February 24 - 26, 2006 - Cochin to Delhi
For the next 3 days, I traveled via train from southern India to northern India. Once again, I had lost track of the dates. It was truly amazing how time just slipped away without me even being aware of it.
On the train journey from Cochin to Delhi, I saw lots (thousands) of people living in less-than-shacks along the rail tracks. What a life these people lead. Just living! Day to day. No purpose to life. Survival is their life. Sometimes they were working in their fields or tending their cattle or sheep or goats. Sometimes they were making bricks or fuel from cow dung. They would sit by the railroad tracks or sift through the trash that was thrown off the train. (The trash was taken by the train employees from the waste bins and just tossed out the windows of the moving train.)
The train ride was an experience in itself. When the seven of us (me, Betty, Rick, Susan, Debbie, Angela and Paul) arrived at the train station in Cochin, two porters came to help us with our gear. (I now had three bags: my backpack, my camera bag and a duffel bag I bought in Cochin holding all of my purchases.) Together, we had so much stuff that we needed a huge cart to hold all of our baggage. We went to the area of the train platform where our bogie, or sleeping car, was going to be and had to wait about an hour for the train to arrive.
On the train journey from Cochin to Delhi, I saw lots (thousands) of people living in less-than-shacks along the rail tracks. What a life these people lead. Just living! Day to day. No purpose to life. Survival is their life. Sometimes they were working in their fields or tending their cattle or sheep or goats. Sometimes they were making bricks or fuel from cow dung. They would sit by the railroad tracks or sift through the trash that was thrown off the train. (The trash was taken by the train employees from the waste bins and just tossed out the windows of the moving train.)
The train ride was an experience in itself. When the seven of us (me, Betty, Rick, Susan, Debbie, Angela and Paul) arrived at the train station in Cochin, two porters came to help us with our gear. (I now had three bags: my backpack, my camera bag and a duffel bag I bought in Cochin holding all of my purchases.) Together, we had so much stuff that we needed a huge cart to hold all of our baggage. We went to the area of the train platform where our bogie, or sleeping car, was going to be and had to wait about an hour for the train to arrive.
.
Page from my journal illustrating the sleeping arrangements.
The porters brought all of our baggage on board and put it in our compartment. We had seven berths: 19 through 24, which were all in one compartment, and 43. There was a bit of sadness that someone from our little group was going to be separated from the rest of our group, and originally that person was me. My ticket said I was in berth 43, which was all the way in the front of the car, three compartments away. While I was very unhappy about this, it became totally unacceptable when I discovered that my compartment-mates were all men. At this point, Rick graciously said he would take berth 43.
We were in first class, which, on this particular train, looked to be lower than the cattle car if were were traveling in America. None of the compartments in our car -- or in the entire train, for that matter -- had doors; instead, each compartment could be closed off from the corridor with heavy curtains, which during the day were pulled back. Since this doesn’t offer much in the way of safety, we kept our baggage locked to our berths. As the train was pulling out of the station, the porter gave each of us bedding and a hand towel, as well as the requisite roll of toilet paper consisting of about 40 square sheets (but at least it was soft). The upper berths in our compartment were stationary, but the lower ones turned into bench seats during the day. Our window had a yellow tint – probably to keep the sun out, or maybe the glass was just really old and yellowed. The a/c was really good on the train, so at least it was cool.
Our car had a total of four toilets: two squat toilets at one end; one squat and one Western at the other end. Each toilet also had a tiny sink and a mirror. The toilets were already dirty when we boarded the train, and it didn’t look like the seat on the Western toilet had ever been cleaned.
During our 3 day/2 night journey, we entertained ourselves by reading, doing crossword puzzles, playing cards and playing games. We played charades, Password and another game in which someone names a category (such as food or actors) and then each person gives a word that starts with a specific letter from the alphabet -- kind of like Scattergories. We also sang quite a lot of songs on the train, which always attracted the attention of the Indians, who would then walk from the second- or third-class cars to stand by our first-class compartment and stare at us.
We were in first class, which, on this particular train, looked to be lower than the cattle car if were were traveling in America. None of the compartments in our car -- or in the entire train, for that matter -- had doors; instead, each compartment could be closed off from the corridor with heavy curtains, which during the day were pulled back. Since this doesn’t offer much in the way of safety, we kept our baggage locked to our berths. As the train was pulling out of the station, the porter gave each of us bedding and a hand towel, as well as the requisite roll of toilet paper consisting of about 40 square sheets (but at least it was soft). The upper berths in our compartment were stationary, but the lower ones turned into bench seats during the day. Our window had a yellow tint – probably to keep the sun out, or maybe the glass was just really old and yellowed. The a/c was really good on the train, so at least it was cool.
Our car had a total of four toilets: two squat toilets at one end; one squat and one Western at the other end. Each toilet also had a tiny sink and a mirror. The toilets were already dirty when we boarded the train, and it didn’t look like the seat on the Western toilet had ever been cleaned.
