Once again we had taxi driver dramas so we left 2 hours later than planned.
Community housing India style ...
Only one ticket counter was open at Matheran and in my eagerness to get tickets I sent Dave into the queue. First class tickets are hand written into a book and the tickets adorned with writing and several stamps. Our dearly departed brother Ross would have enjoyed this meticulous work. When I looked at the tickets I realised they were for the wrong destination. After lunch Dave was able to exchange these, for an additional fee.
The Neral-Matheran narrow guage train takes 2 hours to make its way up or down the hill. The views were spectacular. We shared our compartment with a family from Bombay; he drives Bombay metropolitan trains, she is engineer and the children are also studying engineering. After Neral it was a 2 hour or so drive back to Bombay.
Community housing India style ...
The driver took us to Matheran, a small hill station established by the British during their rule to escape the summer heat. No cars are allowed in Matheran, to reach you must walk, ride a horse or get pulled by 3 men in a handcart for the last very steep 3 km. We took 5 horses (Steven was with Dave). Now the kids and Dave are naturals at riding but I am a first class wuss who had never riden a horse. I spent the entire ride worrying that the horse would either buckle under my weight or trip on the slippery rocks. I somehow made it! Dave thought the $40 price tag was worth it just to see my scared face!
Only one ticket counter was open at Matheran and in my eagerness to get tickets I sent Dave into the queue. First class tickets are hand written into a book and the tickets adorned with writing and several stamps. Our dearly departed brother Ross would have enjoyed this meticulous work. When I looked at the tickets I realised they were for the wrong destination. After lunch Dave was able to exchange these, for an additional fee.
The Neral-Matheran narrow guage train takes 2 hours to make its way up or down the hill. The views were spectacular. We shared our compartment with a family from Bombay; he drives Bombay metropolitan trains, she is engineer and the children are also studying engineering. After Neral it was a 2 hour or so drive back to Bombay.
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