All changes are done in green inside the text to provide continuity
INCREDIBLE INDIA!
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Pre-Departure Checklist:
Double-check your budget. Do your totals add up? Do you have enough money? Do prices in the rudder correspond
to what’s been budgeted?
Consider possible [small] gifts for contacts such as Yusuf-Ji (Mussoorie) and Vinay-Ji (Varanasi). Yusuf was given a Leatherman
one year. He likes utility items like that. Vinay is a fairly accomplished amateur photographer who hopes to become professional
some day, so maybe some Kodak color or B&W film (Kodak is the only kind he can get developed in India). (Most all contacts
have Naturally Nomadic T-Shirts)
Students should plan on packing some warm clothes for their time in the Himalayas
Get in touch with ALL your contacts. Do they know you’re coming?
Be sure to have copies of all scavenger hunts needed for Delhi and all vital documents, copies of student
passports/visas, medical information. Having a dedicated list of all these numbers and vital statistics just for your files can and will
make your life a ton easier at times when your students are off in all different directions and you need their info NOW.
In the Airports:
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Students should have everything they need for 2 days in their carry-on. Other recommended items: headlamp,
earplugs, small blanket or sweater
Passports/travel docs should be on their person @ ALL times & during ALL travel transition periods.
Assign “buddies” if necessary. These partners should be aware of where (or where not) the other person is,
especially when the group is getting on trains, planes, busses, etc. “Buddy check” distributes responsibility and makes leadership
much easier.
All sharp objects checked in baggage—not in carry-on!
UPDATED INFORMATION:
(Type any updated information you discovered on your trip here… IN RED—Do not simply type it into the existing text!)
INDIA
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India Transport Issues
The trains are the best & safest form of transportation to take while in India. It is important that you get train
tickets as far in advance as possible because some trains, (especially at certain times of the year), fill up quickly. Plan accordingly.
Rail Info online: www.indianrail.gov.in
All major train stations have a tourist bureau center…. Where you can purchase tourist quota tickets… which
are reserved for foreigners on each train… thus if a travel agent tells you it’s full, you may still be able to get tickets. Ask for more
info about this when you get to India. Some, but not all, of the stations want to see all of the passengers’ passports when
purchasing tickets. Copies will not work, so show up prepared.
Though trains in India are an amazing way to see the country but are filled with potential pitfalls. Make sure to
keep an eye on your stuff, and if possible chain it up.
Myriad vendors will come on the train as you travel, selling all types of food. Be careful, as a good deal of it
will do some real work on your stomach.
When traveling be sure to have a system in place to ensure that you account for all students and ensure that you
will wake up and get off the train when your stop comes, as many of your trains may arrive late at night or really early in the
morning, and it can be difficult to figure out where you have stopped—especially if the train only stops for a few minutes.
Check the train tickets when buying them to make sure that everyone is in the same car (seats together are also
nice). FYI- you need only one passport for every 6 tickets. The Side upper and side lower bunks seem to be more ‘in the open’
(more likely to have someone joining you for the night on your seat…and are also shorter. Not so great for taller people….it
worked out better when getting tickets to go for the 6 main bunks.
We bought our train tickets soon after we got to Delhi, but were still weight listed. No foreign tourist quota.
Luckily, not everyone was weight listed so only 4 people had to share beds. If you get weightlisted…get to the station early so
that you can maybe still get a seat.
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Spring Semester: 2nd class sleeper train tickets booked quickly, especially during peak holiday times; so be
vigilant in booking tickets well in advance, or be prepared to spend extra on upgrade. Might be worth looking into an avenue to
book train tickets in the States before arrival.
www.cleartrip.com, www.makemytrip.com, www.seat61.com/India.htm, these are sites to use to get tickets
now ONLINE. Do this in the USA asap, so much easier and avoids the hassles. You can book up to 6 people on one ticket, so
both of you work at same time on different computers if there are few seats left. Easy to navigate, tells you how many seats are
left, you can check availability up to 90 days out, Pay Card worked. RAC means you are waitlisted and the # that follows is how
many folks must cancel for you to get the seat/bed you wanted.
There are also “Tal Kat” tickets, very much like Tourist Quota, offered online, they are premium seats ($$$)
that are opened up 3d before departure, so you can buy those as well, might be cheaper than getting 1/2 nd Class AC, too.
General Issues Surrounding India
Though it may not always be obvious, India can be a dangerous place for women. As such, it is very important
for women to dress appropriately (shoulders and legs covered, loose fitting clothing is best), be sensitive to local customs, and
[unless otherwise told] be accompanied by a male or at least another woman. There were a few incidents of female students getting
groped…best to prepare them that it is very possible.
India is a developing country, despite the way it appears in some places. For this reason it is imperative that you
are ready to think on your feet. Prices on this rudder may change and you can be sure that most people will try to get more out of
your pocket than is reasonable. Haggling and bargaining are an art form and a little hard to get used to. There can be a fine line
between being rude and being firm.
The banks in India will not as a matter of course let you change foreign currency any more. Last trip out, the
only places we could change travelers’ cheques were travel agents’ shops, although most jewelry shops and some other nondescript shops will as well. The ATM’s seemed to be the most convenient and least time consuming, AND they consistently gave
the best [effective] exchange rates, even after transaction fees. Most of the time you can pull out 15-20,000 rupees at a time, per
card. So if you need to draw out a lot of money, have both leaders’ cards. The best rates we got via ATM’s were Bank of Baroda
and ICICI. State Bank of India ATM’s gave a so-so rate, but many times would not accept our cards. HDFC was the only bank
that charged us to use the ATMs, all others were free. Went to ICICI twice in 1 day with same card, too. New national law that
only 10,000 INR can be taken out at a time. Did have an issue with a couple ATMs making the noise to give us $$ and then
nothing came out, but they said ‘Transaction Cancelled’ and only 1 time did Pay Card register that as a withdraw – emailed them
right away and got it all cleared up.
Beggars: Although it is not visible, much of India is managed by an underground mafia, which controls the
streets. Street beggars “rent” their place on a particular street buy paying part of their earnings to the “landlords,” i.e the mafia.
Additionally, many beggars are in fact professionals who have homes outside the city and have moved in to capitalize on ignorant
tourists. Additionally, children are often exploited in this role. Therefore, giving to beggars often causes more harm than help by
supporting organized crime, encouraging villagers to leave their lifestyles, encouraging the further exploitation and trafficking of
children, and creating an overall expectation that the foreigners that come after you will also give money. Encourage students to
ignore street beggars and try to explain the bigger picture.
Cell phones- AIRTEL seemed to work the best for us (Vodaphone didnt work for us in the mountain
regions//Vodaphone doesnt exist at all in Ladakh). In order to get a new phone # (chip), you must present application/passport
photo/photocopy of passport. This is from new national anti-terrorism law (why you must present photocopy/passport at internet
cafes too) and once the office prepares and sends off your application, you will receive SMS that your # is now valid. In general, it
is cheaper to call than send SMS.
We recommend NOT ordering taxis through hotels/guesthouses-much too pricy
If you must visit the Embassy to recover a passport or for other official reasons… No electronics are allowed on
premises and can be checked at door. Each person must bring original or copy of their passport, or other form of ID to enter.
Embassy proved to be an asset in the recovery of a lost passport that was recovered at a hotel (an overnight trains distance from
Delhi) and made communicion and arrangements to re-obtain the passport in a timely and safe manner. While the embassy proved
to be helpful, remain diligent in staying on top of the process, and advocate for your needs.
DELHI
Airport
Have students grab a free Delhi city map near baggage claim. Find the area where you are going on the map, and if
possible have the actual address written on as many pieces of paper as you have taxis. Most often you will arrive in Delhi in the
middle of the night, and if everyone is on the same page as far as where they are supposed to end up, the safer and less frustrating
actually getting there will be.
Go straight to the Delhi Police run pre-paid taxi service (right outside the customs/baggage claim to the left). They are
the ones NOT calling you over. They charged us 350Rs for each taxi (550 for Majnu ka Tila). Ask them to walk you out to the
taxis and ensure that all the drivers know where to go.
Try to gather the drivers together and tell that to stay as close together as possible while en route (this may be
impossible). Hang on to your receipt (that’s how they get paid).
There is a Citibank ATM right outside of baggage claim.
Delhi to Do:
Buy train/bus tickets to next destination (on 1 st day, while students rest, seats go fast). Bring all passports to the
station when purchasing tickets.
Have students email/call/Skype home and let their families know that it may be a few days/a week/whatever until they
will hear from them again as they will be in transit followed by transition. This helps allay the collective anxiety at home and in
the students. Have one of the students update the blog.
Call contacts. Make sure they and the homestay families are ready for your arrival.
LODGING
Hotel Shelton – 5043 Main Bazar Pahar Ganj – 009111-23580575, -23580576, -23562577 Down Main Bazar close to Everest
Café. 450 double w/out window, 500 double w/window 650 triple. Good rooftop café serves BLD. Internet available in lobby.
Luggage storage supposedly available.
Would not recommend Hotel Shelton as a first option. They gave us some shady vibes when trying to reserve rooms, and tried to
cheat us on baggage storage fees. Have also dropped group reservations in the past. Also suspect that restaurant might have made
some group members sick.
Peace House, in the Tibetan Colony area. Contact info is in the Lonely Planet. We stayed here, rooms are small but clean and
comfortable, with hot water and TV. Doubles on the 1st and 2nd floor cost 450, on the 3rd floor 380, and on the 4th floor 350. An
extra mattress on the floor is 50 rupees a night. Good restaurant downstairs.
Connaught Place:
Roshan Villa Guest House – 7 Babar Lane, New Delhi; Tel: 011-91-11-2331-1770
Near Bengali Market close to Connaught Place.
Pahar Ganj:
Hotel Shelton -5043 Main Bazar Pahar Ganj. Manager: Prakash Tel: 09871214023
This is a great hostel with reasonable rates and off the beaten Paharganj path a bit. Very helpful and have some AC rooms.
Hotel Namaskar: Paharganj (011)2358-3456, (011) 2358-8707, (011) 2358-2233917 Chandiwalan, Main Bazar, Pahar Ganj, New
Delhi. Takes reservations. Simple, clean and freshly painted double and triple rooms. A few with AC. Try to get those on the
outside that have higher ceilings and windows. Doubles: 250, Triples: 350 With AC: 450
Anoop Hotel – New Delhi. 91-2358-9366, anoophotel@hotmail.com. Great rooms at affordable rates; Thai restaurant on the roof.
Ajay Guest House—Pahar Ganj, Main Bazar, New Delhi-110 055. Tel. 91-11-23583125; 41541226. It was being renovated when we
were there. Doubles for 350Rs. Attached baths. Rooftop is good for orientation. Email, phone, and pool table downstairs. Decent
place, but quite loud and right in the thick of Pahar Ganj.
Hotel New Hindustan International: Off the main PaharGanj strip, and reasonably priced and affordable (negotiated 250rp per/person:
500dbl, 750triple). Reliable in holding a group reservation on a couple occasions. Small rooftop restaurant that can serve the needs
of group meetings or meals. Owner/manager (Ajay Uppal ‘Luckyji’) was professional and timely in his email correspondence with
us. Use Carpe Diem name when establishing contact. Email: NAMASTEINDIA009@yahoo.com, cell ph#9868875999.
Majnuka Tilla
Was a great retreat option for the group when to returning to Delhi. A lot more mellow, safe, and culturally engaging than Pahar
Ganj area. Manjuka Tilla is pretty self contained and gated; with shops, internet, yummy food and wonderful alleys full of
Tibetian vendors. No cars, rickshaws or wandering cattle inside the colony, just mellow Tibetians. On the river in N. Delhi,
slightly distant and isolated from the mayhem of the city, but transport and rickshaws are easily accessible to the center of town.
During periods of domestic turmoil and imminent crisis (i.e… bomb threats), This neighborhood proved to be a safe options for
laying low and staying the radar, while still providing cultural engagement. Travel Tibet Travel has an office here, for Sikkim
flight, as does DHL/Fed Ex. 20 INR/pp bike rickshaw to Vidhan Sabha Metro station, or 100 INR for van taxi to take everyone,
10min.
Wongdhen House—Majnuka Tilla. (The Tibetan Sector of Delhi.) Nice, clean rooms with attached baths. Tel. 2381 6689, 2381
2896, 2381 5961. Wongdenhouse@hotmail.com House no 15/A, New Tibetan Colony, Majnu Ka Tilla, Delhi 110 054 Note:
Majnuka Tilla, the Tibetan section of Delhi, is slated for demolition, so this guesthouse many not exist much longer. Taxi will
park outside of entrance to the neighborhood. Just ask for the Wongdhen Guesthouse. Close to the Vidhan Sabha metro. Limited,
but easy shopping for scavenger hunts. The guesthouse has a good restaurant and rooftop veranda for Yoga and meetings,
although it gets hot shortly after 8:30 AM. When returning to Manjuka Tilla, taxis should know where to take you. But insist on
getting dropped off on the East Side, or be prepared to cross the highway. Also will actually hold a reservation via email. 550R
for a double room, includes attached bath, ceiling fan, and ‘cooler/AC’. Outdoor roof patio on 4th floor good for group stuff, great
restaurant with good prices, 575/dbl room, 20 INR/day for bag storage, pre-arranged taxi service to/from airport (450/550), the
hotel is only 5min walk from the East Gate (no rickshaw necessary), and leader rooms get 20% discount if we ask for it. No other
discounts given.
Tara House: Excellent place….very nice staff.. Rooms between 450/700 for a double. They can also arrange taxi service (which
isn’t that cheap in the area but people seem to all have the same rates). Phone 23810777. Email: tarahousemt@yahoo.com . They
kept our reservation even though we booked a few days in advance (which is probably a great idea to do!!))Add in the Ajay and
wherever we stay in Ram Nagar.
Ram Nagar
Hotel Ashoka Continental—8370 Arakashan Road, Ram Nagar, Pahar Ganj, New Delhi. Tel. 23528037; 23535412. Nice, clean
doubles with attached baths 350Rs. (Ram Nagar is a 5 or 10 minute walk north of Pahar Ganj. Arakashan Road is lined with
hotels, but not with white tourists. Hotel Ashoka is one, but there are many, many more. It is nice alternative to Pahar Ganj if you
want to put a little distance between yourselves and the rest of the foreign tourists but still want to be in striking distance of
western food, souveniers, internet, etc.)