During our 3 day/2 night journey, we entertained ourselves by reading, doing crossword puzzles, playing cards and playing games. We played charades, Password and another game in which someone names a category (such as food or actors) and then each person gives a word that starts with a specific letter from the alphabet -- kind of like Scattergories. We also sang quite a lot of songs on the train, which always attracted the attention of the Indians, who would then walk from the second- or third-class cars to stand by our first-class compartment and stare at us.
The food was awful on the train, but the man selling it was very nice. He liked us and came by often. We bought a lot of cups of chai from him and an occasional coffee. I ordered dinner the first night on the train and, like I said, it was terrible. I didn’t order breakfast or lunch the next day, but I did order dinner at one of our stops. I got off the train and got some biriyani, which had some kind of unidentifiable meat in it. Pretty disgusting stuff!! Dinner served on the train was again horrible.
Then the roaches suddenly appeared; they were everywhere! Not huge ones; the biggest was only about ¾ inch. Plus, baby roaches were all over the place. The toilets were the worst, especially at the “squat only” end of the train. We killed so many roaches that I lost my appetite and decided not to order any more train food for the rest of the journey. I ate cookies and Jolly Ranchers and Starburst. (Thank you, Betty!) At one point, we brought out a huge plastic canister of Cheese Balls and started eating them. Betty, who was sitting on the top berth, had the jar and accidentally dropped it onto the floor of the train, and dozens of Cheese Balls fell out. Within seconds, an army of minute, baby roaches swarmed over the Cheese Balls. Needless to say, this was one case where the 5-second rule did NOT apply.
Then the roaches suddenly appeared; they were everywhere! Not huge ones; the biggest was only about ¾ inch. Plus, baby roaches were all over the place. The toilets were the worst, especially at the “squat only” end of the train. We killed so many roaches that I lost my appetite and decided not to order any more train food for the rest of the journey. I ate cookies and Jolly Ranchers and Starburst. (Thank you, Betty!) At one point, we brought out a huge plastic canister of Cheese Balls and started eating them. Betty, who was sitting on the top berth, had the jar and accidentally dropped it onto the floor of the train, and dozens of Cheese Balls fell out. Within seconds, an army of minute, baby roaches swarmed over the Cheese Balls. Needless to say, this was one case where the 5-second rule did NOT apply.
During the day, Rick spent most of his time in our compartment. As I mentioned, there was no door, only the curtain to close us off from the corridor. When our curtain was open, every man who just "happened" to walk by paused at our compartment to look at us. They were not shy about it either. Even at night, they opened our curtain and peered in. I don’t know if they were being rude, curious, or just checking if it was their compartment. There was no way to tell which compartment was yours when all the curtains were closed because there were no berth numbers in the corridor. Several times during the night I accidentally went into someone else’s compartment thinking it was mine!
The first night’s sleep on the train was very smooth, and I slept fairly well, though my back and hips hurt and that kept waking me up. The second night was very bumpy, and I had to take some Oxycontin for my back and hip pain.
At the end of my first-class train car was a lovely Indian family – a young mother and father with a baby girl about eight or nine months old, and, I'm assuming, the baby’s grandparents. I smiled at the mother several times on my way back and forth to the toilet, and I finally struck up a conversation with her, though very limited due to her lack of English. She let me “gush” over her baby and made the baby shake my hand. The baby was adorable and not at all frightened of me. She did not cry, at least that I heard, on the entire 48-hour trip. Right before the train pulled into Delhi, I spoke to the entire family. The husband runs a travel company and he gave me his business card.
During the last day on the train, a man came into our compartment and just plopped himself down. He introduced himself as Stephen Joseph and gave us each his business card. For some reason he seemed to latch onto me. (This always happens to me in foreign countries. A man or boy starts talking to me and then falls in love with me. I have had many of them call, email and write to me for years after I've returned home.) Anyways, I learned that the man from the train was a genetic researcher and was going to Delhi for a three-day symposium. He has three children and a wife and is from Kerala. He got up and left our compartment after spending about 30 minutes with us, but returned a short time later with a copy of a medical journal he publishes. He gave me a copy and pointed out a particular article to me about a 56-year old woman who gave birth. I’m not sure why he should have given this to me!
As we got closer to the Delhi train station, the train porters came through our car to collect our bedding and towels. We were missing one of the hand towels, and the porters were making a big deal of it. My traveling companions and I searched high and low, but we couldn’t find it. We were informed that we would need to pay two rupees (about 4½ cents) to replace it. Shortly after it became missing, two policemen with rifles came walking through our car and stopped to look into our compartment. My traveling companions and I had a good laugh as we joked that they were on the felonious hunt for a missing hand towel. Ha-ha! Then, presto! Susan opened her luggage and there was the towel. We turned it in and saved ourselves the 2 rupees.
The first night’s sleep on the train was very smooth, and I slept fairly well, though my back and hips hurt and that kept waking me up. The second night was very bumpy, and I had to take some Oxycontin for my back and hip pain.
