Day 50 Delhi

Day 50                        Friday 14^th October 2011                    Delhi

Woken by the train waiter who delivered tea & biscuit.

About 9am we realised that the train had been stopped for longer than usual. Even though it was an express train, sometimes we had to stop to wait for another train to come through. Word then came through that there was a technical problem with the engine & we were waiting for another one.

Breakfast was served, veg cutlets or omelette with various pickles & spices, 2 pieces of bread, tea/coffee.

Finally arrived in Delhi at 2pm, 3 hours late.

We headed for

Connaught Place

which we know quite well. Hotel Palace Heights where we stayed as backpackers in 1991 (dump, bucket hot water but fantastic location)  had been renovated & was now number 5 hotel in Delhi. They only had a vacancy for tonight so we took that & went looking to find somewhere else. After rejecting a few places we went to Hotel Bright which had also been upgraded.

They could accommodate us for the nights we wanted except 18^th so we intend to go to Karnal for that night.    Karnal was where John Peach Macwhirter was stationed as a Magistrate in the 1850’s.

Day 49 Calcutta and overnight to Delhi

Day 49                        Thursday 13^th October 2011               Calcutta to Delhi

With the information from Ranabir whom we met in the State Archives yesterday, we headed for the National Library (housed in a magnificent old house in large gardens) to see whether we could find anything more on properties owned by Dr Macwhirter in Calcutta.

When I signed the register I noticed the entry above mine was a P T Nair. I didn’t think much more about it as it would be too much of a co-incidence to have the author of “History of Calcutta’s Streets” in the Library at the same time.

We proceed to frustratingly look at catalogues & cabinets of card index without much success. Whilst waiting to collect a book, Phil also noticed “P T Nair” and didn’t hesitate to speak with him (there were only 4 of us in this section of the library). It was indeed the same man whom we tried to contact when we were in Calcutta in 2000. He took us in hand, marched us down the stairs & told the staff to unlock certain cupboards & get “his” 2 books of references. In these he was able to tell us what volumes of Bengal Past & Present we needed to use to find some early history of Calcutta streets. Apparently Mr Nair comes to the Library every morning.

Back upstairs & we were able to consult the volumes. We read Volumes 1-3 but these only went to about 1805 with a few later entries. These Volumes had been produced by the Asiatic Society in 1907 and gave the ownership of properties & when they were purchased & sold. Disappointingly we then read that the Society did not have the funds to continue this work on later years. Both Ranabir & Mr Nair told us that land records are held by Municipal Councils and are very, very difficult to research.

Back to the hotel to collect our luggage & head for Sealdah train station to catch the 18:40 Duronto Express to Delhi. Sitting on the platform waiting for our train to come in made me realise just how many people use trains in India. The platforms are very long & each train seems to be crowded.  Porters rush to meet each train & it is common to see these men carry 2 or 3 heavy suitcases on their heads. Another thought came to my head as we watched & waited. Women were passing by in beautiful saris, very colourfully co-ordinated. I realised that I had never seen two women in an identical sari. How could this be in such a huge population.

Our train came in & we found ourselves sharing with a Muslim family, husband, wife  & young son who were heading for Saudia Arabia from Delhi & a young Indian chap.

Waiters came around for dinner orders (veg or non-veg thali) which we discovered was included in the price of the ticket.  Water & ice-creams were also provided. Travelling on Indian trains has certainly changed since we did it as backpackers.

Once the food trays were taken away we all settled down for the night and we’re due to arrive in Delhi at 11am.

Laurette wanted to set up her folding middle bunk and go to sleep, but bedding times are from 9.00 PM so she had to wait till close to that time.  In any event we waited till our Muslim compartment mates had finished their lenghty prayers in front of us, then off to sleep.

Day 48 Calcutta

Day 48                        Wednesday 12 October 2011             Calcutta

Having heard from some of the rally people that the flower market close to the Howrah bridge was worthwhile, we got up early & went there by taxi.

Many of the flowers were for the temples so huge mounds of yellow & gold flowers. Some vendors draped them over their shoulders so it looked as if they were wearing flower dresses.

There were other colourful flowers too & lots of neatly arranged herbs.

It was a hive of activity around the market with people buying & selling. A couple of cyclists had about 20 hens tied on the handlebars.

A quick breakfast back at the hotel & then a taxi to the State Archives, armed with our High Commission letter.  The woman in charge then proceeded to write a whole “file” on us for approval by a higher authority. This took over an hour. Finally we were allowed to look at some records.

