Once we found the correct platform we had to check the board for the carriage and berth we had been allocated. Bridget was quite excited because we had a First Class, 1A booking, and she had never been above 3A. The train was due to depart at 10:55 pm. We headed for carriage H1, but found that the berth/seats were already occupied. I went out to check the passenger list which is also stuck on the outside of the train near the door, and our names were not on it. Taking a walk along the platform I found that there was a H1A carriage and our names were on the list. Andrew had been allocated a bed in booth A, and the rest of us in B. The other passengers in A were 3 English men about my age, so I went with them and chatted for a half an hour or so before deciding that it was time to see if we could get any sleep. They were over in India for about 10 days, mainly to see a few days of the India v England Test match. They were going to Darjeeling for 2 days and the heading back to Kolkata. Bridget came in and gave them some advise about Darjeeling, which is a place that she enjoys spending weekends and other spare time. In class 1A you are provided with sheets, a pillow, and a blanket and there are only 4 per cabin. I did manage to get some sleep and woke at about 6 am to see a very flat countryside with a low misty fog. Every piece of land seemd to be farmed. There were small segments of land divided by very low earth walls, some of these were flooded and were probably cultivating rice. There were already people in the fields cutting the grain, or whatever it was by hand and tieing it in bundles. We passed lots of small villages where the houses were made from available materials, sheets of corrugated iron, cardboad, thatched reeds etc. At the rail crossings there were people on foot, bicycle, cars, trucks, buses, buffalo etc.
We arrived at New Jalpaiguri (NJP) about 45 minutes late, but that didn't worry us. We followed the crowd on to the overpass above the tracks and down towards a chaotic area with taxi, buses, shared Jeeps everywhere. Bridget took the lead and spoke to a guy and said that we wanted a shared taxi to Darjeeling. He poited us in the right direction and we again found that we were travelling with the three Englishmen, They were in the back seat, Andrew and Bridget in the front with the driver and Paula, Daniel and I in the middle seat. Our backpacks and bags were tied on to the roof and the driver asked for 200Rs. each for the 80 km trip. It would normally be 150 Rs. but we were bigger, and took up more seat room than his usual passengers. That is only $4 instead of $3, so we weren't going to complain. We went through Siliguri, which is just a lot of housing and small shops. It seemed to go on for quite a few kms and then began to turn into tea estates as we began to climb. The road was windy and bumpy and we could expect it to take around 3 hours to travel the 80 kms. All drivers here use their horn to warn you that they are coming as well as telling other vehicles to move over. The horn was constantly being used. As we began to climb the road seemed to get narrower, and in many places wasn't really wide enough for two vehiles. It also got quite windy as we had hairpin bend after hairpin bend. It was a pity that the valleys were covered in a cloudy fog because some of the views would have been quite spectacular. As we approached Ghoom, Bridget poited out a large monastery that one of the other volunteers was at, and she said that above the clouds we could just see in the distance the snow capped Kangchenjunga. It seemed to tower above the clouds. It is the third highest mountain in the world. Then we went around another bend and it disappeared. From Ghoom to Darjeeling there seems to be multi-story housing above and below the road that disappears into the cloud. The jeep took us as high into the city as he was allowed, and we unloaded, put our packs on our backs and began the walk up to wher the hotel that Bridget had booked was located. She directed the English guys to their hotel as well. When we got to the hotel she was greetd by the manager who knew her, and as she was talking to him about the rooms, her volunteer partner in Takdah, Stephanie came down stairs to greet us. It was a recently renovated hotel and we got 3 rooms. Bridget and Andrew took the better room which had hot water, and we got the others. Cold showers and no heating, but at least we had a Western toilet.
We left our bags and headed out for lunch. We had a really nice lunch with Indian food at Hasty Tasty, a restaurant that Bridget had found to have good food and it was all vegetarian - less chance of getting "stomach problems". After a filling lunch we headed back uphill to explore around the Chowrasta, which is the local square where everyone meets, the dogs sleep anywhere, people play badminton, hack sack, and men lead horses around the square with paying passengers.
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