Matheran

Our second weekend adventure was to a hill station near Mumbai called Matheran. Hill stations are little towns in the mountains where people go to escape city life. Perfect for us! And Matheran is unique in that no cars are allowed, and the only way up the mountain is to take a minibus part of the way and then walk, or to take a steam-powered train (called a toy train).

We decided to go for the full adventure experience and take the toy train, but our journey to Neral Junction, where the train departs for Matheran, was a major headache. The plan was to take the train from Pune to Karjat, take a rickshaw from Karjat to Neral, and then the toy train to Matheran. We waited at the Pune train station for a long time, hoping our train number would show up on the board. While we waited little children bathed in front of me, and a strange man smoking an unknown substance tried to touch all of our feet. Finally we discovered that the train had been canceled. Oh, India! We eventually found a taxi driver to take us the 3 hours to Neral, but not before Cait almost got hit by a bus, we made a number of phone calls from an STD booth, and I insisted on buying a Pepsi in a glass bottle to calm my nerves.

We finally got to Neral, boarded the toy train, and after another long wait, the train was off. The train takes about 2 hours to travel 21 km. It goes really sloooooooow. But here's why. It's climbing a freaking mountain! According to my guidebook, "the track has no fewer than 281 curves, said to be among the sharpest on any railway in the world." Let me tell you, I was pretty glad it was going so slow. When we arrived in Matheran it was dark, and there were MONKEYS all over the train platform.

This is getting a little long, so I won't bore you with details about the Hotel Woodlands and its delicious food and lovely views but slightly stained sheets. Or the guided horseback ride we took in the morning to Porcupine Point. Or our messy, muddy walk through town in the pouring rain. Or our hours-long delay at Karjat Junction and our train ride back to Pune on a sleeper car. Just trust me, it was an adventure!