Canada
Esther:

After Singapore, we flew north-east to Seoul, Korea. The airport there proved to be a soothing, serene atmosphere, despite the need to pass through unneccessary x-ray and frisking checks.

The last leg from Seoul to Vancouver was 9 1/2 hours and proved to be extremely comfortable. I think Angelo and I recognized that the patience we learned in India made the flight and waiting times very easy. The comfort in which we traveled was stellar next to anything we have done in the past 3+ months! We were treated like gold and ate wonderful Indian veg plane-cuisine. Our travel time total came to 30 hours including stopovers waits. We left Dehli 1115pm, April 7th and arrived in Vancouver at 1215pm on April 8th - so go figure if we're feeling out of sorts over the next few days.

As soon as Vancouver was in our sights, my heart began to beat harder and my emotions spoke to my gratification of coming home. The touchdown was like our last 'check' on the list of all the remaining things to do on this excursion.

What struck us about the drive home was, lines on the road to divide lanes, no honking whatsoever, courtesy within space between cars, boulevards, clean streets and signage to go with it all! The beauty of the Fraser Valley was astounding and beckoned me home to Chilliwack (our new place).

Home = Canada. What a great country to be born into. Really, doesn't it come down to that? We don't choose where we begin and that can make all the difference in what the definition of the 'real world' may be to you and me. India brought so much into focus for me, particularly that my life is a good one. Life is about love, pursuit of happiness within attaining the reality of dreams and about facing the difficult questions in order to find the right answer.

Truly, I don't know how to wrap up the blog, but I thank you for joining us on our travels. Our ability to capture India was fun to blog, fun to communicate and well, it's going to make explaining those 35+ rolls of film a whole lot easier to explain!

Thanks and keep in touch!
Email for now: angeloesther@hotmail.com
Phone #: 604-824-1352

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Singapore so far...
Esther:

Angelo and I are currently back in Singapore for a brief, but welcome stopover. We have had a lovely iced coffees and are utilizing this snazzy free internet stop to pass the time.

Leaving Delhi was a mixed bag of emotions for me. I had this strange feeling overwhelm me the entire night before our departure and following day that was almost like a sick-to-my-stomach kind of emotion, much like if you had to go on stage to perform or something. I guess my nerves were all wrapped up in whether or not I had done everything that I had hoped. Confidently, I can answer yes to that question, but it niggles in the back of my mind nonetheless.

The five hour flight from Dehli was non-eventful and quick. We've got some great movies to watch, mostly flicks that we didn't get to see because of leaving N. America, so we're optimistic about the next 17.5 hour leg onto Vancouver.

Looking forward to more real coffee and getting those films developed!

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Luxury
Angelo:

Esther and I are now in the last days of our India sojourn, (we board a Singapore Airlines flight bound for Vancouver on Wednesday, April 7th), and have decided to spend them in luxury. Last night we arrived at the New Delhi Radisson and booked ourselves into a Business-Class suite. King-sized bed, copious pillows, warm lighting, satellite television, opulent marble bathroom (with 24-hour hot water!) and a complimentary buffet breakfast with real brewed coffee...another world. Once we settled in, though, I looked out over the freeway outside our window and saw a babu riding his elephant along the shoulder as unaffected locals in air-conditioned Toyotas roared by him, and at night the mullah's cries from a nearby mosque could be heard over the purring of our air conditioner. Still in India.

The five-star prices are relatively outrageous, (a can of pop costs nearly ten times what it does elsewhere), but we have no problem justifying this excess. After all, our three months in the subcontinent cost us much less than we anticipated. We budgeted around $30 CAN per day, and on average spent around $20 CAN...that's including rooms, food, transport and souvenirs...for the both of us.

We're enjoying this last stage of the journey, a vacation within the trip, but are somewhat sad that it's all coming to an end as well.


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In the Moment
Angelo:

Darjeeling was cold this morning and, much like the day we arrived, the gathering clouds obscured the valley. We bid a fond farewell and caught a jeep out of town.

In the last couple of days the water shortage problem in Darjeeling has really heated up. It's come to the attention of the press that the West Bengal government earmarked funds to remedy the water-distribution debacle...which have subsequently gone missing. The local MP was quoted as saying that the water shortage problem in Darjeeling was "...a minor issue." Not so if your livelihood depends on tourism and the tenents of your guest house cannot take a shower or flush the toilet. Last night frustrated residents crowded around the two or three water trucks sent up the mountain from Siliguri to placate them. Protests and marches were planned for later today.