Mr. Roshan Villa Guesthouse: Mr Roshan is this great old guy who’ll talk your ear off. “Don’t trust ANY Indians” (umm…does
that mean him as well…he will tell you that the filtered water in his house is still unsafe to drink so that you must buy bottled
water) …and for the most part you should be wary. His food is good, but try some of the local fare in and around Connaught
Place, or, even better head towards the Bengali Market. Near the fruit stands there’s a great little Indian Restaurant called Bengali
Sweet House. There’s also a great rooftop patio perfect for meeting with students and doing morning yoga.
Arrange to have breakfast (omelets, toast, chai, coffee) at his place. Because everyone will be exhausted by the end of the
day, it’s nice to not have to worry about taking the group out to eat, so, dinner is good to do there as well—it’s easy and you’ll
have plenty of time to eat other Indian food during your trip. Tell Mrs. Roshan to put in “very little spice” or else the students
don’t eat.
Mrs. Roshan is also an incredible woman with a true heart and interest in the guests. She treats you like “her own
children” and can give the girls some interesting conversation and a real glimpse into the secret life (and power) of Indian women.
Shelton Guesthouse in Paharganj.(phone: 011-23580673). Rooms were 450 each (400 for rooms without windows but much too
hot). Rooftop restaurant and very nice staff. We left luggage for 5 R/day...very convenient.
Krishna Guesthouse did not hold our reservations that were booked prior to departure
MEDICAL STUFF:
East West Medical Center – B-28 Greater Kailash, Part-I, New Delhi. 011-91-2629-3701-3. The BEST medical in Delhi.
Apollo Hospital: Large chain of hospitals throughout India recommended by the US Embassy and Lonely Planet. If hospital care is
required, go to INTERNATIONAL PATIENT LOUNGE to start your adventure through the Indian medical system. Excellent
doctors, but be prepared to push your paperwork and advocate for your needs. All resources are available.
K-One-One: Located in close proximity to Apollo Hospital if medical emergency arises. Also recommend by Lonely Planet, has
excellent cutomer service and hospitality. Out of the standard Carpe Diem budget, but a great upgrade and place for medical
respite. Used by a CD leader that required emergency medical attention at the Apollo for over a week.
Address: K-11 Jangpura Extn, 2nd Floor, New Delhi 110 014 (Near Defence Colony Flyover)
Email: parulpuri10@gmail.com, phone: 43592583, website: www.parigold.com
ORIENTATION:
After an intense but brief orientation, you can do a scavenger hunt on the first day (you can find it at the end of the
rudder), just to get them out there and build confidence. The second day, you can do another scavenger hunt of sorts, and once
again send them off in pre-arranged groups to visit tourist sights with a list of questions to answer about what they observed. Get
them to buy umbrellas (fall: end of monsoon).
It has proven valuable during these scavenger hunts to group students outside of their comfort zones. Having them work with folks that
they have not shown a natural affinity towards, helps to stimulate these relationships early on. In addition, always make sure that at
least one male is in each group for safety purposes. If you are short on males, have girls go out in groups of 3.
ACTIVITIES
Buy a Delhi Diary from a newspaper vendor. For 10rs, it will tell you all of the goings on in the city for the week and
give you valuable phone numbers and other contact info for airlines, museums, etc. Most museums/ forts are closed on Mondays,
except Humayun’s Tomb – 250r
The National Museum is only rs.1 if you bring your student ID’s. You can also try bringing your Carpe Diem business
cards and signing in as a school group—LEAP did this fall ’04 & saved a couple of thousand rs. They have got a good exhibit from the
Indus River Valley civilization, Mohenjdharo/Harrapa -as well as jewelry, miniature paintings, Hindu and Buddhist sculpture, and
tribal clothing on the top floor. Great way to get a sense of where in the world you have just landed!
Red Fort: Historically significant, with peaceful gardens as well. Admission to Red Fort-250, weekend “light/sound
shows” detailing the history of India/Delhi. Rps 250/person.
Bahai “Lotus” Temple: Rickshaw drivers know it as the “lotus temple.” Free, beautiful, and amazingly peaceful, and
the Bahai museum there is interesting.
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Lodhi Gardens is a great outdoor option if you want to get some fresh (ahem!) air, there are paved paths, ruins,
and green grass for picnic, orientation stuff, group meeting etc…Nehru park is really nice, well maintained, and CLEAN if you
want to chill in a park.
If you have last minute shopping to do and prefer to do so with as little hassle as possible there is a cultural
center named Dillihaat with craft and food stalls from each state. There is an entrance fee of rs.10 but once you are inside it is like
an out door mall with no one tugging at your shirt for baksheesh, good quality items at fixed prices. We took the city bus from
outside the National Museum and had lunch there, very nice. Maybe a good place to visit at the end of the trip too, for last minute
shopping. Security check to get through the gates, and also visited by Indians as well. Really mellow low-profile scene, and can
actually be an enjoyable Indian shopping experience. In Lonely Planet, open 10AM-10PM.
There is a bookstore called “The People Tree” on the side of the Regal Building at Connaught Place. They are
a socially and environmentally conscious store. They have an incredible selection of books on social and environmental issues in
India and the world. They also carry great T-shirts and vegetable dyed shawls, scarves, and Indian wear—incredible place.
Raj Ghat: (Sight of Gandhi’s cremation) and the surrounding park was a great place to do parts of orientation.
It got us off the rooftop, out of Pahar Ganj, into rickshaws, and into a quiet (relatively) place to talk. Be aware that there are a
couple of different gates to enter Raj Ghat. Make a plan of where to meet before leaving. Autorickshaws should be no more than
40Rs.
Gandhi National Museum: Raj Ghat, New Delhi www.gandhimuseum.org: Located across the street from
the Raj Ghat, gives a comprehensive look into the life of Gandhi, with many photographs and several exhibitions. All material in
English, and free entry makes it a worthwhile cultural and historical activity. Complements well with a visit to the Raj Ghat.
Laughing club- they have them all over India in major cities so it may be too early to do during orientation…but
the students LOVED it. As the contacts seem to change often..just google laughing club in whatever city you are in. They usually
meet very early morning for about an hour or so. Most definitely worthwhile. (but very strange..mind you)
A visit to an ear-wallah. Maybe not right when you arrive in Delhi..but if you go anywhere around Conaught
place, you surely will find men with little red caps, that want to clean your ears. It is pricy (we got em down to 150R but they will
ask for MUCH more than that)…but you would NOT believe what came out of our ears. Some say that it is all a hoax but after
close inspection during the process….there is no way that it was
Salaam Baalak Trust: City Walk through the Streets of Delhi: Street tour guided by former ‘street kids’. Shows
inside look at Salaam Baalak Trust organization, established to help the growing homeless youth street-kid population. Guides
share personal stories of their stuggles and triumphs, while giving an inside look behind the scenes of the neighborhoods
surrounding PaharGanj/ N.Delhi Railway Station. 200R donation, made directly payable to the office at the end of the walk. Nice
way to get a safe and informative look at a marginalized population in the city. Website: www.salaambaalaktrust.com, phone;
9910099348
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Mother Teresa House (Delhi): Students found a branch of the MTH in a neighborhood near Manjuka-Tilla, for
children and the death and dying. Proved to be a different enviroment from the Houses in Calcutta, and students found the
experience to be complementary and more enjoyable to our work in Calcutta. Staff seemed to be supportive and open to
volunteers.
FOOD
The Banana Leaf in Connaught Circle (Block N) is a great South Indian restaurant, and probably has the widest selection and best
dishes of all the South Indian places the North Indian groups will experience. CLOSED
Rooftop restaurant @ Krishna/Anoop Hotels – great rooftop with views and decent food, just a little [or a lot] slow—especially if
you bring the whole group to order at once.
Everest Kitchen – another great rooftop restaurant in Paharganj at the confluence of the main bazaar and the roundabout that is about
½-way down the bazaar. Food is adequate, but by far the greatest value of this place is being able to watch the undulating mass of the
bazaar and its traffic from high above it.
Dosa Please - very tasty “cheap and best” South Indian in Paharganj near Imperial Cinema (as it is hard to know exactly what folks get
sick from…there are no definites here..but students/leader may have gotten sick from here…most likely from the oh so delicious
chutney. Definitely worth checking out, but maybe not on the 2 nd day in India)
Wengers in Conaught place: unbelievably tasty truffle-like chocolates. Pricy..but well worth it. (and you can try a lot before you
buy) We also got a delicious cake from here for our last hooray and it was excellent!
LP had good recommendations for Cannaught Place area, esp Saravana
Hi Himalaya: Strait-forward Tibetian and Continental food. Clean and comfortable environment which proved conducive to group
meetings and leader 1 on 1s. Staff was friendly and accommodating to our group needs.
Coffee House: Located on basement floor of shopping complex in northernmost part of town. Legit Coffee and Chai.
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Leader Tips
Delhi can be where people get tired and start tuning out…be aware of that and don’t be afraid to call the day
over early.
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Changing traveler’s checks—the best places to do that are in Connaught Place. Shop around for the best rate.
Nazir Dandoo @ Indian Tourism Information, in Connaught area, 7A/44, WEA, Channa Market, Karol Bagh gave us very
competitive rates—AND helped us with obtaining train tickets on short notice. He even allowed us to dicker with his commission
because we were giving him a group’s worth of business. His mobile is 09312663181.
The Delhi Metro - It’s got AC, reasonably priced (8-30r), can get packed, but efficient and easy. It’s rather
difficult to find in places because it’s under construction, but Connought Circle is the easiest. It is super easy to find the metro
station from Paharganj. It is just on the other side of the New Delhi train station. Easy to get just about anywhere….even the
Tibetan colony. Should have new Airport Train up and running soon, free Metro maps inside stations, have to pass through
security check-pt to get in and then but tokens. Tell guy where you want to go and he programs the token to be worth just enough
to get you there.
Internet – There are myriad places all through Paharganj as well as Connought Place. No need to detail any
addresses. Most will offer rates of 20-30 rupees per hour. We only found 2, a good one in Majnu ka Tila; there was a ton of
construction/change due to Commonwealth Games.
AirTel – It is usually easy to find recharge facilities anywhere in Paharganj as well as Connought Place. They
have big centre/office at M-5 to get plans, talk to people, etc.
Seeing your students off at airport! Note that you may not enter without proof that you have a flight, so be
ready to leave the group outside the terminal. In this case, you may want to have the taxi that brought you wait; otherwise, you'll
be paying at least 100 rupees more.
Travel
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Important Note: If leaving Delhi by train, be aware that there are 2 railway stations: New Delhi and Old
Delhi. In general, all northbound (north to Uttaranchal, Himachal, and Punjab) trains leave from the Old Delhi station.
All points south seem to depart from the New Delhi station. It is an important distinction as the two stations are hell and gone
from each other, and the difference in time of up to 1 hour and several hundred rupees, depending on the time of day. When you
buy your tickets, get very clear on which station you are to depart from.
Train tickets are best purchased in the 2nd floor of the New Delhi Train Station. GO STRAIGHT INSIDE
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AND TO THE SECOND FLOOR (follow signs to the foreign/international ticketing). Despite what people say “it’s burned
down” “closed for holidays”, whatever, chances are that it’s all bullshit. Whenever you go to meet your train, you’ll have to do
two things, check the board to actually see which platform YOUR train leaves from, and make sure that people have locks to lock
their stuff to the eyeholes. If you need to, you can book your tickets through local travel agents (make sure the tickets are
authentic) and they’ll charge you between 50 Rs and 200 Rs extra per ticket. You should bargain down the extra charge because
you will be booking for so many people—get them to cut 25-50 rupees per ticket. Definitely ask for the upper berths, and always
travel 2nd class sleeper. Traveling in the side berths definitely has the highest risk of theft and sleep deprivation as you’ll get so
much traffic walking by you all night. Purchasing train tickets in the early AM, when the station opens at 8:00, will save you a
long wait in line. The absolute requisite information they will need are names, ages, and genders of all those traveling with you.
There are 2 sides to the train station, and the Tourist Office (ITB) is on the Paharganj side, if arriving from other side, just go up
stairs and cross over tracks to get to main entrance on other side. For internet stuff, see what we wrote earlier. ***If booking
through a travel agent for electronic tickets, you can book up to 6 individuals under only one person’s passport as ID***
If you stay in the Paharganj area, walking to the train station is quick and easy. If you stay in the Connought
area, auto-rickshaws should run no more than 40-50 rupees per car. If you are departing from the Old Delhi station and are staying
in Paharganj or Connought, auto rickshaws should run you about 100 rupees per; taxis from 200-on depending on time of day.
Before you leave for anywhere, have students buy themselves snacks and fresh water.
UPDATED INFORMATION:
(Type any updated information you discovered on your trip here… IN RED—Do not simply type it into the existing text!)
VARANASI
Transportation
The train is a 18-hour ride from Delhi. Depending on which train you get, it could be as short as 12 hours. The trick to
the train is not missing your stop. Get off VNS, not Varanasi City. We recommend printing out the schedule of your train to know
which stops are before yours. Also, ASK locals on the train; they’re by far your best resource. They say that the trains never leave
before they are actually scheduled to leave…which is often true, though it’s been said they occasionally leave early. A good idea
is to stock up on food, fruit and snacks pre-trip. If going from Gaya, it is about a 5 & ½ hour train ride, 80R per rickshaw from
train station (to go where?). Direct train possible from Amritsar (skip Delhi).
Call Vinay/Pinku while on train to coordinate pick-up at the train station – if they cannot come to meet group at entrance,
ask him for price and specific directions (email too), as Amar Bhavam Guesthouse is really hard for taxis to find. Would need to
just go to Assi Ghat main area and meet Pinku there.
CONTACTS
- A little equation: Vinay = great x wonderful. He's a great contact, give him your train info and he will meet you at the station
(preferable because there are many rickshaw scams he will help you navigate around). Treat him right and buy him a meal or two
when he hangs out with you. He works 24/7 and we consistently felt that he was doing all our work for us. Leaving for US, info
no longer valid, but he’s giving all contacts to Pinku..
