stars after the rain. Pasang showed me where to look to see the red light from Eagle Crag tower in Kurseong and also the lights in Siliguri.

I was told I should get up around 6:30 and maybe we would be able to see the mountains if the sky was clear. Breakfast would be at 7:30 and we would leave at 8.

The hike on Day 2 is Tonglu to Sandakphu. It's about 20 kilometers instead of 11. But again, it's mostly uphill and an elevation gain of 500 meters. We would be at 3600 meters or 12,000 ft by the end of the day and again spend the night in Nepal.

The skies were clear this morning and it was almost hot at times. I had to take off some of my layers. The first part of the hike was downhill, unfortunately. It was such a tease.

At a border crossing where the final downhill ended, we stopped at some benches to get psyched for the uphill climb. After we ascended the first steep part of the hike, Pasang pointed to the place we would stop for lunch -- Kalpokhri. We saw it for such a long time in advance, but it seemed like it took forever to finally reach it.

Some groups stop here and make two days of the hike to Sandakphu, but we were pushing on. Hopefully, we would arrive by 4pm. I like having a hot lunch and tea along the hike. This is the way all long climbs should be set up!

From our lunch stop onwards, it was uphill and very steep the entire way. The mist appeared again. There was thunder in the area. I kept hoping we wouldn't have rain again.

I was going really slow. I would walk about 15 steps then stop. I had tried the nuts and raisins Pasang had given me, but they didn't help so much. Finally I decided to just look at the ground and not up ahead where we were going. I walked slowly, but kept going. Sometimes they would be waiting for me, but I wouldn't stop to rest because I had this slow, slow, pace that I didn't want to interrupt.

There was snow on the ground where we were walking. It had melted in some spots and was very, very, slippery. Finally at just about 3:45, we made it. The lodge where we stayed had many rooms, but there would be no hot coals here.

I tried but couldn't warm up. Even when they brought my tea, that didn't help. Finally after about an hour of trying to warm up, I went in the kitchen and asked for more tea. They had a fire there and I slowly warmed up.

Dinner was at around 7:30. I went to the eating area and there were 3 young Swedes, then an older couple from Sweden showed up as well. A woman from France and her boyfriend from India showed up too.

Everyone was hanging out chatting. Pasang offered me some rhodadendrum rice wine called "roxy". I just took a little. It tasted like saki and looked like pink lemonade. It was nice but I had to drink it slowly. Everyone was either drinking rum and pepsi or the roxy at this point and the group became quite lively. It turns out the older couple had a daughter that went to school with one of the younger Swedes. This was pretty wild considering they were from a tiny town north of Stockholm. Another couple sat down just before dinner. I heard them say they had been here 3 days and hadn't seen the view yet. It's possible it could be clouded over every day. That would be a disappointment.

We had a nice dinner of papadum, rice, yellow daal, and potatoes and cauliflower. I went to my room shortly after 8:30 to get another layer on and to try to stay warm. My legs weren't hurting from hiking today, but I wanted to be sure I would rest well.

Because there is really thick snow on the way to Phalut, we may do a short hike to a yak farm, and spend another night in Sandakphu hoping the snow will melt some. We'll decide in the morning depending on what the conditions are like.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bilochun/sets/72157627343484864/

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Three days in Darjeeling



From what I can tell, everyone that comes to Darjeeling is looking for R&R or just to get away from the pollution in the big cities and head for the green hills. My guesthouse is right next to the Chowrasta or walking area. There are shops lined up on both sides of the street in this area.

