Darjeeling

John taking in the fresh air.
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We debate long and hard about whether to rickshaw or taxi to the station, we opt for taxi.  Boy! was that ever a good move.  Hacking through rush hour traffic, a thick thick smog,  added to by a dust storm is an utter nightmare, in a rickshaw I doubt we could have breathed.

We meet 3 great lads at the train station who keep us entertained until the train arrives 2 hours late.  After our initial suspicions die away they turn out to be great kids and apparently they hang out here chatting to travelers.  Just like me they fall in Love with Kim in an instant, and just like me she has them eating out of her hand, except for when they are buying her sweets from the station shop.

Kim trying to take in fresh air through cold!
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This train trip is the worst of all, the thrill is definatly gone in so far as Indian rail travel is cconcerned.  It's very, very squalid, we find our bunks with the help of our new friends who insist on carrying all our luggage on board, only to find we are sharing with 2 old men who are already asleep.  Kim is sure one has gone a step further and is actually dead and should have stayed in Varanasi. It's several hours before he grunts, farts and turns over (funny how that was a relief)The next morning the train hawkers reach new levels selling reading glasses, full sets of knives and a 3 quarter size electronic keyboard.  We were only grateful they weren't selling the knives last night!

Darjeeling lock in...
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Cos the train was late we missed our connection for darjeeling from New jalpiguri and so we have to take a land rover to the top of the mountain. This takes 3 hours but we're 25 years older when we emerge from the landrover.

Hairpin bends and sheer drops all the way. The young driver seems to throw the vehicle straight at the sheer drop then haul down on the steering wheel at the last moment with both hands, to send it round the hairpin sideways!  Anything rather than slow the f*cking thing down!!   That he does all this while smoking a fag, chatting on his cellphone, waving to girls and changing his jacket is all very disconcerting.  Could be worse of course, we could be the poor bugger who's sitting on the roof making sure we don't lose the luggage.

View from the guest house roof
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To be free of smog is wonderful. In the last hour or so of the trip the temperature drops radically, from steamy smoggy heat to icy fresh air it's quite a shock to the system.  As there were no seat belts the only way to keep in the rover seat has been to wind down the window and grip the door, the rapidly dropping temperature and extreme fear means I have to unprise my fingers from the landrover metalwork, leaving a perfect imprint of my hand in the metal.

We struggle up the ridiculously steep inclines of Darjeeling and eventually find and check into the Snow Lion Guest house and go to Joey's pub then to a thai restaurant for tomyam soup that is soooo good we want to kiss the chef.  Were so excited we order brandy (the first since leaving home) it comes in a brandy glass - it looks like brandy - it smells like sloans linament and tastes like nail varnish remover!  Back at the guest house the owner meets us with 2 hot water bottles - Aaaaaaah

Kim has caught my cold, she conveniently forgets she gave it to me in the first place so really it's her cold which I have just returned!  We have a lovely day in Darjeeling which has it's own big ben with pompey chimes.  The next day there is a total strike and were pretty much stuck in the guest house as nothing is open at all. We get breakfast served up in the family kitchen, our fried eggs cooling rapidly in the freezing air.  The view out the window is just jaw dropping, the old man of the house takes us out onto the roof terrace and shows us Mount Everest, I never expected to get to see it in my life. Magic.

The next day everythinsg seems back to normal so we go for a walk into the middle of town and enjoy a coffee in the square.  We then walk down through the market when all hell lets loose - people are charging the street, shops and restaurents are pulling down their shutters in a panic.  We think there may be a loose bull running up the street and dive into a coffee shop just as they were pulling their shutter down and got locked in.  We tried to find out what was going on and they said fighting!

After a while we get out through a back way.  It turnes out a political leader was chopped with a ghurka knife down the road and his friends were out for revenge.  The whole town is shut up again so we find our way back to Joey's bar where we find him outside and he askes us if we are thirsty!!!!!!! 6 hours later we are still locked in with curtains drawn doors locked and lights turned down.  We were advised not to venture out - OK we said.  There was a lot of noise outside with chanting and marching up and down waving knives and swords.  We survive on mo-mo's and beer....... just!

Next day were up bright and early for brekky and to catch the toy train down the mountain.  It takes 7 hours to go 80 k's and the views are spectacular.  You can see the Himalayas all the way to Mount Everest and the trip would be wonderful if it were not for the knife wielding mob that stops the train halfway down.  We are the only 2 on the first class carriage because all the other tourists had already left Darjeeling, and we make sure we are securely locked in.  They march past again with knives and swords in the air and chanting while we try not to make eye contact and hide the cameras.  Wewatch as some of the mob threaten shop keepers to make them close, it's very ugly, they make slashing motions across their throats and point to the shopkeepers who (un)surprisingly shut up their businesses. We eventualy get to the bottom safely enough and clamber into the dirtiest rickshaw we've yet seen.  The back has a film of water over the floor, when we disturb it a cloud of mozzies fly up.  We get to a pretty shoddy hotel which is close to the railway for our trip tomorrow, this is about the only thing it has going for it.