Darjeeling Strikes

pfmcintyre

Hello,

I am getting a train to NJP on Friday, was planning on visiting friends in a village near Kalimpong. But I just heard the entire hills have been shut down because of the Ghorkaland strikes.

Really not sure what to do now, as flying into Kolkata on Friday and getting the Darjeeling Mail that night. Is there any point even getting the train north? It doesn't look like there's going to be any movement for a while.

This is just the worst thing that could happen. I have been looking forward to this trip all year.

I am not averse to the idea of going up there and seeing if we can get anywhere but we may get stranded, and it might be a little unsafe.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Pam

palerider

When they say "shut down", do they mean blocked off, or just a total Bandh(strike).?
I was there last year in the third week of a total Bandh. No shops were open and the toy train wasn't running. You could get there okay, and get a hotel.

I couldn't imagine how they could block Darjeeling off to all people.

Even with the bandh on, a lot of shops restaurants, cafes, travel agents etc were still opening. It was just the Government offices that shut.
Tourism , permit office etc.
I asked why they didn't observe the Bandh. They said they thought it was silly, and they couldn't afford to close for three weeks, they had families to feed etc. The really good part for me was that everything was dirt cheap, much less than half for hotels and things. Good news. Maybe you could ring the Chief Minister's office and find out?. Darjeeling and Kalimpong are truly worth the effort to see them.

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pfmcintyre

Hi palerider,

Thanks for your response.

I think it is a pretty total kind of thing - here's an article http://www.telegraphindia.com/109071...y_11229721.jsp

I am not too worried about things being open in Kalimpong - I am visiting an area called Gitdabling, which is about three hours' jeep ride from Kalimpong. All that matters is that I am able to get a jeep from NJP. I think there are roadblocks. All we can hope for is that they'll be letting people through by Saturday, but as that's in a few days it doesn't give it long to calm down. They seem pretty intent on causing 'agitation'.

I'll keep my fingers crossed! All i know is that Siliguri is not somewhere I'd like to get stranded. I had to spend a day there last year and I struggled.

Pam

jessicagreaves

I'm leaving on a train tonight for Darjeeling and have just read about the strikes. If the Himalayan railway isn't running, what's the best option for reaching Darjeeling from Siliguri?? Also, is it ok to go?? I really don't know much about the situation and have had my heart set on going here for a long time.
Also, on the 20th I have a train booked to Varanasi and accommodation booked there, so even if I do get to Darjeeling ok, what are my chances of actually being able to leave on time and with no train cancellations etc? This is all very last minute. My train's at 10pm India time so any quick responses would be really really appreciated!

BertilR

Here is a good source of info on Darjeeling: http://beacononline.wordpress.com/

palerider

If the Strike is on, then you can get a SUMO, a four wheel drive, from Siliguri. They cram 10 people in, but if you pay for two or three seats, then you don't get crowded. I went last year. It cost 120 rupees for 1 person, and they leave from the main road every twenty minutes. Just ask for the Sumo Stand. Sometimes you have to wait to fill them up before you go, but you can pay for the whole sumo, and get there a lot quicker, if you're rushed. Personally, I think it's a bit of a rip, just wait and get a ride with the others. There is a ticket booth where you buy the ticket, and ask to get the seat near the window, or else you are stuck in the middle of the back seat, and crushed to death, by some sweaty guy with bad teeth.
It took about two hours. The strikes are very frequent, so there is never an option on the toy train.
All the decent hotels are up on the flat bit of the town, where there are no cars, and no touts, and no cows.
It's off season now, so you can bargain mercilessly for rooms, i got a 1000 rupee room for 300, and it didn't take much.
I stayed at the hotel next to the OLD BELLEVUE, I think it was the Broadway.(?)
A lovely hotel, right on Chowrasta. He makes great tea and brings it to your room.
Please don't consider the High tea at the Windemere Hotel, a total rip off.
Three hundred rupees for a cup of tea, and a slice of cake from the shop next door, in an airless windowless room, with no view at all. Grrrr, we were most upset.
Hope this helps.

