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Log of Travel in India
When I visited Thailand in 2007 -- language, literature, culture, religeon, I found so many aspects of this country are highly influenced by India. Since that, India had been a must-go place for me.
My chance of traveling India came true as a business trip. The duration of the stay was two months. While my co-workers were not willing to go, only me wanted to get the chance. I also would like to experience working abroad and living in a foreign country.
My workplace in India was in Pune, Maharashtra, the eighth largest city in India. The work there itself was so hard that I had to often work in weekend. During such busyness, I had two occasions to travel by myself.
This travel log only includes such solitary travels. I excluded some excursions to nearby forts and shopping malls with my co-workers.
Index
- Itineraries
- Map
- Tour 1: Aganta ~ Ellora (1 day)
- Tour 2: Delhi ~ Bodh Gaya ~ Varanasi ~ Agra (4 days)
- Postface
Itineraries
There are two travel logs. Click a date to jump to the log of the day.
Tour 1: Aganta ~ Ellora (1 day)
| 10 Dec '11 | Pune 23:10 (prev day) --- (midnight bus) --- 05:00 Aurangabad 05:45 --- (local bus) --- 08:15 Ajanta (Sightsee Ajanta) 11:00 --- (local bus) --- 14:00 Aurangabad 14:00--- (local bus) --- 15:00 Ellora (Sightsee Ellora) --- 18:30 (share jeep) --- 19:30 Aurangabad (visited Gopal's place) 20:30 --- (midnight bus) --- 01:30 (next day) Pune |
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Tour 2: Delhi ~ Bodh Gaya ~ Varanasi ~ Agra (4 days)
| 23 Dec | Pune Lohegaon Airport (PNQ) 07:00 === (SG208) === 09:05 Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) --- (metro) --- Delhi (Sightsee Delhi) --- New Delhi (NDLS) 16:20 --- Poova Exp (12382) --- |
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| 24 Dec | --- 09:13 Gaya Jn (GAYA) --- (auto rickshaw) --- Bodh Gaya (Sightsee Bodh Gaya) --- (motorbike) --- Gaya Jn (GAYA) 18:51 --- Koaa Asr Supre (12357) --- 21:05 Mughal Sarai Junction (MGS) --- (auto rickshaw) --- Sankatha Guest House (stay) |
| 25 Dec | Varanasi (Sightsee Varanasi) --- (cycle rickshaw) --- Sarnath (Sightsee Sarnath) --- (auto rickshaw) --- Varanasi Jn 17:20 --- Marudhar Express (14853) --- |
| 26 Dec | --- 05:55 Agra Fort (AF) --- Agra (Sightsee Agra) --- Agra Cantt (AGC) 13:45 --- Samta Express (12807) --- 16:45 Hazrat Nizamuddin (NZM) --- (taxi) --- Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) 20:25 === (SG219) === 22:30 Pune Lohegaon Airport (PNQ) |
Map
(Sorry, Under Construction...)
Tour 1: Aganta ~ Ellora (1 day)
10 Dec 2011 (Sat)
Bus Service Skipped Me
I asked a hotel front staff for a rickshaw to take me to the midnight bus boarding point, Sangamwadi-Moze Parking No.1. I paid Rs150 including midnight charge. Since that moment I was thrown away to a different environment; People are all local Indians, everything written in Devanagari. Waited for a while, a staff told me the bus came, but the bus attendant said my ticket was for another bus. I asked the same to the different bus attendants and drivers and found my bus was not there. I asked the ticket office person, he called my bus company and found my bus skipped picking up me and already headed to next stops. I found I had no way but to go back to hotel giving up the trip.
Eventually, he asked one of the different bus staffs to let me get in the bus. I felt relieved finally even it was not a sleeper bus. After a while the bus staff told me to change to a sleeper bus waiting in front of the bus. I finally ended up finding a sleeper bus but seemed different than my booking. From beginning of the trip, I had to experience the difference than a comfortable well-prepared tour by an expensive agency. The sleeper was so air-conditioned than I almost feel ill.
Cold Deccan Morning
The bus arrived at somewhere not the center of the city. One passenger was a tour agent (Baba Tours & Travels) and told me to use a car to Ajanta for Rs2000. I declined insisted to go by local bus, so he told me to bring me to the bus terminal, which he said 4km away for Rs150. I felt so cold and it was dark and found no way so I decided to ride his rickshaw. He obviously made detour but arrived at the terminal. I paid Rs150 and got off. Was a bad experience. I hate such a tour agent.