In January 1820, approval was sought from the government for the Police Office to rent Dr Macwhirter’s house in Lal Bazaar at a rent of 735 rupees a month for 3 years.

In 1823 the Police Office bought Mr Palmer’s house for 200,000 rupees. We wonder whether Dr Macwhirter then rented his house as a Sailors’ Home as he was getting rent from such an establishment subsequently.

We also found the appointment of Dr Macwhirter as Assistant Surgeon at Sarun in December 1809.

There were lots of records on the Mutiny but only for the Bengal Districts.

While we were at the Archives we met Ranabir, an ex-editor of a newspaper & author of a book on Government houses. He was most helpful & suggested avenues for finding out more about properties in Calcutta.

We hope to find the Delhi district mutiny records when we get to Delhi in a few days.

Day 47 Calcutta

Day 47                        Tuesday 11 October 2011                   Calcutta

We walked around to the British High Commission to see whether we could get a letter to allow us to do some research at the State Archives. We were told they couldn’t give us a letter but were willing to ring the Australian High Commission in Delhi. We spoke to them, advised what we required & in a short time letters were faxed through.  Great efficiency and co operation

We then went to another Library Reading Room at Esplanade East where all the early newspapers were kept.

All the papers were bound in string & decaying badly & infested with bookworms. They were in an open area, not air-conditioned & protected from the elements only by curtains. We spent several hours here & didn’t find anything that we hadn’t seen previously. The electricity went off for a while & the curtains were raised to allow us to read by daylight.

Having been told the Minister at St Andrew’s would be there today, we took the Metro across to BBD Bagh. Arriving at St Andrew’s we were told the Minister was on leave. Frustrating!

Next was a beer in the garden of the Fairlawn hotel, we are told that Vi Smith is still running it.

About 5pm we met up with the remaining rally people at the Oberoi. Chris & Liz had taken an early flight this morning after their hellish trip to Calcutta in the early hours with a broken clutch cable.

After farewells we went to Mocambo for dinner.

Day 46 Calcutta

Day 46                        Monday 10 October 2011                   Calcutta

We walked around the corner to Shakespeare Sarani to the State Archives at No 43.

We had been told that it opened at 11am but thought this was odd so got there at 10am.  Five men were sitting at an empty front desk, all reading newspapers. We were told to sit & wait which we did.

At 11am a woman took us up to the Archives & explained that they only had records from 1904 there & in any event we would need a letter from our Embassy (there isn’t one in Calcutta) to look at any records.  Records from the earlier years were at another branch, near

College Road

.

Armed with the address in Bengali, we got a taxi there.

Again, we were told that we would need a letter from an Embassy or Legation in order to look at anything held there. We were allowed to look at an index. This had an entry from 1820 about Dr Macwhirter letting his house in Lal Bazaar to the Police Office. In order to look at the original document we would need to get a recommendation & tomorrow we were told was a holiday for government offices.  We asked how many pages and the woman went and looked, 2 pages, it was that close but we were not permitted to see it.  There were also other indexes, but these were treated as “records” so again we were not permitted to see them

So, we went off in a taxi to the National Library. Thunder & lightning all around & darkening skies. Running through the rain we reached the Library only to be told it had moved to a newer building close by in the same grounds.

After getting through security & storing bags, we were told we didn’t need a membership card but could go up to the second floor to see the Assistant Librarian.

We then spent several hours reading through old gazettes & papers but didn’t find anything of interest.

We then got a taxi to the Asiatic Society. It was pretty disorganised & books we ordered up couldn’t be found!

A rather frustrating day but that is India!

Day 45 Sunday 9th October 2011 Calcutta

As not much would be open today, we walked to the South Park Street Cemetery.

There is a grave with headstone here for the three young children of Dr Macwhirter who died in the early 1800’s.

The grave is deteriorating with cracking plinth. The inscription is also fading & wearing away. Still, not bad for 200 years in such a climate. There are some huge monolithic tombs here & so many died at young ages. There is a lot of moss everywhere too.  It is an amazing oasis in the centre of this teeming city.

We asked the caretaker whether we could do some repair work to the tombstone. No, we had to get written permission. A pity, because we saw on one of the streets, renderers & the like sitting waiting for work.

We then went to Flury’s, a well known institution for coffee & cake. Now you have to wait outside in the heat until a table is vacant & then you walk through a security device. Once inside, you then wait another 20 minutes for service. Entertainment for the waiting queue was provided on the footpath by a man with two trained monkeys. They performed tricks at his command. At least they appeared well cared for, unlike others we’ve seen.

