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India 2004
I've always associated India with railways, and
so my
'theme' for this journey was travel by train. Using a combination of
good books and an incredibly helpful specialist travel agent in London,
I managed to plan and book my route and tickets months ahead. Athough
this gave
me little flexability as i travelled around India, it did mean that I
could visit what I considered to be every major highlight of a huge
country in a relatively short space of time.
The following travelogue is written pretty much
word for word from the diary I kept at the time.
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Wed
07/01/04
I checked out of the hotel, at lunchtime, and caught a rickshaw into
New Delhi train station, where I sorted everything out. My train to
Calcutta wasn't due to leave until 17.00, so I went into the station
restaurant for a bite to eat. Eating and drinking just isn't the same
if it's not off a dirty, chipped and greasy plate with a filthy cup!
After my stomach problem inviting meal, I checked on the train time
again, to find that it had been delayed until 22.40. Bugger! Just like
being in England! Still, it gave me plenty of time to observe railway
life.
The days observation - It seems to be fashionable for the locals to put
camoflage covers on their suitcases!
Got talking to a Canadian, German and Estonian who were also stranded,
but got on the train at last. I shared the compartment with a korean
guy who could speak little English, but that was ok, as I could only
speak a little Korean (pretty limited to Tae-Kwon-Do fighting stance
phrases which were of little use!). I made the bed up, and at 22.40
exactly, the train got going.
Thur 08/01/04
Well, it turned out to be quite a long train ride... nearly 24 hours in
the end, although I did sleep remarkably well. Got to Howrah (Calcutta
station) at 21.30, and as I hadn't sorted out anywhere to sleep, I
decided to stay in the Yatri Niwas.
 The
Yatri Niwas is described as the 'new' style of railway sleeping rooms.
A bit of an eye opener! There was five to a dorm, as you can see,
although miraculously, I escaped bug free. Still, at just over a pound
a night, what more could i expect! I had a train booked for the
following night, so the next day was my site seeing day. I got my head
down, and joined in the snoring contest with an assortment of Indian
businessmen.
Fri 09/01/04
Had a shave, cold shower, used the squat toilet and checked out. I
dumped my bag in the cloakroom of the railway station, and had some
breakfast, before taking a walk over the Howrah bridge and into
Calcutta itself. It seems a bit more laid back than Delhi, but it was
odd to see the pavement barbers, people washing clothes in open drains
and having showers from hoses etc. That's proper living on the streets,
unlike the collection of junkies and winos who claim themselves
homeless in England.
I had a pretty good day in Calcutta, which was not quite as frantic as
Delhi, and even had proper roads in places!
The Victoria Memorial was interesting, documenting events from early
European involvement up until the present day. After visiting there,
and sitting in the peaceful park, I went into Sudder Street which is
the backpackers hangout. I don't understand why fifty percent of them
seem to have this near desperation to dress so deliberately scuzzy. By
trying to wear the cheapest local clothes and not washing for four
days, it's like they are mirroring the poorest street living people,
which is a little bit sick. Anyone with half a brain can see that there
are real problems with poverty here, and it's like some awful joke that
these people (all from middle class back grounds!!) are trying to look
as poor as them. Went to a typical backpackers cafe, and saw several
people waiting for their 2rs change (about 5 pence!) Shoot me if I ever
get like that! Wandered back over to the station, and caught the train
to Puri.
Sat 10/01/04
Another interesting night on the train! Surrounded by the
sterio-typical lower-middle class Indian family with annoying small
child and four suitcases each! However, as it had been a long day, I
managed to get a good nights sleep, despite being directly under the
air conditioning unit.
I arrived at Puri, and met up again with a Cuban, Pole and Spaniard
whom I had been talking to the previous night in the station. We
decided to share a couple of rickshaws between us, and had a look at a
couple of guesthouses. Some were a bit naff, so I settled on the Hotel
Derby, which was a bit more expensive than the others, but did have
cable TV. As it was the morning when I checked in, I had breakfast up
on the veranda in the beautifully warm sun and ate breakfast looking
out onto the ocean, wondering where it all went wrong!
I went out onto the beach, which was reasonable with lots of fishing
vessels. It was a lovely day, and after a wander along the sand, it was
obviously time for another meal, so i had a veg curry in one of the
cafes and watched the world go by. I think that the western travellers
are just as interesting to look at as the inhabitants of Puri. Well
over fifty percent of them fell into the 'alternative, trying to find
myself' category. Then you had the aging hippy trying to relive their
youth brigade. There are always a couple of Japanese tourists of
course, and also one Western Hare Krishna, who judging by the looks the
locals were giving him, was considered a bit odd by more people than
just me.
I got a bicycle rickshaw into the centre of Puri, where I walked around
a temple and took a few photos. I booked an autorickshaw to take me to
Konark the Sun Temple the following day, and had an early night in
front of the TV. Saw a very large rat wander around my room. Marvelous
stuff.
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