Given the above circumstances our departure felt serendipitous. Our over-loaded Tata Sumo jeep dove down, down down...descending two-thousand meters in approximately thirty kilometers in a long series of switchbacks that had the fender wells rrrrppp-rrrppp-rrrppping against the tires and our driver wrestling with the steering wheel.

As we lurched down the side of the mountain through enormous bamboo stands, forests, and tea fields where women with baskets on their heads picked the 'first flush' while balancing precariously on toes on forty-five-degree slopes, it occurred to me that the success of traveling lies in the enjoyment of the moment. With a panoramic view of the valley opening upon greater West Bengal I was certainly enjoying this one, though the Indian fellow in the back seat retching out the side window for the entire descent might have had other ideas about it.
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Last hike in Darjeeling
Esther:

Today marked our last hike through the beauty of the hills of Darjeeling. We did a long walk past the Zoo to the Ropeway, which marks the outskirts of Darjeeling proper. Then we took the turn to walk back to town along the slopes of the tea plantations.

Within this walk we encountered Tenzing Rock, which is huge rock that the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute uses for training students. It was quite impressive, with a makeshift tourist centre huddled around it, with kids belaying down the slope (much to my chagrin) with basic ropes around waists and all the while hooting and hollering to their hearts content.

We found a small path shortly thereafter through a tea field and made our may up up up to the main road to town. This tea field path was wee, making it much more realistic how difficult it is to farm these extremely steep slopes to collect tea leaves. We earned an even greater respect for the tea workers by simply walking on their 'main path' through the plantation.

Sweating happily, we made it back to town where the scene is bustling and the sun is shining upon the lovely Tibetan, Nepalese and Indian faces. We headed to our Hasty Tasty restaurant for a couple of masala dosas (maybe the last ones of the trip!) and realized that we've fallen into quite a routine, not discluding this blogging and email bout. Darjeeling has become close to hearts, making it a little sad to go, but a great memory amongst many in our India excursion.
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Mercy
Angelo:

Last night we were invited to have dinner at the home-away-from-home of a woman from Oregon whom we'd been bumping into regularly around town. She is in Darjeeling for two years working with Tazo/Mercy Corps a "...partnership to support community development in India. The project, called Collaboration for Hope and Advancement in India (CHAI), takes a proactive approach to building strong communities in the tea growing district of Darjeeling where Tazo purchases some of the finest tea available in the world."

Every morning the Sikkim/West Bengal local paper is peppered with stories of the poor working conditions of many tea estate workers, some of whom live in migrant camps on the estate property. In one story as many as 800 workers from a single camp reportedly died from starvation, deprivation and disease after an unnamed multi-national corporation abandoned them without promised daily food and fuel rations after the tea season failed.

Mercy Corps is working with other local organizations promoting community development on several fronts. Darjeeling is currently suffering from water shortages, and everyone is waiting for the monsoon, as state, city and private reservoirs alike empty at alarming rates and people line up in block-long queues at community taps with as many water containers as they can carry. Luckily, Mr. Genesis Gurung, the jovial owner of the guest house we're currently inhabiting, assured us that their water supply would last until the end of the week, at which time we'll be on a flight to Delhi.

Or Oregonian host brought in an expat Nepali woman who cooked us a lovely dinner of Indian and Nepalese dishes, and a long evening of excellent conversation followed in her quaint and cozy bungalow overlooking the valley to the west.


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Reflective
Esther:

The past few days I have found myself extremely contemplative. Have I accomplished everything that I had set out to do in India? Did I fulfill each hope and desire successfully? What did I feel in the beginning of the trip and how has that evolved to what I'm like now?

I recently revisited my early journal entries and found a girl wandering in deprogramming from the world of work, moving provinces and curious of what the future holds. India proved to be the best possible distraction for me. I felt that all my life this trip was waiting in the wings. The point at which we boarded the plane felt more right than I could have imagined. And being here has proven to me that travel is integral to who I am, who we are. It's also reinforced that my ability to live with less is possible, if not preferable. India is a place of extreme wonder, chaos, despair, hope and charisma. It is going to infiltrate my life in so many ways, and yet remain this subtle reminder of what a great Canadian life I have been given.