Along

Russell Street

we found a few antique shops & auction houses still there but very little of interest. One proprietor told us that the government was now preventing the sale of antiques so it was very difficult to buy, let alone sell, antique goods.

We were looking forward to an advertised Rajasthani dinner at the hotel. Alas, it wasn’t on as the chefs had gone home for Durja Puja.

Calcutta feels like home after the other places we have been on this trip, the smells and sights remain the same no matter how many years since we last visited.

Day 44 Calcutta

Day 44                        Saturday 8^th October 2011                  Calcutta

After a fairly good night in our bunks, the train arrived right on time at 7am at Sealdah Station.

It was hot & humid even at this time. We caught a taxi to a hotel & negotiated a good deal. Also put our laundry in as we have been on the move for days & no chance to get any washing done & running out of clean clothes.

First task was to book a train to Delhi. At the first booking office we were directed to go to the Foreign Booking Office in

Fairlie Place

. We got a taxi there but found it didn’t open until 10am and there were already people waiting. A quick walk around the area & back to the queue. As the doors opened we were handed a booking slip with a number on it. We were customer 15.

When our number was called we quickly purchased tickets to Delhi for Thursday evening. Senior citizens automatically get a 50% discount.

Next we went to St Andrew’s Church where Dr Macwhirter had become the first elder in 1814. He had also loaned the Church 20,000 rupees in 1819 so that a spire could be erected.

Interestingly there is now an historical plaque outside the Church. It mentions that when the Church wanted to erect the spire, the Bishop of Calcutta refused as the spire would make it taller than the Cathedral Church of St John’s. The Minister (Rev Bryce) had the spire erected & on top he placed a crowing cock. The furious Bishop then declared that the Public Works Department responsible for cleaning the spire were not to clean the cock. The bird remains there to this day.

No photography is allowed within the Church & there is a superb oil portrait of Rev Bryce in the adjoining office. In the Church newsletter, concern was expressed that with the death of some long standing elders & other issues, the leadership of the church is in jeopardy. The 200^th anniversary is due in 2015 so it is to be hoped that there will be some celebrations to mark the occasion.

We walked to

Tank Square

(still filthy) although beside it now there is underground parking for VIPs & visiting ministers. Above this there is manicured lawn & garden, but fenced off from the public. People were actually fishing in the Tank & on one side people are living on the street in makeshift shanties. We went to Tank Square as

Red Cross Place

(formerly known as

Wellesley Place

) runs off  there, which was where the HEICS dispensary was located, Dr John Macwhirter having lived next door

We found

Red Cross Place

. We knew the Dispensary was at No 4 so Dr Macwhirter lived at either No 2 or No 6.  In 1821 there was a fire at No 4 & Dr Macwhirter gave an engraved plate to the officers of the 87^th Regiment who saved his property.

We were disappointed to find that the Central Telegraph Office now stands here & that it was built in 1873. Even if the street had been renumbered, there was nothing of the early 1800’s still standing.

Dr Macwhirter was the personal physician to the Governor General at the Raj Bhavan which is at the end of Wellesley Place & St Andrew’s is a short walk away.

Next stop was the State Archives which is a short distance from our hotel. It is closed until Monday at 11am so we’ll go back then.

We walked along

Park Street

to find somewhere for dinner & found Peter Cat restaurant.

Day 43 Kathmandu to India

Day 43                        Friday 7^th October 2011          Kathmandu to Bhadrapur

After breakfast we took the hotel taxi to the airport (600r). The airport was very crowded & check-in counters had very little control so there was lots of manoeuvring & pushing in.

Finally our flight to Bhadrapur was called & onto Buddha Air. It was an ATR 42 for any of you interested in such things. It was a full flight but we managed to get a seat on the left hand side. Unfortunately it was very cloudy & although we were travelling at 15,000 ft we were unable to see Everest for a final glimpse.

I also wanted to see the Arun River Valley which I trekked up to join the Everest trail in 1980 but poor visibility meant very little to be seen.

An hour later we landed…at an airport which had a sign called Chandigarh!

It was in the middle of nowhere but there were plenty of taxis & mini-buses. We paid 1,200r for a 17km mini-bus to take us to the border town. The road was awful so once again we had a bumpy ride. Buses going both ways were crowded with plenty of people sitting on the bus roof…fortunately we haven’t had to do this yet.