So I guess I am doing what the locals are doing as well. I went to three restaurants mentioned in the Lonely Planet guidebook and they didn't let me down -- Glenary's which has been around about 80 years, Frank Ross Cafe, and Hotel Lunar. At Glenary's I had rice, chapati, aloo masala (potatoes with masala spices), veggie pakora (fried veggie wantons), and tea. I realized I ordered too much when they brought out about 15 pieces of the pakora. I tried to cancel some of the food but it was too late. At Frank Ross I had momo's which are steamed dumplings with cabbage and onion filling. They also make beef dumplings. I also had cholla batura which is chick peas with a sort of gravy and spicy onion sauce, and fried bread that is puffy. But the best dinner, I must say, was at Hotel Lunar. They specialized in South Indian cuisine. I had a paper dosa, veggie stuffed uttapam or pancake, and aloo mater (potatoes and peas). The two sauces go on top of either the uttapam or dosa (see attached photo).

For a town called Darjeeling, I thought I would be served amazing darjeeling teas everywhere. This is not the case as most teas are just average and they don't tell you which estate they come from.

I did find a little tea shop called Nathmull's. They have two locations. One is for purchasing teas, and the other is for purchasing and tasting. They had 7 first flush 2011 darjeelings and many other darjeelings that never make it outside of India.

Most of the tastes are about $2-3. However their most expensive tea goes for double that. I was sticking with the organics and tried 2 teas each day. I am taking extensive tasting notes and may buy some tea on my way back to Darjeeling after my trek.

I had been purchasing clothing, scarfs, tea, and other gifts and I wanted to ship some items to the US. When I entered the post office I was taken back to about 1920.

There was a long line to the left with about 4 counters enclosed in glass, a multi-use counter straight ahead with no queue, and a man sitting on a chair in the corner with a small table in front of him. Of course I went to the multi-use counter and the woman sent me to the man in the corner.

They don't have boxes or envelopes to pack your goods, so you go to the authorized packer. First the man packed all my stuff within the two bags that I bought. Then he packed it in re-used plastic wrap. Next he wrapped it in linen and hand stitched it all together. Last but not least he took a candle and sealed the stitching all over with red wax. This was required in order to be shipped. I had to fill out the customs forms and he also sealed that on the package with wax.

I had to write the address on the package. I had two options for delivery -- three weeks and six weeks. I did get a receipt and they did ask for my email, so there is a possibility the package can be tracked!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bilochun/sets/72157627201893103/

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Tea Processing - 101



I met Sanjee at the Makaibari tea factory at around 7:45 am on Wednesday. He was great. He let me tag along all morning and ask a ton of questions. He first had to plan the day for the factory and sometimes I had to wait around a bit for things to happen.

It all depends how the withering process went from the night before. If the tea plants were wet due to rain, the process could take longer than if it was dry. Typically it can take 14-20 hours for the withering process to be completed. The tea sits in 30-40 ft long by 3-4 ft wide troughs. There is mesh or wire below so that air is always circulating. Air can also be blown from below. There are fans in the part of the building where the withering is taking place. The workers are tossing and turning the leaves as well. After plucking, this is the first step in processing tea. From here, when ready, the tea is taken to the rolling machines.

I must mention the beautiful floral aroma you smell throughout the factory. The smell is sweet and so pervasive throughout. I hope I never forget that smell.

The rolling process takes about half an hour. Rolling is further reducing the moisture in the leaves and releasing juices. For the first flush Darjeeling tea, the next step is drying. There are additional steps in the process for the second flush, oolongs, etc.

The tea is fed into the drying machine at the top. The machine is essentially a conveyor and the tea slowly cycles down to the bottom. This process takes about 30 minutes as well. The drying machine is hot to the touch, but also blows air. The tea drys further by air overnight before the tea sorting takes place.

There are nine women sorting the tea leaves. When you purchase Darjeeling tea you see packages labeled "BOP" or sometimes "FTGFOP1". These woman know the exact difference between the broken tea leaves or the tips. I should also mention that each tea lot is labeled and tracked throughout the entire process. After the tea is sorted, it is packed and shipped.

Sanjee had six teas cupped for me so that I could taste the teas side by side. The dry leaves were in front of each cup and the wet leaves were behind so you could see and smell what the tea leaves are like. You could also see the different colored liquors from all the teas.

