9th February - One of our trains is missing.

Anybody who read Radinja6 will probably feel that they have already seen this post. We will try to be less repetitive from now on.

The procession of drummers appears promptly at 0600 hours. We doze for a while afterwards before rousing ourselves. Too early for breakfast, so tea and biscuits will have to do. The bill was paid last night so all we have to do is shoulder our packs and head off to the station. It's another misty morning as we negotiate the near vertical stairway that cuts a big corner out of the route by road.

At the station R is deposited with the bags while D goes to take photos. The diesel hauled NJP service train departs just after we arrive. Our tickets are for the Red Panda Steam Special to Kurseong, a stop about a third of the way down the line. Pausing between photos D sees R waving at him so retraces his steps to hear the news that our train is cancelled. The air goes blue. This happened to us last year, when the train got bumped to make room for a Steam charter. D goes in search of authority who confirms the news, explains that the fare will be refunded online and that there is a train at 4 p.m. If we wait for that we will have no chance of making the connection at NJP.  When authority is asked for an explanation he shrugs his shoulders.

At this point D could go on a rant about why India is not fit to look after a World Heritage asset like the DHR but what's the point. Surely even UNESCO realises that these idiots couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery. D is a bit cheesed off. Let's leave it there.

We pick up our packs and walk along the Hill Cart Road towards the taxi stand. Various share jeep drivers try to tap us but things are bad enough without another of those. One guy has much better English and we explain that we are too big to be comfortable in a crowded share. He offers exclusive use of his Sumo to Siliguri for Rs 1300. This sounds too good to be true but he confirms the offer. Siliguri is most of the way and the price is less than half of that offered by our hotel. We accept and he leads us over the street to a 4x4 with both Chelsea and Man It's scarves in the windscreen. D is all for scrubbing the deal but R gives him a look. Some unfortunate who is expecting to take a share ride is evicted, our bags are loaded and off we go.

Our driver is called Pranab and his style is towards the boy racer end of the scale, although the Hill Cart Road does limit his opportunities. If his taste in football teams is dubious, his taste in music is positively execrable, with lyrics that would make a navvy blush. The first half of the trip is along the Hill Cart Road with the railway in close attendance. The little town of Kurseong is jammed solid with traffic and it takes a while to get through. There is quick glimpse of a couple of B Class locos on Kurseong shed before we part company with the old route and turn onto the Rohini Road. This descends to the plain by a more direct but steeper route featuring dozens of hairpin bends.

Part way down we stop at a dhaba for tea. (Sorry don't know the Bangla word) The tea is very acceptable and the toilets clean so R is happy. We have amended our plan slightly. There seems no point in flogging through to NJP to store our bags and then returning to Siliguri in order to indulge in pleasures of the flesh. We consult Pranab who knows a place that will rent us a room for a few hours to lock our bags in. Dearer than a station cloak room but cheaper than the taxi out to NJP and back plus saving time. P agrees to drop us there and collect us again at 19.00 for the trip to NJP. The Hill Star Lodge is a bit prisoney for us but the bags seem secure enough. Thank God we are no longer young.

This is the second time that Indian Railways train cancellations have given us a bonus day in Siliguri. It's like spending ten bob to win sixpence.  The streets are busier than last year but it is not as hot. We take an electric auto to the main market and set about finding an optician as there is a screw loose in D's glasses. No jokes please. We walk in search of somewhere that R deems respectable for a cup of tea. We find one place but the tea is bitter and the ambiance somewhat gloomy. We finish up in the dreaded Cafe Coffee Day with its vastly overpriced beverages and non existent wi-fi. It is somewhere clean and cool to work on a plan.

Siliguri seems to lack cultural delights. The Annual Flower Show ended on Monday. Looking at the ratings sites everything happens along the Sevoke Road. Even the Big Bazaar is there. We opt for Zomato and TripAdvisor's number one pick, a restopub called Hashtag. The suburban transport system here takes the form of an endless supply of share autos running fixed routes that can be flagged down anywhere. Currently these are all full so we have to take a regular auto. Not only are we ripped off but D has to navigate.

Hashtag describes itself as " Like Never Before. A Vintage Themed RestoPub". So how does that work then? We take a lift to the top floor of a very empty Shopping Mall. The entrance to the place is gloomy but it is brighter inside. Staff outnumber customers 3 to 1, there are big screens showing cricket and music playing louder than it needs to be in the afternoon. We order. When the drinks arrive D knows that it is the wrong place for us. The beers are in the weedy 'Pint' servings, 330 ml to be precise, that we normally cross the street to avoid. R likes her fresh lime soda and the peanuts but the end comes for her when a man walks across the room to turn the music volume up even more. We know that we can do better.

This time we get a share auto no bother which takes us further away from the city to the Cindrella Hotel. We know this place from our first trip to India and again last year when we stayed. There is a wedding set-up being dismantled on the lawn and a host of glum faced people sitting in reception, looking like they are waiting for transport. All par for the course here. We inquire about getting a beer and a waiter is summoned to guide us to the roof terrace. Proper sized Kingfishers arrive with acceptable peanuts and we sit back to chill and watch the birds.

At 4 p.m. the restaurant switches to a South Indian menu and we migrate there in order to have a late lunch/early supper. Uttapam for R, dhosa for D. Both delicious and just what we need. The service is spot on and the loos are spot less. The Cindrella really is a class act. It is starting to get dark so we take another share auto back to town. The price seems to have gone up since last year but still good value. We take a last wander through the market. They always appear more exotic after dark. Our time is almost up and we find a share auto on a different route back to our luggage. As we dismount from the auto Pranab appears on the pavement and leads us to the Sumo. Bags are loaded and we make the short trip to NJP. 

Our train, 12378 Padathik Express, I'd due in 90 minutes so we find the Upper Class Waiting Room. Very clean, rodent free as far as we can tell, and even the Gents smells only of naptha. R approves. D finds a man who confirms that we are on the right platform and another who tells us that we have been allocated a two berth coupe. After a while there is an announcement that our train is thirty five minutes late. It is coming from Alipurduar, some 150 km to the east and delays seem quite common on that stretch. D has a moment of panic when a train with Alipurduar - Sealdah boards pulls in on the opposite platform but it is a different train with a different number. 

Not long afterwards our train is announced and we move out onto a very busy platform. Indicators show us where to stand for coach HA1. The approaching loco's headlight can be seen from a long way out. When it does pull into the platform there is chaotic interlude as people run to try and board the Unreserved Coaches at the front of the train. We climb on in relative serenity and make ourselves comfortable in Coupe C. The TTE checks our ticket and we lock the door. In total defiance of the rules we take a nightcap before turning in. We roll out of NJP 35 minutes late, not a bad result. Whilst on the platform we heard an announcement about a Dibrugarh - Delhi train which was described as "running indefinite late".