The minibus dropped us outside the Nepal Immigration Office (which also happened to do a bit of money changing) and once again, a quick stamp & we were through.

Next we got a bicycle rickshaw to take us across the bridge to the Indian border. What a fit young man to cycle us & 3 bags for 40 rupees.

Into the Indian Immigration post at Raniganj & 2 detailed forms to fill in. Not much later we were in India. Again we were to learn that it was festival time here too & holiday time. All the trucks were stationary & few taxis. Considering we might have to take one of the crowded buses, a 3 wheel tuk-tuk came up & agreed to take us to New Jaipaiguri for 400 rupees, a distance of about 40 kms.

The driver whistled & sang like a lark for most of the way so he must have been happy with the fare.,

All along the roads, preparations were being made in each village for the festival activities. Huge colourful stages & tents were being erected & lots of fairy lights everywhere.

In one area we passed there had been rain earlier in the day. We hadn’t seen rain since we left Bishkek. We also passed very large tea estates with their neat rows of tea bushes.

Arriving at New Jaipaiguri we were directed to a ticket office & queued for an hour. A very officious woman at the counter was very unhelpful. Finally we had tickets for the Darjeeling Express leaving at 8pm tonight. The only seats we could get were for an air-con 3 tier seat. We had no idea what this was so it was with some trepidation we waited on the platform for the train to come in.

Before settling down on the platform we had veg thalis for dinner at the station refreshment room which is now known as a food plaza, very pretentious name for not much of an establishment. Cost us $2 for dinner and a drink for both of us.

Lots of activity on the platform with large family groups all waiting, eating, talking & a few foreigners who had been up in Darjeeling.

The train arrived & lots of pushing & shoving & jumping onto the moving train. We found we were in an 6 berth compartment, 3 tiers (6 bunks) a further two bunks were in the corridor at the end.

A blanket, clean pillow & towel & freshly laundered sheets still in their laundry paper was a welcome sight & we settled down for the night with our new bedmates.

On train platform

Day 42 Kathmandu

Day 42                        Thursday 6^th October 2011                 Kathmandu

After a leisurely breakfast we walked back to Thamel to see what chance we had of getting on to Sunday’s flight to Calcutta.

The travel agent made a few phone calls & it became clear that Sunday’s flight was not an option. The next flight to Calcutta was not until Tuesday.

We then decided that we would get a domestic flight to Bhadrapur ($157) near the Indian border & we could then get across to New Jaipaiguri from where we could get a train to Calcutta.

The flight to Bhadrapur was tomorrow about midday by Buddha Air. The travel agent reassured us that Buddha Air was one of the oldest airlines in Nepal & had a good reputation. How we would get from Bhadrapur to the border & then on to New Jaipaiguri remains to be seen!

Remnant of "old" Kathmandu

We then wandered around & reached Durbar Square which is now a world heritage site so 300 rupees to get in. Lots of Sadhus waiting at the entrance in their yellow robes & painted faces waiting for tourists to pay money to photograph them.

At some stage during the day we both received the “red dot” (tikka) on our foreheads. Somehow I managed to smudge mine so by the end of the day I ended up with a very blotched forehead! We noticed that many locals didn’t have a mere dot but a very elaborate work of art on their foreheads.

Shrine

Many of the stalls around Durbar were closed for the holidays. One stall holder took us to his godown where he had a few antique pieces. We bought a small Tibetan transportable temple, much like a carry purse but with a deity inside a silver frame. Bargain hard is the strategy here as prices are all over the place.

For those hippies of the 70’s & travellers of the 80’s, Freak Street is still here! You’d hardly recognise it these days though.

We had dinner at the Yak Restaurant which specialises in Tibetan dishes. The momos were excellent.

Laurette had been trying to get dumplings all through China and Tibet and they always seemed to be unavailable, at least now we had a plate full, very good, particularly with a little chilli sauce.

Day 41 Zhangmu to Kathmandu

Day 41                        Wednesday 5 October 2011               Zhangmu to Kathmandu

The four of us waited at the hotel for the rest of the group to come through. They had been to Everest Base Camp & had stayed the night at Tingri.

Finally they arrived & we all headed for the Nepal border which was 7 kms away.

Into China customs and yet another search of our luggage. Interest was shown in our Tibetan guide book. The young officer motioned that he was going to confiscate it & opened the drawer of his desk which was full of the same book. Phil ripped out the preface of the book (which mentioned the Dalai Lama) & put it back in his bag. The officer was stunned but made no move to stop us moving on.

