On Sunday, we saw the Wes Anderson film The Darjeeling Limited. On Tuesday, we go to Darjeeling. While in India, we will not take any trains though I do love the trains there (and for reasons wholly unexplored in the film).
Binita was disappointed that the film had nothing to do with Darjeeling. But I was okay with that since, in reality, there is no Darjeeling Limited train. The Darjeeling Mail does exist and runs from Kolkata to New Jalpaiguri. The train from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling is the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
The first leg of our trip is Delhi, the ‘vacation’ component of our trip. While I have passed through Delhi a couple of times, my interest to visit there is driven by my possibly distroted expectations after reading William Dalrymple’s City of Djinns.
Next we are off to Darjeeling to meet Binita’s father. We have some family things to do, but we will really be there to help him move to Kathmandu. Which is the final leg of our trip, Kathmandu. There we will be helping Binita’s father settle back to his old hometown.
Highlights from the trip will include the Red Fort, Taj Mahal, and, of course, pani puri with a side of Delhi belly. All the usuals from Kathmandu, too.
4 Comments
sounds like fun. I’m excited to see darjeeling limited, although i’ve yet to even get around to hotel chevalier.
Thanks for reminding me to see that. It was mentioned at the beginning of Darjeeling Limited. But I’m in Delhi! It’ll wait till I get back! Who-ha!
Hey Scott, while in Delhi, this is the ideal season to watch the Indian festival Dushera and all the wonderful eatables that come by. Post some pictures!
Indeed it’s the festival season. Our trip to Agra (Taj Mahal) is going to coincide with the end of Eid.
Today we were at the Jama Masjid, which is the largest mosque in Asia—busy just isn’t strong enough.