How to access the eastern Himalayas

Travelling to the Himalayas needs careful planning and execution. If you don't know how to get there it can be quite taxing on you both emotionally and financially. Now a days you will literally find hundreds of travel agencies and their agents roaming around.

Let's talk about the main access points of the eastern Himalayas.

The nearest major airport is Bagdogra.  There are frequent flights from most of the major cities like Kolkata, Delhi. The flight time from Kolkata is about an hour and from Delhi it's about a couple of hours. There are frequent flights of air India which operate between these cities. nowadays there are other airlines also which operate in Bagdogra. When you are there in Bagdogra, don't forget to taste the Darjeeling tea in the local airport canteen. It's literally drinking the best team in the world and it's awesome!

You will get a lot of taxis and other kinds of transportation from outside the airport.
But the trick here is prearranging the transportation. Unless you are a regular, chances are you will lose the haggling war with the agents.

Bridge in Sikkim

Generally most of the standard resorts in the Himalayas have complimentary transportation to and from the airport or the station. Check with them. They will definitely arrange something. If you are feeling adventurous there are shared cabs that can take you to your destination. Keep plenty of time in your hands.  The distance might seem less when just looking at the numbers but when it comes to the actual travel it takes a lot more time. The roads are narrow and precarious. The vehicle speeds are really slow. And the scenery is freakin awesome. You will want to get down at every turn and take photos!

And if you are feeling more adventurous take the bus. Literally.  This is the cheapest mode of transportation and the most uncomfortable. There are many government buses as well as private buses.  I would take the govt buses.  The drivers are more experienced.

The next major access is the Twin Cities of New Jalpaiguri/Siliguri. New Jalpaiguri is the only major railway station nearby. The haggling here is worse than that of the airport.  As usual, prearrange the transportation. There are also shared taxis and buses that you can avail. One pointer about the shared taxis and buses. They operate only on some of the major routes. You have to change vehicles in transit. So you might consider a dedicated cab for you.

All in all, if you plan the trip in advance, you will have peace of mind and save a lot of money. For the more impromptu folks out there, go ahead and go for it. Everything will fall in place once you start your journey! The end result is worth everything!

Sunrise over Himalayas

Chicago (Chiberia), Siberia and Himalayas

I couldn't help think, that the plummeting temperatures this year reminded me of something. When I was flying a Lufthansa airways flight from Frankfurt, I could see on the flight status screen, the outside temperatures - it was -40 F! The flight altitude was 30000 Ft. The height of Mt Everest is 29029 Ft(8848 Meters). So -40 F was a pretty scary temperature that is only to be experienced in the coldest places on this planet. Right?...for most of the "Normal" winter season it is, but not this time. Chicago and the Midwest broke many records. The temperature at one time went down to -45F! with wind chills.

It was so scary just to think that the temperature just outside is -45F, which is the typical condition at 30000 Feet! and of course in the poles and Siberia etc. The week ahead will boast of a more scary record - maybe down to -45F to -60F!

The picture below shows a photo of Lake Michigan from high above:

Well, in fact the entire city looks white!

 

To survive this cold, you got to take many extra precautions. But that calls for another story. Brrrr.