With passports stamped we were now out of China & everyone breathed a sigh of relief as it was pretty hard going.

We walked the short distance to the Immigration office of Nepal & what a contrast. We were actually greeted & made welcome. We were through in no time.

Next we had to get some sort of transport to Kathmandu. We were lucky to get on to a 12 seater mini-bus with 9 Chinese tourists (250 yuan). It was festival time so taxis were scarce & prices accordingly high. Quoted $150 to 110 to 90 by taxi

The ride was a bumpy one, again the roads were poor & washed away in places.

As we drove through the villages it was interesting to see the preparations for the Doshain festival. People were washing themselves & their clothes in the streams, decorations were all about & lots of activity. All the transport trucks were idle but gaily decorated with ribbons & flowers.

We later learned that it was a 3 day holiday in Nepal for this festival where all families get together, eat & be merry & exchange gifts. Everyone gets the tikka dot on their foreheads.

We reached our hotel, the Yak & Yeti & after checking in walked downtown to see what transport we could get to Calcutta. We quickly found out that flights were fully booked to Calcutta & buses were not running due to the holidays. We could get to Delhi easily enough. Finally we were on a wait list for Sunday but we were nos 31 & 32 on the list so don’t hold much hope of getting on. We were to return tomorrow after the airline office re-opens to see whether there were more seats available.

Festive dyes

That done, we walked around the old part of town, Thamel, of which we had fond memories from 20 years ago. We really couldn’t recognise much of this area now as a lot of the old buildings had gone, cars & bikes were speeding through the narrow lanes & it was very congested, no doubt in part to the festival holidays.

Even the cobblestones had been replaced.

By now it was dark & we got ourselves completely lost as the street lighting wasn’t good so we got a taxi back to the hotel.

Lady with pet duck

Met up with Dina, Bernard & Pippa and had a good meal at the well-known Chimney Restaurant at the hotel.

It’s a pity that even the famous Yak & Yeti hotel is a new replacement for the original one.  The traffic now in the old areas is terrible, it is not a relaxing walk, all time traffic and motor bikes rushing through.  Not the Kathmandu of old. And not a pleasant place to explore, still lots of temples and chortens though which are resisting the developers efforts.

Day 40 Shigatse to Zhangmu

Day 40                        Tuesday 4 October 2011         Shigatse to Zhangmu

Set off about 9.30 in our big bus for the 390 km ride to Zhangmu.  Noticeably there were no police speed checks today.

Today we drove over 3 mountain passes. The first was Tolazi at 4090 metres. As you reach the top of the pass, masses of prayer flags flutter across the road & a great view of the snow covered peaks.

The next was the Everest Nature Reserve with a magnificent view of Everest from the Freedom Highway
 Not far from here you can detour to Base Camp (with appropriate permits).  We were at 5,200 metres here so couldn’t exert ourselves too much. Again, lots of prayer flags fluttering & it was very cold but brilliant sunshine.

Mt Everest

Final pass was Nyalam, again with wonderful views of the snow covered mountain ranges.

About 30km from Zhangmu, it felt as if the barren hill switch was turned off & all of a sudden we were in a landscape of deep gorges & green forests, waterfalls, & rushing rivers. The road though was a nightmare. Narrow, hairpin bends, road badly in need of repair (even though it is newly completed), overhanging rocks & stones falling from above.

On way to Zhangmu

Reaching Zhangmu, the buildings were hugging the hillsides. There is only one main road through town & far too narrow for 2-way traffic. At the entry to the town we came across an overturned truck. How it got there we don’t know but no doubt it was overloaded. A little while later & further on we were held up for quite some time while a military earth moving excavator was trying to get up the hill to move the truck.

The buildings clinging to the hillside reminded us very much of Shimla in India, although Zhangmu seems a lot more haphazard. A lot of tourists here as it is a staging point for treks to Everest.

Zhangmu

It’s also the border crossing town on the China side and a rest point either way.

Plenty of western style cafés and eating houses to cater for tourists.

Intermittent electricity supply went off during night, back on mid morning.

Day 39 Lhasa to Shigatse

Day 39                        Monday 3^rd October 2011       Lhasa to Shigatse

                

The 18 seater bus arrived and we set off with the yellow Porsche.

Quite good roads out of Lhasa with very little traffic. Once we got out into the country the roads were lined with poplar trees, just turning golden so it was a very pretty landscape. Snow covered mountains could be seen for a lot of this journey.