Ajay “Pinku” Pandey –THIS IS OUR PRIMARY CONTACT IN VARANASI NOW(organizes homestays, connections w/BHU,
literally everything) pandey.pinku@gmail.com. He has been the Hindi teacher for several semesters now, and is taking Vinay’s place since
Vinay has moved to the US and gotten married! (Pinkuji was excellent..but make sure you contact him EARLY about going there. There isn’t
too much to set up ahead of time, besides accommodation, but he took quite awhile to get back to us). Pinkuji’s assistant Sonuji proved to be
one of our greatest assets in Varanasi. Does most of the logistical leg work and was accessible at all times of the day to help with whatever we
needed. Mobile: 91-9415373306
Nawal Kishore: U.P. Cottage Emporium. D. 6/68 Tripura Bhairawi, Dashawmedh. Office (91-0542-239-2322). Home 222-4481. Mobile 983-9145422. nawallath@yahoo.co.in or nawallath@hotmail.com; Michael Ianuzielo (nawal’s assistant with groups)
93354 16335 miguelitoji@yahoo.com
(These contacts are 5 years old and no longer really used)
Dale Mather: volunteer coordinator, tel: 9839062823, dalemath@hotmail.com (both Bantu and Dale work with Where There Be
Dragons)
(old contact)
Devendra “Bantu” Pandey: cultural coordinator, cell: 09415225779, home: 0542-2368909 Pandeybantu@yahoo.com *Bantu has
been our contact in the past, and might be able to help out if you get into a bind, but is not our primary contact anymore. He’s
pretty unresponsive. (old contact, Vinay says this is the Mafioso here)
Dolly Pandey: Bantu’s wife. She was our main contact for fall ‘05. Cell: 09839063989, assidolly@yahoo.com (old)
Asha Pandey (sister of Bantu), tel: 0542-368909, littlestarsaghor@yahoo.com - director of Little Stars School orphanage. Possible
to do service here or at the ashram her uncle owns). (old, but maybe worth checking NGO out)
MEDICAL
Dr. Lowell Stolzfus, MD. Tel. 9335361153. American doctor working out of Heritage Hospital in Lanka. Extremely valuable
contact. See more info under Leader Tips. Fall 2010 he is not here, 500rps/consultation. There is a western travel doctor in
Varanasi who specializes in foreign travelers. Tel 0542 250 6788, Cell 933 536 1153, email drstoltzfus@swissmail.org.
ACCOMODATION
Life in Assi Ghat is a lot different from staying in crazy old town Gadaulia near the main ghat. Assi is the last ghat at the bottom of
the city, a perfect mix of peaceful and ha tourist-geared amenities -- i.e. western restaurants and internet. -All the families are right
next to each other more or less, the students are tres happy with them. Fall 2010: no more families.
Amar Bhawan—our most recent great group-stay option. All arrangements are made via Vinay-ji so you don’t really have to
anticipate much. Lunch is provided in the cost of the stay, and prepared by a local Indian woman. Great space for group
meetings, and were able to host a lecture as well. Walking distance to Assi Ghat and Pinkuji’s House for Hindi Class. Long-term
academic/volunteer house in quiet alley, will install phone for receiving calls (free), group kitchen/cooking option, filtered water,
frequent power outages (VNS-wide). 30min bike rickshaw ride to old town (30rps), or walk along Ghats (1hr). Om Pradash
Sarma is owner, 99182.91278, 054.231.1439 office. Call to confirm, esp. if Pinku’s taking a while to get back to you. If there is
room here, take it (IE, do this early). ½ group ate lunch here, so look into possible option of paying less and eating out for lunch
(VNS has smaller Per Diem b/c of free lunch)
Sahi River View Guest House B1/158 A2, Assi Ghat, tel: 0542-2366730, 311244, sahi_rvgh@sify.com. Clean and Friendly. If
you take orders at night or before yoga, food can be ready for you whenever you want in the morning. Vinay recommends.
Hotel Temple on Ganges – Assi Ghat, tel: 0091-542-368640, 368740 (expensive option)
Alka Hotel: (Raju) – Meerghat, tel: 328445, 328474, hotelalka@hotmail.com
Anami Lodge on Assi Ghat 231-4951 –Mr. Singh, be sure to look at rooms on top floor and he will give grp ldrs a deal, can use
rooftop with students. Watch our for bed bugs. Vinay: owner is cheap, so could be OK option or really bad.
Nirmala Guest House – Nagwa ghat. Virendra Pandey. Cell 9415820719. Home 0542-2368853. virpandey_PGH@rediff.com.
Price150 rps with bath and 100 rps without bath.
Shilla Choba (Amma) – 0542-2310503 or Manesh (brother) 092-35845825. Good room to rent in Assi Ghat for the leaders and
also doubles as a class room for students during the day. 300 Rs. For two single rooms including breakfast and dinner. Classroom
is 100 Rs. / day.
ASSI RIVER VIEW GUEST HOUSE: When going there, just ask the rickshaws to take you to Assi Ghat; they probably won’t
know the name of the hotel, but will most likely drop you off right in front. The guesthouse staff is wonderful, and will allow the
students in and out privileges (while in homestays) but request that they do not take showers as water is always short and reserved
for actual lodging guests.
Yoga Mandir -- slice of heaven, rooftop, basic rooms, grass patio, full kitchen and fridge for open use and storage and Pitambar-ji
will let everyone come to use the space for lectures at no cost. A great deal. It is considered unclean to bring eggs (or any meat
products for that matter) into the kitchen. We didn’t think about the eggs, and started making omlets, which then made the whole
area “religiously dirty.”
FOOD
Haifa Restaurant, one of the only reliable food places in the area. You’ll probably spend too much time at Haifa.
Open Hand Café (near Haifa)—expensive, light non-Indian food and snacks, but calm and clean. The espresso is mmm mmm
good. (but pricy!)
Hayat, Delicious Mediterranean food. Owned by Jordanian man who opened Haifa. Just down the road from the Open Hand.
Excellent place for group meetings!! SLOW service, takes forever, careful w/ group dinners b/c they’ll take a long time. Around
corner from Indica Tourist Pt. internet café towards the river..
Om Cafe- nice atmosphere, excellent food! Great place for breakfast 1-on1s.
KARKI’S. everything is great, (we loved the nepali thali, brushetta..and coconut balls***). The guy who runs the place is nice..but
a bit sketchy at times. Seems to smoke a lot…fyi.
Palace on the Ganga has live music, pricy food, mediocre service.
Kerala Café: excellent south Indian, cheap prices….always packed with Indians. About a 20 min walk from assi.
Vaatika Café: left of Assi Ghat with river view, great group service, apple pie is amazing (for real), good prices, and have great
brown bread loaves for only 5r to take home.
Ashish Café: ate here a lot; good for small groups, as kitchen staff is overwhelmed and service is slow. Cheaper than OM. Around
corner from Pinku’s house, towards river.
Ming Garden: good veggie Chinese food, big portions and desserts are good. Good group service, ask for discount with group.
There are also plenty of little dhabas very close to assi where you can get a tasty, basic thali for 20R.
Parmatha Email/Travel/store. This isn’t the name of it, but run by two brothers, one of them being Papu. They have homemade
organic peanut butter, organic tea, chocolate balls (of which they made specially for us for a birthday celebration..made an
excellent cake after a night on the train;), and a bunch of other goodies. If you are coming up from the ghat in assi, on the main
road, it is on the right just before you would turn left to go to Open Hand.
NOTE: Some of the really tourist-filled restaurants wash their veggies in filtered water. You may be able to get them to fill your
water bottle if you drop a tip—but make sure to ask someone who understands what you’re asking.
SAFETY
HOLI: Foreigners who are out in the morning risk being stripped of their clothing. Students should not be out
during this time. Even after 2:00pm it’s still risky, and women should not be in the streets come nightfall. NOTE: we had
a wonderful time at Holi in a small town in the mountains, and experienced none of the above. The above
recommendation may apply onto to Varanassi, or other large cities during Holi, as it was NOT out experience in
Palampur.
DIWALI: After 5:30pm or 6pm students should be back in their homestays or guesthouse. The amount of
fireworks going off in the street is dangerous, not to mention they are often thrown at tourists when they are walking in
the street. Avoid the ghats as they can get dangerous with the crowds, opt for a boat if you want to see Arati/puja. A
rooftop restaurant is a great option to still see what is going on.
Students were asked to always pair up after sunset and females shouldn’t be walking by themselves after dark.
Vinay recommended 8pm curfew, we did 9pm…might do 9.30/10pm. His wife got accosted right in front of Amar
Bhavan in broad daylight, so he’s not joking about being vigilant. Overall, safe enough for most part.
Hindi classes
Ajay a.k.a. Pinku is good, has firm command of grammar concepts and has impeccable English. He's a great
mix between easy-going and yet pushes on with the class. Pinku is a really busy guy and it is helpful for him
if you can block out a time in his schedule before you get to Varanasi, otherwise you will really have to be
flexible with Pink’s schedule. We suggest to ask for more conversation and less grammar! Make sure that
you solidify Hindi class schedule and insist on instruction from Pinkuji, he was out of town for our first
couple of days and his wife began our instruction. Her grasp of the language and instruction is still basic,
which became more apparent when Pinkuji returned and started his instruction. Our large group took classes
together, but it may be worth trying to split up group for smaller class sizes. Contact him early, esp. b/c he
will be principal contact 2011-on.
LECTURES (we recommend 2; 3 is pushing it w/ only 8 days):
Islam in India: Prof. Mohammed Toha is a Muslim professor here. Home # 2450635 Mobile # 09335336142 Email:
M_Toha@readymail.com. He charges 2000rs a class. If the class is small enough you can go to his house or have at our program
house. Great presentation, super interesting. Vinay also knew of female Islamic prof as well as Toha’s nephew, as he is older and
sick a bit more.
Ajeet Singh, who (together with his wife) run a non-profit called Guria. This organization works with women and children in the
red-light district. He is extremely knowledgeable and insightful about what is going, and his approach to it all is very holistic and
inspiring. A couple of us went to volunteer for a few hours with the children. Certainly an option to go on a regular basis. We also
set up a lecture for about an hour. He came to Pinkuji’s house, and it seemed to work out great that way. He never asks for money,
but we paid 1000R. As students may not be aware of what is actually happening, you may want to ask him to give an overview
before going into his philosophy. He says that it is hard for him to separate the two..but if you emphasize that you need an overall
picture of what is going ..it will probably be more beneficial. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS LECTURE! Ajeet’s contact
info is: mobile: 09235556060, land: 2504253, email: guriaajeet@rediffmail.com Fall 2010: great presentor, but again, hard to get
him to talk about the HOW of his org., in addition to the WHY.
Raman Niwas (a young educated, affluent, high-society member of Varanasi – ask Pinku). He is extremely well educated and has
a number of insights into the history of Varanasi and Indian culture in general. Lecture was complimented by a photography art
exhibit on display at his personal gallery (Kriti Gallery) on the grounds of his mansion. He speaks great English and has a nuance
for engaging a dynamic group discussion. Students really enjoyed his perspectives and appreciated the lecture. Highly
recommended. Email: navneet@kritigallery.com, www.kritigallery.com. Fall 2010: sick, try in Spring.
Hindu Culture and Gita Glasses: Guru Pt. Anand S Shastri gives classes on: 1. Hindu Mythology, 2. Indian Astrology, and 3. The
Gita. Students have REALLY enjoyed these classes, and found the Guru interesting and inspiring. Each 1 hour session cost 700R.
He also gives week-long courses on the Gita (500 per sitting, regardless of how many students). He does Astrology readings (500
pax) and Birth charts (1000 Pax) also for lofty prices. But the readings were thorough, definitive (“you’ll get married at 27, break
your leg at 34”) and very interesting. Students found them worth the money. But be wary of buying the expensive jewels he
“prescribes.”
Pinkuji is a fountain of knowledge. We had him give us a talk on Benaras on our last day and it was so informative. May want to
do it earlier on. He probably wont want to organize himself but if you ask him to have a class where you all can ask questions
about culture/history of Benaras, etc…it is so worth it. If he takes you on boat trip, he’ll be your official guide and then charge
750r to talk about stuff…not sure if it’s totally worth it. His back is ailing him, so city walking tour is a bit tough Fall 2010.
Kamlakra Mishraji, who is the leading expert on Tantric Hindu, and has written a book. We had one lecture with him and was
absolutely taken, and asked Vinay to have him come back for a second time. Would have wanted more if he had more time. This
man was so insightful and amazing to listen to, and really able to simply explain the VERY complicated Hindu religion. Would
recommend Vinay setting up in advance as many lectures with this guy as possible – it was one of our highlights of Varanassi!!!
Honestly, we were not all that impressed (spring 2010). Fall 2010: really insightful, great info, hard of hearing, older so he
rambles a bit, but really really good and easy presenter. 1000r / 1 hr.
Pt. Anand S. Shastri (Hindu Guru) “Spiritual Thinker & Gita Pracharak”: 993-539-8990, spiritualpath@rediffmail.com, (info?)
Ask about ‘Women’s Studies’ professor. She was out of town, but was highly recommended to us.
VARANASI ACTIVITIES:
Burning Ghats are a great place to get in and experience the Hindu culture. If you’re a saint, a sadhu, or a child, you’re pure and
get tied to a stone and dropped in the river. This is also true if you died of small pox or some other contagious diseases. Everyone
else gets cremated. Often times the poor can’t afford enough money to buy the full amount of wood it takes to burn a body and so
are left with half-consumed corpses floating down the Ganges...expect to see this.
Boat Trip on the Ganga can be arranged at the Hotel, or on the river. Round trip from Assi to the burning ghats and back takes
about 2 hours. Bring b-fast snacks and look for the fresh water dolphins! No joke! For the morning boat trip...definitely leave
before dawn and get a non-motor boat. For evening...the Puja was great...a motor boat for the way back would be nice. The boat
captains may try and take you to a “mosque”. There really was not much there at all..and they expected quite a hefty ‘entrance fee’.
May just want to opt out of that. From assi ghat to the second burning ghat (which is quite a bit further past the one closest to
assi)…took 2 hours and cost 600R. Mosque is actually historically significant, along with Hindu temple remains next to it, and w/
good guide, it is worth it (Pinku has done lots of film work in this area).
There is also a boat ride, 300 plus tip, we recommend it HIGHLY definitely do it at night, leave at 5:30, go to burning ghat and
then catch the puja on the way back. Fall 2010: 500r for boat ride to nightly 7pm Puja at Main Ghat. Leave 4.30/5 and return
around 8/8.30pm. Might be better viewing from land, rather than river, BTW.
DO NOT leave a donation at the burning ghat for firewood, but do ask for a guide once there (they will find you!) who will tell you
about
the
place.
Dubious
whether
the
info
is
accurate,
but
it's
all
good.
