This weekend, I went to a Hill Station called Matheran (which when said in an Indian accent sounds a bit like Matalan :)). Hill Stations are effectively resorts out in the countryside, Matheran is unique in that it (blissfully) doesn’t allow cars so you get the clearest air in the area. To begin with I had to get local trains for about 3 hours, getting Indian trains is an experience but kinda fun because you feel like a celebrity, everyone stares a bit if you’re white.
I arrived at Neral, the closest train station, where I took a rickshaw up a windy hill road reminiscent of a black ski run I did in Chamonix. (The James Bond one, Mark 
) The rickshaws aren’t allowed in so you get dropped about 4km from the actual site. From there your only options are to walk, get pulled in an old school human-powered rickshaw, or get a horse.
The horse people start hassling you as soon as you enter, you don’t even need to haggle since there are always about three or four of them and they keep trying to undercut each other. Eventually, I took pity on one, since the horses I could see around me were strong and well-fed and in the distant past I have actually ridden horses so I though why not. As soon as I agreed, instead of motioning towards one of the big healthy animals around me, the horse guy ran away into a nearby paddock and came back with CHAMPION THE WONDERPONY. The thing was barely taller than my shoulder.
Unfortunately he wasn’t having any of my protests, so I end up sat on this tiny horse with everyone I pass laughing at me from their impressive mounts.
Champion wheezes his way to the top of the mountain and I’m deposited in Matheran to run the gauntlet of the vendors and guys on commission to one or other of the hotels.
I find my own hotel (hah!, no-one’s getting any commission out of me today) and meet a couple of chaps who I spend the evening with, they were from California, although one was originally from Mumbai and had moved to America about 7 years ago. They showed me how to play a game called Carobs (or something like that) which is a kind of cross between Tiddleywinks, Air Hockey and Snooker. We had an excellent dinner in the hotel and then got up early the next morning to watch the sun come up.
Before breakfast we went for a walk to see a few of the different views and features of Matheran. Including the everpresent monkeys.
After breakfast I said goodbye to my new friends and went for a long walk around Matheran, before heading home.
On the way back I got stuck in Kalyan Junction because of Muslim protests against the Danish cartoons, lucky no-one clocked I was white.
Posted by: Steve
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noitinerary in India