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| Hanging on for Dear Life |
I woke up early on the second day, eager to get away from the heat and dust of Siliguri and into the cool comfort of the hills. Share-taxis plied the road from Siliguri to Darjeeling, leaving at regular intervals. The first cab I found only had one seat available at the extreme rear. Not wanting to sit cramped up, I retrieved my bag and hopped into the next one where I got a window seat in the middle, thus potentially permitting my clicking a few photographs on the drive up. A middle aged man hopped into the cab next to me. He was a talkative fellow and told me about Darjeeling, Kurseong and other places that we passed by in between.
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| Half Way Up - Source of the Toy Train |
A beautiful drive followed, slightly diminished by the morning mist and clouds that had devoured many mountain peaks. Two hours later, we arrived at Kurseong, the town from which the toy train began its meandering journey up to Darjeeling. However, the train only departed at 3 pm, leaving me with six hours to go around this picturesque town.
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| Durpin Dara - Shrouded in Mist |
I had left without breakfast and a tiny little shop that barely had space for both me and my rucksack, welcomed me with a delicious aroma. The place belonged to a couple of cheerful ladies and I ordered a steaming puri-channa and eggs. With some food in my tummy, I felt ready to take on the day. The shops were just opening up and the roads were alive with rosy cheeked little children going to school.
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| Eagle's Crag - The Perch at the Peak |
Asking around, I made my way to Durpin Dara, a view point at the top of the hill. It was a steep climb lined with tea gardens and primary schools. At the top of the hill was a memorial park and statue that was built in memory of the Gorkhas who had died fighting for a separate state called Gorkhaland back in 1986. The park was very well maintained and if it wasn't for the thick mist, I would have had a spectacular view of the mountains around. Sitting there was a wonderful experience, wisps of mist swirling around me.
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| Victoria School Chapel |
Enjoying my half hour in the Pensieve (Harry Potter fans will understand the reference), I made my way down the hill back to the town. Still left with significant time to pass, I boarded a share-taxi which climbed the four kilometers up the opposite hill to the Victoria and Dow Hill schools.
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| Sister School - Dow Hill |
While Victoria was a boys' School, Dow Hill catered to girls. They both had boarders as well as day scholars. While browsing the Internet later, I read that these schools and the area around them were considered to be the sixth most haunted place in India (leading to the amusing thought of on what basis the nation's ghosts were rated).
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| Road of the Headless Horseman |
Once I had walked around the schools, I made my way back down in another taxi. A little drained by all the action, I settled down in the railway station waiting room and wrote for a while before dozing off for a quick half hour nap to replenish my batteries.The whistle of the toy train engine woke me up at around 1 p.m. as it chugged into the station. Since I still had a couple of hours before the train was due to depart, I ventured out to have a bite.
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| Momo Madness |
A friend, Pia, had told me to try the momos, so off I went in search of them. Barely had I crossed the road before coming across three momo shops close together. Clearly momos were a popular dish in this area. I decided to try the vegetarian momos. Though the momos were not exceptional, they did do the job of satiating my midday hunger pangs. As I returned to the station, I saw that the schools were having their lunch break. The streets were once again alive with groups of boys and girls sitting and walking around. An interesting observation was that of the boys being particularly well dressed, obviously taking pride in their turnout, while the girls were exceptionally pretty.
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| Toy Train - Chugging into Kurseong |
The quaint little railway station was bang in the middle of town and a favourite hangout zone for the youngsters. The ticket window opened just as I returned, so I bought myself a ticket and settled down in one of the three coaches. Compared to the Shimla toy train from the year before, this one was significantly shorter and quite a bit less crowded as well. The coaches slowly filled up and at precisely 3 p.m. the whistle sounded, signalling departure. With an almost physical groan, the engine gave a mighty heave and slowly pulled away from the platform.
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| People, Cars and Trains - Sharing one road |
It was fascinating to watch as the train whistled and chugged through the town, passing only a foot away from many shops and inches away from their wares, as shop owners and customers took a casual step away from the tracks amidst bargaining and window shopping, allowing the train to pass before resuming their transaction.
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| The Race is On |
The passengers around me were a lively bunch. There was a group of school kids joking and laughing around me while a very serious looking Aunty looked on in disapproval. Three Japanese guys sat close by while a Spanish couple sat at the opposite end of the compartment. The path the train took was fascinating as it followed the road all the way up, criss-crossing it every little while at a meagre speed of 10 kmph. There were no formal roadblocks - vehicles just stopped, allowed the train to pass and then resumed their journey. The Spanish couple had a bunch of local kids crowding around them and it was fun watching two races from opposite ends of the globe chatting away in a mixture of broken English and sign language.
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| Here Come the Japs |
As the journey was nearing its end, I went across and said hello to the Japanese guys. They were Sergei, Kazu and Kenji, and even they had met each other only a few days earlier. As we interacted in broken English, our understanding of each other improved, and by the time we chugged into Darjeeling station, we were having an almost passable conversation assisted by Google Maps.
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| Choo Choo Steam Engine |
Darjeeling station was a quaint little place. There were a couple of display steam engines puffing away on one side. Kazu had already booked at Joshi's Home Stay, so the rest of us decided to stay there as well. Three steep flights of steps brought us to the Mall Road. The town seemed like a replica of Shimla, firstly being the final stop of the toy train, secondly being perched on the hillside in a series of levels and finally, the third level being called the Mall Road, the hub of activity, eating places and shops, bisecting the centre of town.
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| Loretto College, Darjeeling |
Finally after a long climb, we reached Joshi's home stay. It was a nice place. We were welcomed by Mr. Joshi and spent half an hour talking to him. His son was a trekking guide and they had lived in Darjeeling all their lives. In a little while, we went out for dinner. I lost the Japanese fellows along the way and had no way of tracing them in the sea of Oriental faces around me. I had heard about a pub called Glenary's and decided to try it out. The ground floor was more of a bakery while the pub was in the basement. They had nice music playing, so I ordered a beer and sat at the bar counter. A middle-aged American gentleman, John, was drinking next to me and soon we struck up a conversation. He was from New York City and was here in Sikkim on holiday with his family. The rest of his family had just had dinner and retired to the hotel while he stayed on for a glass of beer. An Australian couple, Jim and Shannon joined us and soon we were having a lively conversation. John left in a while and the rest of us ordered another beer each.
The place shut early by 9:30 p.m. and we were the last ones to leave. We walked back, parted ways, and I returned to the home stay, just making it in before their 10 p.m. curfew. It didn't take long before I was snuggled in my blankets and soon slipped off into a deep slumber.
Next Chapter : DAY THREE - DARLING DARJEELING
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