Day One/Two – The Midnight Express 🚆

After our lively initiation in Delhi, we met up with the rest of our intrepid explorers for a briefing on what lay ahead. Then, at 6 p.m., we said farewell to our ‘grand’ hotel (it was anything but grand!) and made our way to Delhi train station to catch the overnight sleeper to Pathankot.

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A Different World

Blimey — what an eye-opener into a completely different way of life. The sheer number of people is extraordinary. It feels like the whole of Delhi moves through that station at once!

The platform was everything we expected: huge, noisy, chaotic, and absolutely alive with energy (and a lot of rats)…When our train finally rolled in, we hauled ourselves — and our bags — aboard to find our berths for the night.

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All Aboard the Sleeper Train

Let’s just say it was… an experience!

Each of us had a bunk (complete with an “upgrade” of a sheet, pillow, and blanket). Debs and Traysi even had the pleasure of two friendly Indian chaps in the bunks above them, who serenaded the carriage with a full night of snoring all the way to Pathankot.

Throughout the night, vendors wandered the aisles selling Nescafé, dosas, and just about anything else you could imagine, while kids played video games into the early hours. Between the constant motion, chatter, and clatter, sleep was something of a luxury!

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Arrival in Pathankot

We finally arrived in Pathankot at 3:50 a.m., greeted by scenes that can only be described as slightly apocalyptic. Crowds, noise, dust, cranes, diggers, lack of pavements — all blurring together in the early morning haze. From there, we began our slow and bumpy three-hour journey to McLeod Ganj, winding steadily up towards the foothills of the Himalayas.

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Closer to the Mountains

Seven hundred kilometres later, the landscape has changed completely. The air feels cooler, the roads twist and climb, and we can see the outlines of the Himalayas growing larger with every turn.

It’s been a long, sleepless, unforgettable night — and the adventure has truly begun.

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P.S. Your encouragement means the world to us. Every “Go on, girls!” and every pound you’ve donated keeps us going — especially after nights like this one! 💛

Please donate at Macmillan Cancer Support and/or The British Heart Foundation.