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In the process of researching Assam, I kept my eyes open for other options. One that immediately popped up was Darjeeling.
A couple of years ago, I’d done some research on train trips in India. I was actually looking at a trip that went to various Buddhist sites, but I found lots of other trips as well. When I’m browsing travel options and I find something that looks interesting, I bookmark it. I may never do that specific trip, but it may have applicability to other trips I might take. Good trip planning has dead ends and detours. Notice them – they may be useful in future trip planning. So I went back to that India Rail website and took a look at their tours.
The Darjeeling Toy train looks like a fun little trip. It seems like a great way to see the scenery. Hmmm…. I notice the trip from New Jalplagri to Darjeeling is seven and a half hours! That’s a long time to cover not very much ground. I start to look for other travelers’ comments on the train. Accounts that I read indicate that many people take just a small segment of the trip. And a friend’s blog indicates that the train is not reliable it may or may not run. It looks like the toy train is one of those things that sounds great but may not be so great in reality. So if I want to ride it, I think I’ll take one of the short loops.
Darjeeling itself gets somewhat mixed reviews. Some people love Darjeeling, some people say it has been ruined by too many visitors. It has some great places to stay, and it looks like it would have views, shopping, and some Buddhist sites. It also has a separatist movement that periodically calls a bandh – a strike – that stops all transport. When I turn up something like this, I try to read as much as I can about it so I know what the issues are. While it may not help me predict if and when a bandh will happen, but it will help me understand the issues involved and the history of how they have gone – do they last for weeks, days or hours?
So, if we went to Darjeeling, where would we stay? The two places that appeal to me most are The Elgin and the Windamere.
Next, I asked my fellow travelers for their thoughts on Fodors, and got some interesting input. It’s all more “grist for the mill.”