Ttour of Varanasi, organized by Vinay, costs 2,200 R total if you go to the BHU museum (100 R each ticket), get a jeep (1,100 R
seats ten), 12 R each for Ramnagar Fort on other side of the Ganges, and some off-the-beaten-track temples (a bit for donations and
shoes). Expensive and a full day, take it or leave it. We would second leaving it. We did a half day (starting after lunch) and it
was great! We did BHU, Ramnagar, and one temple across the river. (and wonderful lassis!!)1000 R total. Fall 2010: 800 for jeep
taxi, Fort Museum is now super expensive, lassis are great, Mandirs are cool, BHU and university museum really cool.
- Bollywood night at the I.P. mall, rickshaws 50r each, movies 80 R or 100 R for tix, 3 movies showing. Check shows beforehand,
as they change and don’t follow Calcutta’s 3/6/9p schedule. About 100-120r pp.
- We paid 500 R for a fire stick dancing performance with Murari, one of Vinay's contacts, AWESOME performance!
Sarnath is the site where the Buddha gave his first sermon in Deer Park. It’s just north of Varanasi and makes a good
day trip. It takes about an hour to get there. It costs 60Rs to get to Sarnath from Varanasi. Sarnath has some great Buddhist
artwork, and an important Jain temple that is part of the major Jain pilgrimage. In Deer Park there is a makeshift zoo that is a bit
sad really, yet it has some exotic birds and crocodiles to check out.
Archeological site- 100 rps. per person to get into the ruins which house an old stupa and ruins, along with an Asoka
pillar. Museum- There is also a fabulous museum, less than rps. 10 per person. This has many of the statues which were taken
from the archeological site. Paid taxi 400r there/back with 3hr wait from Assi Ghat.
Laughing club: we were never able to go to this man’s laughing club…but he seems extremely nice and very accommodating. Dr.
Shalin. Mobile: 09839041841
There is a mosque that supposedly attracts people from all over, of all religions, where people go to get rid of the spirits that are
possessing them. It is called Bahir du Sharid. About a 30R rickshaw ride. Pinkuji knows all about this if you are interested. Was
very* interesting to see. If you do go, once you enter the mosque, find a seat on the ground and just be…best on THURSDAY.
YOGA
There are a few yoga options. If you go up past Haifa and cross the Main Road you’ll see directly in front of you a busy
alley. About a minute’s walk down the alley road will take you to a temple where Rovinda does morning yoga for 100 Rs. per
person, usually starting at 7:30. His prices have been increasing and he will ask for 150 rps for only a few people. He’s really
funny and has become the standing joke for many groups throughout the semester. When they feel comfortable he’ll even start
people into doing the Neti Pot. At least 4 days per week in the AM is recommended.
Another yoga place is on the road that curves towards the Ganges (you’ll see it standing in the balcony of the Assi River
View). Follow it for at least a few minutes until you cross a bridge. Just after the bridge is a dirty alley (mud-road) where you
should turn left. Follow it around some pigs as it heads towards the Ganges. It will curve right, and after the curve turn left onto a
cobble road. Now you’re facing the Ganges, and just walk down the path a little bit and you’ll find this sweet old man who does
Hatha yoga, 100rps each.
People loved Dr. Rakesh for yoga. Funny funny man…knows his stuff. Rooftop yoga if not too hot out….bring bugspray! Pinkuji
can set this up.
INTERNSHIPS (most are 200r / 1hr)
Kathak (traditional Indian dance N/S India) and Bollywood Dance
Tablas (two drums, Varanasi style, $70) If you are serious about tabla and you want to buy some get them from a maker
named Mumtaz in the Muslim quarter. This is not Mumtaz Music shop. Many professional players in India get their
tablas made by him. Can also talk w/ teacher, he has great contacts too.
Deeksha Music Academy: The school is down main road, has Kathak, tabla, Sitar, dance classes, flute, voice,
harmoninum
Stone Carving (also check w/ his brother about painting options) – really great guy w/ good English
Jewelry Making: In Suneeta Jewelers next door to Sahi Guest house is a wonderful man named Agam Singh. Tel:
9839146944. He gives you lessons on Indian life as well as jewelry making and LOVES his craft, as well as his
students. Classes are one-on-one for 1-2 hours. Work includes silver-smithing of rings and other pieces using a small
mouthpiece blow torch. Prepare to spend a lot of personal money on bringing home gifts from his treasure chest! Agamji
is a wonderful man and seriously passionate about his trade. Please make sure students are respectful and enthusiastic
about working with him. suneeta_jewelers@yahoo.com, cell: 9839146944 B1/160, Assi Ghat
Fire Dancing/Spinning--Benari: Murari is a good and patient teacher. 919838831681 Fire dancing is an ancient
Benares art that has been passed through his family. Student and teacher performance at the end of the week. Krishna is
new teacher, also potentially great lecture/speaker contact. Really cool guy, ‘gets’ India.
Ayurveda, raga singing, Gita, Astrology
COOKING: You can also take cooking classes with Nitya, Pinku’s wife, who is so wonderful and accommodating. It
worked out really well to have Hindu class from 10-12, and then several people just stayed on for cooking. Nitya can
accommodate 3 students per class. Sonuji (who was helping Pinkuji and us out to arrange internships, etc,) set up
cooking classes with someone that he knows. Very little English but the family was very sweet, fun and they learned a
lot. Fall 2010: issues with cost of ingredients leads to new policy: students will buy own materials, bring them, and cook
them. Excellent teacher, happy with her!
We had as issue with paying the teachers (number of times students went did not match up with number of times
teachers said they taught.). Upon Vinay’s suggestion, he said that next time each teacher should keep an attendance list and have
the student sign it as they attend each class. Then on the last day all of the attendance lists can be collected and then the leaders
can prepare a payment envelope for each teacher and the go around and deliver with Vinay. We recommend only 2 classes a day.
Students did not like the astrology or palm reading classes. As for an ‘alternative’ class (reflexology, astrology, energy
healing,, etc)…find out if it is by Dr. Umesh. We had a bit of an issue with him, with him trying to give a student a massage, but
insisted in her taking her clothes off. It was a very strange interaction then and thereafter. Even if Pinkji and Sonuji say that it is
ok…you (leaders) will definitely want to go and check him out yourself and then be very specific with what he will teach.
Shivaniji from the Om Café (she is American) is a bit strange, but seems very genuine. She just built a beautiful little
studio where she will be holding Ayurvedic massage classes (to clear and balance the body with sound, touch, aromatherapy and
color), Meditation (going through each chakra), and also basic Ayurvedic classes that will touch on food, herbs, aromatherapy, etc.
No one from our group did these as we found out too late, but definitely ask early on if anyone is interested. Seems like it could be
wonderful.
Volunteer Possibilities (also can be internships):
Missionaries of Charity (Sister Victor), tel: 2310679
Mother Theresa's home for the Destitute – Shivala Ghat. They do excellent work here.
Nawalji can help set up an internship at his children’s home, with room and board included, or for students who want to work with
children with special needs. Old contact
Alice Project (Sarnath) – Valentino Giacomin, tel: 0542-586669, 586448, v_giacomin@hotmail.com
Grace Mission Charitable Trust – Philip Gibson Philip@montimail.com, gracemissiontrust@yahoo.co.in. 09335410297. A Texan
missionary who is working with street children who frequent the train station. They are just getting up and running and have plans
for a school and more permanent center for the kids. Philip was really open to letting us come and hang out with the kids a few
mornings. When we were there they were working with the kids on Fridays and Tuesdays. The students are responsible for their
own transport to and from the train station.
Mother Teresa’s Home for the Destitute: highly recommend. They usually like to have volunteers come in the morning. Though
most people struggle at first in finding their place there, almost everyone really enjoys their time here. The sisters need the
most help from 7:30-10am.
Duties include: washing dishes, washing laundry, hanging laundry, sterilizing and cleaning bed mats, making beds,
giving circulations and body massages, feeding some, helping with exercises for those confined to wheelchairs.
Many of the women do not speak English, GREAT place to practice Hindi!
Directions to M.T.H.D: From Sahi Guest House, simply walk ALONG the Ghats for about 10 minutes. Keep your eye
on the buildings on the left. Eventually, you’ll turn a kind of corner at a dusty red building full of pigeons and then there will be a
little bridge over a super stinky sewer line. Look up to your left and you’ll see a big sign that says, “Mother Teresa House for the
Destitute” on the top of the building. The house is IN that building. Just walk up the stairs and into the alley and you’ll see it on
your left.
Also, ask Vinay about the “Untouchables Clinic.” One of the LEAP students was doing an internship there while we were there
and brought some of our students. They wished they wished they would have known about it sooner. Vinay/Mandy had bad
experience here, but it might still be worth it. Run by 40yr vet of India, Father Francis from Holland.
BODHGAYA
Place
Bodhgaya proper has a great energy and a good deal of sights to see. If you decide to not stay in the Root Institute’s lodging you
can call around to the monasteries and have the students stay in them for a reasonable rate. The town is safe during the day, but
quickly gets shady at night. If you are staying in town, be sure to set a curfew for the females in the group and have men walk in
groups. Bihar is the poorest state in India and thus there are a greater number of folks who are desperate for basic necessities.
The MahaBodhi Temple is the center of the city, located just across from the Krishna restaurant near the market. It’s a beautiful
place to circumambulate, meditate, and try and catch the occasional Bodhi leaf. We got a tour guide for 200R. Definitely worth it!
Lama David and Anet accompanied our group and guided us through the grounds and also provided a guided mediation on-sight of
temple (Root Institute).
For the fall group...Suriya (sun) day festival was absolutely spectacular. You will know when it is happening when you see many
people with instruments all dressed up heading to the river. Just follow them. You will see....:). Durga Puja also happens here,
pandals taken to river at night and fireworks display near Cambodian Monastery.
Check out the various Buddhist temples (practically one from every major Buddhist country), and take the time to compare their
architecture and representations of Buddhist faith and mythology. There’s a HUGE stone Buddha statue near the Japanese temple,
and regular basic dharma talks in the Tibetan temple. Shechen and Japanese Monasteries have pujas you can attend around 5/6pm,
along with AM ones too.
The market is a remarkably colorful place to walk through in search of fruit, and sundry goods. It’s located beyond the
Bodhi temple. If interested in picking up a special Mala (Buddhist string of prayer beads), recommend checking out Mumtaz
Gems and Sons, across the street from the temple (Shop No.29, Mahabodhi Shopping Complex). Ironically, this nice Muslim
gentleman has the best selection of beads and seeds to make your Buddhist rosary, and will personally hand string you a Mala to
your liking. Prices are fair, and product is legit.
Assorted Buddhist pilgrimage sites can be found within a half hour ride of the town. These include the cave where the Buddha
meditated for five years prior to gaining enlightenment, the place where the milkmaid nourished him when he was on the brink of
death and the village where she lived.
Blind school- There is a guy that is starting a school for the blind (his Grandfather's dream). He is funding it with a downstairs
internet by the Om cafe.
We went to the cave where Buddha meditated....not the coolest of caves but well worth the beautiful country drive. Kinda
pricy though....950 R total with tips. Interesting pilgrimage sight to get another perspective of the Buddha’s stuggle for
enlightenment in the area. Images of Buddha reflect a period of extreme fasting and solo retreat.
Transportation
Gaya is a 5-hour train ride from Varanasi or about 8-15 hours from Calcutta (look for the fast train because ours took over 15hrs.
We took Gaya Express for 15hrs, starts at HWH and ends GAYA, arriving around 1pm). If you come from Varanasi you’ll likely
get in late. If dark, just walk between the train station and the main road and stay at a cheap hotel (usually these don’t need to be
reserved as there’s a lot of them). It’s a safer idea to leave the group in the train station while you go and make a reservation. If
you come in from Rishikesh in the morning it’s easy enough to hire transport right away. Our outgoing train left 4.30am (again,
reserve tix early, there are about 8 options GAYA-VNS) to VNS, so we took 1 jeep 800rps for 30min drive.
You can also take jeeps to Bodhgaya (300 rps per jeep to Root Inst, 400 town, we did 250/jeep Spring 2010). Autorickshaws are
also a viable option and available immediately upon exiting the train station. A group of ten can squeeze into two rickshaws.
(150/rickshaw). We took 3 auto rickshaws 100r/each to Shechen Monastery from GAYA station, which is safer due to bags too.
There have been a lot of robberies on the road from Gaya to Bodhgaya. Bandits block the road with a fallen tree and cause the van
to stop, hijacking and harassing tourists. Ask people in the area about this and good luck!
Contacts:
Sankar Kumar (Siva): A local social worker, great guy and possible tour guide who has tons of contacts in the area (just tell him
you’re a friend of Alexander and Robyn) Ph: 919934057485 yokohama_sankar@yahoo.com
The Root Institute
Kirsti is now the main contact. She is great to work with and has experience dealing with groups. Melissa is no longer at the Root
Institute. Phone +919801863408. Bodh Gaya, Gaya district, Bihar 824-231
Ph: 91-631-2200-714
fax: 2200-548
info@rootinstitute.com
Fall 2009: Kirsti has graciously crafted a short intro to Tibetan Buddhism/Meditation ‘course’ specifically for this group!
Spring 2010: Anet was our main contact, and she was wonderful and accommodating to our needs. Over the course of 3 days;
Lama David, from Australia, gave a great introductory course into Buddhism. With English as his native language, he was able to
effectively communicate and engage the group with many of the Buddhist ideas. Contact as early as possible because it took them
a long time to get back to us! Fall 2010: Jaime is Spiritual Program Coordinator, will be here for 2 more yrs. Spc /
manager@rootinstitute.com. Staying no time there, he arranged 1-day DVD/talk/Buddhist nun Q & A for us, ask for RI donation.
Did not meet a Kristi or Melissa.
Sample Schedule:
6:45-7:45am
8:00-9:30am
9:30-12:30pm
12:30-2:00pm
2:00-3:30pm
3:30-5:00pm
5:30-6:30pm
Morning Meditation
Breakfast
Lecture
Lunch
Group Discussion
Lecture
Meditation
6:30-8:00pm
Dinner
8-9:00pm Meditation/Video
RI FOOD
EXCELLENT! Guests do their own dishes. Tea is available at all times. (They normally do not accommodate any food
allergies/preferences so if anyone does not eat dairy/wheat, you may want to bring extra snacks. If it is something that is absolutely
necessary, let them know ahead of time)
RI Accommodation
The dorms are okay, but bathrooms are a fair distance away and FULL of mosquitoes. The Double accommodations that the
leaders have stayed in are great, attached bath, private porch. It is essential to have your own space so that the students can come
to you if they are struggling and needed to break silence.
