Darjeeling Mail

On our first afternoon in Calcutta (tues feb 9) we were lucky enough to obtain tourist quota tickets on the Darjeeling Mail overnight train.

The following day, after a full day with our delightful guide Shanti, a 75-year-old retired history teacher who came highly recommended in a Frommer's travel guide, we packed up our gear once more and headed to Calcutta's Sealdah station to board the train for the 10pm departure.

Climbing into the upper bunks of a four-person berth in the AC Two class car we were delighted to be on our way but thoroughly saturated from the day's activities. We had been shuttled around the sites that Shanti felt were relevant via a hired taxi that he bamboozled into the 5-hour drive as we stood out of site. Shanti warned that if the driver saw our white skin, it would certainly up the ante of the afternoon.

The next morning, (feb 10) sometime between 8 and 9am we arrived in New Jalpaiguri. After pausing for a few minutes to take in the sites (sometimes stepping out into what is India is overwhelming and takes some time to process) we selected and negotiated or tried to negotiate the cost of our transport to the Hotel Manila and headed for Siliguri, the town where we now are hoping to secure transport to Sikkim, our plan B.