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Other entries in Darjeeling

The most spectacular train journey in the world

The night before we tried to get a ticket for the Darjeeling Toy Train....we were told the train for tommorow was booked out and the next available tickets werent for another 3 days....so as the Indians say 'what to do'.  We had in the past just turned up on trains and been ok....so we thought we would do this again.  The train arrived around 9ish....and while we were waiting on the platform.....w befriended these two well dressed local Bengali boys.  When the train came in we just followed the boys on board and sat next to them.  Nobody asked for our tickets...so we rode the Darjeeling Toy Train for free.  The train was narrow, the carriages not very long, and only three carriages in total with a steam loco pulling them along....it certainly was a toy train!  The journey from Siliguri to Darjeeling took about 7hrs...sometimes going so slow you couild get off and walk faster...in actual fact, there were a few times it would stop and we would buy some snacks, the train would take off and we walk and jump on.  The two boys were fun...they taught us some Hindi along the way. The scenery was absolutely stunning...a few times the train would stop for 15-30mins while it changed tracks.  The train crossed the road many times and lots of  little bridges and roadside waterfalls with panoramic views of the surrounding hills and vallies.  Along the way there were lots of poetic profound safety signs...some carved and painted on the rock cliffside.  We reached Darjeeling at about 7ish....we agreed to meet the boys the following morning at 5am to go together with their uncle to Tiger Hill to watch the sunrise on Mount Kanchenchunga - the third highest mountain in the world - and its surrounding peaks...we then went to a smal box office which manned a single policeman who was also a tourist infor guide. We asked him about a good hotel to stay...he had a picture of Sai Baba on the desk and I said 'Om Sai Ram Sai Baba' a  couple of times...and he was very pleased.  He then gave both Luke and I a couple of pictures he had of Sai Baba before sending us with someone to look at a hotel.  He was such a generous and obliging man.  We checked into our hotel run by a few Nepali guys and we headed off to this simple restaurant for dinner, recommended by the policeman.  We ordered the most delicious Vegetable Momos we have ever had and there were huge....they cost us a mere 10 rupees for a plate of six. After dinner we spent a very cold first night in Darjeeling....so cold we had to sleep very close to each other to keep warm.  In the morning we awoke to water dripping on us from the ceiling.....we quickly checked out and found another hotel.  After waking at 5am to meet the boys (they didnt show).  We found another hotel in Chowrasti...a much nicer part of Darjeeling...it was a far better hotel...large and warm.  Darjeeling is a beutiful place, withe the Himalaya in constant view, it is built high up on hilly terrrain with lots of old english victorian style buildings and with its large mix of Nepalese and Tibetan people its one place in India that doesnt feel like India.  There are many hills lined with tea bushes.  After breakfast we walked to the Happy Valley Tea Estate where we sat down in a little log shack in front of the tea factory where one of the workers has set up a little tea tasting kiosk....she was delightful, she taught us all about the tea leaf...from which part is of the highest quality to how to properly make tea and we had a beautiful cup of tea from her before doing a short tour of the factory and then wondering through the estate.  We then visited the Darjeeling Zoo and on the way were led by a young Nepali student who showed us the way.  He said he enjoyed talking to foreigners because he learns more english and about other cultures and countries.  He was on of the few who didnt ask for anything at the end.  The zoo was amazing....it specialised in housing only animals specific to the Himalayan region...so we got to see alot of animal we'd never seen before.  The zoo was beautfully layed out, and in the middle was an Institute for Mountaineering which displayed artefacts from a lot of the significant Himalyan climbs and especially the Mount Everest attempts and successes...very interesting and impressive...crazy bastards those mountaineers!!  Along our walk through the zoo, we met two canadians...Josh and Marissa...we instantly connected and later met up for dinner in one of the best Indian restaurants Ive experienced so far in India.  The next day we watched the sunrise from Tiger Hill....a beautiful spot to glimpse the first rays on Mount Kanchenchunga.  After this we drove to two old monasteries....the first being the oldest monastery in Darjeeling...the second being the more frequented by foreigners...but we timed it well and Luke, myself and Sarah (an American mountaineer who shared our taxi) were the only foreigners there and go to sit in the main prayer hall with about 20 or so young monks reciting their morning chants...absolutely a great start to the day....when we returned to Chowrasti we had some breakfast and then walked to Bhutia Busty Gompa (the Tibetan word for monastery is Gompa)....this is where the Tibetan Book of the Dead is kept and were very fortunate to meet an old monk who opened up the monastery and showed us around including the actual book!!!!.....we visited the Tibetan Self Help Centre which really wasnt worth the effort.  On our walk back we ran into Leor and Noa...two Israelis we met back in Pokhara...Leor actually did the raft with us....not more than 30mins later we ran into Tim - a crazy pom - we met the day before who funnily enough had also met Noa and Leor the day before.  So the 5 of us hung out for the rest of the and had lots of laughs....we all decided to share a jeep the next day and head to Sikkim...a 4-5 hour drive north of Darjeeling.  The next morning we had breakfast with Josh and Marissa on the rooftop of their hotel before saying goodbye and heading to meet the others and organise ourt permits for Sikkim.  Along the way I stopped at the post office...a beautiful old building with what seemed to be a very efficiently run mail service.  I was there to get a couple of posters we had bought packed in cardboard cylinders to protect them from getting damaged in our travels.  They didnt have cardboard cylinders...but instead had the most creative unique service of wrapping I'd ever seen.  This man comes to post office every day to offer his expertise....he sews cotton material around everybody's parcels to be sent and did the same with the posters.  First he rolled the posters in a piece of cardboard before sealing them with the cotton cloth and stitch...all for 15 rupees.  I met an ex-ghorka here...he invited me back to his home...unfortunately I was unable to take him up on his offer because we had a jeep booked to go to Sikkim...he said he would post me a xmas card...he was such a beautiful man...he said he wasnt the most intelligent man, but enjoyed conversation with foreigners and making new friends...the people here are just so warm:))) 

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