RI Leader Tips
Root Institute off-season is relaxing but lackluster. Late March has temperatures in the 100’s. The grounds are beautiful and have
a series of peaceful gardens. Lots of biting bugs here, this was the only place in India that I wish I had bug repellant! Many of the
students struggled with attending all the required classes and respecting the silence to be maintained through the course. (we
learned the hard way, that no silence ‘should’ also mean no writing to each other or charades..as we saw was happening after a
short time). Some student struggled to uphold expectations of silence while in their rooms. Might suggest a gentle reminder that
sound can still travel through screen windows. The center also has yoga mats for use during the week. Definitely pass around a
copy of Siddhartha or read it aloud! Laundry is available and is affordable. Be sure to get the clothes in as soon as possible.
Depending on what is going on there, you may go straight to Roots for the course. If so, make sure you arrange to see the
Mahabodhi Temple (and any other places in Bodhgaya) on your last day before leaving. Leaving in the afternoon would be much
better than in the morning because of this. They set up a tour of the clinic for us, and anyone who needs to see a doctor, there is a
wonderful homeopathic clinic there. Pay by donation. You can go anytime while at the center.
-You can arrange to see Karmapa Lama's temples and the Mahabodhi temple during the course so you don't have to plan any extra
sight-seeing time before or after the course. If you can go with the teacher he or she would be an excellent guide.
- There was an excellent male nurse on hand, Rick, who can do quick stool tests for stomach bugs
- The retreat is in SILENCE (however there may be a half-day silence option depending on the participants. this will be covered in
orientation.)
- Rikshaws to Mahabodi temple from Roots Institute are 10 per cycle rickshaw for either 1 or 2 people (they always guilt trip and
ask for more, but R.I. insists on only giving 10)
- R.I. has a clinic that aids poor, uneducated and very unsanitary villages. Ask to see a video, it is very eye-opening. It may be
possible to go out and see the clinic and talk to volunteers?
Melissa's cell phone – 9934714704
LODGING
Bhutanese Monastery - Great place to stay and a beautiful place to visit. We agree! 300R/room
New Karma Tibetan Monastery: near Japanese monastery and behind Bhutanese monastery. 250 rps double room. Peaceful and
simple and welcomed after crazy Kolkata. A bit outside of main town, so suggest to rickshaw back after dark.
Shechen Monastery: 300rps/room, check LP. Quiet, close, clean, we liked it, pujas, near Axis/Punjabi Banks.
MEDICAL
American Doctor (typically American) who stays at the main Tibetan Monastery on the main road. He’s great and provides a
reliable doctor for this stop, but may come and go depending on the time of year. The most reliable medical attention can be found
at the Root institute clinic. Check w/ Jaime (SPC RInstitute) about doctors on-call at the time.
Bodhgaya TO DO LIST:
-Arrange Train Tickets to Next Destination (while in Varansi we arranged tickets from there to Gaya and onward from Gaya to
Kolkata. It was much easier to take care of from there than in Bodhgaya as there is no station there.)
-Get in touch with your next contact and make sure they are ready to receive your group.
FOOD
Tibetan Om is a great restaurant. Now closed Fall 2010. The Om Cafe is also tasty, service is terrible. Most restaurants serve the
same fare/menu, so we did not find anything that really stood out.
KOLKATTA
Transportation
There are trains from almost anywhere to Calcutta. We took the overnight train from Bodhgaya, about it took about 10 hours.
You will arrive into Howrah Station, which was so absolutely clean, I was afraid to throw an orange peel in the gutter. Apparently
it used to be really crazy dirty. NOT ANYMORE. There are a ton of taxis waiting outside. We paid 100 rs per taxi to get us to
Sudder Street. There is a pre-paid taxi stand if you walk out the door and go right until the end of the long string of taxis.
However, they will not take more than four in a vehicle. If you arrange on your own it will avoid splitting the group in three.
Fall: You will be coming from New Jalpaiguri [NJP] in upper West Bengal (5hrs from Darjeeling), and taking the train to Howrah
(HWH). Should be about an 8-hour ride, barring any unforeseen herds of cattle on the tracks! If going from NJP, you may want to
go to the Sealdah station. (pronounces Sheldah). It is much closer to Sudder St. than Howrah. Darjeeling Mail is overnt train to
SDAH and gets you in around 6/7am. Pay no more than 250r per taxi, they are master bargainers, it should be about 150, but at
that hr and fatigued, take what you can get! 10 people fit fine w/ stuff in 3 Ambassador cars, 15/20min to Sudder area.
Ambassador Taxis are abundant. They have meters, so make sure they use them. The phrase “meter-se jaenge?” will get you a
long ways. Although the rate shown on the meter is doubled when you actually pay based on some incomprehensible formula.
Just go with it…they’re not ripping you off.
The Metro is clean, fast, and super easy. It runs north and south through the city and gets you at least close to where you want to
go for relatively cheap. Use it. Love it. One new line is in the works to connect Howrah, which will make MT and Durga Puja
stuff easier to access.
There are also boats, rickshaws (human, cycle, and auto), street cars, buses, etc. etc. Challenge your students to a game of “who
can ride the largest number of different forms of transportation in a day.”
Accomodation
Sudder Street is the main backpacker’s district in Kolkata. There are countless hotels on and around Sudder Street. We didn’t have
a hotel picked out ahead of time, just said Sudder St, and that was a huge mistake. Our drivers took us all around to these other
hotels that they wanted us to stay at, and we just ended up walking a ways to find a hotel.
Salvation Army: This is supposedly the cheapest place on Sudder at 200 rs/dbl/night, but they do not take reservations. Worth
stopping by if you are there in the morning.
Hotel Gulistan: 2260963; 28621603 Located on the corner of Sudder St. and Free School St. Run by a group of Nepali guys.
Super accommodating. They have a whole variety of rooms. Some of them are dumpy closets with no windows, so be sure to see
the room first. A few people had to stay one night in a closet, but the guys worked really hard to get us into windows with rooms
within the best day. We were able to house 10 people in a mixture of doubles and triples for 1600 rs/night. For an assitional 100
rs/night they will turn air conditioning on in a few selective rooms. We called from Bodhgaya to book the rooms and then called
again the night before arriving. Keep reminding them and they’ll keep trying to make things happen.
Sunflower Guest House – 7 Royd Street, 5th floor. Off Free School street. Very close to Park St. 2350 rps a night for 2 doubles, 1
triple. Slight discount for long term stays. Staff is OK, but lacked a solid English speaker. This makes things interesting
sometimes. In the process of renovations and working on a rooftop garden. Dormitory style or doubles available and clean and
affordable. Fans in room beat the heat, and location is central yet off of the tourist drag of Sudder St. Would recommend
Sunflower for future groups.
Ashreen Guest House. Just off Sudder on Cowie lane. We were put across the street – rooms were bare and bathrooms fairly
dirty. Prices were OK, but cleanliness (or lack thereof) motivated students to move to Sunflower. Front desk staff can be great but
had some difficult workers as well.
Modern Lodge Guest House (in LP): 3 floors, students really liked the vibe, cheap, must pay all in advance or each day as you go,
10-20r/pp bag storage per day, right off Sudder St (so we were close but there was some quiet too), good mtg space on 2 nd floor
and roof.
Medical Stuff
Apollo Gleneagles Hospital. 58, Canal Circular Road, Kolkata. Tel. 91-33-23203040; 2122. This hospital is just off the Bypass
on the way to Salt Lake City. Cabbies should know where it is. It’s also near the Hyatt Regency. Great Hospital with Englishspeaking doctors and staff.
Awesome doctor – Dr. Anraj Singh. Part of his company is called ARMS – Asian Rescue Medical Services. Call cell 9831005000
to make an appointment. Great English, great care, 1000 rps consultation fee. We used him as an alternative to the Apollo
Hospital. Also he works out of Bellevue Clinic. Office address: Flat 2-B Jay Vijay Apartments 61 B Palm Ave. Kolkata 19. Off
broad street near Lila Medical. It looks like an apartment complex, but it’s also offices. ARMS is emergency med services
company linked to most int’l insurance carriers, so he can arrange major evacs and all that jazz, too. www.armsindia.com,
arms@vsnl.com, 91.33.2289.6600/01/02 24hr tel. His manager of operations: Swarna Ray (98303.65276, 98310.08900) runs
office when he’s off saving lives all over Asia.
Volunteering at Mother Theresa
Look in the Lonely Planet to find out exactly where Mother Theresa is located. It is about a 15 min walk from Sudder Street. You
will go to the Main Mother House (located on 72 Bose Rd) for new volunteer orientation. Ask around, as there are shortcuts to
make trip faster. You do not need to call. Just show up at 3pm on M, W, F, for new volunteer orientation. Try and plan your
itinerary so that you don’t arrive on Sat morning (like we did) and then have to wait around all weekend to start volunteering on
Tuesday (after orientation on Monday). There they will tell you everything you need to know at orientation. This was one of the
most meaningful experiences of our entire trip. There is a choice to volunteer in the morning or afternoon, but if you are
volunteering for one week or less (many volunteers are there for months) they ask you to take the afternoon slot, as it is less
popular. However, some of the homes only have morning volunteering, in which case they will let you volunteer in the am. Some
of our students just asked where they most needed our help. There is no volunteering on Thursday. If students are under 18yrs old,
they can only volunteer at two places (with children) FYI. Not the case in Spring 2010, volunteers could be placed anywhere.
At 7 am there is volunteer breakfast at the Main Mother House, which consists of a banana, two pieces of toast, and chai. No
more. You may want to eat a little something additional if you are a big breakfast person! At 7.30am, after prayer, all of the
volunteers head out together to each of the homes. If you have students volunteering in the afternoon, have them go to breakfast
one morning so that they can learn how to get to their house on their own. Some placements were far from the main Motherhouse,
but students were able to share rickshaws from our guesthouse to the volunteer sights. You may want to prepare the students (and
yourselves) with how some of the staff at MTH treat the patients. They seem very ‘strict’, at times acting in ways that is very hard
to witness. This was even the case with one of the Sisters at Shanti Dan (a home for young children).
Food
Lots of good stuff. The several street food stands worth mentioning are:
1. the subji/puri stand at the corner of Free School and Sudder.
2. the food cart run buy a Korean man, one block down from street food #1 on Sudder St. This place is always over-run with
Mother Theresa Volunteers. Try the Om Rice.
3. Two blocks towards Hoggs Market, on Free School St. Amazing panini (grilled sandwich) stand!
Eat Egg Rolls every chance you get!
Bhojohori Manna- (033) 24663941. EXCELLENT Bengali food in Ballygunje. About a 20 min drive but well worth it. (the banana
flower dishes are bohut swadisht)
Blue Sky café – touristy, but has good food, great lassis, and friendly staff. And you can fill your bottle from their water filter if
you ask. Ask for comp drinks for leaders when you bring in group.
Banana Leaf – Another branch of the South Indian Place found in Connaught place, Dehli. This was a nice change from Sudder
St. fare. Near Kalighat metro stop on Rash Behari Rd. In the direction of Gariahat St. 5 to 10 min walk on north side of Rash
Behjari rd.
Activities
There is a ton of stuff to do and see in Kolkatta. Highlights were the Flower Market, Hoggs Market, and the
comprehensive history exhibit inside the Victoria Memorial. Spend time hanging out at the Maidan and watch/play cricket or
soccer. Wander wander wander. Show at the Planetarium is cool and dark, but we were unable to understand what is going on,
students would like it more if they took own iPods and listed to personal soundtrack b/c the visuals are really good. There is great
music going on in town. Check out the Ramakrishna Cultural Center. Buy a local paper and look in the performance sections to
see what is going on. Lonely Planet has a really comprehensive section about stuff to do in the city. However, in all honesty, we
were emotionally and physically drained after volunteering in some pretty intense environments (especially Khali Ghat, which is
best visited BEFORE 9am) and were mostly wanting to hang out and process during our free time.
Birla Mandir (in Ballygunge) is an amazing temple, check opening times b/c it, like most places, closes at odd hrs. There
is also a cultural center underneath which has live music/dance. (you certainly could combine this trip with Bhojohori manna)
Ramakrishna temple-kinda far (250R/taxi...1hr ride) but really interesting place. You can cross the river on a private boat
for 210 R to an old Kali temple (VERy busy though...may want to go early)
Jain temples are very interesting and different from the Hindi ones. Visit a few, esp 3 in North Kolkata, such a good
respite from chaos, gave 50r group donation. Check hrs of operation.
INOX forum movie cinema mall: Closest theater in a modern mall complex. Food court upstairs with western and
Indian food. Easily accessed by Metro. Ask locals.
Indian Museum – a few interesting exhibits but don’t expect too much. Good for the experience but not well updated.
Walkable from Sudder area, on Park.
GANGTOK
Place
Quest Himalaya – Arthur and Raju are great to work with. Ask Arthur about contacts for lectures on Sikkim history.
We had a talk from a journalist about the area/history, and a botanist/gov’t administrator/forestry official who gave us a tour of his
botanical garden, fed us dinner, and gave us a talk all about sustainability in Sikkim, history, the Dzongri trek, India, etc. Buy him
a bottle of Scotch Whiskey (Glenfiddich or better) in USA (750ml) as gift and he is good to go. You can find only 1l bottles in
Kong Kong Duty Free, might try Duty Free in Delhi upon arrival (right after immigration).
To get to Gangtok, it requires entering into Sikkim, which entails getting an “Inner Line Permit” at the border at Rangpo.
This process: (1) give passports and passport photos (3) to Arthur as soon as you can – get photocopies of passport and India visa;
get Sikkim permits; arrive at border and take them to 1 office to get verified; take to 2nd office to get approved. Takes 5-10min for
1 person. Free stay up to 15 days. (2) Arthur has a packing list for the trek (***), so request it before you go and then pass along
info to students. Not really any good places to get adequate gear other than hats, gloves, umbrellas. (3) ALSO, Arthur needs a
letter on CDiem letterhead stating that CD is an educational ORG and the students are really students (to get student discount). (4)
Arthur’s guide Raju is from Darjeeling, so he can reserve a hotel for the group if you like.
