54 Hours on a Train!

Our last leg of the train marathon to Mcleod Ganj

We left the tranquility of the tea covered hills of Coonor and made our way by bus back to Coimbatore. We are about to embark on a 54 hour train ride clear across India from Kerala in the southern tip to Mcleod Ganj in the north. I know I love train travel, but do I love it enough to make it for 54 HOURS!! We shall see.


Our journey started in Coimbatore and went to Bangalore on a 6 hour train. I guess it was a nice warm up for what was to follow. Then in Bangalore we boarded a train to Delhi. This was the longest leg of the trip, taking 36 hours. We slept two nights on this train and had all our meals brought to us. I actually really enjoyed it. It was an adventure and I felt like a kid watching the scenery roll by, putting all my things on my bunk and organizing my little space, and getting way too excited for the little containers of food they brought by. I don’t know why I get so excited for the food. I knew deep down inside that it would always be pretty bad, but still I couldn’t wait to peel back all the lids and discover what was inside. I am the same with plane food. I guess when you’re bored little things bring you great amusement. We spent our two days watching movies, reading, talking, sleeping (or at least trying to), and hanging out the side doors watching India roll by. Since we literally crossed from one point of India to the other, we got to see a lot of different landscapes.

This is what happens after two days on a train!
Sorry Shalom

The gang together one last time on a rooftop in Dehli

The view of  the Main Bazar road from the roof

7 am we arrived in Delhi to a crowded, dirty train station. We had all day to kill. Our next train didn’t leave till around 11pm. What to do after two days on a train…. of course, let’s go to a mall! Ok a girl can only be deprived of shopping for so long and it has been months! So off to the mall we went. I was surprised when Tino said he wanted to join us. I guess you can’t deprive a guy his shopping either. We were happy to have his company. After a couple of hours in the mall and some jeans and shoes later we headed back to our hostel. It was our last night with Shalom and Tino so we had to go out for a going away party. Drinks and great food at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the craziness of the main Bazar road…it was a good send off.

We gathered our things and headed for the train station. Shalom came with us to send us off. We were staring at the departures board confused because our train was not listed. Someone noticed our confusion and asked us if we needed help. Two nice Indian men both confirmed that we were at the wrong train station and we needed to go across town to the old Delhi station. Great! That was half an hour away and we only had half an hour till our train left! We ran for a cab and quickly negotiated a price. Shalom had to help the cabbie push other cabs out of the way that were blocking us. It was all a hilarious scene. On the way Laura tried to snap a group photo of us to remember the moment and this is what happened:

Can you tell they didn't know I was going to make a crazy face

Laura caught on now

Laura laughed so hard she spit on the back of my neck
This is why I exited the picture

More silliness! I think Sofi was laughing so much she couldn't make a crazy face

Laura looks just like Zoolander now!

Oh Dear.....

  Nothing like a little silliness to lighten the mood!
 
Oh dear, good times! We made it to the station just in time to run to our platform and jump on our train. Phew, disaster avoided.

Another night on a train, and another early start, we arrived in Pathankot around 8am. We arranged a cab for the last leg of our trip. We arrived in Mcleod Ganj two hours later and where happy to have a hot shower and a comfy bed to lie in. Not to mention that our mom and dad where due to arrive in a few hours!! That was one of the main reasons for this crazy cross country journey. The other reason was to hear the Dali Lama speak. Mcleod Ganj is where he now calls home after being exiled from Tibet and he was scheduled to give a speech during the time we were there. It was an amazing opportunity not only to hear and see him speak, but to have the experience in his home town.

My parents greeting one of the many resident cows



Laur and Dad on our hike




The waterfall



Monks taking in the view in Mcleodganj

Mcleod Ganj is a beautiful little city set in the middle of the mountains. We stayed for four days spending our time hiking to a waterfall, eating great Tibetan and Indian food, shopping some more, and seeing as many temples as possible, and of course we heard the Delhi lama. The speech was held in his temple and was a rather small affair. The majority of the attendants were other monks. While the majority of the talk was about specific Buddhist scriptures that sadly were over my head, the first part of the talk was wonderfully enlightening. It left me wanting to know more about Buddhism and the history of Tibetan culture, so I went out and bought a book on each subject. As you do. Now I just have to find the time to read them all. My backpack is filled with about ten books by now and weighs a ton, but I can’t part with any of them.

Mom and Dad at one of many temples

Shiva in the lake

Hanuman

Tibetan monk saying a prayer

Monks just hanging out

It has been amazing having our parents here, and no it’s not just because we get to stay in nice hotels and eat at nice restaurants, but I am definitely not complaining about that. I am not sure how they are taking India at this point. I feel they have an image of what India is supposed to be like and so far it seems their experience is not matching their image. We still have Delhi, Varanasi, and Agra to go so we will see what happens.

Yes these are dolls....I thought they were too funny

And last but not least, the sunset over the mountains

Christina