At the end of my first-class train car was a lovely Indian family – a young mother and father with a baby girl about eight or nine months old, and, I'm assuming, the baby’s grandparents. I smiled at the mother several times on my way back and forth to the toilet, and I finally struck up a conversation with her, though very limited due to her lack of English. She let me “gush” over her baby and made the baby shake my hand. The baby was adorable and not at all frightened of me. She did not cry, at least that I heard, on the entire 48-hour trip. Right before the train pulled into Delhi, I spoke to the entire family. The husband runs a travel company and he gave me his business card.
During the last day on the train, a man came into our compartment and just plopped himself down. He introduced himself as Stephen Joseph and gave us each his business card. For some reason he seemed to latch onto me. (This always happens to me in foreign countries. A man or boy starts talking to me and then falls in love with me. I have had many of them call, email and write to me for years after I've returned home.) Anyways, I learned that the man from the train was a genetic researcher and was going to Delhi for a three-day symposium. He has three children and a wife and is from Kerala. He got up and left our compartment after spending about 30 minutes with us, but returned a short time later with a copy of a medical journal he publishes. He gave me a copy and pointed out a particular article to me about a 56-year old woman who gave birth. I’m not sure why he should have given this to me!
As we got closer to the Delhi train station, the train porters came through our car to collect our bedding and towels. We were missing one of the hand towels, and the porters were making a big deal of it. My traveling companions and I searched high and low, but we couldn’t find it. We were informed that we would need to pay two rupees (about 4½ cents) to replace it. Shortly after it became missing, two policemen with rifles came walking through our car and stopped to look into our compartment. My traveling companions and I had a good laugh as we joked that they were on the felonious hunt for a missing hand towel. Ha-ha! Then, presto! Susan opened her luggage and there was the towel. We turned it in and saved ourselves the 2 rupees.
.
The train arrived in Delhi 30 minutes late at 4:30 p.m., 48½ hours after we left Cochin. Thank goodness that as soon as we stepped from the train there was someone to meet us. I had my backpack on my back, my camera bag strapped on my front, and my duffle bag slung over my left shoulder. We must have had to walk a mile up and down stairs to get out of the station. It felt like the billion+ people of India were all right there in the Delhi train station; there was such a crush of humanity. A couple times going down the stairs I got jostled and thought I would go tumbling down the steps. It was pretty scary. Plus, the weight of all of my gear made me feel like I was going to dislocate my shoulder.
We finally made it through the throng of people to our drivers, who were waiting to take us to the Hotel Swati Deluxe. The drive through Delhi this time was not so frightening because by then I had become accustomed to the maniacal driving.
It was a very pleasant temperature in Delhi -- probably in the 80s. Sure beats 100+ temps we just came from! The Hotel Swati Deluxe was nice enough.
We finally made it through the throng of people to our drivers, who were waiting to take us to the Hotel Swati Deluxe. The drive through Delhi this time was not so frightening because by then I had become accustomed to the maniacal driving.
It was a very pleasant temperature in Delhi -- probably in the 80s. Sure beats 100+ temps we just came from! The Hotel Swati Deluxe was nice enough.
.
Our new leader was Chandrajeet, or "Chandra" for short, and he met us in the lobby of our hotel. After completing the requisite paperwork, I went to my room. The first thing I did was take a shower to wash off 48 hours of train grime. Second order of business was to send my filthy clothes to the laundry.
At 6:30 p.m. we met our new traveling companions. I now had a roommate: LouAnn. She looked to be about my age and was from Pennsylvania. The other two people who joined us were recent college graduates from Birmingham, England. They were James and Pete – two very nice young men.
We had our group “meeting” on the rooftop of the hotel, where there was a very nice terrace. It was breezy and almost chilly. Chandra, originally from Pakistan, told us about himself, including that he had five wives and seven children. I was flabbergasted!! Chandra then placed around each of our necks a garland of flowers saying that was the Indian tradition of welcoming visitors.
We walked to a restaurant a few doors down from the hotel for dinner. I had garlic naan, a leavened, oven-baked flatbread, and palek paneer, an Indian dish consisting of spinach and paneer cheese in a curry sauce, plus a fresh lime soda. I didn’t have much of an appetite despite the delicious food. That night I had a difficult time sleeping; probably the bed is not hard enough. Lol!
At 6:30 p.m. we met our new traveling companions. I now had a roommate: LouAnn. She looked to be about my age and was from Pennsylvania. The other two people who joined us were recent college graduates from Birmingham, England. They were James and Pete – two very nice young men.
We had our group “meeting” on the rooftop of the hotel, where there was a very nice terrace. It was breezy and almost chilly. Chandra, originally from Pakistan, told us about himself, including that he had five wives and seven children. I was flabbergasted!! Chandra then placed around each of our necks a garland of flowers saying that was the Indian tradition of welcoming visitors.
We walked to a restaurant a few doors down from the hotel for dinner. I had garlic naan, a leavened, oven-baked flatbread, and palek paneer, an Indian dish consisting of spinach and paneer cheese in a curry sauce, plus a fresh lime soda. I didn’t have much of an appetite despite the delicious food. That night I had a difficult time sleeping; probably the bed is not hard enough. Lol!