VOLUNTEERING EXPERIENCE
Fall 2010: we volunteered at local Tibetan Carpet weaving company; guy is using old methods and new styles, very
cutting edge, exports to Seattle, trying to revive the industry in Sikkim area with new designs. We got to spool yarn, color designs,
actually weave a bunch, get a couple dance parties going on, and clean/prep finished carpets. About a 30 min walk down the hill
from the Lepcha house, and then 45min walk / 10min taxi back up to the junction. Worked 9-12 and 2-5. Took a lot out of
students to walk 4 times, especially at lunch (no real break time), so they did a lot of taxis – which did not prepare them well for
the trek…
Fall 2009: Volunteer at Govt Jr. High School, Jaucharah: First CD experience working with this school, so proved to be
a fresh and new adventure. School was a little unsure what to do with us, but we were able to put together a schedule that allowed
us to help with some instruction without overwhelming the school. Teachers were happy to hand over the reins of teaching, and left
the education of their students up to us. Grades K-8. Recommend sticking to Math, English, and Science with older students, and
finding fun activities for the younger. Big games with entire school was fun, but don’t let it distract from getting school work
done. About 100-150 students in total. Leader tips: Find class schedules from principal ahead of time, and create plan around
what works for you. Assigning students/pairs to certain class periods helped to make communication and logistics more clear.
Lunch at school was provided, and set up by Arthur in advance. We brought a gift of art-supplies to donate to the school
(purchased in Calcutta), but would recommend discussing another option with Arthur to best serve the needs of the students or
specific to your volunteer project.
Spring 2009: You can easily get a taxi up to the main area in Gangtok. Arthur is extremely helpful and organized and
will most likely have a print out of your itinerary for your time there. We loved everything that he set up for us. We had a talk by
an editor from a local newspaper. We all loved visiting Mr. Keshab Pradhan…his botanical gardens (at his home!) are amazing and
after they served us a snack and chai. Very nice people.
For 3 full days and one half day, we went to a school, Phensong High School) to volunteer. There is not much that is
organized, but what worked really well for us was to divide up into pairs, and then we all just wandered around different
classrooms to teach/play games/songs/activities. (there is also a ping pong table around there…so search that out!). The age range
may be anywhere from 5-17 or so. Having organized activites/games ahead of time really helped a lot. The school is a bumpy hour
and a half ride away, but very beautiful. Susma is the headmistress and is quite a character. She may invite you to her home
Many of us had stomach issues while there and Arthur brought us to the hospital for stool samples (even though we are still
wondering if we ALL had ecoli as the results showed)
Transportation
Jeep to Gangtok: Students negotiated 1400 rps from Darjeeling. Possibly could be less, but its not very close, so this seemed
reasonable. Jeeps from Bagdogra-6 hours. Road is awful leaving Bagdhogra airport, but from Rangpo the road improves and the
views are stunning. Strikes are common (sometimes road blocks too), regular taxi is 1500r, big taxi to fit up to 9 people (NOT
comfortably) is 2500r. You can get pre-pay taxi in the baggage claim area (good to ask fellow travelers if going that way to spread
costs), but it is more expensive than bargaining with folks outside. And you can always come back to the pre-pay folks if outside
does not suit you. Further questions, ask Arthur. Jeeps cannot bring you directly into the town of Gangtok, you will be dropped at
a parking garage and then have to take taxis into town. These are reasonably priced. Sherap Lepcha’s house is 4km below
Gangtok, so have the taxi drop you off at junction (give phone to Arthur and they will talk it out). Gangtok to NJP: 1400 Rps for a
jeep. 5 hours. Instead of bus to Siliguri and then rickshaws we went straight there by jeep. We recommend it. Arthur was key in
helping students negotiate good prices. With Quest/Arthur, can organize private taxis to take you from hike to Darjeeling as part
of package (see Darjeeling section).
FOOD
Blue Sheep restaurant has good Indian food and sometimes great lassi. Located in pedestrian area of town called MG Marg. There
are some outdoor outfitter stores on the streets above MG Marg, and markets that go off from the street up/down hill.
ACOMMODATION
Hotel Pandim – Bhanu Path (Secretariat Road) Gangtok, Sikkim Manager Kesang Norbu phone: 03592-227540 or mobile
09832080172 Located just below royal palace park. Is a treat! Out of the chaos of town. Good restaurant upstairs. We paid 2000
rps for 2 double rooms and 1 triple. We were able to store our luggage for free while we were trekking.
Reep Lee homestay: Very basic comfortable rooms. Sherap and Choden Lepcha (husband and wife) were so accommodating,
and Pema (Sherap’s brother) was an excellent help. (he also came on the trek with us and it was a blast having him there). Most of
the rooms are located on the bottom floor, where there is a nice living room. They also have a landline phone there where they
gave us the number for family to call. (this ended up being a little excessive for some of our students so may want to limit that
from the beginning). We cooked a meal for all of them, and even though we don’t know how much they liked it…it was extremely
fun. Our group cooked for family as well, they liked it. Place to wash/dry clothes, great food, cool library from past groups, good
English, about 15min walk up the hill to the junction, and then 15r pp taxi up to Gangtok or a 4km walk.
**Is a good idea to set up accommodation for Darjeeling before you go on the trek, especially for fall trips because you may be
arriving during Durga Puja** Ask Arthur and Raju to set it up, or make online reservation with one (we did Andy’s Guesthouse,
and it was really good)
TREK:
It was cold…so bring whatever you have. But you can also rent jackets and sleeping bags, some stuff in Gangtok (road
parallel and above MG Marg, which is major pedestrian thoroughfare), but selection is limited. Bring snacks!! The food was
EXCELLENT!! We traveled to Yuksom where we spent the night and then left early the next morning. 5 full days of trekking. It
was very difficult for some of the students, and what ended up happening was our group would end up splitting in half and the
faster ones would go ahead. They would stop where the lunch break would be and depending on how far back the other group was,
they would either eat and then head on to camp, or wait to all eat together. Some of the students were really worried about
everyone waiting for them, so this worked out well. We solved this issue (fast vs. slow) with 1) we are a group and we stick
together & 2) AMS (which proved too right). There will probably be many Indian guys from the Himalayan Mt. Institute. (most
are preparing to go to Everest). There are usually soo many of them, usually very nice, but as a caution, do not let any females hike
alone. One student was groped by one of these guys. Not only for environmental reasons…but also for safety….avoid shortcuts
(especially when going downhill). Very hard on the joints (one student hurt her knee pretty bad). Ask for lots of ginger tea rather
than black/milk tea, better for hydration (had some kiddos with sniffles too), and harass them to drink enough water. We had no
idea how much to tip for the trek, but we paid 1000 R to our guide, and 400R each for everyone else. We had two guides (Raju
and his nephew) that were not all that above-and-beyond, but we tipped them and the cook (Tenzing) 1000r each and then split the
rest between the 6 porters. 4600r total, gave it to them at Tenzing’s house on last night.
Day 1: drive 6-8hrs to Yaksom through winding roads of Sikkim (long day, but gorgeous views) and have packed lunch from
Lepcha house along the way, plus snacks. Stay 2/room in nice hotel in Yaksom, frequent power outages, good trek food already
starting.
Day 2: leave as EARLY as possible on this day!!! We left post-9am, did permit registration, and got into Tchoka after dark –
sucked. 5-10,000’ in one day, 1st ½ is up/down and 2nd ½ is straight up. Very tough on students, good places to refill water bottles
and use Steripen. Snacks and good attitude key.
Day 3: 10-13,000’ Again, straight up the hill, AMS became an issue, lack of water from lunch-final destination was major issue.
In future, groups will do 10-12,000’ on Day 2 and the rest on Day 3, which is better for acclimation. This is a tougher one on
students, especially if you combine Day2/3. Weather permitting, you start to see the mtns by lunchtime.
Day 4: 12-13,300’ up to Dzongri and in the PM, if up for it, up to view point (14,500’) to see sunset on the mtns (amazing). AMS
is definitely a concern here, esp. given rapid rate of climb.
Day 5: sunrise hike to viewpoint to see mtns, then come down for breakfast. Repack and head down to Tchoka, a descent (straight
down, no rest for the knees, so be wary of people hurting themselves) of 3,000’.
Day 6: Back to the hotel (5,000’), mostly down but some up and flat, do most of trail and have lunch about 1hr away from
Yaksom. Rest and eat dinner at cook’s house in town!
Day 7: drive to Darjeeling (5+ hrs) and get dropped off at hotel in early PM.
Were given the option to have horses carry our packs during the trek. Prior to leaving Gantok, we packed only what we needed for
the trek and left the rest with Arthur, who returned it at the end of the trek. At the trailhead we were given the option to use horses
to carry our packs, for a small fee. Horses are arranged on day 1, and unavailable to carry additional weight later on, but can help
out in case of emergency. Something to keep in mind if you decide to carry your own pack, if someone is questionable, put bag on
horse! Most trekkers are NOT carrying own bags, either, just small day pack w/ bare essentials. Make sure you tip everyone that
supports the expedition, and speak to your lead guide about how that money distributed. In general the lead guide, and Sirdar (in
charge of logistics and support staff), will get a larger cut of the tip.
UPDATED INFORMATION:
(Type any updated information you discovered on your trip here… IN RED—Do not simply type it into the existing text!)
DARJEELING
Place
Check out LP, good info. Did 10.30p curfew here. There are 3 internet cafes close to Andy’s Guesthouse, few more down hill
(some in Glendary’s too). Power outages 1-3x/day. Went w/ Raju (guide) to Ghoom and walked back thru 3 monasteries, really
cool AM/PM activity. Took the toy train/taxi out to get there (8km). Town is situated on a hill so basically everything is up or
down. Lots of good walking. There is now a new western movie theater in town that shows one American movie and three Hindi
movies daily. It is about $2 to go to the movie, and they have movie style popcorn inside for 40 rs a bucket. Can be a nice group
activity if your students are needing a taste of America. Zoo was cool (100r with HMI ticket), 30min walk there.
Transportation
From Calcutta, take a train to New Jalpaiguri. For second class sleeper it should cost about 275 rs. The train is called
the Darjeeling Mail Express, and leaves at 10pm and arrives at 8am. Pretty straight forward and easy. One thing to note is that it
leaves from Sealdah, not Howrah. Once you get to New Jalpaiguri there are several ways to continue onto Darjeeling. The easiest
way is to hire a private jeep, there are a ton of them waiting for you at the train station. It will cost about 1200 rs and can carry up
to 10 people (bags on top). The trip is about 3 hours, and the driver will likely stop somewhere in the middle to get tea or snack.
You can also make your way to the main bus stand in Siliguri (20 min away) and catch a public bus up to Darjeeling, or you can
take the toy train, which takes about 9 hours. I did not do either of these last options.
With Arthur/Quest Adventures, they take you in private taxis to the hostel of your choice, about 5hr drive.
To get to NJP, taxis (14-1800 each jeep) take 3-5hrs to get there, depending on quality of road (usually very poor).
Occasional strikes/protests re: road quality, so stay alert (we went from Andy’s arranging everything at 1400 to Mahakal doing it
for 1800 b/c no one would take us).
Lodging:
Hotel Long Island
Dr Zakir Hussain Rd
phone: 03542252043
This place was spartan, but clean. Run by two sisters. Dbl rm 250/night. Each room has a private bath with squat toilets and cold
shower. There is a communal hot shower that is open from 8 am to 8pm. There is a Korean Restaurant that is associated with the
hotel. This was a nice place to stay, mostly because it is on the top of the hill and a little bit removed from all of the craziness of
the town, and it is quiet.
Hotel Tower View
Directly across the street from Long Island. Seemed more or less the same. The only reason I mention it is because it is Dan's
favorite place, and he really likes the people that run the hotel.
Highlanders' Inn
6/1 Hermitage Rd 0354-2254055 debsheela@dataone.in
1200 rs/night/dbl. This is a really fancy/nice place, for actually a very reasonable place.
Kachunidontknowhowtosayit and could be a nicer upscale option if students are in need of a respite.
Andy’s Guesthouse
Has amazing views of
Matilda Gurung owner, look in LP. She is great, good spot/views, great rooftop for sunrise (don’t need Tiger Hill) and yoga,
plenty of group mtg space. 225.3125, 92325.24950 & 94341.66968 (cell), can arrange taxis to NJP (1400-1800 via Mirick – the
more scenic route and fast). Raju (guide) booked in advance for us dbl rooms, some w/ showers and some bucket showers. 400500r/room.
Food
LP does a good job of listing good places to eat. One place worthy of special mention - Kunga has awesome Tibetan food and is
totally worth at least one trip. Restaurants in Darjeeling close relatively early around or before 8PM so get out and feed yourself.
A couple places not listed in Lonely Planet:
Sonam's Kitchen: Just down the road from Andy's (towards town) on Dr. Zakir Hussain Rd. Run by a Tibetan woman and her
husband. She makes an awesome American style breakfast with cheese omelettes, really good toast, and some of the best, and
strongest, coffee you will have in India. Sonam and her husband are really friendly and helpful. They will definitely be into sitting
and chatting and answering any questions you have about Darjeeling, the surrounding area, or really anything you ask them. Good
friends with Raju, Arthur’s main guide for the Sikkim trek.
Nathmull’s Tea Room: One of the more famous Tea Shops in Darjeeling, and provides a high quality and selection of Tea.
Opposite State Bank on Laden La Road. www.nathmulltead.com
Kalden: A little more down the road from Sonam's towards town. A little hole in the wall Tibetan place that is a nice alternative to
Kunga.
Tibetan restaurant near Lunar Restaurant on way down hill next to Clock Tower (great food and price)
Hasty Tasty: below Glendary’s, great fastfood Indian joint w/ N/S Indian fare, cheap and good, loud
AMRITSAR
PLACE
Amritsar is a large city, although we spent most of our time in and around the temple. Lines are long to enter the temple. Late at
night and early in the morning can be good times to go. Explore alleys and eat soft serve. One student and one leader chose to
sleep in the temple complex on the marble. There wasn’t much sleep involved, but it was a good experience seeing the all-night
going-ons. It is a safe place to be at night, but still leave valuables with someone else if you plan to sleep out. This was a huge hit!!
Just don’t expect too much sleep, and you will probably be woken up very early as they begin to wash the marble floors with
water. Supposedly it is not ok to be sleeping once they bring the sacred “book” in the Golden Temple. It’s worth it to walk through
the museum at the temple.
