I didn’t consider that most people wouldn’t just go traveling about India alone on their free time. I guess that’s odd, but not having anyone else to travel with and having a few days off of work, I figured why not. It didn’t hit me until I was riding the first of many trains that this was a particularly unusual experience.

However, it’s remained unusual the entire way. I’m currently in Darjeeling, an old British hill station that has to be one of the most beautiful and fascinating places I have ever seen. It sits atop a ridge at about 7000 feet, and the views are consistently unbelievable. Because of the monsoon, the high peaks of the Himalaya have been a little shy, but that’s no matter. More importantly, the town mixes Raj-era architechture, Bengalis, Nepalis, Tibetan refugees, monks, and plenty of tourists without losing its authenticity. Unbelievable.

I didn’t consider how strange it would be to see tourists. Literally, when I arrived in Kolkata (Calcutta) I hadn’t seen any foreigners in over a month. But parts of the city are just teeming with them. I wasn’t sure whether to avert my eyes in casual indifference, smile with knowing recognition, or (the most natural reaction) stare like the children in the villages do to me. It was jarring, especially since most of the tourists seemed, in my estimation, to be missing the point. They were hanging about in the overpriced tourists restaurants and eating Western cuisine. It didn’t matter that I was actively trying to satiate my oatmeal craving (something I finally did this morning in Darjeeling). That was different. This was just wierd and sad.

I didn’t consider that sleeping four out of six nights in a row on the train could get pretty tiring. Especially in second class sleeper, which lacks air conditioning and has an abundance of people trying to sell you things at. But how else can one travel over 1000 miles for $15?

Finally, I didn’t consider that I wouldn’t actually spend most of my trip traveling alone. I didn’t consider that my French skills would come in handy. On the train here, I met five French students touring India. We shared a hotel, had a great time exploring, I got to practice my language skills, it was really a surreal experience.

I can’t wait to get my pictures off my camera and show people how fantastically pretty this town is. But first, it’s time to go catch the next overnight train.

Posted on August 20th, 2005 by Lee
Filed under: Uncategorized