ASIA INDIA DESTINATIONS Toy
stories
Jazz up a Golden Triangle tour with a trip on India’s Toy Train, says Jenni Doggett
endless bends, through scores of tunnels, across hundreds of dizzying bridges. Now I see why it’s called the Toy Train – you don’t have to be an anorak to be utterly charmed by its modest carriages and quaint, out-of-the-way stations. We’re on our way to Shimla, the city set in the foothills of the Himalayas and one-time summer retreat for British colonials escaping the intense heat of Calcutta and Delhi. But it feels more like being transported to a different era. The proximity of the seating sets a cordial tone, and everyone smiles as we pull away from the station. Before long we’re swapping seats and sharing food with fellow passengers in a way that would be unimaginable to most Brits. This Unesco-listed narrow- gauge train, officially called the Shivalik Express from Kalka to Shimla, is an extraordinarily ambitious exercise in engineering, climbing more than 7,000 feet up into the Sivalik Hills in far-north India. With a gentle pace, there’s plenty of time to absorb the spectacular scenery – a grand panorama of thickly forested
O
ur little train trundles along faithfully around
mountains and seemingly bottomless valleys. A local honeymooning couple lean out, selfie-ing the ride away. The rest of us settle for opening the windows wide and relishing the cool alpine breeze, feeling the shift in altitude as the temperature dips and the tree scents change. Add to that the smell of spice, as a man bearing a metal bucket full of ingredients for chana masala rattles along the train, serving chickpeas, tomatoes, onions and lemon dressing in a small paper bowl with a leaf for a spoon. Simple but authentic, and considerably better value than British Rail.
w TRAVEL TALES The Toy Train is one of the undisputed highlights of Great Rail Journeys’ tour of India’s Golden Triangle, but we’re lucky enough to have local academic and author Raaja Bhasin along for the ride too. He is the rail specialist’s
captivating guest speaker for the Shimla portion of the tour – a great selling point for those wondering why it’s worth taking a tour rather than going it alone – and narrates our journey with an insightful history of
15 February 2018
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