Besides spending lots of time at the Golden Temple, you may want to visit the Mata Temple which is set up like a funhouse. One
group worked with Happy (mobile: 09417319798) and his “uncle” (Mata Temple, a silver temple with crematorium, and Pakistan
border all for 1200 R for all). Also, arrange transport (average price 100 r/pp) to Pakistan border for its ceremonial closing. Leave
around 3pm from Amritsar for the 1 hour drive. Bring a copy of your passport for special passage to “VIP” section where you’ll
sit in bleachers and watch the pomp between the border guards. You cannot bring bags, so private transport is useful to leave bags
inside. Prior contacts: Dillay. Mobile: 09872135541; Ajay Sharma; Raja Tour and Travels. Cell#998875701, 9646781801. Hotel
Grace charged 100r/pp.
TRANSPORTATION
From McCleod Ganj:
1.
Bus to Pathankot leaving from McCleod and then train from Pathankot to Amritsar. Make sure the times work
before buying train tickets.
2.
Direct bus from Dharamsala to Amritsar. Leaves every day at 5AM. You must catch the first bus from
McCleod Ganj to Dharamsala at 4AM to ensure you arrive at the bus stand on time. It’s possible to purchase tickets in advance
from the bus stand in Dharamsala, which we did. However, there were plenty of empty seats on the bus and everyone else was
buying tickets as they boarded. From Chandigargh, we took a spacious bus. 200R/ticket. It was a 4/5 hour ride. We bought the
tickets through Maharaja travels: phone: 2710119, 5049433. Busses also available daily from main bus station. Inquire about
schedule in advance, at bus station, and can pay when you arrive.
From Rishikesh: Phool Chatti arranged two jeep taxis for 10 of us at 1,500 rupee per taxi to Haridwar Train Station (2:35pm
departure). Train to Amritsar is about 7 hours. Free yellow bus to Golden Temple runs every 30 min until 9 pm, though they tend
to get packed which is difficult with backpacks. Paying for rickshaws is the alternative.
LODGING
Guru Ram Das Sarai. This is building is located directly across from the Langar (community meal) hall. (Look at the map of the
Golden Temple Complex in the Lonely Planet.) If you arrive there by train there is a free bus from the station to a gate just west of
the building. If you arrive by bus you will have to hire two autorickshaws from the station. You can try to tell them Guru Ram
Das Sarai or Langar, however, most likely you will end up somewhere in the vicinity of the temple walking with packs and
searching. Just ask people where these buildings are and listen for the clanking of metal plates. Guru Ram Das Sarai does not
require reservations despite what some of the literature says. Just show up. There are dorm rooms and private rooms reserved for
foreigners. The foreigner section is on the first floor near the entrance, but isolated and protected from the rest of the building.
Only about 4-5 rooms to sleep, but plenty of room on the floor to post up if all the beds are full. Nine of us were able to squeeze
into two private rooms. Prepare the students for zero privacy during your days in Amritsar. Some wall lockers to store away
valuables, but bring your own lock. All possible accommodation through the Gurdwara was booked (possibly due to Guru Nanek
Dev’s birthday). We found a hotel, Golden Paradise. Nothing too impressive. You could probably find a better deal with nicer
rooms, as we were 5 to a room. 600/R/night/room.
Hotel Grace
One block from Golden Temple ph: 2559355, 5067676
Stayed here because we got in late. They picked us up at train station for 200 rupee, and gave us 3 rooms for 2,000 rupee (10
people). Nice rooms and helpful, friendly staff.
FOOD
Just across the street from Guru Ram Das Sarai is where Langar is served. Meals are free and served all day and all night all the
time. Encourage students to eat here and jump in on doing dishes. Awesome experience!
The langar is amazing…but if you are wanting something else…there is an EXCELLENT thali. The restaurant is: Bhawvanda
Dhaba. Get the special thali. 90 R (but is probably enough to share). Long walk or easy rickshaw ride from the Golden Temple. A
famous restaurant so will be easy to find.
We heard that money may be pocketed that is donated...get receipts!
BIR
PLACE
Deer Park Institute (DPI) is a short walk from the town of Bir which has an Indian section and a Tibetan section. DPI is in the
Tibetan section, which is a bit more touristy with internet cafes and restaurants. Bir is world famous for paragliding, so the sky is
always full, and some places in town as well.
What you study at DPI is totally dependent on their schedule at the time, which you can find on the website. Communicate with
Melitis beforehand about programming. Aside from the schedule programs, Melitis can give a few intro to meditation sessions
which students have really appreciated. On request, she can also give a short talk about Chinese medicine. Depending on how
many programs are running during your stay, you could probably get some more meditation sessions. In the evenings you can
watch videos (*“the story of stuff”)or have talks from visiting monks. Even though we tried to organize a lot before going, not
much was going on. No one was very interested in the silent retreat, so there was a lot of time to relax, do yoga and wander around.
This is a good place for groups to reconnect, especially after potential scattered schedules elsewhere. We had daily
meetings/activities on the roof, where you can watch beautiful sunsets. Although atmosphere is relaxed and schedule is open,
remind students that they are still at an Institute of learning and meditation, and behavior should be mindful. Institute gives a
written set of expectations to be followed.
One group was there for a two day lecture series on an important historical text, given by a Bhutanese Monk, and also participated
in a volunteer project building an earthen wall.
Day trips from Bir:
Up to where the paragliders take off – 400 one way for a taxi, can negotiate maybe 600 for a round trip. There is a chai shop at the
top where you can get tea and biscuits and fried eggs. Some of us opted to walk back, this took abut 4 hours by road.
Waterfall and village walk is a nice afternoon excursion – some of the kitchen staff took us. Ask about water level.
Tatapani hot springs. Full day trip, but worth it. You can ask Melitis about transport or book with Friends Travel (on main street
in Bir) One large taxi was 1500 and guide was 500. Gorgeous drive is about 2 hours, then 1-2 hour walk uphill, depending on
group fitness. Near the top there is a field of marijuana growing. One group had trouble with drivers wanting the group to smoke
with them, so be aware of this. There is no charge for the hot springs. There is one main pool, very hot, big enough for our whole
group, but no stores around so bring plenty of water and snacks. If you plan ahead, you can ask DPI kitchen for cinnamon bread,
peanut butter and jam.
Ask about the different monasteries you can walk to…..very beautiful walks. There was a program that was going on where local
youth were researching about local wisdom. We went with them all to see a temple, weaving, and basket weaving (you can
probably arrange to have someone take you to the family where they do basket weaving…no English at all but so sweet. And they
were willing to teach us). Sherab Ling Monestary: Monastic school for thousand+ students studying Tibetan Buddhism. Ask at
reception if you can tour the grounds, and a humble donation is appreciated. Beautiful temple inside and interesting look at life
inside a large monastery. If you’re lucky, you’ll be there at time of ritual Lama Dances which last a few days and are an elaborate
and varied display of Tibetan culture.
TRANSPORTATION
Amritsar to Deer Park:
Take the free shuttle from Golden Temple which runs every 30 min (go early because they fill up). Takes about 20 min to train
station. Once there, buy tickets for Patankhot (as of fall ’10, no need to reserve). Tickets are 35 r/pp, about a 2.5 hour ride. Train
may run late, so allow plenty of time. Once in Patankhot, 3 taxis (arranged through Melitis from Deer Park) took 10 of us to Deer
Park. It’s a 4 hour drive, each taxi cost 1,700 rupee. We stopped for lunch 5km outside of Patankhot. **If during Diwali, may
need taxis direct from Amritsar to Bir. Approx 6 hours, 6000 rupee.
From McLeod to Bir:
Jeep taxis were 1500/R each. 3 hours. Neemala set them up for us. Can also arrange transportation to Bir from one of the many
tour companies in town, and search for a more competitive rate. We used Akash Adventures: Bhagsu Rd. ph#01892220498,
akashadventures@gmail.com
McLEOD GANJ
PLACE
Tibetan refugee colony and home of the Dalai Lama, Mcleod Ganj is a beautiful space from which to deepen understanding of the
Tibet-China situation. There are countless opportunities to hear personal testimonies, beginning with homestays set up by our
contact, Neema-la (husband Tashi). Arrive to her restaurant, JJI Exile, and families will meet you there.
Homestays- Prepare students that homestays will be in tight quarters with little privacy (often sleeping in same room with other
family members). They’ll eat breakfast and dinner with their families according to each family’s respective schedule. Host
parents (“amala”, mother and “pala”, father) tend to worry, so Neema-la and homestays request that students are back by 8pm
unless otherwise communicated. (Note that female foreigners have been violently attacked recently on Bhagsu Road). When
giving gifts and payment at the end, make sure the money is in an envelope and presented with a white scarf. **** You can buy
white scarves at the Dalai Lama temple from the monk for just 5 rupees.****
Leaders- Leaders have generally stayed at the Kalsang Guest House which is on Tipa Rd, just up from JJI Exile. Beautiful views;
charge 350 rupee per night. Other options are the Green Hotel on Bagsu Road or Mount View on Post Office Road. Definitely
visit students’ homestays—a great opportunity all around, and very appreciated by students and families. Arrange dates and times
via students.
Internships- Students have to be proactive in finding internships, which vary according to the season and which teachers are in
town. In the past, students have learned thanka painting, made jewelry and dreamcatchers (look for Meena at Zoha Art on
Bhagsu Road- 98170-83694), cooking classes (highly recommend Sangye’s Kitchen on Post Office Road), Tibetan language
(Neema’s a good teacher), tabla and sitar, Tibetan massage, reiki and past life regression.
Other activities- Volunteer teaching English to monks/refugees from 4.30-5.30 just up from Café Panda off of Jogiwara Road. Very rewarding
experience. Another option is Gu Chu Sum, an organization that helps Tibetan refugees and they ask for volunteers to do an hour
of conversational English from 6-7pm daily (not Sunday). Students will hear the refugees’ stories and connect one-on-one. Highly
recommended!!! Located on Jogibara rd., 200 yards beyond the Chocolate log, next door to Lung Ta Japanese Restaurant. Good
idea to bring simple reading material, a dictionary, pictures from home, pens for drawing, etc.
- Movie & Speaker! Be sure to see Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion which you can request the small cinema on Jogiwara Road to
play for the group. Many of those people featured in the movie live in Mcleod Ganj. One of these, Llasung Tsering, is the owner
of the Bookworm and an excellent speaker. He’s a poet, freedom fighter, ex-headmaster of TCV (Tibetan Children’s Village) and
ex-president of the Tibetan Youth Congress. He openly opposes the HH's plan and advocates for more forceful action. His
"mosquito theory" calls for each Tibetan family to send a family member to sabotage the Chinese economy from within China.
He’ll just ask you to set a date, time & place and he’ll be there. Good options for meeting spots are Khana Nirvana or Common
Ground. Suggested donation is 1,000 rupee (present in envelope with white scarf!)
- Hike up Triund for amazing mountain views! It’s a 9km trek, strenuous uphill to 2800m, about 3.5 hours up, and a 2.5 down
(optional additional hike to glacier and caves 2 hours further up). You can make it a day hike (can be done without a guide), or
hire a guide for an overnight to catch sunset and sunrise. There are tea shops along the way and some food options. To stay
overnight you technically need a permit from the Forest Service in Dharamsala. You can stay in government huts or privateowned Sita Palace). Summit Adventures is a solid contact for more information.
- Waterfall on Bhagsu road. A short hour-long walk, with a stunning and cold waterfall at the end! You can also visit Bhagsu
temple. Bring your swimsuit for both the temple and the waterfall!! Recommend not going alone.
- Tushita Meditation Center is an exceptional meditation center and a great resource if students are interested in learning about
Mahayana Buddhism. Free guided meditation 9.15-10.15 all days except Sundays. Note: this place is run by the same organization
that runs Root Institute in Bodhgaya and has the same Intro to Meditation course offered. Look for postings of lectures given here.
Well worth the walk.
- Gyuto Monastery (current home of the Karmapa) At 2 pm on Wednesday and Saturday each week the third highest Lama in
the Mahayana tradition gives public darshan and/or teachings for the public. If you are interested in going you must bring your
passport to clear security. Taxis from McLeod cost about 250 rps one way and take around 30-45 minutes. Call ahead of time to
make sure he is in the area. (telephone number 236637)
- Norbulingka Institute A quick five minute drive from the Gyuto monastery this idyllic piece of land serves as a center for
teaching young Tibetans traditional crafts such as Thangka painting and weaving. Visitors will find the land to be instantly
relaxing and tranquil... You can observe classes in session, wander through the temple, eat in the cafe and visit the craft shop where
student work is sold.
- Tibetan Performing Arts (TIPA) Located on TIPA road this school was created to preserve and teach traditional Tibetan
dance, theater and music to young Tibetans. Performances can be arranged through their office, if the students are not traveling to
perform in some other part of India.
- Dr. Yeshe Dhonden is HH The Dalai Lama’s previous personal “amchi” (doctor) and is very well known for his incredible
Tibetan medicine knowledge. Look for the sign for “Natural Health Clinic” on Jogiwara Road. You need to show up between 67am to sign up for an appointment slot, and then can come back at the time indicated (have patience!). Be sure to bring along a
bottle with your first pee of the morning; Dr. Yeshe uses this for diagnosis. Only cost will be for Tibetan medicine he indicates for
you.
- Yoga If your group is interested, give Vijay a call before you arrive to schedule classes. He charges about 300-400Rs a class for
other folks, but he has cut us a deal for 100Rs a day per person for the AM session, ashtanga vinyasa. He’s an incredible teacher
and very thorough. Ask him to just give an hour and a half for the first few days. Encourage the students to take it easy the first 4
days and drink plenty of water. You might be able to set up a special class just for your group, otherwise classes are with other
travelers. If Vijay is out of town, Shivadas (see above contact list for info) is reported as fun and relaxed teacher (200 rs/pp).
- Dalai Lama temple – Walk down the steep road to the left of the temple for a ways, then look for a dirt path to the right. The
path is full of mantras and prayer wheels and gorgeous views. About a 20 min walk around entire temple complex.
- Tibetan Museum at Dalai Lama temple offers different documentaries every day at 3pm (10 rs).
- Monday Momo, Tuesday Thentuk offers interesting speaker and good, all-you-can-eat momo/thentuk.
- Get massage! Thinlay is an ex-monk who does amazing acupressure. 9816272448, found below Yongling School off Jogiwara
Road. Another option is The Body Temple in Dharamkot (Anand: 9805660111).
