Darjeeling is amazing set in the foothills of the Himalaya in northern India. The oncoming monsoon season brings with it great rain and, sometimes, lightning storms. I snapped this pic on one such night.

China, I thought, preferred to keep visitors out; many Southeast Asian countries invited foreigners in, with ambiguous wink and smile; Japan smilingly greeted visitors at the door and appeared to admit them without ever really doing so. India, by contrast, took in all the hordes and simply swept them up in the undifferentiated tide.

-Pico Iyer, Video Night in Kathmandu, p 281

The one land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse of the rest of the world combined.

-Mark Twain on his 1st visit in 1896

I love the hill stations of India. Darjeeling, set at 2,128 meters, is no exception. Started by the British as a sanatorium in the 1800′s, members of the East India Company used it to escape the summer heat of Calcutta. My trip would accomplish much the same.

The district of Darjeeling has 450 km of international borders with Nepal, Sikkim (part of India), Bhutan, and Tibet, plus Bangladesh nearby. The Gorkhas first controlled the area which explains why Nepali is the lingua franca.

Looming in the distance, on a clear day, the world’s third tallest mountain, Kangchenjunga, looms large.

In Twain’s time it took two weeks to make the journey from Calcutta to Darjeeling, negotiated by boat, palanquin, and pony. Today the area is dominated by the four T’s: toy train, tea, timber and tourism.

The 80 km long Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was established in 1881 runs from Siliguir to Darjeeling on a narrow-gauge rail. This sloooow train takes 8 hours to make the total run,lumbering at 10 mph. It’s much more of a tourist ride or for rail enthusiasts than functional since shared jeeps are the fastest way to get around.

Before the train, local Hindu inhabitants worshiped rocks as deities. With the advent of the train, carved statues and idols could be imported.

Perhaps the most famous aspect of Darjeeling is it’s tea production. This is the only place in the world where the blend of climate, elevation, and soil type produce it’s famous “muscatel” flavor. The tea industry started here when one Dr. Campbell planted Chinese tea from Kumaon in 1848. His instincts were to be correct. Today there 148 tea gardens in operation. The lush jungle also contributes significantly to the economy with its timber production.

Tourism is a big business. In my opinion this is one of the most enjoyable parts of India I’ve visited, but tourist numbers are not really that large. Most tourists probably head for the Taj Mahal (check my picture!), the beaches of Goa, Bombay’s glitzy shopping and so on. But its a real shame to miss the cool, green hills of Darjeeling.

[Sources]

• Darjeeling: Truth and Beyond by Sanjay Bisway and Sameer Roka

Tongba is the traditional and indigenous drink of the Limbu people of eastern Nepal. To Limbus, Tongba is analogous to what vodka is to Russians, wine to French, Guinness to Irish and saké to Japanese.

-Wikipedia

Photo Courtesy davidheidebrecht

What to do when in Kathmandu when it rains? Drink tongba, of course! Tongba is the traditional alcoholic drink made from millet. It’s cooked and fermented, then dried and stored for about 6 months.

Tongba is drank out of large wooden containers (also called tongba) with tall straws crimped at one end to filter the hot water thats poured on top. As you drink, more water is added to top it off and keep the taste from becoming too strong.

They are great for cold and rainy days, since the drink really warms you both, both physically and in spirit.

According to legends, chhaang is also popular with the Yeti, who often raid isolated mountain villages to drink it.

Photo Courtesy in.beleza

You may remember Stephen Michael Kulkhe from such “classic” blog posts as Kumamoto Cliff Jumping, Surfing in Miyazaki, and of course as my trekking partner on my first journey to Nepal.

We knew each other from university at Iowa State and were placed a few hours from each other as teachers in Japan. He has since moved on as a swimming instructor in Taiwan’s Taipei American School with the lovely Aki-chan, where he “teaches stroke development, boating, snorkeling, is an assistant coach and the BSA Swimming and Lifesaving merit badge counselor”.

Well, he’s back! And he’s saved a life.

As a fellow Eagle Scout, Steve has been active in the Scouts in Taiwan. From February 28 – March 1 he was taking part in a beach cleaning project.

I’ll paraphrase the events according to the report from the Boy Scout District Chairman, with actual photos of the event:

Steve finds himself strolling down the beach, flipping the various flotsam and jetsam littering the sand into his garbage bag and reviewing the latest lesson’s Chinese characters in his head.

Workers cleaning the beach.

Steve and fellow BSA worker Brandon Buhler were finishing their workshop which left them hungry from scant food all day and tired from a night without proper shelter under inclement skies and sheets of rain. Don’t forget the vow of silence they were participating in.

“Do you see what I’m seeing?”

