Toy train

Trip Start Jun 11, 2005
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Trip End Dec 22, 2005


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Flag of India  ,
Wednesday, September 28, 2005

One of the great tourist attractions of Darjeeling is the toy train. The narrow gauge track winds its way up the mountain, criss-crossing the normal road. The full journey from Siliguri to Darjeeling takes 10 hours compared to 2-3 hours by road so most tourists do a smaller section. We chose to go from Darjeeling to Ghoom about 10km away. We received a good tip from our hotel that it was cheaper to take the afternoon train, which is pulled by the oldest steam train, rather than the touristy morning train. It is also known as the school train as it is used by children of the many schools in Darjeeling to go home. The train chugged out going about 5km per hour, with the whistle blowing and steam chugging. Despite the slow speed it's always exciting to be on a steam train. We'd saved this journey for last as the mists shrouding Darjeeling since our arrival had finally cleared and we saw beautiful views of Kajandonga each morning and across the valley. 10km proved long enough as even after this short journey Maggi was covered in soot as she stuck her head out the window to take photos!!
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