My first
night of sleep in India was good: a
solid 5 hrs in the Radisson Blu Airport Hotel.
I’ve decided to try 1.5 mg of melatonin to overcome jet lag and help me
sleep. Research (Herxheimer, A. and
Petrie, K.J.,Melatonin for the prevention and treatment of jet lag, Cochrane
Database Syst Rev; (2):CD001520) shows that a dosages between 0.5 and 5 mg help
reduce the effects of jet lag, so I decided to go for a lower dose.
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| The start of the climb |
After a
short ride to airport, I made my way through security (see previous post) on onto
a plane for a 2 hour flight to Bagdogra Airport. The flight was crowded, but I made my way down
the aisle. I had reserved a window seat
and when I got to my row, the middle and aisle seat were already occupied. I motioned that I had the window seat and the
two men in other seats, nodded their heads, but kept seated. Usually when this happens, the two people in the
seat other than the window seat get up so the other person can get access the
window seat. But not these two men. Instead, I had to climb over them and drop
down into my seat. Just a little inconvenience,
but a little surprising.
The plane
arrived in Bagdogra at about 1:30 pm on a blazing hot day. The temperature must have been well over 90F. The Science for Monks program said a car and
driver would be waiting, but no car or driver could be found. Two of my traveling companions had phones, so
while they made calls and texts, and went in search of water. I bought 3 bottles of water (1 liter; 15
rupees [25 cents] each) for us and soon another driver was arranged.
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| Still climbing |
The road
trip up to Gangtok is rough. About 10
miles from the Bagdogra airport, the road starts to climb into the mountains. And climb and climb it does over bumping,
twisty, pot-holed asphalt and rock.
After 6 hours (and one Dramamine tablet) and a stop to pick up a permit to enter the state of Sikkim, we finally arrived in Gangtok
where a meal of fried noodles and fried rice was waiting for us…and it was
still hot.
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