Steve breaks the vow drawing attention to possibly distressing activity along the beach.

Under stormy skies, two 20-something surfers lost their boards in the rough surf and strong currents swiftly swept them out to sea. One surfer was strong enough to save himself, but the other kept getting pulled under by large swells, being dragged farther and farther out to sea.

The local Coast Guard stood dumbfounded. Taiwanese are not known for their confident swimming abilities and he was like a deer in headlights. Removing his excess clothes (which ironically included his swimming team’s t-shirt), Steve grabbed a surf board, attached the ankle strap, and paddled out to the rapidly weakening swimmer.

Minutes later, Steve stands over the barely conscious surfer ready to administer CPR. Surrounded by his friends, the surfer stays awake and does not need CPR, though he is unable to move for 20 minutes.

Using a two-handed seat carry, Steve helps move the rescued surfer to the parking lot where he vomits his lunch and sea-water. Shortly an ambulance arrives in response to an emergency call, but the day has been saved.

To quote the District Chairman:

“Judging from my observation of the victim’s weak condition I am thoroughly convinced that this man would have died within minutes if Mr. Kuhlke had not happened on the scene at that precise moment. Mr. Buhler concurs.”

Steve just after saving a life.

Back when I first visited Nepal in 2006, I met a local villager named Ram. You can see Ram and his house in Episode 2 of the video series I created about that trip.

On that trip and after my trek was completed, I went back to the village and Ram took me to meet a sadhu living in the hills nearby. For some strange reason, the video I took of that disappeared.

This time around, I contacted Ram again and went back to see Baba Srinath again.

I’ve mentioned these sadhu’s before and find their way of life fascinating. The Sanskrit term sadhu refers to “renouncers who have chosen to live a life apart from or on the edges of society in order to focus on their own spiritual practice” (Wikipedia). They are ascetic practitioners of yoga who can be found in caves, forests, and walking the streets all over the Indian sub-continent. An estimated 4 – 5 million sadhus are in existence today.

One problem is that many “fake babas” also walk the streets. Since they are considered holy the population of India considers it a noble act to donate money and food to the sadhus. They approach houses and business asking for some small alms, such as a handful of rice. Some take advantage of this, dressing in their finest sadhu gear.

Nevertheless, Baba Srinath is most definitely one of the more genuine sadhus around. For the past 30 years he has lived on his current hilltop with a gorgeous view of the Kathmandu Valley spreading before him. You read correctly, he has lived on this hill, never coming down and spending most of his timein one room, for 30 years. Before he ascended the hill permanently, he spent time living at the foot of the hill running menial tasks for the Baba that lived their before him, much like another sadhu performs for him fetching needed supplies from the surrounding area.

Somewhat unclear view from Srinath’s.

I brought him some sugar, like the first time I visited, and he in turn gave me some of the most delicious tea I’ve ever tasted. I’m sure his recipe is no secret, but I have no idea what he puts in it.

Srinath’s abode.

His surroundings include a couple of buildings, including the one he spends the most time is (pictured above). A trident shrine and a lingham, both dedicated to Shiva, sit nearby. Fresh running water is routed through the middle of it all and a short climb up some steps leading higher lead to some small caves used as shrines.

Inside his room, Srinath sits smoking an incredibly large chillum, placing coals from his fire on top. I’m told the fire is never allowed to go out. Among his gear in the room is a radio, though I don’t know what he listens to.

Locals and military men from the nearby cantonment come to Baba Srinath for advice and religious teachings. My first time there I found some men discussing some Hindu holy texts, and this time a young girl prone to tears and her mother approached for advice on some matter.

One interesting story was related to me about Srinath and another, more famous Baba living in Kathmandu. There is one such Sadhu who goes by the name of Milk Baba (real name: Shri Ram Krishna Das). Baba is the Hindi word for ‘father’ and given to those of perceived spiritual importance.

Milk Baba is called thus because, for the past 30 years, he has existed on nothing but milk. His natty and dreaded hair, when not wrapped around his head, falls well below the length of his body.

Now, Milk Baba and Srinath have different approaches to their religous convictions. Srinath lives rather solitary upon his hilltop. Milk Baba, on the other hand, drives around Kathmandu on his scouter and travels the world giving lectures.

About 8 or 9 years ago, Milk Baba came to visit Srinath. I’m not sure what they spoke about, but the two did not find each other amiable. Milk Baba refused to drink Srinath’s tea and eventually parted in disagreement. They haven’t met since. Interesting meeting for two approaches to the same thing.

So thats all I know about Baba Srinath. Find him if you can…

Some local kids.

He explained that to be defeated was a condition of life which was unavoidable. Men were either victorious or defeated and, depending on that, they became persecutors or victims.