The Aurangabad bus terminal was filled with homeless people and local people waiting for a bus in the night. I asked a ticket officer and showed me a bus to Ajanta. It was still before six o'clock when the bus left. An attendant came and I paid Rs100 for the ticket (even the ticket was Rs91; they hate returning changes). The bus window was broken and cold air kept coming in to freeze my left shoulder. I saw the moon setting west of the Deccan and after a while at seven o'clock the sun rose in the east. It didn't get hot soon. The biggest mistake I made was I left fleece at my hotel room.
Energetic Ajanta Tour
I was the only one passenger who got off at T-junction station. A souvenir staff invited me into a shopping plaza and showed his shop selling stone sculptures. There were some restaurants as well. I had no time so I passed the plaza and hurried to the shuttle bus station. At the station were many school-excursion kids sitting orderly. In a bus, I was with three Koreans who work at Toshiba in Hyderabad and having one-day tour by plane. Arrived the cave site at 8:40 but had to wait until the ticket office opened at 9:00. Soon after I got ticket I hurried climbing up to the cave one to avoid the school kids. I soon felt hot and became energetic. Cave No.1 was one of the highlights of Ajanta with its famous Buddha paintings, but I escaped the cave shortly to avoid people. My strategy was right. I could comfortably enjoy the other caves almost exclusively without other visitors. The paintings remain in well condition until now. Sculpture look holy and even fantastic reflecting illumination and sun lights. Every room has Buddha and several rooms for meditation.
I stayed only one and half hour but I enjoyed the caves and scenery very much. I should have spent more time here for praying. After visiting the all 26 caves I walked across the river but went back to the shuttle bus station without finding the Ajanta viewpoint. I was in a hurry because I thought they have only one bus per hour to Aurangabad. At the shuttle bus station I found two Indians singing Ashita ga arusa, a famous Japanese song. I sang with him Ue wo muite Arukou and Banzai. No sooner had the shuttle bus came than the school kids rushed into the bus pushing away me and other people waited before. The singing man thankfully pushed me into the bus from driver's door. In the bus, kids came to front deck and imitated driving. The teachers didn't manage kids at all.
Tough Moving from Ajanta to Ellora
When I arrived at T-junction, a bus just passed me by. An Ajanta photobook seller told the station is 1km away from the point. When I was walking, a rickshaw came to me and asked to bring me to the bus terminal for Rs50. I knew it was expensive but I agreed. When the rickshaw reached the bus stop, another bus to Aurangabad was just about to leave there. The attendant guy was the same person as the one who was on the bus to Ajanta. I shook hand with him. I was pushed on to the front seat next to the driver. On the way back it was very hot. I could enjoy the rural scenery continuing 100km to Aurangabad. I saw many vegetable fields and animals led by farmers on the way. But I was sleeping most of the time.
When arrived at Aurangabad bus terminal, the driver asked me where to go and kindly pointed a bus to Ellora. The bus was already crowded and had no seat, but two young boys who sit together allocated me space to sit down. A female attendant was so organized that when I paid Rs100 she smiled and returned me the change Rs.78 accurately. I enjoyed the way to Ellora talking with them. They guided me sightseeing places around the way including Daulatabad and a Hindi temple. At Ellora again only me got off so I had to go along to the front door asking passengers to make a way. After getting off, many passengers including the students waved their hands to me. It was a nice ride.
Already Tired at Ellora
When I got off the bus and walking towards the site, I found myself tired by four hour ride under the sun. I felt headache as well. I had to hang in to conquer all the caves here as well. Ellora has caves for three religions: Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. I started with Buddhism ones (Caves No.1 to No.12), which were so similar to Ajanata and I was so tired that I was less impressed by them.
Caves No.13 to 29 are Hindi. Among the all caves, the highlight of Ellora is undoubtedly Kailasanatha Temple (Cave No.16). The temple was not built from the bottom but from the top by caving the big rock downwards. The temple was not only complete as a building, all walls and roofs were decorated elaborately.
Ellora site was bigger than Ajanta. Running out water, I was so tired felt dehydrated. At Cave 17, I had to lay myself down and lean my back on the pillar of the cave for a while.
Hindi caves were obviously different than Buddhism ones. Even they were similar to Buddhism ones, as Japanese people are used to Buddha I could easily feel different atmosphere in the Hindi caves. They worship the penis of Shiva instead of Buddha!
Jain caves were 1km away from the other caves. It was already five o'clock and getting cooler so I felt less tired.
It was almost gate closing time (six o'clock) when I finished seeing Ellora. I fully enjoyed the both sites Ajanta and Ellora in a day. I could, however, have two days considering energy to examine caves one by one.
