So I was all prepared to hole up in my unheated room for 4 days with nothing but a box of corn flakes and a guidebook of India to console me when I hear that the strike has been called off half-way through the first day. Apparently there is a "tripartite meeting" on the 21st, and it made no sense for them to strike beforehand. So after one day with no shops and services, the town is open again. Which is nice, because I was able to buy some gloves to keep my hands warm.
Speaking of warm, it is not warm here. It is much colder outside back home in New York, but not indoors. There's no escape from it here. Not anywhere. They are poor, so they don't have heat. And the power goes out randomly for unknown amounts of time. I think that's why they're striking (albeit half-assedly).
Yesterday, I decided to bathe since I'd been traveling for a few days and feeling pretty grubby. Unfortunately, the shower only had freezing cold water, and upon arrival I was told that I was to bathe using a bucket provided in the room. So I filled the bucket with water, which was still ice cold. Then I did my best attempts at manly growling for the next 10 minutes as I subjected each section of my body to extreme pain (keep in mind it's below 50 degrees to begin with). Shampooing was the worst, because for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to just plunge my whole head into the bucket to clean it faster. Well, it did make me feel very... awake.
I went upstairs to the restaurant in the hostel to eat some warm stew, where I met two Canadians, one of whom teaches English in Taiwan and has been all over Southeast Asia. A Dutch man joined us soon afterward, and he informed me that the hostel provides a bucket a very hot water for bathing purposes. I said, "Ohhhh," through shivering teeth.
After a nap and an attempt to warm myself up with the old "mind over matter" trick, matter defeated the mind with the old "mind is composed of matter" argument and I asked for my bucket of hot water. I didn't need to get clean anymore, but I needed some relief from the shivering. Once I began to enjoy the ritual of pouring scalding water on myself, the power naturally went out, and I was in the dark, alone and naked. I attempted to pull the curtain back so that the neighbor's fire would shed some light on the situation, and of course pulled down the whole curtain rod. Then the neighbor put the fire out, possibly out of embarrassment from having seen me. Anyway, thanks to the magic of iPod display lights, I managed to find my clothes and felt that the whole ordeal was worth it.
I spent the evening in the restaurant writing by candlelight until the power came back on, when the Dutch hot water informant came in and we talked about politics and religion until they closed down/got sick of us.
Today the streets are full of people again and I'm set on beginning a 6 day trek tomorrow along the Singalila Ridge. It's right near the Nepalese border, and apparently affords magnificent views of the Himalayas around the 5th day. I've talked to guides around here, and supposedly the best bet is to just go to the start of the trek and hire a cheap one when you get there (they are mandatory). After all of this cold weather it might seem counterintuitive to escape to the rough higher elevations, but quite to the contrary, I think it will be warmer. I'll have a backpack on, I'll be constantly moving (about 6 hours a day), and at night there will actually be a fire going in the lodge. And hopefully some starry nights. I think I'm homesick most for those. You're lucky to even see our closest star during the day in this country.
Overall, I like the people of Darjeeling more than any other place I've been, because they don't come up to me every few steps and try to sell me something. They just stare a little at my red beard to confirm that I'm not from around here, and then continue on their way. No one's even offered me drugs once (on this trip I've already set personal records for drug offers turned down in the categories of one hour, one day, and one week).
That's all for now. Hopefully your lives are beautiful and warm right now.
Peace,
Ben
Speaking of warm, it is not warm here. It is much colder outside back home in New York, but not indoors. There's no escape from it here. Not anywhere. They are poor, so they don't have heat. And the power goes out randomly for unknown amounts of time. I think that's why they're striking (albeit half-assedly).
Yesterday, I decided to bathe since I'd been traveling for a few days and feeling pretty grubby. Unfortunately, the shower only had freezing cold water, and upon arrival I was told that I was to bathe using a bucket provided in the room. So I filled the bucket with water, which was still ice cold. Then I did my best attempts at manly growling for the next 10 minutes as I subjected each section of my body to extreme pain (keep in mind it's below 50 degrees to begin with). Shampooing was the worst, because for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to just plunge my whole head into the bucket to clean it faster. Well, it did make me feel very... awake.
I went upstairs to the restaurant in the hostel to eat some warm stew, where I met two Canadians, one of whom teaches English in Taiwan and has been all over Southeast Asia. A Dutch man joined us soon afterward, and he informed me that the hostel provides a bucket a very hot water for bathing purposes. I said, "Ohhhh," through shivering teeth.
After a nap and an attempt to warm myself up with the old "mind over matter" trick, matter defeated the mind with the old "mind is composed of matter" argument and I asked for my bucket of hot water. I didn't need to get clean anymore, but I needed some relief from the shivering. Once I began to enjoy the ritual of pouring scalding water on myself, the power naturally went out, and I was in the dark, alone and naked. I attempted to pull the curtain back so that the neighbor's fire would shed some light on the situation, and of course pulled down the whole curtain rod. Then the neighbor put the fire out, possibly out of embarrassment from having seen me. Anyway, thanks to the magic of iPod display lights, I managed to find my clothes and felt that the whole ordeal was worth it.
I spent the evening in the restaurant writing by candlelight until the power came back on, when the Dutch hot water informant came in and we talked about politics and religion until they closed down/got sick of us.
Today the streets are full of people again and I'm set on beginning a 6 day trek tomorrow along the Singalila Ridge. It's right near the Nepalese border, and apparently affords magnificent views of the Himalayas around the 5th day. I've talked to guides around here, and supposedly the best bet is to just go to the start of the trek and hire a cheap one when you get there (they are mandatory). After all of this cold weather it might seem counterintuitive to escape to the rough higher elevations, but quite to the contrary, I think it will be warmer. I'll have a backpack on, I'll be constantly moving (about 6 hours a day), and at night there will actually be a fire going in the lodge. And hopefully some starry nights. I think I'm homesick most for those. You're lucky to even see our closest star during the day in this country.
Overall, I like the people of Darjeeling more than any other place I've been, because they don't come up to me every few steps and try to sell me something. They just stare a little at my red beard to confirm that I'm not from around here, and then continue on their way. No one's even offered me drugs once (on this trip I've already set personal records for drug offers turned down in the categories of one hour, one day, and one week).
That's all for now. Hopefully your lives are beautiful and warm right now.
Peace,
Ben
Good Luck stormin da Singlila Ridge!
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