Morning internet raga, again

Gangtok, Sikkim

Same cafe, same om sari namuna ma, jai jai sari namuna nama and stifling incense. Must be working its raga magic, I keep coming back.

Of course these words mean something but in a blissful haze of not knowing the language itself can be its own mood.

Downgraded from the swank (Sikkim-swank = one step and a hot water bottle down from Darjeeling swank, which in turn is...) Tashi Delek Hotel to the ambitiously named Potala Hotel. It's no Potala (for the Potala's sake) but they're attentive, I get BBC and Star World (Outback Joe last night), hot water and a toilet that mostly flushes. Washed unmentionables and a shirt in a bucket. Two bucket dumps to clear the water.

The manager visited shortly check in. I'd written Traveler under "Occupation" in the sign-in book (the Indians signed in above me had written "Office Worker") and management had leaped to assume that I meant travel writer. I let it lie but asked that he "do nothing special for me".

Lonely Planet all powerful in this country. They can make a place. Their longest Gangtok listing in "Places to Stay-Budget" - the Modern Central Lodge - is chock-a-block with every LP toting tourist. Identical hotels on the same block sit mostly empty. A cycle of course, backpackers feel comfy with other packers - and so you adhere to the LP logic that when "popular" is used in a description, your kind will flock.

I flocked too but the top of the line room($3.50) had a shared bath, no tv. Am neither fish nor fowl to the epic travelers on budgets of $10 a day or those who book the Tashi delek ($50+) without a thought. Like my luggage - straddling the two worlds with a rolling suitcase in hand and pack on my back.

Today is the day to figure out future days. Change Khatmandu ticket, look into treks. And first, to have a coffee and true breakfast, not just biscuits.

Love to all

C