High Tea in the Mountains

Our journey to Darjeeling was a long one. We started with a night train from Varanasi where we waited on the platform with the homeless, the rats, the faeces, and the odd cow or two. Just an everyday Indian experience for us now.

Our train this time was 3-AC, the first and only "comfortable" train we would be taking in India. Bedding and food were provided and a partitioning door kept the beggars and the urine smell at bay. This was luxury (for India), only spoilt by the train staff demanding a tip at the end of our 17 hour journey. They see a westerner and think money, they just can't help themselves. We stuck to sleeper class from then on, we know where we're at there.

We warmed up by the fire in their elegantly furnished tea room while sipping a cup of Darjeeling's finest

The train journey ended back in West Bengal from where we had started our Indian adventure. We were in New Jalpaiguri, the closest train station to Darjeeling still 3 hours away. From here we needed to take a 'share jeep' (making it much cheaper) which we found right outside the station, it couldn't have been easier. The only problem was the drivers waiting for more passengers to fill the jeep up while we waited in an area where the destitute beggars flock to. Being westerners they were on to us immediately and an uncomfortable time followed as we had to stop them touching us. When we finally got going we spent the next few hours bumping along as we climbed to over 2,000m to the beautiful hill station of Darjeeling. Its tea plantations, scenic railway, and Himalayan backdrop putting it firmly on the tourist circuit. We checked in and spent 5 days here, it's a lovely place to relax and get away from the rest of India - no rickshaws, no touts, no shopkeepers shouting out, no-one really caring that we were there. Perfect.

This area is so different to what we have seen so far. Being so close to the Himalaya and with the huge influx of Nepalese Gurkhas and Tibetan refugees it did not feel like we were in India at all. The Oriental look of the people together with the change in infrastructure of the buildings made it look more like a small Chinese town. The cool climate, fresh air, clean streets, and excellent Tibetan food were a welcome break for us.

While here we took the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (the Toy Train) to nearby Ghoom. This world heritage steam train is the most unique rail journey we have ever been on. For the entire journey you are winding down the mountainside criss-crossing the road within virtually an arms reach of the shops and houses lining the streets. The tiny 2 foot wide track is built into the road for most of the journey and with the black smoke filling the air above us and the constant whistling from the engine it was a very atmospheric ride.

Unfortunately we found ourselves in Darjeeling during one of the areas political strikes. In an effort to split from West Bengal and form their own state of Gorkhaland all public services were suspended for the day. With no restaurants or shops open our hotel made us food and bought it in to our room - the restaurant of Hotel Capital looks very uninviting but they make the best Momos (Tibetan dumplings) of all the places we tried while here. We went back several times during our stay and would recommend them over all the guide books choices. For the rest of the day we went for a walk around the area including through the Happy Valley Tea Estate which supplies tea to Harrods. Despite the strike and with the chilly evening approaching we managed to sneak into one of the poshest hotels in town for High Tea with a difference. We warmed up by the fire in their elegantly furnished tea room while sipping a cup of Darjeeling's finest and tucking into some vegetable pakoras. Nice.

The next day we visited the zoo, an excellent place housing many creatures found only in and around the Himalaya. Amongst the animals here were Siberian Tigers, Snow Leopards, Clouded Leopards, Himalayan Black Bears, Tibetan Wolves, and Yaks. It's a small zoo but the animals have fairly spacious quarters and seem to be looked after well, although unsurprisingly they do look a little bored. It's well worth a visit though.

We then took a walk down the hillside to the Tibetan Refugee Centre, home to many Tibetans since 1959 when the Chinese invaded their homeland. The workshops here produce carpets and many other wooden and woollen items, you can wander feely about watching them at work. There is also an excellent exhibition detailing the history of the centre and all the atrocities carried out by the Chinese as they continue to try and wipe out Tibetan culture.

So after a relaxing few days it was time to head back into the chaos of 'normal' India. News of further strikes, particularly to transport, threatened our departure and onward train connection and we found ourselves out on the freezing streets the night before we left asking jeep drivers what the situation was. With no clear resolution we were up very early the next day asking more locals and even the police whether it would be possible to leave that day. Missing our train was not an option. The strikes are taken very seriously here, two people were killed in the region (not Darjeeling) while we were here as they opened their shops on strike day. Luckily for us the strike was cancelled on the day of our departure and we made it safely back down the mountain to New Jalpaiguri where we would have the longest, strangest train journey of our trip so far... Gary