First Light Longings
We decided to wake up early today to get a good glimpse of sunrise from the topmost vantage point of our area - the imaginatively named Observation Hill.
Sunrise in Darjeeling is real early - about 4 to 430 am, which is hell for a late riser like me (i go to sleep at 430 am). Nevertheless, the problem was solved by me not sleeping at all, another great example of the kind of lateral thinking that has contributed many problems to solutions on our trip.
this is a shot of us in the nether period between dark and dawn. it's light enough so you can see our figures but dark enough so you don't see that we are actually freezing our butts off.
this is elgin and me pretending its not too cold to stand around and do nothing.
We actually had to start jumping up and down and running uphill in a bid to get our blood flowing and bodies warm. It was 45 degrees in Calcutta just yesterday. It was about 10 degrees thereabouts this morning. A change of 35 degrees in temperature is funny if you are reading this blog but not so if every breath feels like a mini brain freeze from a hastily drunk slurpee.
Add in the altitude (2000+ metres) and i felt as if i was running with a towel over my mouth and nose. I gave up after 300 metres uphill cos an old man was smiling at me.
This is a surprisingly good shot of player flags fastened to a tree at the summit. we have no idea how they got up there, seeing as there is a ravine between the two points. but i guess the nepalese or tibetian people don't let a minor thing like gravity get in the way of their business.
Finally, what we had been waiting for, the elusive Sun Bird.
As it gradually got lighter, the awesome scenery began to reveal itself. Words cannot do it justice, so i shall shut up and let you guys enjoy the views.
The people who live here rise very early. The streets were quite filled with people out for jogs and exercise in all shapes and sizes. All of them could run faster than us, be they old men with pot bellies or house wives. The kids here climb up half a mountainside to get to school everyday (which is why a lot of them are late) which is why they are so bloody fit. The picture below is the scene at about 430 to 445 am. Yes, it is that bright already.
Shops and eateries however, open much later at about 7ish for street food/makeshift stalls and about 9 plus for normal stores and shops. Hence, its kinda deserted at that time.
Because we had nothing much to do (before the zoo opened) we started wandering around and wandered into some posh hotel on top of a hill. It looks like something out of a european countryside.
We then wandered downwards into the poorer parts of the city. Unlike Calcutta, we were not accosted by any beggars, neither did we have irrational (or rational) fears about our safety.
We found this makeshift stall besides the road selling street food. We were hungry so we ate. 6 rupees for the vegetable roll (which was amazingly delicious) and 4 rupees for a cup of chai (tea). it was great for warming up the system and getting our day going.
A long queue means food must be good - another example of typical singaporean thinking. but we were right and the food was good.
A humble but owning breakfast.
You're looking at 1.80 SGD worth of vegetable rolls below:
Roger and me having a cuppa.
Elgin cannot take it anymore.
And now...i know you guys have been waiting for this: The Dog of the Day!
We caught these 3 snuggling up in the morning when it was freezing.
And also, the sign of the day:
Sunrise in Darjeeling is real early - about 4 to 430 am, which is hell for a late riser like me (i go to sleep at 430 am). Nevertheless, the problem was solved by me not sleeping at all, another great example of the kind of lateral thinking that has contributed many problems to solutions on our trip.
this is a shot of us in the nether period between dark and dawn. it's light enough so you can see our figures but dark enough so you don't see that we are actually freezing our butts off.
this is elgin and me pretending its not too cold to stand around and do nothing.
We actually had to start jumping up and down and running uphill in a bid to get our blood flowing and bodies warm. It was 45 degrees in Calcutta just yesterday. It was about 10 degrees thereabouts this morning. A change of 35 degrees in temperature is funny if you are reading this blog but not so if every breath feels like a mini brain freeze from a hastily drunk slurpee.Add in the altitude (2000+ metres) and i felt as if i was running with a towel over my mouth and nose. I gave up after 300 metres uphill cos an old man was smiling at me.
This is a surprisingly good shot of player flags fastened to a tree at the summit. we have no idea how they got up there, seeing as there is a ravine between the two points. but i guess the nepalese or tibetian people don't let a minor thing like gravity get in the way of their business.
Finally, what we had been waiting for, the elusive Sun Bird.
As it gradually got lighter, the awesome scenery began to reveal itself. Words cannot do it justice, so i shall shut up and let you guys enjoy the views.
The people who live here rise very early. The streets were quite filled with people out for jogs and exercise in all shapes and sizes. All of them could run faster than us, be they old men with pot bellies or house wives. The kids here climb up half a mountainside to get to school everyday (which is why a lot of them are late) which is why they are so bloody fit. The picture below is the scene at about 430 to 445 am. Yes, it is that bright already.
