Christmas in Darjeeling

I had a devil of a time putting all these photos here (you'll see what I mean...) and since I still cannot figure out how to get the sideways pictures to look right, I did not include any. Anyhow...

First the train
The station was a bevy of activity; people coming and going in all directions. One of the first things we did was buy a chain.
I then saw a couple with two kids wearing these caps.

I decided to hang around them with our luggage while Jerry figured out where we were supposed to be. I figured that if people thought I was with them, noone would bother me. And it worked! The family spoke almost no English and of course, I speak even less Bengali, but we communicated enough to where I could ask to take their kids’ pictures and the mom could tell me that her older son thought I was pretty!

Sleeper class was not too bad. I was the first to use the toilet and then never had to use it again. We sat across from two folks from Manchester, UK and a guy from St. Louis, MO. It was fun talking with them and comparing our thoughts on living in K and sharing great finds and good restaurants. When it was time to sleep, I had the upper berth, Jerry had the lower and a Korean lady had the middle berth! We took care to secure all of our belongings and I am pleased to report, “Nothing stolen!”

Sleeping on a train is quite an experience and I highly recommend sleeping on the upper berth if possible. There is more privacy and less noise. The train noise ends up being quite calming, sort of like white noise that filters everything else out. This became apparent as we slowed at various stations. As we stopped, I could clearly hear all the snoring that was previously masked by the train rumbling on its tracks. Unfortunately, Jerry did not sleep well. We were sort of close to the bathroom and there seemed to be constant interruptions to prevent a nice sleep for Jerry.

We also had our first encounter with a transvestite, or eunuch, as they are called by the locals. This “person” came by begging for money, as did several others. For a split second I thought the eunuch was offering his/her “services” in exchange for money. For better or for worse, he/she just wanted free money. When the trains stop, vendors selling chai, coffee and snacks board as well as beggars. Fortunately, when the train leaves the station, they leave as well.

NJP – Siliguri
The train does not go all the way to Darjeeling; it stops at NJP, near a town called Siliguri. We did this thing called “shared jeep”. You go to the pre-paid taxi stand and are given a number of the car to hop into. If you want a cheaper ride, you can pay less fare and stand on the back of the car like the guy in this picture.We did make sure that we were the only ones in the front. This car could comfortably fit 7 people, but they cram in 11! The thing is, you have to wait until the car is “full” before the driver will leave. So, you end up witnessing this loud exchange between drivers and passengers similar to playing the game Pit. Instead of wheat, flax, oats, etc. you hear Siliguri, Gangtok, Darjeeling and other destinations. So, after an 11.5 hour train ride that was supposed to be 10 hours and another 2 hours figuring out the shared jeep thing and then waiting for a full car, we were off for Darjeeling.

The road to Darjeeling - Queen of the Hill Stations
The ride to Darjeeling was beautiful and treacherous. In fact, there were many times while in vehicles in and around Darjeeling that I started thinking things like, “Well, our passports are with us, they will be able to figure out who we are after they fetch our bodies from the side of the mountain. Who they will call first, our director, my parents? Will my parents come get our bodies and transport them to the US? Will we just get cremated? I have not showered in a couple of days. What will the headlines read in the newspaper?”

Suffice it to say that they are some pretty scary hairpin turns that had even the college-age guys in our car getting a little scared. I tried taking pictures, but they do not do justice to the terror we experienced.

It was things like this picture that made me think "OSHA!" I mean we were basically walking on the side of a mountain and there was no warning. Also, some parts had no rail, were REALLY steep AND slippery!




On the scenic side – Darjeeling reminds me a lot of Hawaii – lush foliage, houses perched in the mountains and beauty everywhere. But instead of ocean vistas, we were treated to snow-capped mountain views of the Himalayas. Gorgeous! We also saw lots of tea gardens on the mountainsides. I am in awe of the people who hand-pluck the tea leaves on these steep terraces.






Darjeeling
We stayed with a friend and her family the entire time we were in Darjeeling. It was great because we had locals to take us around as well as homecooked meals every day! We did lots of walking every day, mostly uphill and downhill. That added to the high altitude made for some pretty tiring walks. But the exhaustion was totally worth it to capture some breathtaking views and breathe clean, fresh air.

It was quite cold, getting into the 20s at night. Most of the homes are not heated. Instead, they might have one heater in one room (that is turned off at night) and lots of warm blankets for sleeping. Can you imagine taking a shower in a bathroom that is around 30 degrees! At least we got to shower – it was a nice break from our bucket baths.

We bought hats and a shawl for me (that will turn into a tablecloth when we get back to Houston). There were lots of vendors selling LOTS of things.

















One morning we woke up at 3:30am to take a car to Tiger Hill, to watch the sun rise and watch the rays hit Mt Kanchenjanga, India’s highest peak and the third highest in the world. It was FREEZING! (I am the one under the blanket.) But it was beautiful as well and kinda fun with all of the people around us going crazy at the first sight of the sun. A guy who works there kept shouting in Nepali, “The one who is coming is coming!”

We were even able to see a little bit of Mt. Everest. (It's the tiny peak to the left of the larger peak in this picture.)

Christmas was pretty laidback – a nice change from the frenetic pace in the US. We went to church, took some lovely walks and had a nice Christmas lunch! Although I would have loved to spend Christmas in Houston with my family, it was nice not to have to rush between family homes for meals and be bombarded by all the Christmas sales advertising.





Darjeeling has some of the cutest kids!!


















Some random pictures: coolies who can carry amazing amounts of luggage, a funny sign and monks in the main square.









AC 2
On the way back to K, we took a smoother, less terrifying road back down the mountain toward the train station near Siliguri. It was a lovely ride and we drove through several tea gardens. I forgot to mention earlier that since we stayed with a local family, we had the famous Darjeeling tea 3-4 times every day. People here take tea with sugar and milk. In fact, they steep the tea with the sugar and milk instead of adding afterwards. It has taken some getting used to and toward the end of our stay we asked if we could take it plain.

AC2 is very different from sleeper class. Here is a list of the main differences – AC2 has:
4 berths instead of 6 in each compartment
The compartments are separated by heavy curtains
Each berth is provided with 2 sheets, a blanket and a towel
There are cup/bottle holders, side pouches, hooks, etc to put/store stuff
Noone locks up their luggage in AC2 (although we did, just to be sure)
The berths are more comfortable
The bathrooms are nicer
It is quieter; Jerry got a much better sleep this time around
And contrary to what I read in several places on the internet, the view from AC2 is better than the view from sleeper class. However, the most common sight is men taking a pee near the railroad tracks. I see more public urinating in a week here than in my entire life before South Asia.

However, with all these amenities in AC2, you do pay more. One way on sleeper is $6 and one way on AC2 is $24.

So, we got back 4 hours later than scheduled (because of fog) are now in K with all of the noise and pollution that comes with it. I am definitely beginning to embrace this city, so much so that I could see us staying longer than planned. However, the pollution is a killer. I have found myself saying, “I wish I could be back in Houston with all that fresh air.” Houston! The city that trades places with LA for most polluted in the U.S.

Until next time…