In some of the villages we noticed slabs of slate for sale & wondered where it came from. We soon found out. Huge mountains of shiny slate, mostly untouched.

All along the road, farmers were busy harvesting hay & straw. In the villages, the yards in front of the houses were full of hay & straw. Not sure whether these would then be for sale or for their own use. Whole families were involved in bundling, stacking & storing.

Many of the houses had hay & straw on the roof and many looked like they had straw fringes as a result. Many houses also had cow pats drying in the sun, either in heaps or stuck to the walls. These would then be used for burning. We saw a few herds of yak. The Brahmaputra river runs along this route on its way to India, very wide in some places.

Taking Tea

Along this stretch of road there are numerous police checks for speed. What happens is that you get a docket showing the time of day & how long to get to the next checkpoint & how long that should take. Drivers simply go at their own pace and as they approach the next checkpoint they pull over if they are ahead of time. Our guide told us that the penalties range from 500 yuan to 2,000 yuan.

Each village along this stretch has police statues, some holding radar guns.

Police statue

We stopped in a village for some tea. Tea leaves are placed in each cup & hot water poured in. Along the way we noticed many houses & shops had 2 large aluminium discs out the front or on the rooftop & a kettle perched between. Apparently water boils at lower temperatures at this altitude.

The restrooms across the road from the tea house left a lot to be desired… concrete pits with ply stalls about waist height & the stench was dreadful. This is yet another wonder about China. We see health inspection 4wd’s driving about yet the toilets, even at the military & police checkpoints are absolutely filthy.

The road deteriorated & it seems the road structure over the regular culverts were all breaking up due to poor construction. We read in the paper that one road (can’t remember which province) spent almost $2 billion on a road which lasted 80 days. This was put down to poor construction, poor materials, & bad weather.

On arriving in Shigatse, the main road was also breaking up & repairs have been going on for months. Cars criss-crossed & up onto the footpath to get around the roadworks.

After checking into the hotel we took a taxi to the Tashilhumpo Monastery, another huge temple complex founded in 1400’s & the largest functioning monastery in Tibet. This was a fascinating place. It had been taken over by the PRC in 1991 & apparently one of the few monasteries to survive the Cultural Revolution unscathed. The complex is about 70,000 sq metres & almost a walled town with cobbled lanes & aging buildings. Some of the buildings are ochre coloured, a great contrast to the rest which are white. The ones topped with gold hold the tombs of the Panchen Lamas.

 

Tashilhumpo Monastery

For dinner we went down the street to a muslim restaurant which had photographs of all its dishes on the wall…nothing in English so it was point to order. Chris was taken by the photograph which he was sure was duck. It turned out to be lamb but a good meal overall.

Now on the regular route from Lhasa to Kathmandu, so plenty of travellers, Chinese and westerners, going in both directions.

Day 38 Chengdu to Lhasa

Day 38                        Sunday 2 October 2011          Chengdu to Lhasa

Up early to get a taxi at 5am to travel the short distance to the airport. The airport was packed with Chinese holidaymakers when we arrived so there were long queues everywhere. Our Tibetan permit was checked at 3 different checkpoints.

Finally got on the plane and there was a 45 minute departure delay. At least we got a window seat so had a fantastic view of the snow topped mountains. Breakfast was a porridge like dish with pickled gherkins. Coffee too which is quite rare & expensive in these parts ($10 a cup at airport).

Landing at Lhasa

Lhasa airport is about 55 kms from the city & we had to have an expensive “guide” to get us there. A taxi was 150-200 yuan, the guide was 800 yuan.

Our next issue was how to get to the Nepal border. Negotiations with the guide proved useless so we went to our hotel, St Regis. This was probably the best hotel we have ever stayed at and it was only opened in November 2010 so everything was still in working order.

Over lunch with Chris & Liz we discovered that a guide had not been arranged to get them to the border tomorrow (the allotted guide was with the rest of the group going to Everest base camp). Numerous negotiations with the guide resulted in us sharing the cost $1,300 and we would travel in convoy, they in the Porsche & we, the guide & driver in an 18 seater bus.

As we needed a day to get a ticket to go inside the Potala we had to give that a miss but were able to view it from the outside. We were disappointed that buildings are now encroaching on the site & ugly billboards in inappropriate places.

