Trains, The Taj, and Going Sky High...

Ok, so I am not sure where I left off last on this, my own version, of the Amazing Race. I believe I was headed to the train station in Jaipur. We indeed did arrive at the station at about 1am. Let me tell you, the train station is about the most depressing place in the world at that time. It was quite a shock. That is all I will say about that. We had reserved space in a sleeper car in the first class section of the train. Don't be fooled by how wonderful that sounds. It was a rough five hours to Agra. That is all I will say about that too.
We arrived in Agra quite early in the morning. Our goal was to find a shower and a place to store our luggage since we would be leaving later that evening to catch a plane in Delhi. We found a cheap hotel with a roof top view of the Taj Mahal and got settled for the day. We ordered breakfast and sat on the rooftop. The Taj Mahal is truly a site to behold. It has to be one of the most beautiful structures I have ever seen. I wish I could say the same about Agra, the city in which it is located. We hired a cab and spent the day seeing what there was to see in Agra. We visited the "baby" Taj which was built prior to the infamous Taj. We visited the Agra Fort, quite amazing, but frankly, I am done visiting forts forever. Of course, the majority of our day was spent visiting the Taj. As I mentioned, the place is incredible, and truly worthy of a visit. The attention to detail and intricate marble work is an architectural wonder. And what a love story, no?? Our plan was to take a train from Agra to Delhi at around 8pm. We changed that, in part because we had had enough of trains from the night before, and in part because we had quickly had enough of Agra. That is all I will say about that. We were able to refund our train tickets, add a few more rupees to the pot and hire a car to Delhi. Much better. So, Denise, Andrea and I headed to our next stop.
We arrived in Delhi at 9pm and Diwali was in full swing! The streets were packed and the "crackers" were exploding all night long. It was strange being back in Delhi. Andrea and I both commented on how different we felt being there this time around. Back in August, we were completely shell-shocked and now we were "old pros!" We had already booked a hotel near the airport since we would only be in Delhi until morning. We just needed to sleep! And that we did! Early the next morning, we headed to the airport to catch our flight to Bagdogra and ultimately make it to Darjeeling by evening. We were all VERY excited to hit the mountains and have a home base for longer than a day.
We arrived in Bagdogra around noon and quickly hired a car for the looooong climb up, up, up to Darjeeling. I don't know what I was expecting, but I was hoping for more than a one-lane, pot-hole filled, cliff-hugging trek upwards. There is only one road to Darjeeling and it is in dire need of repair. As we climbed, we passed many a tea plantation and small village after small village. The people in the villages spoke with a different accent than we were used to hearing and also started to look more Nepali in nature. It was also getting colder by the minute, I mean like hat and gloves cold. We weren't ready for that! It was also impossible, due to cloud cover, to see the Himalayas. Those Himalayas, for being so large, are quite elusive. I will explain more about that later! As we inched closer to Darjeeling, I started to thoroughly appreciate this part of India. The town, city really, appears to be pasted to the side of a mountain. We were high above the trees with our heads in the clouds for real!! It was absolutely unique in nature to anything I have seen in India thus far! After two, yes TWO flat tires, we finally made it the hill station of Darjeeling by nightfall. Thank goodness, because I wasn't trying to make that drive in the dark!
We found our hotel and got settled. Our first priority was food and warm clothes! As we ate, we were talking about what we wanted to accomplish during our stay in Darjeeling. Everyone wanted a home base for a few days, but we also wanted to trek around in the mountains. It would be a shame to be so close to two of the three highest peaks in the world and not see them in one shot! On morning one, we set out to find a tour group to make this happen. We also hired a car to check out all the sites of Darjeeling, most famous are the Buddhist gompas (monasteries) that dot the region. We also vistied the Tibetan Refugee center and drank a lot, I mean A LOT, of tea. It is Darjeeling after all! We also found a tour outfit to set us up with our trek. I had no idea what I was in for, but it would turn out to be the experience of a lifetime.....! Until next time, Enddy, Denise, and Andrea's Amazing Race continues....