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Our train was due to arrive at NJP station at 1.30pm. So in true Indian style it rolled into the station at 7:40pm. We had hoped to make it up to Darjeeling that evening but it was too late so we picked a hotel from our guidebook and headed for the exit. Along the way we met a Scottish girl, Sonya, who was the only other non-Indian we had seen since the previous night! Turned out she actually lives and works in India and was travelling with her Indian friend to a wedding. They had a 4x4 booked to pick them up and offered us a free lift to our hotel, which was completely out of their way as they had to go back to the train station to pick up some more people!
After our train being 7 hours late and sharing a compartment with some very noisy young Indians on uncomfortable beds with no covers or pillows (we think someone stole ours) it was nice to meet some genuinely kind people.
The hotel we had picked looked rather posh and in our dirty clothes and with greasy hair we felt like a couple of hobos as
we approached the reception - only to be told there were no rooms available. There was a lodge around the back of the hotel where we took a cheap room with a shared bathroom for the night.
We managed to hop into a shared jeep by 9am and 40 minutes later the jeep was packed full (11 inside and one guy hanging on the back) and off we went up into the misty mountains towards Darjeeling. The ride was around 3 hours although felt quite short. By half way up we were driving in thick fog, unable to see anything which doesn’t fill you with confidence when being driven up the side of a mountain! At this point the guy hanging on the back of the jeep squeezed into the back seat and the four of us were well and truly squished for the rest of the trip.
Nevertheless we made it to Darjeeling in one piece and they dumped us outside the train station where we took the opportunity to book a train form NJP to Kolkata as well as a ‘Joyride’ on the UNESCO world heritage Darjeeling Himalayan Railway – nicknamed the ‘Toy Train’ – for
the following morning. After we hopped into a taxi to our hotel selected from our guide book. The man at reception told us the only room they had left was the Honeymoon Suite at Rs 3000 per night, tempting but no thanks! We had heard this hotel had some of the best views in Darjeeling so we opted for a room at Hotel Capitol a few doors down at a much cheaper but still rather expensive Rs 700 per night. The place was ok, it did have a balcony with great views but was a bit damp.
Most people come to Darjeeling for the trekking, but we had come for the tea and the train and with the train already booked we headed out for a pot of tea and had a wonder around the market.
The following morning we took a walk up the hill to Glenary’s, the coffee shop from the previous day. Angelo was excited as soon as he saw the word Bacon on the menu. Debbie did warn him not to expect much, and he watched in shock horror as the waiter brought over his American style streaky bacon. He was not impressed!! We
enjoyed another pot of tea and made our way down to the train station for our joy ride. The train is an old steam train with only two coaches. The trip lasted around 2 hours with a couple of stop offs. The rest of the day was spent doing absolutely nothing.
On Friday we had a 4:30am start as we had booked a taxi to take us up to Tiger Hill. This place is a popular place to watch the sun rise and view the Himalaya Mountains. We made it up there as the sun was rising, unfortunately we couldn’t actually see the sun or the Himalayas as it was too misty! Oh well! On the way back down we visited a Tibetan monastery which was interesting. We also stopped off at Batasia Loop where there is a war memorial dedicated to Gorkhas and a nice garden.
After breakfast we took a taxi to the Zoo which was smaller but much better than Delhi Zoo. We walked back visiting Happy Valley Tea Estate on the way. We were given a tour by some guy, not exactly sure who he was as everyone else was on their lunch break
Toy Train
Old steam engine but we did learn how they make tea!
That evening Debbie went on a shopping spree making the local market stall owners very very happy. We noticed that market stall owners, shop keepers and taxi drivers did not bother you to buy things all the time, which actually makes you more likely to buy!
The following day Angelo as usual had a “lie –in” and Debbie was up early. That morning we strolled back up the hill and got some breakfast. We checked out and strolled down the hill and got a taxi back to NJP. Unlike the journey to Darjeeling we spent these 3 hours scared for our lives, the driver clearly in a rush for something was bombing it down the mountain in the rain!
We made it though! And after some tasty dinner took a tuk-tuk in the pouring rain where we boarded our train – which was actually on time!! – to Kolkata.
We’ve found that Darjeeling in many ways reminds us of back home. The young people here dress in modern, branded t-shirts, skinny jeans and western hair styles. The old men here are the most interesting, in their mix and
match suit jacket / trousers and golfing jumpers. They look so cute! The weather of course is also much more like home and we were loving the break from the heat!
Darjeeling is different to how we imagined. We expected it to be smaller, more spread out, although having seen the rest of India I’m not sure why we thought that! We haven’t been disappointed though and this has turned out to be Debbie’s favourite place in India!
See you in Kolkata!
Deb & Ang
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