Shops and eateries however, open much later at about 7ish for street food/makeshift stalls and about 9 plus for normal stores and shops. Hence, its kinda deserted at that time.
Because we had nothing much to do (before the zoo opened) we started wandering around and wandered into some posh hotel on top of a hill. It looks like something out of a european countryside.
We then wandered downwards into the poorer parts of the city. Unlike Calcutta, we were not accosted by any beggars, neither did we have irrational (or rational) fears about our safety.
We found this makeshift stall besides the road selling street food. We were hungry so we ate. 6 rupees for the vegetable roll (which was amazingly delicious) and 4 rupees for a cup of chai (tea). it was great for warming up the system and getting our day going.
A long queue means food must be good - another example of typical singaporean thinking. but we were right and the food was good.
A humble but owning breakfast.
You're looking at 1.80 SGD worth of vegetable rolls below:
Roger and me having a cuppa.
Elgin cannot take it anymore.
And now...i know you guys have been waiting for this: The Dog of the Day!
We caught these 3 snuggling up in the morning when it was freezing.
And also, the sign of the day:
A guide to essential vacation photography skills
There are several photography skills that every self-respecting adventurer needs.
Thus far we've demonstrated a few of them. You can take a look at some excellent demonstrations in our earlier posts. These skills are:
1. taking shots of ourselves. we've pretty much mastered this skill. it's just more convenient to shoot ourselves instead of having others shoot us.
2. stealth photography, when it's explicitly prohibited. after an afternoon spent dodging watchmen and surveillance cameras at the indian museum in calcutta, we are almost expert spies. would-be employers, please take a look at our portfolio, which is displayed in an earlier post.
3. the commonplace scenery/statue/static object/pose snapshot.
the darjeeling leg of our epic adventure provided us with the opportunity to post some further instruction on more essential vacation photography skills.
4. the photograph as deterrent.
beggars come a-begging? cannot shake them off? taking a photograph of them does the trick. beggar will go bother someone more charitable-looking and less trigger happy.
5. shooting from a moving vehicle . there may come a time when the intrepid adventurer finds himself trapped in a moving vehicle, for instance, a jeep taxiing him from the train station to darjeeling.
so much nice scenery along the way and no way to stop, set up a tripod, and shoot something spectacular. so he must brave the elements and stick his hand out the window.
much foresight is needed to mentally chart out the obstacle-strewn road ahead and determine the exact moment that the shot should be taken. even then, his reflexes may fail him. or some unexpected thing may appear. Here are several problems he may encounter that will mar the photograph he has so carefully planned.
a. the kerb that gets in the way.
b. an offending shrub
c. the smothering mist
d. hideous fellow road users
when the heavenly celestial bodies, galaxies, stars, lampposts and road kerbs align and the mist deigns to lift itself, a nice shot of picturesque scenery is the photographer's prize.
bonus shot: posse of cows on winding road.
6. the last skill for now. photography with false targets.
should an adventurer find himself wanting to take a photograph of a potentially dangerous/shy/unwilling subject, he can find a prop very useful for disguising his intentions. by placing the prop at one side of the photograph and pretending to snap it/him while really capturing his true target in the other side of the photograph, one can avoid alerting the true target and encountering potentially problematic consequences.
consider this example. i am the prop. darjeeling schoolgirls are the real target.
Thus far we've demonstrated a few of them. You can take a look at some excellent demonstrations in our earlier posts. These skills are:
1. taking shots of ourselves. we've pretty much mastered this skill. it's just more convenient to shoot ourselves instead of having others shoot us.
2. stealth photography, when it's explicitly prohibited. after an afternoon spent dodging watchmen and surveillance cameras at the indian museum in calcutta, we are almost expert spies. would-be employers, please take a look at our portfolio, which is displayed in an earlier post.
3. the commonplace scenery/statue/static object/pose snapshot.
the darjeeling leg of our epic adventure provided us with the opportunity to post some further instruction on more essential vacation photography skills.
4. the photograph as deterrent.
beggars come a-begging? cannot shake them off? taking a photograph of them does the trick. beggar will go bother someone more charitable-looking and less trigger happy.5. shooting from a moving vehicle . there may come a time when the intrepid adventurer finds himself trapped in a moving vehicle, for instance, a jeep taxiing him from the train station to darjeeling.
so much nice scenery along the way and no way to stop, set up a tripod, and shoot something spectacular. so he must brave the elements and stick his hand out the window.
much foresight is needed to mentally chart out the obstacle-strewn road ahead and determine the exact moment that the shot should be taken. even then, his reflexes may fail him. or some unexpected thing may appear. Here are several problems he may encounter that will mar the photograph he has so carefully planned.
a. the kerb that gets in the way.
b. an offending shrub
c. the smothering mist
d. hideous fellow road users
when the heavenly celestial bodies, galaxies, stars, lampposts and road kerbs align and the mist deigns to lift itself, a nice shot of picturesque scenery is the photographer's prize.
bonus shot: posse of cows on winding road.