He explained that you take some tea with the spoon. You slurp it in your mouth and roll it over your tongue. You want to fill your entire mouth. We tasted the 2011 first flush. The rest were 2010 -- the second flush, oolong, green tea, white tea, and imperial silver tips. Of course I loved the first flush which I had been drinking on and off all week. The second flush was definitely full bodied. I didn't know Makaibari made oolong, green, and white teas. These don't frequently make their way to the US. The imperial silver tips was out of this world. It had so much going on in that one slurp, that I wanted to drink the entire cup. Even smelling the wet leaves, you knew your taste buds were in for a big surprise!

The factory tour and tastings are available to anyone that is interested. Makaibari wants people to know what goes into a cup before purchasing their products. Once you know the entire story, chances are you will continue to buy their teas.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bilochun/sets/72157627159161103/

Thursday, April 21, 2011

My new friends at Makaibari



I went to the office of Mr. Banerjee around 9:30 in the morning on Tuesday. The waiting room that must also be used for meetings, has a large table. His assistant was in the room closest to his office. This is where tea tastings take place. She immediately brought me a cup of first flush darjeeling tea. This was the best cup of tea I have had in India to date. The first thing I noticed were the pictures of the four generations of Banerjee's that have run the estate.

Makaibari Tea Estate was founded in 1859. It was the first Indian owned tea estate. All other ones were owned by the British. The estate is 1574 acres. It was the first certified organic tea estate in 1988. It became bio-dynamic in the 1990's. It was also the first tea estate to gain fair trade certification in 2006.

There are a few other offices on this floor. While I was waiting, I also noticed all the magazine articles and awards on the walls.

Soon I was asked to come into Mr. Banerjee's office. He asked me if I had emailed him. I said yes, and that he directed me to Nayan Lama in the homestay program. I told him where I was staying and he said some nice things about the family I am staying with.

We spent about 45 minutes together on and off. He had a busy week and a journalist waiting outside his office. Plus he had to make some calls, do a quick tea tasting, and sign some paperwork while I was there. He is a charismatic man and a true visionary. He believes in giving everyone opportunities. What they do with them is their own decision. I felt so energized after speaking with him. Much of his philosophy held true with me and made complete sense.

The homestay program gives 70% of the earnings to the family, 20% goes to the homestay office, and 10% goes to the estate. And within the family, the money goes to the woman of the household. The belief is to empower the woman and the family unit will prosper. The women do some of the hardest work in the family and are not always compensated appropriately.

So because the factory was closed the previous day, there is no tea production. I will meet up with Sanjee, the plant manager, tomorrow morning to get a factory tour.

Meanwhile, I was offered a chance to pluck tea leaves after lunch. I jumped at the opportunity. I met Nayan and he gave me a basket and rope to hold the basket. He let me loose with a group of 20 experienced workers.

They showed me how to pluck -- two leaves and a bud. I certainly gave the women plenty to laugh about that afternoon. In the beginning, I am sure they sent me to the areas already plucked because I wasn't finding much new growth on any plant. Plus they sent me up the steepest slopes. I am sure of it. But after about 15 minutes, I went my own way and finally found a bush that yielded many handfuls of tea leaves. Every once in a while, they would check my basket and say "fine". So even though I may have been slow, I was picking correctly.

However, at one point Mr. Banerjee walked in the fields with two guests. I got scolded for picking below the "table". I wasn't aware that I had to pick from the top of the bush. Otherwise the plant's core can be damaged. The supervisor set me straight and showed me the difference.

My previous experience picking beans and peas during my teens taught me to check the entire bush. We were not to leave any vegetables on the plant. This was not the case for tea.

During our break the woman that spoke the most English asked me all sorts of questions about myself. I feel like they all finally accepted me, especially when they asked if I would be coming to pluck tomorrow.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bilochun/sets/72157627159638313/

Monday, April 18, 2011

Makaibari Tea Estate



There are seven villages on the Makaibari Tea Estate. The estate is further broken down into the upper and lower estate. The home of the family where I am staying is next to the tea factory in the upper portion of the estate.

