Trains, Tea and Trekking

I eventually packed and we set off for Darjeeling. I'm not even going to try to explain what the train station in Kolkata was like. It was just so busy. It would have to be seen to be believed.

The train journey lasted twelve hours, though we had been told ten. There are no compartments, just 72 bunks in each carriage.

(What? I had twelve hours to kill. Counting the bunks seemed the obvious thing to do. No?)

There were also the carriages where the people were packed in like cattle, but it was only about five euro for our tickets, so we didn't feel like scrimping to that extent. In our carriage there was an Indian family across from us, and I was evidently the most interesting thing their daughter had ever seen, because I was stared at for the whole journey. At about five in the morning an old dude dressed in orange, with a painted face started shuffling down the carriage, clanging little cymbals and singing Harekrishna. I woke up and groaned. This sort of thing doesn't happen on the DART. The girl opposite laughed at me.

After we alighted the train, we had to get a 4X4 to give us a lift up the mountain from which Darjeeling hangs. Although only 90Km, it took another four hours. The view was fairly spectacular though, which helped the time pass.

Darjeeling - named after a type of tea as I understand it - is really beautiful. The buildings are colonial in origin, believe it or not, and the people here are obviously more affluent than in Kolkata. Despite its relative obscurity, they have a very Western style of dress and this internet cafe is much better than any I found in Kolkata. They also have a much more Oriental appearance here than in Kolkata, and the girls are a whole lot better looking (not hard).

It's a lot cooler up here. I had a shower when I arrived and it was the cleanest I have felt since I left Ireland. I didn't break out in a sweat straight away. I don't have to lie down under a ceiling fan for the day. It is actually pleasant. Yes, pleasant. What's more, the air seems a lot thinner. This could just be my imagination, however. Carrying 30Kg of luggage up and down the hills in this town, having spent the previous month doing as little as possible, may have just revealed how unfit I am, as opposed to the lack of oxygen. Hard to know.

Becky and I went pony trekking in the Himalayas today. And I feel like saying that again. Becky and I went pony trekking in the Himalayas today. So there. It was really fantastic. Mostly foggy in the tea plantations, but every now and then the clouds broke to reveal a breath taking view down the mountain. It has been the highlight of the last five weeks.

The Nepalese border is closed for the moment due to Maoist terrorist activity, so we will more than likely have to bypass Kathmandu and head straight to Varanasi. Since we now have a few days in hand we have decided to stick around for one more night.

Toby.