Darjeeling


Thursday 16th November
Breakfast isn't up to much. Settle for some dahl, some paratha and a banana. No coffee or tea on offer. Putting on two tee shirts beneath my top shirt to keep warm  I walked out into a gloriously sunny day and headed down the hill towards the railway station. Asked at the ticket office about the trains to NJP and was told the line was closed by a landslide and was unlikely to open again for several months. So I booked a "Joyride" on the train for 1245.  Selected the diesel option as the steam option wasn't until late afternoon. Was amazed to find I had to fill out a form giving my full name, address, age and telephone number in order to get my ticket. Took lots of photos of the old steam locomotives and walked along the main street hoping to find a cosy cafe or tea shop to sit down and hopeful revive my energy with some caffeine. If there is a "nice" bit of Darjeeling I missed it. Most of it looks run down, dirty and poor. Surprised Darjeeling isn’t smarter since it is obviously a tourist destination and I guess is a brilliant base for trekking. Neither in Kolkata or Darjeeling have I seen many Western tourists or backpackers. Notice lots of posters calling for "Gorkhaland"; nearly 70 years of independent, democratic India doesn't seem to have brought much prosperity so I can understand the attraction. 

Darjeeling Station. Would be even better with trains

One of Several Steam Locomotives

One of Several Steam Locomotives

One of Several Steam Locomotives

How many men does it take to drive?
I'm getting the Diesel Option






 Downtown Darjeeling


The “toy” train arrived after much shunting of carriages back and forth until there were just two carriages and the diesel locomotive. Inside it is a very conventional modern 4 seat abreast layout and it filled up with tourists including a couple of grey haired Westerners who, like me were bemused to find that the tickets were for specific numbered seats. For the first mile or so it was back along the main street hemmed in by buildings but later got to see some good views but similar to those on the road. Stopped at Batasia Loop where the track makes a 360 circle to climb up the hill and where there is a war memorial to Ghurkha soldiers who died in India’s post independence wars. Back on the train to Ghum, India's highest railway station, where there is a small museum showing some artefacts from its history. Again some shunting as the locomotive was hitched to the other end of the train. And from there, almost inevitably,  it was downhill all the way to Darjeeling. Didn’t feel like climbing back up to the hotel so got a taxi.

Joyride Train in Ghum

In the Museum

Downtown Ghum

Station Postbox


 Friday 17th November.
After breakfast of soggy cornflakes in warm milk and almost indigestible toast with pre-packed butter that had obviously been allowed to melt, walked down to Darjeeling Mall, not a shopping mall as I had imagined, been living too long in Singapore, but an open square with some quite quaint buildings. This must be the “nice” part, with many remnants of colonial architecture in various states of repair.
Darjeeling is a maze of narrow streets on the steep hillside, so it is easy to get lost; where would I be without Google Maps? There are dozens, possibly hundreds of tiny stalls selling everything from fresh meat to fashion. One whole street devoted to clothes. Found a small but well organised and informative  "Tibetan" museum; many Tibetan refugees made their homes in this part of India.  Realise that since arriving in India I haven't seen a single supermarket, convenience store or Starbucks. Curious, I did look for and find a shopping mall of sorts, Big Mall, which had two floors  with an attempt at a hypermarket with a limited range of food items, and lots of cardboard boxes scattered around. Where do Indians buy their food? It also had a small coffee shop which did a respectable cappuccino. Not far away was a snacks and sweets shop where I bought some stuff for the train journey tomorrow. Not far from the Clock Tower, another remnant from the Raj, I found Glenary's the sort of cafe I had been looking for yesterday. Absolutely perfect with a balcony overlooking the mountains. Great excuse for more coffee and cake. Walked back up the hill; it's a steep climb, and I was knackered by the time I reached the top as it was getting dark. 

"Quaint" Darjeeling

"Quaint" Darjeeling

St Andrew's Church





Can't believe they encourage them!

The British created a town in Darjeeling to provide for
an escape from the heat of summer in Calcutta

Guess there aren't many foreigners to register

Darjeeling Clock Tower. Choose your Time.

Old Style Pharmacy

Shrine in the Tibetan Museum

A Maze of Narrow Streets
Glenary's,  Happiness is Coffee and Cake.

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