Honeymoon in the Himalayas: Part II

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway started operation in 1881--the brainchild of some obsessive British engineers. The Darjeeling government bills it as "the first and most outstanding example of hill railway". Indeed, it has been dubbed a UNESCO World Heritage site and is renowned across the globe for its breathtaking views of the Himalayan mountains. Due to its small size and its antique-looking engine car, it is known affectionately as the Toy Train.

All that being said, our four-hour journey to Darjeeling on the Toy Train was shrouded in the same soupy fog that had covered us in Kurseong for two days. The train took a meandering journey up a hillside covered in towering spruce and cedar trees. To our left a thick blanket of fog and clouds covered what should of have been a panoramic vista of snow-capped mountains. Instead, we entertained ourselves by waving to villagers as we trundled noisily through a series of small mountain towns. Check out the slide show below to see images of our journey from Kurseong to Darjeeling.

****

On the train, we were lucky enough to meet up with a German couple who we had seen in passing at the Cochrane Place in Kurseong. Their names we would learn were Jochen and Birgit Bullinger, but they introduced themselves as Joe and Bea. They came from the small village of Wettstetten outside of Munich. Joe works as an engineer for Audi, which has a giant production plant in Wettstetten, and Bea is a social worker counseling abused and neglected children along with troubled married couples.

It turned out that Joe and Bea would also be staying at the same hotel as us in Darjeeling--the Dekeling (see previous post for website). They each carried heavy-looking hiking backpacks with walking poles. They explained they had come to West Bengal and would be going on to Sikkim (same as us, too) for some trekking. The area is, of course, a hiker's dream with winding paths that give awe-inspiring views of the mountains (at least that is what we had been told.)

We got to Darjeeling a little after 6:30 at night. The sun had already set, but Joe strode out from the train station with the confidence of a seasoned trekker. With map in hand he walked up Darjeeling's precipitously steep streets with Bea, Jenna, and I huffing a few paces behind. After a calf-burning ten minute walk we suddenly came upon the Dekeling. It sat atop a ridge line overlooking the city, now twinkling with thousands of lights. In the darkness and the clouds we could not see even the vaguest shadow of a Himalayan peak. Yet, we knew they were out there and we hoped to see some in the coming days.