Sharing Jeep back to Aurangabad
I asked an Ellora security staff where a bus stop was and they answered 15 minute walk distant from the site. I walked along the way with anxiety with drinking a bottle of water I bought at a shop alongside. Finally I saw a small town. I asked a shop girl where is the bus stop and she answered just opposite side. I couldn't find it but I decided to wait as she told. After a while a group of people came and started to wait. A man, whose name later I know is Gopal Vaidya, said here was the bus stop. According to him local town doesn't have bus stop sign but everybody knows that a bus stops at a center of a town. What a difficult country it is to travel for a foreigner!
He was with his brother's wife and her daughter and her son (his nephews). When a rickshaw came he told me to ride on instead of waiting for a bus. The rickshaw driver said bus services finished. Of course I didn't believe the driver but I already trusted Gopal so I rode on with them. On the rickshaw he gave me a stick of sugarcane. He showed me how to bite it. I was scared about diarrhea but I tried. I soon felt well because I was tired. Sweet works on tired body and brain. After a while we changed to a share jeep heading to Aurangabad. On the jeep we looked at a lunar eclipse and took a photo. He said sharing jeep is an ordinary picture of India. I finally joined in the picture. What a memorable timing to have an eclipse!
Visiting Indian Family
He was sooo nice to suggest me to come to his place. One of the reasons was that the boarding place to a bus to Pune was very close to his place. I found him really willing to host a Japanese traveler so I thanked him and asked them to invite me. He let his relatives go to his place by a rickshaw; he and I went to his place by his motorbike. Before that he bought persimmons. I ate a piece of it (of course with a fear of diarrhea :p).
At Gopal's place, they hosted me very much. He prepared a bucket of hot water for me to take a bath, while his brother's wife and her daughter were preparing chapatti and rice. The young son was watching Doraemon and Shin-chan, which were translated into Hindi. A bathroom, a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, everyplace were inputted into me as a typical Indian home. As dinner got ready they spread a carpet and Gopal and me sat down and had dal and chapatti. It was so tasty! As I skipped lunch I finally got a nice food. As I ate well, the daughter served me dal and chapatti and rice. When I told I couldn't eat cucumber and carrot Gopal understood me and didn't care. I was really comfortable and enjoyed staying. I thank the family again!
Bus boarding place was just two minutes walk from his place! Gopal kindly took me to the place. On the way we saw many kids enjoyed in and around a local temple. He said eclipse is a good fortune and temple invited kids for celebration.
Thanks to his guide I can easily get on the bus. In the bus I found a man lying down in my sleeper. He was heading to Sangri his hometown, near the border to Karnataka. He joined Siemens this July and works in Aurangabad. I wanted to enjoy talking, but he noticed me feeling asleep. We quit talking shortly.
Got lost to the hotel
If the biggest mistake of this trip was not bringing my fleece, the second biggest mistake was not bringing whereabouts to my hotel. After getting of the bus at Sangamwadi Pune, I told a rickshaw man to go to Aundh Seasons hotel. The way was OK until Pune University, but the rickshaw went to University Road instead of Baner Road. He tried to turn left but I, without knowing we went a different way, insisted that we should turn right. Then we got lost. After getting around for a while we were at Spicer Memorial College where I had a walk to before. It was three o'clock when we arrived at the hotel. I had to pay Rs340 to the driver. According to him, a rickshaw charges double nighttime.
As he told me not having a contact to hotel was my mistake. I felt sorry for him. It was cold and I found my eyes red in my hotel room. I was sleepy on the bed but could not sleep for a while, remembering things happened in this packed day.
Tour 2: Delhi ~ Bodh Gaya ~ Varanasi ~ Agra (4 days)
23 Dec 2011 (Fri)
Moving to Delhi
When I came down to the lobby of the hotel at 4:50, a security person was catnapping on a chair covering his body with a branket. I woke him up and asked to confirm the reserved rickshaw. Rickshaw came at 5:10; I arrived at Pune Airport at 5:50. It was still dark and cold but I was not cold because I brought cloths as much as I had.
It took two hours from Pune to Delhi. It was so foggy that I felt the plane landed in the cloud. Announcement said it was seven degree Celsius, ten degrees colder than Pune.
I was at domestic Terminal 1C. I had to take a shuttle bus to Terminal 3, which has a metro station. On the way it stopped at IGI Airport station so I got off and took an Airport Metro service to Delhi.
Struggling with Waitlist
First thing I had to do was to check my train reservations. Because I booked trains just few weeks before, my three tickets among four were waitlisted.
Waitlist is a unique system of Indian Railway. Many seats are initially spared for privileged people and those who need an emergency ride. A seat chart is fixed six hours before the departure. If you are lucky you get a seat, if not, you don't get it. -- Waitlisted tickets was one of the biggest concerns in this trip from beginning to end.
