Travel Plans Always Changing

The one thing about our travels is how adept we have become with changing our plans. We have decided to end our trip with a journey to Rishikesh to meet up with the people from Sweden that we met on the train, hung out with in South Goa and went on the houseboat trip with in Alleppey. We have a little over two weeks left in our trip so we decided we would make a quick trip north to Darjeeling, with a stop in Varanasi after and then on to Rishikesh and back to Delhi for our flight home.  After some planning we got all our travel arrangements made and places we would stay booked.

Waiting for the at 7:00pm train from Kanyaakumari to Chennai.

We had a third class sleeper car for the 17 hour ride to Chennai and then spent the night in a hotel in Chennai near the airport.

From Chennai we took a flight to Bagdogra Airport and a taxi to New Jalpaiguri and spent the night. We would take the Toy Train to Darjeeling the next morning.

Our ride to the  train station the next day. We were not sure we could fit with two suitcases, two backpacks, and us. We made it to the train station without tipping over!

We boarded the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway toy train for the 8 hour ride to Darjeeling. This is a Unesco World Hertiage Site. This is one of the last hill railways still operating in India. It travels within feet of store fronts, homes, the roadway and edge of the mountain. The train whistle blows constantly and always has the right of way. It crosses the road many times as it winds it way up the mountain. 

Toy Train engine with three cars pulled us up the mountain. These was the Diesel engine, there is a steam engine but was not running on the day we traveled.

Narrow gauge railway. The tracks are 60cm wide.

A view from the train.

An inside view of the train. We had the three seats in the back of the first car. There were 18 seats in our car.

Everyday is laundry day so we passed lots of laundry hung out to dry along the train route.

The train track runs along the road and along the edge of the mountain side.

Cooling down the engine on the way up the mountain.

Train stopped halfway up the mountain at a station.

The train runs very close to people's home along the route. Everyone waves.

A hilltop view from the train.

The train follows the road a lot of the way and always has the right of way. Here some cars were caught on the railroad tracks and had to back up so the train could pass.

Some of the villages along the hillside that we passed by.

Map of train route.

Our final destination!!