-Carlos Castaneda, A Separate Reality: Further Conversations with Don Juan (1971)

Over the last few months I have taken buses, trains, boats, rickshaws, bikes, and horses through a multitude of cultures and minorities therein. It occurs to me that a lot can be inferred about these places based upon my main means of communication: the internet cafe.

Leaving Japan at the start of my journey, I also left the home of the world’s best internet cafes, which is a term that comes quite short of describing these establishments. The rows of basic computers found in every cafe are accompanied by huge selections of manga comics, DVDs, and video games. Booths are available, complete with leather reclining chairs, with TV setups and game consoles, and just outside are banks of vending machines. In fact, since such places stay open all night these media meccas are the best place to sleep if you miss your last train home. It’s a well-oiled machine, but you pay for it. Service is top notch, but you pay for it.

Into China, we generally find a high level of sophistication in the internet cafes. Connections speeds are fast and computers new. Computer interfaces use customized desktops with a large variety of games and computer software at your disposal, which I have to believe is all pirated. The difference is the Big Brother factor in China. The customized desktops allow them a degree of control over how you are using the computer. Its no secret the Red China has an amazingly advanced firewall system, referred to as the Great Firewall which you can read more about here, that allows them to monitor or block nearly all net traffic. One expat assured me upon opening an email with derogatory comments about China that the internet in only his neighborhood was quickly cut-off. Perhaps, but speed definitely suffers and many sites you must use a proxy to access (The Chairman doesn’t use Facebook). Since I visited during the Olympics, these restrictions were supposedly relaxed a great deal due to the influx of foreigners who don’t normally put up with this kind of totalitarian bullshit at home.

Upon entry into Pakistan, you are now officially on the Indian subcontinent, but with a Muslim twist. Muslim people are exceedingly hospitable and very eager to help (this is different from India), but the technological infrastructure is quite poor with old computers and slow connections. What to do?

Over in neighboring India its a bit harder to categorize. India has a booming IT sector but you wouldn’t know it based upon their internet cafes since all the people educated to operate computers are not working in the local cafe or even in the country in many cases. Speed and hardware are generally better than Pakistan, but the problem lies in the lack of maintenance and administration. For Indian internet cafes, the business model is plug it in and charge money. The result are virus-laden computers with software that is non-existent or outdated.

Every computer in an internet cafe should offer a basic set of software that is up to date, not to mention free. Things like Firefox, Skype, Acrobat Reader, Flash, and Java to mention some basics. This stuff is free yet very few cafes actually have these things installed and ready to use in India. One particularly ignorant cafe worker (they tend to be 12 years old but he was old enough to know better) refused to have Firefox, by far the best and most useful internet browser, installed on his computers. Instead it was an older version of Internet Explorer and thus lacking tabbed browsing (stolen from Firefox anyway) and features like remembering all the sites you have open when the browser/computer crashes… which is often in India with unreliable electricity. In fact without this its quite futile to get anything done on computers in India. So people, myself included, would take their own time, which they pay for, to download this on slow connection speeds and do him a favor by installing it… only to have it removed. No amount of reasoning can explain why this is bad policy to him. Remember, I am making parallel comparisons here. This is the same culture that pours untreated human waste in their “holiest” river in the Hindu religion…. where thousands take a bath in every day.

Never once in India did I use a computer that wasn’t logged in as administrator, giving users full access to download the things that should already be installed and much more that shouldn’t. It was quite shocking to cross the border into Nepal and find things as they should be. Electricity is a big problem, but the things that they can control, like having iTunes ready to use, is done! In fact, internet cafes in Nepal are the best since I left Japan with modern fast machines and clean comfortable spaces. Cost is slightly higher in Nepal versus India, but when things actually work its a small concession.

Michael Palin may be best known as a member of Monty Python, but I’m fond of his travel documentaries produced with the BBC. Before I started my trip I watched his series entitled Himalaya where he traverses the cultures in Pakistan, India, China, Bhutan, and Bangladesh that reside in this greatest of mountain chains.

I’ve recently stated reading the book published of his journey and am quite taken aback at the similarity to my previous 7 months of travel. For example, his Pakistan travels mirrors my own greatly with stops along the Karakoram Highway, Hunza Valley, and polo matches in Gilgit. (With all do respect, though, I have done mine without the BBC treasury and have come overland from Japan.)

If you’re interested in further detail about the places I have visited, by all means put this in your Netflix queue or get it for your Kindle. You can also find the book, DVD, and of course torrent file. You won’t regret it.

With my Indian visa quickly expiring, I decided to take heed and depart Benares. Off to Nepal I head for a refresh of both my visa and head in the crisp mountains.