The husband works on the estate. His wife used to but now works at the local hospital. They have two daughters aged 20 and 12. The older daughter is enrolled in college and the younger daughter goes to school - both in the town of Kurseong. Their grandmother, on their father's side, lives with them. Their grandfather died about ten years ago.

Many of their relatives live nearby so there is always some activity in the house - cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.

Just below the fifty or so homes in this village are the tea gardens. The paths to reach the gardens are well worn and very steep. Six days a week you see the tea pluckers working. They are all women. They carry large bamboo baskets on their backs. They are plucking two leaves and a bud from the tea plant. The women are very fast as I have watched them. They accumulate a bunch of leaves and throw them in the basket on their backs, never missing their target.

The gardens are beautifully manicured and each bush is about 2-3 feet high. The women are always plucking the new growth on the bushes. Some of the leaves towards the bottom of the bush can become very large. This is very hard work and the steepness of these slopes can be greater than 50%. So the next time you drink a cup of Darjeeling, keep some of these things in mind.

This time of the year is still the first flush. The taste of the tea is lighter and a little bit more astringent than the second flush. The second flush begins in May through June. The tea from this flush is more full bodied, a darker color, and you also get that muscatel flavor towards the finish. There is also an autumnal flush that begins after the monsoon rains are over. I have never had tea from this flush.

There are several others doing the home-stay program right now. My visit is definitely the shortest. There is Carol from the UK who is in her 60's, and here about three months. Dylan, also from the UK, is 19. He is halfway though his stay of two months. Then Allison and her two daughters, Sophie and Emma, are here from Scotland. The girls are two years apart in age and the oldest must be in her early teens. Allison's husband is in Germany and divides his time between Germany and India. I think they are here three months. I only briefly met Lizette and her boyfriend from the UK, as they were on the way to Darjeeling. And lastly, Bill is from Boulder, Colorado. We went for a walk and for tea one day. He quit his job after being with the same company for 14 years. He is in India for ten weeks. The last 2 1/2 weeks, his 13 year old son will join him and they will tour India together. The 16 year old son was not interested at all in coming and didn't want to leave his friends. Bill is in the same boat that I am as neither one of us know what we will do when we get back to the US.

I will be visiting the tea factory on Tuesday as the owner was out of town when I arrived. Sunday the factory is closed. Then Monday was election day and the factory was again closed for voting.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bilochun/sets/72157627155698227/

Friday, April 15, 2011

Taj Mahal and a travel day



What can you say about the Taj? It may be the most beautiful man made structure on earth. Even as you see it in the distance I was surprised how immense it was. As we got closer it really was becoming more and more spectacular than I imagined.

I met Radhika and her husband of one month in Vrindaban. This town alone is something to be explored as Krishna was born here. There are many Hindu temples and many people make the pilgrimage here. There are several famous ashrams.

Their friend Minoch had taken a taxi to Delhi to meet me. Then we were heading to pick up Radhika and Gopal Ji. We would all go to the Taj and grab dinner before I would head back to Delhi.

It was a long day and a long drive but totally worth every moment. Plus I got to meet some amazing people (thanks Dawn)! I felt like I had known them my entire life by the end of the day.

Friday was a travel day first to Kolkata then to Bagdogra. From there someone from the Makaibari Tea Estate picked me up at the airport and it was just over an hour drive to get to Kurseong.

The road winds up the hill with many 180 degree turns. The road is very narrow so many times we had to back-up or wait for other cars or trucks to pass us.

Nayan runs the home stay program at Makaibari. He met us once we reached the estate and took me to the home of the family where I will stay for one week. I was greeted with a cup of this year's first flush tea! Exquisite! I am looking forward to many more cups of tea.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bilochun/sets/72157627226149714/

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The sights and smells of Delhi



What an amazing place. I think there are around 16million people in Delhi. I feel like I saw 500,000 to one million on my first full day. The horns are constantly beeping. A mixture of bikes, rickshaws, cars, people, and motorcycles are on the roads. Plus there are three wheeled tuktuks.