Eight days left and feeling ready to come home. Feeling a little sad about the trip coming to an end, but that is normal. Life at home is an entirely blank page now. The beauty of embracing the future is the next great adventure!

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The Big K
Esther:

Darjeeling continues to offer magic and wonder each day. The weather has begun to warm up as Spring is showing itself here in regular sunshine with gleeful uniformed school-children gallavanting through the narrow streets, playing versions of cricket, singing at the top of their lungs and eating freezies.

The other beautiful thing about Darjeeling is the slow but certain unveiling of The Big K (as I lovingly refer to it), Kanchandjunga. Angelo and I woke up yesterday to take in the sunrise and get a decent glimpse of The Big K. This mountain is honestly in the middle of the sky! It truly is monstrous and demanding of attention. We have been looking for a glimpse of it since our arrival in the hopes of a peak. The view improves daily as the sun (and at times the wind) grows stronger against the foggy mists of winter. The Big K is dynamic and hard to fathom, considering that people attempt to summit its hard and aged peaks and succeed in the task!

Angelo and I continue to wander the steep terrain of Darjeeling's streets to find wonder in the vistas throughout with wonderful pit-stops in numerous peaceful Buddhist monasteries and Darjeeling landmarks.

Yesterday we walked from Darjeeling to the town of Ghoom where the final destination in the 10+ km walk was the Ghoom Monastery, referred to simply as the Old Monastery. Throughout the walk we happened upon friendly Buddhist Monks who invited us into their monasteries and temples. It was very peaceful and incredibly ornate. It frequently reminded us of our travels in Thailand.

Within the day-trip we encountered the Batasia Loop that has the darling Toy Train move right through it. The toy train is this wee blue steam-operated machine that toots like a toy and moves extremely slow up and down the mountain side.

Today, we went to the Japanese Peace Pagoda which inspired us to remember that the world can unite in world peace.

Each day brings delight in the people, whether they be young children waving "Hello" and attempting their English, elderly Nepalese ladies - decked in platter-like nose rings and aproned outfits telling of their marital status, smiling Tibetan faces - often found to be singing a Nepalese ballad of romance, meeting peer travelers - finally some Canucks in the lot, or in the fresh pine-scented mountain air - reminding us of home. Darjeeling is certainly a highlight as each day unravels the Big K and plentiful amounts of tea to keep us warm in the cool breezy clouds above it all.
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Self-Help
Angelo:

Esther and I spent most of the day tramping along the narrow, steep, switch-backing cart-tracks that snake up and down the foothills and mountain valleys of Darjeeling and connect the myriad small villages and tea plantations sprinkled throughout the hills. The misty fresh woody air did us a lot of good, and the towering cedar trees and giant fiddle-head ferns hanging over the trails reminded us of home.

Our wanderings were pleasant enough without a destination as the narrow trails weed out most vehicular traffic. However, we ended up at the Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre. The centre was founded in the late 1950s when the Chinese seized control of Tibet and the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers literally walked (for two months) through the mountains and into Northern India to begin their exile which continues to this day.

The center operates much like the Mennonite Central Committee and their Ten Thousand Villages program, with textile and wood workshops and a little store that sells and distributes the goods. The scenic Tibetan Self-Help compound also incorporates a large communal living area, schools, an orphanage, centers for the aged and recreation facilities.

Without exception, the Tibetans we've met here in Darjeeling have been kind and welcoming with ready smiles usually accompanied by a slight bow over their joined palms.


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India Takes It!
Angelo:

Even in sleepy Darjeeling the streets erupted in dodgy homemade fireworks last night when India took the series in their historic cricket match against their arch-rival, (and political nemesis), Pakistan on foreign turf.

Businesses were shut down for most of the day and schools were adjourned after lunch as men, women (okay, hardly any women) and children gathered around televisions set up right in the streets. We could easily follow the progress of the match as we meandered through town gauging solely by reactions from the clusters of people. We didn't actually watch much of the match (still don't really understand cricket) except during dinner, as our food arrived in record time so that the waiters and cooks could join us in the dining room to huddle around the television.


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