Train-ing

The hardest part of our trip so far has been transportation between cities. We have relied almost exclusively on trains thus far. The first adventure was getting from Delhi to Sawai Modhopur. We tried to act tough at the Delhi train station as people in red jackets kept trying to grab our bags. Little did we know that they were licensed porters who are actually very helpful at making sure you are standing in the right place and getting on the right train. We could have used their help; though we didn't in Delhi. Instead, being the only westerners on the train platform we relied instead on walking up to wealthier looking Indians to ask if they spoke english and could point us the right way. Finally, one of them went over and asked a porter who ultimately directed us. Now we trust the porters. A tip of 10 rupees (~25 cents) per bag gets us just where we need to be.

The other lesson is on the different classes of trains. There is ordinary class, which looks just like the movies where there are people smashed in like cattle, first class, AC second class, AC third class, non AC sleeper, two tier compartments, three tier compartments...Regardless they are all packed with people. Though you think you have an assigned seat, there really aren't assigned seats...the faster you move, the better seat you get. We made the mistake of not stretching out on our assigned seats, so others would just crowd in and sit next to us. The smart people stretch out at the stops and act asleep so that no one will sit near them.

On one trip that lasted a mere hour, we paid about $1 for our train ticket and then someone from our hotel helped us bribe a conductor to sit in a first class cabin. We wound up paying about $20 for the first class bunk - all of which went straight into the pocket of the conductor. Erin asked for a receipt -- he looked at me and laughed.

On our trip from Bundi to Jaipur, we bought a ticket for an ordinary train, there was not first or second class. We wound up sitting in a pair of benches with 5 other men for the first part (3.5 hours) of the trip. It was quite crowded. On the second leg, we noticed a first class car on the train, so we just walked into a cabin and sat down. Figuring a twenty dollar bribe would be worth the seat for the next three hours. Turns out we got an honest conductor who sold us the seat for an additional $6. 7 hours on the train, 3.5 hours of which was first class cost a total of $7. I think we're starting to get the hang of it.

The trash in India is amazing as well. While it is a beautiful country, it is very polluted and there is trash everywhere. On the train you could see trash all over the tracks. While waiting between two cars to get off the train, we saw how much of the trash gets on the tracks. There was a stack of food trays near the door to the "dining" car loaded with used aluminum trays, napkins, and other trash. An attendant squatted next to the trays and proceeded to dump the contents of each tray through a crack between the cars, right onto the tracks. Similar in the bathroom on the trains where you look down the hole of the toilet and see the tracks moving by underneath. It all starts coming together....