The smells change from a fennel/cardamom blend just hanging in the air to incense to a smell reminiscent of an auto mechanic shop. There are many trees and green space. This surprised me. Sometimes you get a hint of the flowers in bloom. Then you walk by a street vendor making samosas, fresh naan, and many other things I don't even know the names of...

What glorious smells!

Most people speak some English and it very easy to get around. However, someone is always offering you something.

After being on the plane for so many hours, I spent my first full day walking as much as possible. I went to the India Gate, Red Fort, and braved the narrow windy streets and alleys in Old Delhi. I also took a few tuktuks.

I didn't buy anything in Old Delhi but went in many stores and tried my pitiful bargaining skills from time to time.

I had some amazing moments with locals. There were 6 teenagers playing cricket in the park. I stopped to watch them play. They immediately came over to chat with me. They wanted to know my name, where I was from, if I was married, and the answers to many more questions. I just wanted to watch them play. They finally went back to play and I watched them show off for me.

My friends Keith and Lydia in Utah connected me with a friend of theirs in Delhi. She was very generous and invited me to her home for tea and gave me a contact in the tea business in Kolkata. I will be sure to contact him as I will likely spend at least one night there before heading to China.

In the evening, I was done with bargaining. I went to the government stores which have items from all over India but better yet, everything is sold at a fixed price. I found some beautiful pashminas and a few other items.

A local boy started chatting with me and walked me there. He was a junior in high school and wanted to practice his English. His first words to me were, "Don't worry I'm not trying to sell you anything." He was true to his word and we had a nice talk.

On the way back to the hotel another young boy who worked at the government store was trying to show me the way back to the hotel. Instead, he offered me a ride in his friend's tuktuks at the "locals" price.

Both of these young men thought I looked a slight bit Indian. I must have tricked them by wearing a shirt and pants I purchased here.

I ended my day at the hotel restaurant called Fire. I had run into a man on the elevator earlier who gave it fabulous reviews. It was the oasis I was looking for - no walking, no horns beeping, set prices on the menu, and great Indian food!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bilochun/sets/72157627088377065/

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Just about a week before departure...



You know, it’s really hard to find out news in the parts of the world where I will be traveling. I haven’t been able to get any follow-up information on the strike in Darjeeling or the earthquake damage in Yunnan. I wrote to the tea estate where I will be doing a home stay. They told me there is nothing to worry about. Life is “normal”. This is somewhat different than what I have read. In both cases, I am still sticking to my original plans. Once I get there, if I don’t feel comfortable, I will get out of town! Lots of people have been giving me little tips on places to visit along the way and I really appreciate it. Sometimes it leads you to different areas or towns, than where you had originally planned.

I arranged a fabulous 19 day private tour in the Yunnan province. I used the same travel coordinator that I used in 2005 for my China trip. I have a lot of free days mixed in this time, but also arranged to have drivers and translators take me to the places I didn’t want to miss. I figured since I have a limited amount of time, I didn’t want to spend a day or more in each town figuring out bus/train schedules or wasting time trying to communicate what I wanted to do. I know very little Chinese except “nǐ hǎo” (hello) and “xiè​xie” (thank you) and of course how to say all the types of tea I like to drink. That doesn’t get you very far, unfortunately.

I have assembled quite the array of items in my medicine chest. I decided on malaria pills, have 2 prescriptions for stomach flu, and 2 other “womanly” prescriptions. I also have plenty of deet, antiseptic wipes and gel, and suntan lotion (as malaria pills make you more sensitive to sunlight). I bought a mosquito net, emergency solar blanket, and permethrin spray for my clothes. I already have the electrical converter for China, and bought one for India. I bought the katadyne water filtration system. Also I’m still toying with the idea of buying a solar converter which would be a pure luxury item. I know all this must sound like overkill, but I can definitely re-use everything for backpacking after my trip.

Work is definitely winding down. But I must say it’s the weirdest feeling….