Friday April 26, 6:13pm
Toy Trains and Jeeps: Darjeeling and Kursion
Right now I am sitting in the Delhi airport waiting for my
plane to Mumbai. I have just left the beautiful Himalayas where I spent a lovely
morning listening to Billy Jonas as I drove though the mountains in the back of
a Jeep.
The day after Bad Jack and the Magical Sunrise all four
girls got up early to take the Toy Train Joy Ride. The Toy Train is a tiny
little railroad that goes though the mountains, and is on the UN World Heritage
Site List. The British built it to
use when they were in charge of India, and now it is a major site in
Darjeeling. Its top point is the highest railway station in the world, and
when it was built it required major innovations in mountain railway design.
Normally you can take the train up and down the mountain, but because of
landslides the lower tracks are out of order. Instead there is a joy ride that
just goes around the top, offering great views and a stop at a cute little museum
about the train.
After the Toy Train I said goodbye to the English girls as
they went to Calcutta, and I went about half way down the mountain to a town
called Kursion. I was wandering around looking for a cheap hotel in this town
that is off the tourist beaten path when a white girl with an American accent
stopped me. She asked me if I was looking for a cheap room and when I said yes
she told me that almost everyplace was full but she had a double all to
herself. She invited me to room with her and I quickly said yes.
After I settled in we went out to explore the town and ended
up walking about an hour outside of the village. We stopped in a tiny shack of
a restaurant for some momos and Chaii and then wandered into a tea plantation.
It was beautiful. The tea was in full bloom and the paths were lined with
Tibetan Prayer Flags, adding to the ambiance. Eventually we sat down in the
middle of the fields looking out to the mountain and chatted about life,
education, and especially camp, for hours. Keala was from California, and at 27
she had just gotten her teaching credentials. She was taking some time to
travel before attempting to volunteer in Laos, teaching English for a few
months. She spent her summers in a family run camp, and we could not have fit
together more.
As the sun was setting we headed back to the hotel for a
girls movie night of A Bugs Life, complete with the first popcorn I have
had for months. After an early breakfast the next morning I wished her luck on
her travels, hopped in the first jeep heading down, and went to the airport.
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