Delhi Station was very crowded with travelers and merchants. The enquiry wickets had long lines of people. When I was at a loss, an Indian person talked to me and brought me to a machine of confirming tickets. Unfortunately it was broken. Then he suggested me to go to DTTDC (Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation; a government organization) at Connaught Place by rickshaw. Instead I didn't go. He was disappointed that I didn't heed his advice. I thought I could not waste time for checking anymore.
Visiting Memorials of Gandhi
It was already 11:30 when I started sightseeing. Delhi was more messy and dirty than Pune. Around the station had a smell of unine. There were many public toilet on street walls. I started walking to Gandhi Memorial Museum.
Having little pre-knowledge about Gandhi, the museum didn't impress me very much. Walking among the field of Raj Ghat (Tomb of Gandhi) was more refreshing. It was rather a kind of large park than a graveyard. I felt the museum and the field have an important role to facilitate Indian nationalism, as most capital cities do. I walked through Vijay Ghat (a memorial for Rajiv Gandhi) and Shakti Sthal (a memorial for Indira Gandhi).
Red Fort
When I left the park, a huge red wall of Red Fort was coming into my eyesight. Walking around the large wall until the main gate inflated my expectation to the fort. The inside was however, as a friend I met in workplace of Pune mentioned, not eye-opening. Most parts destroyed by British army, just few mosques were remained. Some of buildings were recreated for museums. The foreigner price Rs250 was not worthwhile.
Chandni Chowk, Bustling Bazaar
In front to the gate of Red Fort was a crowded street of Chandni Chowk. This area is a downtown of Delhi. People were pressing; bikes are rickshaws were trying to find a gap to move forward. I had a lunch at a Mc Donald's on this street.
The way to Jamma Masjid was more interesting. At first I walked though a street of shops and stalls of bicycles and bicycle wheels. Many craftsmen were repairing wheels on the street. It seems that people don't replace a wheel but fix again and again while repairable. Next was a blanket market, and then a car parts market. I enjoyed the atmosphere of different markets in Delhi downtown.
Jamma Masjid located amid such markets. As I walked up to the courtyard of the mosque, two people came and demanded Rs200 for bringing camera. I gave up the mosque because I didn't like their teasing way of asking. Instead I enjoyed the markets surrounding the mosque.
In the Train from Delhi
I walked through Chawri Bazaar and came back to Delhi station at three o'clock, one hour before the train departure. I checked the platform number of the train and rushed to platform one. I finally found my seat was allocated on the reservation chart displayed at the platform! I bought a bottle of water (Rail Neer; Rs12, sanitized by UV) and got in the train.
My seat was at a lower tier in a 2A coach (means air-conditioned two-tier bed). I enjoyed talking with a man on the upper tier. He was a teacher. He kindly checked my waitlisted tickets' status using a voice information service by phone. They were still waitlisted but the number which indicates priority was decreased. He told me not to worry.
He hoped that India and Pakistan would become one country as before. Countries should compete the living standard of people, technology contributing to better life, should not compete the ability to kill people. Such a regime will not sustain longer. India and Pakistan used to be a single country sharing the same culture, language, and way of living. Not only Korea and Germany, in fact the same tragedy happened in India after a colonization, war, and independence.
He also mentioned that Japan should export more products to India. No matter how expensive made-in-Japan products are, if one percent of Indian people want to buy its quality, the market should be very large.
Since I woke up early that morning, I fell asleep soon after outside got dark.
24 Dec 2011 (Fri)
Way to Bodh Gaya
When I woke up around seven o'clock, the train was passing Varanasi Junction. The train was delaying. I asked French travelers sitting on next bed to notify me when it reached Gaya Junction. It arrived at Gaya around eleven o'clock, 90 minutes later than timetable.
At Gaya station were many rickshaw drivers trying to get travelers. Buddha Gaya (locally called Bodh Gaya) is 16km south from Gaya. Soon five or six drivers came to me and started quarreling to get me. I decided to use a shared rickshaw to Bodh Gaya for Rs100. While local passengers just pay small coins, they demanded me to pay Rs120 including parking fee to when arrived at Bodh Gaya. I refused to pay the extra money and walked away.
Bodh Gaya, Place of Enlightenment
Near the parking was a Thai Monastery, which brought me back to the exotic feeling I had experienced at a wat in Thailand. Its next was a Bangladesh temple. After walking through souvenir shop street was a Chinese Temple. This variety already explained that Buddhism is a world religion.