Ghee in market

Potala Palace from Jokjiang temple

We also walked around the old town which retains a Tibetan flavour. Lots of market stalls selling all sorts of goods, from warm clothing, ghee & prayer flags for the temples & all sorts of household goods & jewellery. Around this area there is a strong military presence, with soldiers standing in glass boxes every 100 metres or so. Police are also spread throughout the market places & the temples.

Next stop was the ancient Jokjiang Temple complex. This is a very revered religious structure.  Tibetans were prostrating themselves in devotion at the entrance. This temple was desecrated during the Cultural Revolution & restored since 1980. A few parts date to the 7^th century and from the rooftop a good view of the Potala could be seen.

Close up of Potala

When we tried to get a taxi or rickshaw back to the hotel we realised that in our rush to get downtown we didn’t have the hotel address in Chinese. Big mistake as no-one spoke English. Eventually after trying a dozen shops we found a chemist shop & one of the staff was able to write the address in Chinese. This took at least 30 minutes.

We later discovered that many of the taxi & rickshaw drivers cannot read so unless we could say the address in Chinese they couldn’t take us.

We had dinner at the hotel which was the best meal we’d had in China. The maitre’d was a charming lady who spoke some English. Back at our room we found some chocolates had been left so they’ll be good for the journey to Shigatse (what’s left of them!) tomorrow.

Flying in to this altitude, 3,600 mts tends to leave us a little short of breath when we do any activity.  Fortunately we had been taking our Diamox medication since last Tuesday and it had alleviated the worst of the altitude affects.  It’s a pity that the new Lhasa wasn’t built some distance from the old part,……………….however.

Day 37 Saturday 1st October Chengdu

Still uncertainty about whether we will get our Tibetan permits in time for tomorrow’s flight at 8am. Our Rally director says the permits have been sent. I contacted the travel agent in Lhasa who organised the permits & she said they were still in Lhasa!

The Rally travel agent then rang & said the permits were delayed because we gave the hotel address in English & it should have been Chinese!

Next he said he was going to the Lhasa airport to get the permits on a plane which would arrive tonight & that he would organise someone from our hotel to meet the unknown courier & bring them back to the hotel.

I confirmed this with hotel reception & we would pay for the hotel staff member to go to the airport which is not that far away.

Whilst I was down at reception, there was a huge crowd gathering & realised a wedding was in course. Disco lights blazing, amplifiers at full notch, & decorative banners through which the bride & groom strolled.

The bride & groom were accompanied by about 6 attendants in white who ushered them up a steep flight of steps to a platform overlooking the seated guests. It looked like angels going up to heaven!

There was lots of very loud music & talking whilst pictures of the couple were shown on a screen. Next the cake was cut, champagne was drunk & it was all over. While all this was going on the guests were eating. The married couple were not given anything to eat. Quite a performance really. I was told that there were many weddings today, the Chinese national holiday.

After having the hotel staff ring the originating travel agent in Lhasa several times, we finally pinned down the flight number and time.  The groups agent was supposed to have rung back with these details but true to form failed to do so.

The flight was to have landed at 4.40 pm and when 6.30pm had gone, we were getting worried, finally just before 7.00 pm the hotel man arrived at our room with the long awaited Tibet permit.  Off to Lhasa tomorrow.

Next problem will be how to get out of Lhasa as due to the national holiday, flights are all booked.  We will deal with that tomorrow when we arrive.

Three wheeled taxi, much like the Tuk Tuks in Thailand

Timber bus complete with timber seating & not a passenger in sight.

Large grapefruit & a couple of yaks!

(posted from the Victorian head office of the Blog - ngm)

Day 36 Friday 30th September 2011 Chengdu

We moved hotels this morning to ensure that our Tibetan permits could find us. It would have been a simple matter to get them sent to the airline but the bureaucratic way would not allow this.

To fill in the day we took a taxi to the centre of Chengdu ( a huge modern city of about 9m people and as many cars, trucks, bicycles, motor bikes, carts etc). Taxis are fairly scarce & some of the taxi drivers don’t appear to be able to read (we always get addresses written in the Chinese characters).

Just some of the motorbikes parked in central Chengdu

First up was Tianfu Square, a very large space in the centre of the city. Apparently there is a water show at dusk & noon but we were not there at those times. Overlooking the square is a very large white statue of Chairman Mao.

