The world we live in

On the news last night we heard about a bomb blast on a local train in West Bengal. The explosion happened on a train that was 28kms from where I am sitting now. The blast occurred on a train, two of whose carriages were to be connected to a train called the Darjeeling Mail (it is a service that goes every night). I am catching this train back to Kolkata tonight. This morning I was all set to travel for two hours and catch a plane back to Kolkata (which would have set me back quite a few pounds). However I have decided to face my fears and get on the train. I'm sure it will all be fine but it's just made me realise that we live in a not so nice world.

I thought I should do a quick entry while I'm sitting filling time in Siliguri. Siliguri is a town that is best known as being a junction for travelling to various points in the Himilayas. I have been here for the past couple of days. I've been staying in a 4 star hotel for the meagre price of 20 pounds per night. I have spent the last two days relaxing and catching up on sleep.

Since my last entry I have done the following things.

I have driven in a jeep that I'm sure was part of the program MASH (it was that old). I could see the road through the floor and there was no need for air conditioning as the holes caused by the rust provided enough ventilation. There were no windows on the jeep and it would only start if we were facing downhill. It was quite an experience. We drove in tis jeep to a place called Mirik. It's got a beautiful lake which is surrounded my mountains. It was lovely and peaceful. While we were sitting down having our lunch a family came up to us and started chatting to us and wanted to have photos with us. This has happened quite a few times since we have been travelling. I think I'm going to try it when I get back to London... The journey back to Darjeeling involved a journey through tea gardens and seeing workers completing their work for the day. We are so fortunate in the west.

The day I left Darjeeling I awoke at 4am, got into a jeep (much nicer than the one mentioned above) and was driven up to Tiger Hill. Needless to say I was not the only crazy one to do this. There were at least 800 people on the hill. Tiger Hill is the place to go to if you want to see the sunrise and also possible get a glimpse of Eversest and the third highest mountain (which begins with a K and I can't spell it). Upon reaching the top you stand around drinking chai waiting for the sun. We thought that the sun was up so I took a few photos of the mountain (which was not very visible) and then walked down the hill. One of the girls I was travelling with felt sick so we went back down the hill.

Our jeep driver told us that we were to come back as soon as the sun had come up. We settled into the jeep and then suddenly heard cheers and applause. I looked at the friend I was with and it dawned on us that we had missed the actual sunrise.



This was what we thought was the main event (you can vaguely see the outline of the mountains).

So we jumped out of the jeep and ran up the hill. We felt sooo silly. The sun was shining on the mountains and it looked really pretty and quite clear. It just shows that one has to be patient!!






This was the real event!!





I decided that I had seen enough of Darjeeling and so I decided to set off and see some other sights. In Darjeeling there is a train called the "Toy Train". It takes 8.5 hours to get down the mountain (bear in mind that the jeep ride takes 3 hours) and cost 3 pounds (or 200 rupees). It's quite an experience as it does not go fast at all, people hang on to the train as it is going down the hill and if you jogged at a moderate pace you could run with it the whole way. It's a great way to see the countryside and get to see the locals close up. Not something you should do if you are following a strict timetable.

So that has been what I have been up to in the last few days. I've learned that travelling has high points and low points and points when you have to trust the one who made you.

Well that's all from me for now, till next time....