The train from Patna to Varanasi stopped at some station for about 30 seconds when this happened.

The view from the restaurant where we had breakfast this morning.

This is me stuck somewhere up a mountain.

This is the 'Toy Train' that takes an interminable nine hours to get up the mountain. We didn't bother. You can't really tell here, but it's actually derailed!

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.

Every journey...

Confucius, he say "Every journey begins with a single step".

Well here's some wisdom for you:

Every journey begins with a bit of a headache, caused by packing whilst hungover from celebrating the 'last night in town'.

To add to our woes, Barbara left this morning (at half past four), and Becky and I got up to go to the airport with her. When we left the hotel, there was a Spanish girl there who was also going, so the two decided to share a taxi, and, what with their luggage and all, there was no room for Becky and me to accompany them.

Dang. Had to go back to bed.

So now it's just the two of us. We're heading off to Darjeeling today, but our personal belongings seem to have doubled in the past four weeks, so I'm hiding from the packing in an internet cafe while Becky has gone to get her hair done.

We had a good night last night. We went out to the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club with the sons of the doctor who arranged our elective here, and they bought us fairly heroic amounts of drink. There were also a couple of guys called James with us who have just finished their degrees in Maths and Physics in Oxford, and the lot of us are going to watch the Ashes later.

So to recap - Posh English chaps watching cricket in India. Who says we lost the Empire?

We will be in Darjeeling tomorrow morning, so hopefully I'll have more to say then. In the mean time, I have to finally pack up, go and do a bit of last minute sightseeing, and drop in the remainder of the charity money we raised to the Motherhouse.

But first I have to leave this place - my first single step of the next four weeks' travelling.

(and I still have this damn headache)

Toby.

Here's the reason for today's headache.

Barbara was moaning that I didn't have a picture of her on the site. So here she is.

Then Becky was complaining that the pic of Barbara was better than the one of her cleaning her shoes, so here she is again.