Next we headed for Jinli Street which looked only a short distance on the map. Well, after seeking directions many times & having been told opposite directions we jumped unto a 3 wheeled cart. Jinli was a disappointment. It was supposed to be part of the old city of Chengdu. Reading the fine print we discovered it was extensively renovated in 2004 (read totally rebuilt). Now it is a haven for Chinese tourists (saw few foreigners there) with artists & performers, street stalls & souvenir shops. All in all very touristy.

We gave Wuhou Temple a miss as it was a steep 60 yuan entry fee.

Another taxi road across town to the Wenshu Temple (5 yuan entry fee). This was a marvellous serene oasis in the middle of a dense & crowded city. Lovely bonsai trees & shrubs, turtle & fish ponds, a large Buddhist library, very large temple complex with incense burners etc.

Phil sitting on the stone turtle at Wenshu Temple 

Buddhist library at Wenshu Templeaption

Outside the temple complex there is another recreation of an old style shopping & dining precinct, Wenshufang Street. It is supposed to be the widest pedestrian boulevard in the city but there were lots of cars & motorbikes travelling along it when we were there. It had lots of stalls selling snacks which seem to be very popular in the city.

Finally we took another taxi to Changshun Street (Kuan & Zhai Lanes). Again this was supposed to be another old part with old architecture but it was completely rebuilt between 2004 & 2008. Another disappointment but certainly the Chinese tourists were enjoying it. Think it must be university holidays as a lot of young people around enjoying themselves.

Our guide map informs us that there is a restaurant called “Husband & Wife Lung Slices Restaurant”. Apparently this cold dish was invented here in the 1930s but today beef, ox heart & tongue are used instead of ox lung and it is served in a spicy sauce. We didn’t indulge!

Chengdu also has a Panda Research Station so everywhere you go you see panda replicas from cuddly toys, purses to insignias on taxis.

Back to hotel, still no permit so Sunday flight is looking doubtful.

Human statue nursing his bird cage & bird at Kuan Lane

(posted from the Victorian head office of the Blog - ngm)

Day 35 Thursday 29th September 2011 Urumqi to Chengdu

Up early to catch the China Southern Airlines flight to Chengdu. Hotel bus took us to the airport which was a short distance away. Frustrating process with getting through security (baggage screened twice, shoes off, body search including soles of feet & a wand over all bags as well as the x-ray).

Huge queues everywhere probably due to the forthcoming holiday.

This flight was 3 hours & took us over some magnificent snow covered mountains (even better than yesterday!). I’m not sure whether the photos I took will do justice to what we actually saw.

Snow covered mountains on route to Chengdu

Arrived Chengdu on time & as in Urumqi had to wait ages for the luggage to come through. Checked messages (poor reception on phone & in internet café) to see whether Tibet permit had come through. Nothing!

I checked at Sichuan Airlines whether they had received the Tibet permit but they hadn’t and we wouldn’t be able to board the flight without it. They said we could change the flight but the next available one would be Sunday.

Next we were approached by a woman who said her sister ran an hotel close to the airport. We decided to go with her & were taken to an interesting part of town (absolutely no English) and the room was good enough complete with squat toilet.

Only drawback was room was on 6^th floor with no lift. Will certainly be fit after this.

We had only reached the room when there was a huge noise outside & band came marching down the street carrying a red banner. No idea what this was about but it seems we are in a colourful part of town.

Street where we stayed the first night in Chengdu 

Walked around the area & there are lots of local restaurants (many with table woks) so should get a decent dinner tonight.

In one of the streets we came across a large cordoned off area with food preparation & a bandstand. We then realised from the men’s headwear that this was preparation for a wake to be held tonight. Calligraphy was also being done for family members. Fortunately we are a few streets away.

These are charms (health, wealth, good luck etc) which people buy & attach 

We went back to the airport to change our flight to Sunday as it didn’t look as if our Tibetan permits would come through in time for tomorrow’s flight. We also booked a different hotel as the one we were in had a difficult address & we were concerned that the permit (which had to be sent to an address) might not reach us.

We went down our street to the restaurants & found a suitable one. We had forgotten that we were in Sichuan and most dishes have the Sichuan pepper which causes your mouth to become numb. Not only that but our eyes were watering & perspiration was dripping from our faces. The locals were laughing at our plight!

I read later that sweetened soy milk or something sweet will quell the spicy food fire rather than water or beer. Will know for next time.

This was a really interesting part of town, absolutely no other westerners, almost no English writing or signs, China as it exists in the suburbs.  I still have concerns over the fate of the Puce Goose as our so called agent is involved, however, time will tell.


(posted from the Victorian head office of the Blog - ngm)