palerider

I read the articles, it seems the same as when i was there last year. Schools, government places, some banks, all closed. But the locals don't shut up shop, you can still see everything. We had some protests when we were there, but it was locals with placards and EXTREMELY loud PA systems talking all day about Ghorka Homelands. But everything that wasn't government run was open, all the shops , restaurants, travel people etc. All the sumos still running up and down.
Yeah, Siliguri has that frontier dusty kind of feel. I overnighted there before and after darjeeling.
I did find a few good places to eat though, but it seems to have no soul or something.
darjeeling is much better.

jessicagreaves

Thanks, that's a great help. I feel a bit less stressed now. If for whatever reason I can't get a jeep either, are there any half decent places to go to as an alternative? I was thinking SIkkim?

hitanshu

I would honestly advise you to cancel Darjeeling anyways

Its an overpolluted once-beautiful town. You can check up some other itineraries of sikkim/pelling on the forum.

And be careful at New Jalpaiguri station - painful touts there. they will trouble you a decent bit. Little way around - just bargain and best is to ask any educated looking indians about the shared taxi (Sumo) stand and pay for the front row of seats.

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Hombre

Well the Indefinite strike is very much on. There were no movement of vehicles not even Police vehicles. Only essential services like milk,water,marriage party, funeral wre exempted. So I doubt if you can hitch a ride from Siliguri. If you do then getting to Git- dabling will be another problem. As for food you may be able to survive on what can be offered!

Hombre

Dear Jessisca,
Well I would advise you to cancel Darj this time,'coz the indefinite strike is very much on. There are no vehicles on the roads except for some essential services, the shops are closed. On top of that we are having rains too, so do postpone your trip for Oct-Nov when I hope every thing will be fine!

By the way the Sikkim Highway also comes under htis region of strikes. So you may not find vehicles going that way. Sorry.

palerider

Well, for those of us who didn't grow up knowing darjeeling, it's quite beautiful. No air pollution, no touts, now rubbish, a really clean place, it's noticeable after Siliguri. The thing i think I liked most was that I wasn't hassled by the shopkeepers. They just said hello, and LET ME ALONE. Such a nice change after the plains. It was noticeably cooler. i was there in Summer, and it was cool enough to have a blanket on at night, and enjoy the hot SHOWER, tes, a real shower, with water pressure!!!
You can get a sumo to Sikkim, the guy in the hotel i stayed at knew a lot of people. It was fairly cheap, I was told a permit was needed, but it wasn't.
I never got one, just some areas need one, but I didn't want to got to them anyway, Sikkim was incredible.
Darjeeling has a lot of nepali and tibetan people.
I really liked it.
Really liking tea helped, I could have spent a lot of time in the plantations. There is one organic tea place there, just out of town, you can walk, it was pretty incredible. The one in Happy Valley was a bit ordinary, but still amazing coz I was in darjeeling, drinking tea, and eating momos, Which I don't think i could tire of.

palerider

Are you saying there are no Sumos going to Darjeeling from Siliguri at all?.
And no private buses either?.
I don't mean the official government line that everyone is on strike, I mean the reality?.

Last uyear I was told i couldn't get there coz of the Bandh, but when i got to Siliguri, they just didn't know what I was talking about. Everything except the govt. stuff was open and operating.
It would be a real shame if the actual roads were totally closed and no vehicles are going there.

And if you can't go to Darjeeling, you probably can't go to Sikkim either.

Well, I just rang the bellevue hotel where I stayed, they said they are closed for some time as of today. Maybe in a week it will be open again. You can still get a sumo from Siliguri, but nothing is open.
So, there's not a lot of point.

palerider

Yeah, I just rang the hotel in Darjeeling, they are closed for a week or so as of today.
You can get a sumo he said, from Siliguri, but you may not get through, you need to be hopeful?

Hombre

Yep, the strike is total. All the residents were told to stock up for a month 'coz even the party that called the strike has no idea how long it will last! But everyone's thinkin' it won't go beyond ten days. Well we are hoping for the best, as Tourism has beeb hit hard, the second flush of tea plucking was going on , the educational institutes are closed.