I entered the train station to await my train to Gorakhpur from whence buses will complete the journey to Pokhara and then Kathmandu. As I entered the crowded station I noticed a monk in auroral attire monitoring the entrance to the platform. He quickly engaged me in converstation about my destination and our plans were the same: journey to Kushinagar on the Indian side to visit the place of Buddha’s death and to Lumbini on the Nepali side where Buddha was born.

“Yes, okay, well then- just follow me, ok? I’ve been here several times!”

And just like that I met Master Roy, a monk born in Singapore living in Taiwan for many years and my companion for the next several days. He now lives at Taipei’s famed White Cloud Temple. With him was another Taiwanese pilgrim, a woman of about his age, whom he was escorting around the famous Buddhist pilgrimage points of India and Nepal.

Master Roy

Master Roy is certainly eccentric and friendly- and doesn’t he resemble Bob Hoskins, the actor from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? At the station, I thought of my freshly shaved head under my hat as I watched Master Roy apply generous amounts of some kind of oil upon his own shorn dome. It was bound to happen. With a smile I unveiled my cranium and accepted a coating of his Sri Lanken lube that left me shining like a cue ball and Master Roy chuckling with pleasure.

At both stops, Buddhist countries and organizations have spent large amounts of money to build temples of their own style. In these temples it is possible to stay and eat, donation appreciated. Master Roy has been to these sites several times and thus knows where to stay, who the head monks are, and what to see. I couldn’t ask for a better method of visitation.

Kushinagar

Our first stop was Kushinagar. Guatama Buddha would achieve parinirvana here at the age of 80 in 483 BCE. Parinirvana occurs upon the bodily death of one who has attained complete awakening, escaping samsara or the cycle of reincarnation.

According to tradition Buddha would take his final meal, either that of pork or mushroom, from a blacksmith and fall violently ill. Sensing the end was near, Buddha would instruct his attendant to convince the blacksmith, Cunda, that the meal had nothing to do with his death and was in fact a source of great merit to provide the Buddha with his last nourishment. Buddha told his disciples at his death to follow no leader, but to follow his teachings (dharma). Today, the Parinirvana Temple marks the spot of his death with a statue inside.

“All composite things pass away. Strive for your own liberation with diligence.”

-Final words of Guatama Buddha

Parinirvana Temple, Picture courtesy Wikipedia

Picture courtesy Wikipedia

Sleeping Buddha Detail

Buddha Feet

Makutabandhana, the cremation-site. Picture courtesy Wikipedia.

Over the centuries, warring invasions left the site destroyed and jungle retook the surrounding countryside. In the 1800′s, English attached to the East India Company rediscovered the site and eventually made the connection from the ancient texts that this was in fact the site of Buddha’s death.

Of interest, The Maitreya Project aims to build a 152 meter tall statue of Buddha that will surely bring many more pilgrims to this holy site of Buddhism. The Statue of Liberty is 46 meters tall.

Lumbini

So we left Kushinagar, where we stayed at the Burmese Temple, and continued across the border of Nepal to Lumbini. This is the place of Buddha’s birth and is much more vibrant in feeling and community. We first stayed where all traveler’s rest their heads, the gigantic Korean Temple. This temple can accommodate large numbers of people in several housing building and boasts a concrete reconstruction of a traditional Korean temple. Though this was fine, we eventually used Master Roy’s connections to get us into the still under-construction Vietnamese Temple.

And what a temple it is. Vast amounts of money are creating a sort of Buddhist-Disney compound with slightly trippy statues, a crane pond, and huge main temple with dragons, lotus, and mountain sculpture.

View from top of Vietnamese Temple, looking onto the grounds.

Local resident of the Vietnam Temple

Surrounding the holy sites of Lumbini are large monastic zones separated into Theravadin monasteries on one side with Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries in another.

But we came to see the birthplace of Buddha, where Queen Mayadevi delivered young Siddhartha (“he who achieves his aim”) in a pond. She was on her way to her father’s kingdom to give birth, as custom of the time. During the celebrations over his birth, a hermit seer predicted that the child would become either a a great king or a great holy man.

Birthplace of Buddha.

Buddha’s Exact Place of Birth, picture courtesy of Wikipedia

The modern site boasts a Bodhi tree, an Ashokan pillar to mark the visit of the great king, a bathing pond, and a temple housing a marker for the exact site of Buddha’s birth.

Under the Bodhi Tree

Countryside

I ended up staying longer at these sites with the company of Master Roy and his travelling companion. He is a first class individual and a prime example of one of the first tenets of Buddhism: charity. So it was with some hesitance I took my leave and continued into Nepal. Hopefully I can meet Master Roy again when I visit friends in Taiwan.