Then, after we took a few more pictures of The Orchid Retreat, we were off on our adventure to the airport and then on to Delhi. We had a luxury vehicle (i.e. with airconditioning and shock absorbers) and headed first to St Theresa’s church, which is a church built to look like a Buddhist temple. Apparently the apostles all have faces that look like Buddha, but unfortunately we could not get in to see. There was a very interesting cemetery that we looked at briefly. The town of Kalimpong as we left actually looked very interesting with lots of shops on little streets and alleys. Jim and I could have happily spent several hours looking around.
The ride to Siliguru/Bagdogra Airport was truly sensory overload for me. First of all the driver, although Jim thought more competent than the others we dealt with, still took a lot of chances while driving and there were a number of “close calls” (from my standpoint) and lots of honking. However the ride was pretty smooth; we saw some interesting agriculture along the way with people growing vegetables (primarily corn) in terraces on the side of the hill, as well as periodic groups of shacks where people sold one or two vegetables that were all the same such as tomatoes or corn.
We went through a few towns about the size of Kalimpong, with busy streets filled with shops. However as we got closer to the airport, we began to see some of the different economic strata of India – people clearly living by the side of the road, people bathing in what undoubtedly was a polluted river, people drinking from it, small shops selling the same items, with an occasional fancy resort with manicured grounds interspersed amongst the rest. There were fancy car, autorickshaws, people on bicycles, cycle rickshaws, taxis – all crowding each other, with incessant honking and the smell of gasoline. Quite overwhelming.
On to the airport for yet another experience. The terminal was very very very crowded. We were later told that the airport could handle four hundred people – and 1200 were there! We stood in one line, then we were routed to another. Finally we got our baggage where it was supposed to be (after we had taken it to security), and David noticed that our tickets showed the the time of the flight had been moved up by an hour and a half! Luckily we were there early enough. So, we got into this incredibly slow line with kind of an alternate merge approach to get our carry-ons screened. The bag I had with my needlepoint and the food was held for further inspection. Ultimately they gave them to me to open for the airport security staff. First they looked at the bag with the needlepoint – and confiscated every needle that I had. They told Jo that the needles were dangerous, and that you could hurt someone! Hard to believe, they let me take the laying down needle which actually could probably do more damage. Then they looked in the bag with the Nutella and the Peanut Butter which Jo and I had joyfully acquired the previous day in Kalimpong. A little had been eaten out of each jar. The security staff refused to give them back to me, stating that something could be hidden in them. Jo was outraged and tried to persuade them that this was ridiculous. The security staff was firm – no. We returned to where Jim and David were waiting, and, upon hearing the story, David took the spoon I had brought along and the loaf of bread and stalked off to the airport security people.
After some time, he returned bearing multiple sandwiches heavily laden with peanut butter and Nutella, and said that he had used the spoon to eat what was left in the jars. Although the combination of Nutella and peanut butter was not one we would have chosen, we all ate the sandwiches in honor of David’s bravery, determination, and chivalry, It is a really good thing that we ditched the knife we had brought to eat our mangoes in the trashcan BEFORE we attempted to go through security or we might still be standing in the Bagdogra airport.
Off to David and Jo’s in Delhi, and the beginning of the complicated process of doing the laundry in their apartment, which requires lots of hands-on involvement at multiple stages in the process or the water will overflow onto the floor – and we had many loads of wash to do. There is no dryer, so the clothes are pinned on the clothesline that David rigged up on the terrace. We then ordered in food from the restaurant we had eaten in before which offers both North Indian and South Indian selections, all of which were tasty but perhaps too heavy for dinner at 10 pm!
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