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Contacts
Neema Tel: 0941 822 1659 jjiexilebrothers@hotmail.com - Homestays, internships, anything else
Kalsang Guest House Tel: 189-222-1709
Vijay’s Universal Yoga Tel: 941-800-7630 vijaymar@yahoo.com
Sivadas. Yogi Cottage Tel. 91-9816150326. yogisciences@gmail.com.
Lhasa Tours & Travels Tel: 189-222-0352 (Temple Rd)- Tsering Sonam: Travel, bus tickets at a discount
Hotel Mount View Tel: 189-222-1382 (Post Office Rd., near Vijay’s yoga)
Ibe Raina: Lodging, travel
Tsering Dorje tseringdorje@hotmail.com
teacher, activist, refugee and an amazing resources for learning about Tibet.
TFT Travel –Tenzin Palden, owner. A decent guy who can be very helpful in furthering your travel
arrangements, an otherwise daunting task is this remote area. Also decent rates for currency exchange. Baghsu Road next to the
Green Hotel. Tel: 91-9816368765
Summit Adventures. Milap Nehria. Tel. 91-1892221679; 220403. Summit Adventures is on the left on the
main road as you walk into Bhagsu. Whether or not you actually choose to hire them, Milap was extremely helpful in providing
information about possible treks in the area. It is one of the most reliable and professional sources of trekking info in the area. Do
not waste time talking with all the shops in McCleod that advertise trekking opportunities.
Windhorse Travel Agency - for tickets/ Tibetan dvd's-cd's. Very friendly and helpful. Low commission. A few
doors down from the Green hotel
* Tibet Travel Tours – Please stop by here and visit Kalsang, who has been booking internal flights for Carpe
Diem for quite some time. She really appreciates meeting CD representatives “live” as we pass through. Office is centrallylocated on Jogiwara Road. Thanks!
TRANSPORTATION
From Delhi
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– (Listed in terms of comfort & cost)
Option 1: Train from Delhi to Pathenkot, bus to Dharamsala bus terminal, then a 7-rupee bus to McLeod Ganj
(aka ‘Upper Dharamsala”). Total per person cost should be around 400 rupees or less.
Option 2: Overnight bus from Delhi to Dharamsala, then the 7-rupee bus to MG. This used to be the most costeffective option until petrol prices became outrageous, but is a painful experience from all reports. It takes upwards of 20 hours
and affords not only NO bathroom facility but also very few stop breaks. [Most trains will only be an overnight to Pathenkot, and
the buses from there only take about 2-3 hours and are much cheaper than the buses which now cost 650 rupees per person.]
From Chandigarh –
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Either backtrack by bus to Ambala and train to Pathenkot, or simply bus it. It’s about a 10-hour ride
through mountain roads, so have students pre-medicate appropriately.
From Rishikesh-
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One direct train a day. Departs Rishikesh 16:20 and arrives in Chakki bank at 2:30am. The only
choice to get to McLeod at that hour is a jeep. We squeezed 8 people in one-2000R. 2&1/2 hr ride. There may be more choices if
leaving from Hardiwar instead. FYI- Chakki bank and Pathenkot are about ½ hr apart
From Amritsar:
Direct bus from Amritsar to Dharamshalla (and then from there, once they drop you off, you can find a bus to
McLeod, another 45 min.). 7-8 hrs. not very comfty, but only 130R/ticket. (and they very rarely stop for pee breaks). Bus is
everyday at 12pm from the bus station in Amristar, platform #26. Was certainly an experience… Jeeps are also an option to
McLeod Ganj, but an expensive one.
From Deer Park, we opted for 3 taxis (group of 10) at 800 rupee each. (They charged an extra 100 rupee per taxi for
stopping at an amazing monastery called Dzongzra (sp?)
Food
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Peace Café - Post Office Road [AKA Jogiwara Road]. Full-on organic veg menu and hippies galore!
Himalaya (next to JJI). Also Tibetan owned/operated. Decent food, better prices than JJI.
Current Event (way down on Post Office Rd.) and Moonlight Espresso (Temple Rd.) both have great coffee—
filter!!
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Lung Fung – tho’ it doesn’t sound like it, this is a Japanese Restaurant Located on lower Yogibara Road that
donates portions of its proceeds to the Tibetan cause. Amazing, healthy, and FAST dishes. They also have great textiles made by
Tibetan refugees.
Sunrise Café on Bhagsu road offers cheap food and good chai. Great place to meet other travelers.
Nick’s Italian right next to JJI. Great Pizza
Carpe Diem German Bakery/Restaurant –yes, you read it right! Great place for pizza and to experience
some of the local young music scene. Many nights they host a musical version of ‘open mic’ where anyone can play. Jogiwara
Road. Excellent Thai dishes
First Cup – well down Jogiwara road, past the post office and Carpe Diem restaurant; this place is run by a
couple of sweet young Tibetans and offers the BEST espresso drinks and desserts in India, let alone town. Not cheap, [50 rupees
per latte], but a nice treat. (choc. Banana bread!!)
Students can save plastic by filling water bottles for 5 rps/liter in most cafes.
Oogo's has great pizza
Neema's place had excellent chocolate balls, also the bakery down the road
If you eat meat, try the mutton blood sausages sold on the street near the momo ladies. 10 R for cardiac arrest
Café Arabica. Excellent coffee selection. Expensive. But so good. (ex: espresso with chocolate and coconut
milk!!:)
Common Grounds: amazing food. (if you are a meat eater: try the kebabs, pork salad, and green bean with
chix!!! Oh wow!!!). Very quaint cozy restaurant. They hold weekly lectures by Tibetan activists. We had our lecture here by
Tenzin Tsundue and it worked out great.
Namgyal Café: Located on Monestary grounds at the Main Temple: Best Pizza in Dharamshala!
RISHIKESH
Place
Rishikesh is called "the yoga capital of the world" and you'll find signs all around that prove it. Rishikesh straddles the divine
Ganga, connecting across her by fun, monkey-spotted bridges with gorgeous views. You'll likely stay in the Laxmanjula area
where you'll find the Red Chilli office. From there, the best way to get to know the region is by walking downhill to Ramjula and
crossing bridges, making a giant loop around the two main areas (approx 1 hour).
Transportation
Take a train from Delhi to Haridwar (about 5 hours). To Rishikesh, you can either take public bus or rickshaws (approx 300 per
rickshaw). For the bus, exit the station and ask around on the main street (prior groups have taken rickshaws due to late arrival in
Haridwar).
Lodging
Green Hills Cottage (off main Badrinath Road in Laxman Jhula; 0091-135-2442031, 9837259330) Beautiful rooms, good
restaurant, grass lawn! 400 rupees per room. Our contact was Krishna, a very nice man.
Tihapliyal Paying Guest House: Located a little up the hill from the Laxmanjulah Bridge on the main road. Small converted home
into Guesthouse, but had plenty of rooms to accommodate our group. 300R a room. Rooftop access for group meetings.
Rafting
Red Chilli is an excellent contact for any advice you need in Rishikesh. Great people, well-organized and very competent. Fullday trip begins with an 8.30am pickup, class III and IV rapids, lunch, and gets you back around 3pm. (Red Chilli office has
internet with free coffee and tea)
Activities
* Waterfall hike about a 4-hour adventure up from Green Hill Cottage. Crystal blue water, a great opportunity to swim.
* Arti or puja every night at sunset about a 10 minute walk to the right once you cross the Ram Jhula bridge. Beautiful ritual lasts
about an hour.
Food
Little Buddha - Laxman Jhula but across river from Green Hill. Go to right across bridge and walk about 5 min. Variety of food,
good service, cozy and good river views. Get Hello to the Queen:)
Moksha - across bridge to the left in Laxman Jhula... also cozy setting, good experience.
PHOOL CHATTI ASHRAM
Place
"Phool" means flowers or ashes, and "chatti" means resting place. The temple, now over 120 years old, was built as a rest stop for
people on pilgrimage in the region. It is set along the Ganga (swim in it as much as you can!), away from the noise of the city
where you're able to hear the roar of the river at all times of the day.
Transportation
From Laxman Jhula, either walk or take rickshaws to the bridge. Cross by foot, walk to the left and get taxis (200 rupees each).
Phool Chatti is only about a 15 minute ride.
Ashram Experience
This is a wonderful, relaxing yet invigorating experience. Most students liked it, though attending all of the classes was quite hard
for most. If unable to attend a session, the staff requests you have a conversation with them beforehand to talk about "what's up".
The schedule is as follows (silence beginning after last evening meditation until next day after lunch):
5.30am - wake up gong
6am - meditation & mantras
6.45am - netti pot cleaning
7am - pranayama & yoga
9am - breakfast (porridge, fruit & chai)... if lactose intolerant, may request without milk
10am - karma yoga, or cleaning/other duties around ashram
10.30am - meditative walk
12pm - lunch (food is basic Indian - dhal, rice, subzi, chapatti - is EXCELLENT)
3pm - discussion
4pm - yoga
6pm - puja
7pm - dinner
8.30pm - meditation
9pm - sleep
*** the last day, Lalita-ji leads a closing ceremony that takes place late morning, so it would be best to schedule your departing
train from Haridwar late afternoon or evening to not rush***
TIPS! Bring honey for morning porridge, snacks for midday, and toilet paper (they have none on site).
You'll work with two main people-- Lalita-ji is the Hindi yoga, meditation and pranyama teacher (so cute!), and then there's
usually a 'western' volunteer who handles most logistics and guides the meditative walks and discussions. One group had Dana-ji,
who was very helpful. Fall 2010 had Randy-ji who was a bit more challenging to work with, largely due to his seriousness and
lack of communication on his part. Our particular scenario involved our students playing instruments and singing songs around the
sacred fire outside of the strict standards of the ashram... all which could have been avoided were Randy to have communicated
fully the expectations for that ceremony time. If working with him, check-in with him daily, and encourage him to explain fully
the ashram procedures with the entire group.
The Ashram also has a relationship with a travel agent named Happyji, who provides assistance to those involved with the Ashram
program. He was helpful in obtaining transport, and even did a med-run to the pharmacy for us when our students ran out of meds.
CHANDIGARGH:
3 hr. train from Hardiwar to Amballa. Then from Amballa to Chandigargh, a one hour bus. It worked out great for us to stay at the
Transit Lodge, as that is right where the bus dropped us off. It is located pretty much in the bus terminal. We got 2 rooms and one
free meal at the restaurant downstairs is included in the price. We checked around before going there and all other hotels we found
were way out of our budget. Phone for transit lodge: 4644485/ 2704761/ 2704356. It is centrally located..just a 10 min walk from
the main square.
Another affordable option outside of the Bus Station was the Hotel Amar: S.C.O 805-806 Sector 22-A. phone# 01722703608.
Located on a strip with some other hotels. Clean, central and affordable. Within walking distance to main plaza
If you have time check out the Rock Garden Park. Constructed with the use of recycled building materials and one of the highest
visited attractions in India. Super interesting and still a work in progress!
FOOD:
Punjabi food is excellent!! Eat as much as you can of it!
You can get your taste of kati rolls just across from Neelam theater.
‘Coffee house co-op’- located close to Neelam theater. Cheap and best.
Ovenfresh restaurant…..mmmm mmm.
A must: the rockgarden, a visit to the lake. A lecture about Sikhhism.
Chandigargh is such a different place. For so many reasons. The people are very nice and so curious if you are ‘happy’ in India and
with Indians. It was a bit much for some of the female students…being approached all the time by men. Having a male while
walking around helped a bit with that.
Free Travel: Lake Nainital and Lake Satal
Located north of Delhi towards Nepal, This lake region is a nice respite from the heat of the Plains. A popular tourist destination
for Indians, many make their way to the Lakes for vacation, and a chance to glimpse some of the snow capped peaks near Nepal.
Not the most culturally engaging spot, but definitely rich in natural beauty. Some options for outdoor trekking and outdoor
activities, but unfortunately our group was unable to take advantage of those resources.
If you are interested in visiting this area to take advantage of the natural resources, a great option for accommodation is:
Hotel City Heart: Rickshaw Stand, Mallital, Nainital, www.cityhearthotel.netfirms.com, phone 05942 235228. Owner is
extremely helpful and accommodating, and actually paid for and sent one of our students a lost passport by mail. The Hotel also
has an accommodation near the Jim Corbett National Park, and could be a good resource for those looking to explore the park.
Free Travel: Rajasthan and Agra
Day 1- from Mcleod Ganj, bus to Patankhot and train to Bikaner. Stayed at Vinod Guest House for 150 rupee per person (opposite
Gopeshwar Temple, 0-9414139245).
Days 2 & 3 - explored old city Bikaner with guide named Gori. Fun temple experience, wandering by havelis, and visit to Shiv
Swami from Guiness Book World Record of miniature paintings. On to Camel Safari which we booked through Vinod Guest
House. Cost us 1700 rupee per person for ride plus dinner, overnight, breakfast and lunch. Definitely bargain down and take extra
snacks. Beautiful to sleep out under stars and camels are an experience (though your bodies will tire out quickly)
Days 4 & 5 - Train to Jaipur. Lodging at Jwala Niketan for 500 per room (Lalji Ka Bagh, behind Neelam Hotel; 91-01415108303)
Students were not big fans of Jaipur, especially after Mcleod Ganj. Lots of vendors in-your-face. The Palace of the Four Winds is
interesting to see, and we went to the monkey temple/ sun temple for sunset.
Days 6 & 7 - Train to Pushkar. Stayed at Alka Guest House for 300 per room (Brahm Chowk, 9460901142; 9214595781)
Good times here visiting the Bhrama temple, Sikh temple, Jain temple and walking around the lake (beware! some Brahman man
will nab you, take you through your personal puja by the lake and ask you for lots of money. Have your mind set before hand on
what you want to give, and stick to it!). Definitely hike up to the Pavriti temple (less than an hour walk up). Out of the Blue is a
wonderful restaurant for group meeting (they gave us a 15% discount).
Days 8 & 9 - Train to Agra. Accomodation at Hotel Sheela (Eastern Gate Taj Mahal; 0091-562-2333074) for 500 per room.
Rooftop restaurant with view of Taj.
Tickets cost 750 per person and you can only enter once with that ticket. You may not take anything inside... only water and
camera in hand. There are long lines to buy tickets (opens at 6am, near Hotel Sheela) and to enter into the Taj. We saw Agra Fort
in the daytime with a guide (250 rupee with Taj ticket; would have also been cool at sunrise), and the Taj mid-afternoon and
sunset. Absolutely amazing. Enjoy:)