6. the last skill for now. photography with false targets.should an adventurer find himself wanting to take a photograph of a potentially dangerous/shy/unwilling subject, he can find a prop very useful for disguising his intentions. by placing the prop at one side of the photograph and pretending to snap it/him while really capturing his true target in the other side of the photograph, one can avoid alerting the true target and encountering potentially problematic consequences.
consider this example. i am the prop. darjeeling schoolgirls are the real target.
Remaining photos from Calcutta and the Journey to Darjeeling
PHOTOS ARE NOW UP AGAIN!!
these are the last few photos from Calcutta.
here is our last dinner, at a Chinese restaurant. The uncle speaks chinese, english and hindi. he was born here in calcutta cos his dad came over from Hong Kong.
we caught this shot of an indian man gazing at cars behind the showroom's glass panels. it is unlikely he will ever be able to afford one. his gaze was pretty longing and wistful though - he didn't notice us taking this picture.
this is how the MacDonalds in Park Street looks like from the inside. pretty unique indian decor.
this is me getting frisked and scanned by the security guards. they only scan guys and never women. apparently the concept of a female terrorist/troublemaker has never crossed the indian psyche.
Howrah station at night, as bustling and busy as it is in the day. We chartered a cab from our hotel to get there, which cost us 40 rupees each.
this is the signboard which tells you where you should go to find your train. our train is the last one - 545UP squiggly line, squiggly line, departing 2355 hours.
the head of the dragon. the eye of the tiger. the wings of the phoenix. the locomotion system of the train.
this is our jail cell, i mean train compartment, viewed from the outside.
this is the awe inspiring view of the inside. i had to make myself really tired to fall asleep; the sleeping area is even narrower than the last train and there is no ladder to help people climb up to the top bunks on the side (my bunk). Luckily, I can climb and a simple heel hook while pulling the lip did the job. I was actually supposed to sleep on the lower bunk but a fat man occupied my space and didnt want to go to his space.
here is roger and elgin, in their own respective cells.
the indian countryside changes somewhat the closer we got to darjeeling. it become a bit more pastoral, without losing that "slum charm".
At last, New Jalpaiguri Station FTW
From here, we boarded a jeep for a 3.5 hour ride to the top of a mountain - Darjeeling. It was the ride of a lifetime.
Last but not least...we have our various Dog(s) of the Day competition!
these are the last few photos from Calcutta.
here is our last dinner, at a Chinese restaurant. The uncle speaks chinese, english and hindi. he was born here in calcutta cos his dad came over from Hong Kong.
we caught this shot of an indian man gazing at cars behind the showroom's glass panels. it is unlikely he will ever be able to afford one. his gaze was pretty longing and wistful though - he didn't notice us taking this picture.
this is how the MacDonalds in Park Street looks like from the inside. pretty unique indian decor.
this is me getting frisked and scanned by the security guards. they only scan guys and never women. apparently the concept of a female terrorist/troublemaker has never crossed the indian psyche.
Howrah station at night, as bustling and busy as it is in the day. We chartered a cab from our hotel to get there, which cost us 40 rupees each.
this is the signboard which tells you where you should go to find your train. our train is the last one - 545UP squiggly line, squiggly line, departing 2355 hours.
the head of the dragon. the eye of the tiger. the wings of the phoenix. the locomotion system of the train.
this is our jail cell, i mean train compartment, viewed from the outside.
this is the awe inspiring view of the inside. i had to make myself really tired to fall asleep; the sleeping area is even narrower than the last train and there is no ladder to help people climb up to the top bunks on the side (my bunk). Luckily, I can climb and a simple heel hook while pulling the lip did the job. I was actually supposed to sleep on the lower bunk but a fat man occupied my space and didnt want to go to his space.
here is roger and elgin, in their own respective cells.
the indian countryside changes somewhat the closer we got to darjeeling. it become a bit more pastoral, without losing that "slum charm".
At last, New Jalpaiguri Station FTW
From here, we boarded a jeep for a 3.5 hour ride to the top of a mountain - Darjeeling. It was the ride of a lifetime.
Last but not least...we have our various Dog(s) of the Day competition!
