My Himalayan Trekking Adventure: It’s nice to meet you, Ravi

I land in Bagdogra in the early afternoon on Monday, May 5, 2014. This airport is very small. We exit the airplane through the side doors down to the ground and board a shuttle which takes us to the terminal. It is hot. I am dressed in many layers plus my hiking boots. But I feel great. I am excited to meet my trekking mates. We are dropped off at the terminal. It seems that two flights have just arrived, and many people are cramped together waiting for their luggage. We wait for a few minutes when the luggage begins to trickle in.

I am still waiting on my pack. I wonder if it’s been lost. At last, here it is! I collect my pack, remove the duffel bag it’s in, and stuff it back inside my pack. I strap the pack onto my back and I walk out toward the exit, past the armed guard. It is so busy here. People are everywhere. Darn, I have to go to the bathroom, and it is in the area I just left!

I ask the guard nicely if I could please go back in to use the bathroom - called the toilet here. He is agreeable, no problem. Ah, the toilet. I have seen a similar one in Poland when I was a kid, actually, in a public park. One where you squat over an opening in the ground. It must have been an old installation there, built by the Germans. I have not seen one since. 

I text my mates notifying them that I have collected my bag and that I am ready. Rahul, one of my trekking mates and organizers of the trek, texts me to say that Ravi will be picking me up. I walk outside and a rickshaw operator has his eye on me right away. Taxi? Taxi? - he asks. No, thank you. I move back, off to the side and wait in the shade.

I take my pack off and set it down next to me. It is noisy out here. Old taxi cabs and auto-rickshaws are busily driving back and forth. Honking. Dust. Lots of honking. I smell incense. I see women dressed in traditional Indian outfits. I am definitely not in Chicago anymore. I am in India! I am thrilled. 

Ravi with my pack

Finally, I see Ravi walking toward me. I recognize him from his photos right away. I know he recognizes me, but it’s not difficult since I stand out like a sore thumb. I am excited to see him. I hug him. Later on, I realize my faux pas. It isn’t appropriate for me to display affection toward a male in public. Yet, it is not unusual to see men, who are friends, holding hands.

Inside the rickshaw

Ravi is accompanied by a friend, whom I won’t see again after this. We get into a rickshaw and head for Siliguri, a city which borders Bagdogra. It is about a 20 to 30 minute drive. I sit back in the rickshaw with Ravi next to me. People are in the street. Stray dogs. Cows lazily wander and graze here and there. The drive is stop-and-go. Honk-honk. Chaos. There are no seat belts. I glance over at Ravi and he is as relaxed as can be. I chuckle to myself, amused and amazed. I am in India.

We arrive at the hotel where the rest of our trekking mates are waiting and resting. They also arrived not too long ago from a long trip by train. Our trekking team will consist of 3 females including myself, and 3 males including Ravi. Ravi and another friend of his – who will not be trekking with us, but who will be a life-saver in the near future – take me to the Sikkim Tourism Office in town. As a foreigner, I must register with the state of Sikkim. I fill out the form, and the permit is granted.

We return to pack up the jeep with our gear and food canisters to take us to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. There is another permit which I, as a foreigner, am required to obtain so that I may trek through the protected National Park of Khangchendzonga. Gangtok is the only place where I may obtain this permit. It is not the most direct route to our ultimate destination – Yuksom – but we must take this route because of me.

We leave Siliguri late in the afternoon, around 4:30 p.m. It is a long and windy drive to Gangtok. We arrive approximately 6 hours later. We check into a hotel. The group is tired and hungry. The proprietors serve us dinner, we eat, and go to sleep. Tomorrow, I must obtain the permit allowing me to trek through the National Park of Khangchendzonga.

Next: Certainly, nothing is for certain.