Mahabodhi Temple is the holiest place for Buddhists as Buddha achieved enlightenment here under Bodhi Tree. Buddha said "Those who practice my teaching are with me even if you are far away; those who don't practice my teaching have not seen me even if you are seeing me." Mental distance and physical distance are quite different. Physically getting close to a holy place doesn't make you great at all. Having said that, I would like to take this opportunity to study on the teaching of Buddha. Seeing places Buddha had actually lived should help me picture the background of his teaching.
Small Excursion to Sena Village
After seeing Mahabodhi Temple I had a small excursion to Sena Village. I passed Sujata Bridge acrossing Niranjara (Falgu) River, where Buddha revived by bathing and having milk rice gruel provided by Sujata after the six-year hunger training. This episode was significant in Buddhism for the idea of Middle Way was based on this experience of him. Sena Village was a tranquil farming place. A boy and a teacher who belonged to a local school run by donation guided me to Stupa of Sujata. They asked for donations later on but I didn't because I had limited cash.
Visiting Variety of Temples and Monasteries
I came back to Bodh Gaya and started sightseeing other temples and monasteries. As mentioned before, the pedestrian-free street had Buddhism facilities built by many Buddhism countries. Just putting pictures would be enough to explain how vary they are. I fully enjoyed sightseeing this small town so much including Archeological Museum.
The only one regret was that I didn't visit Mahabodhi bookshop. I might have found an introductory textbook or favorite beads. I had a phat kraphao at a middle-class Thai restaurant and soon I had diarrhea. I became more and more wary for foods.
Going back to Gaya Station
It was already five o'clock when I came back to the rickshaw parking. I negotiated drivers to go to Gaya station within Rs150 but they demanded 250 or more. Meanwhile it got darker. A group of Chinese pilgrims warned me not to take a rickshaw alone in the night or they might kill me. They instead asked another Tibetan monks happend to be there to take me to a taxi station. I followed them but soon I found they didn't speak English. I was worried about time and my life and got panics. Then a man talked to me and offered to find a rickshaw for me. He runs a tour agency called "Sakura Travel" in this town. It was already dark and no rickshaw wanted to go to the station. He suggested taking me to the station by his motorbike. He requested Rs350 and I agreed. I paid Rs400 including tip. I learned too much negotiation costs more in the end.
Gaya Junction Station was far less equipped than Delhi station. I could not find where the train would arrive. Many people here do not speak English. Enquiry staff said long distance trains usually arrive at Platform 1 but I had to be careful for the announcement for irregular changes. At an information room on Platform 1, I found my ticket had been confirmed! The train arrived one hour later than schedule at Platform 2.
In the train I was with high school boys. They were the same age but one with a turban looked older than the others. Sikh people never have a hair cut so they bind it in a turban. Another boy was interested in Japanese animations, games and songs very much. He showed a Final Fantasy vid by his smart phone. His playlist was filled with Naruto songs. In a sense, he was more Japanese than me. I hadn't caught up latest Japanese trends for a long time.
I arrived at Mughal Sarai Junction Station, a station for trunk lines near Varanasi, at ten o'clock, one hour later than appointment time. When I booked a guest house through the Internet, I also hired a rickshaw to come to the station at 21:05, the estimated train arrival time. In the train I made a phone call about the delay. At the station I called the hotel again to ask where the driver was waiting. Finally I met him at Enquiry of the station. These two calls were possible by a cell phone provided by my company. Without it, I would've been at a loss trying to find an accommodation in this strange city in nighttime.
The guest house (Sankatha Guest House) was deep inside the old city of Varanasi. He parked his rickshaw and told me to follow him. Cows were walking even in this small lane. I had to follow him without stimulating cows. Booking an accommodation and a driver in advance was indeed a right decision.
When I arrived at the guest house, they were already taking rest and having a thali. The owner was so kind that he didn't request night charge for the rickshaw. He offered a boat tour for the next morning. I accepted it because I trusted him already. My room was a twin one with hot shower. I took a shower and washed scurf and dust of the two days. I charged my iPhone and slept with wrapping my whole body inside a thin blanket.
25 Dec 2011 (Fri)
Ganga Boat Tour
I woke up at eight, one hour later than the appointed boat tour time. When I woke up the owner was still sleeping. I woke him up and then he called a tour guide. The guide soon came and I went down to a ghat (a dike with stairs for going down to the river) with him. At river shore, a boy was preparing a boat for me. The scenery of morning ghats was one of the most impressive ones in this trip. The morning sunlight made ghats look more nostalgic. Water was reflecting sepia light of ghats.
Bathed at Ganga
After the tour, I decided to bath at Ganga. A man who was hanging around talked to me and took me to Lalita Ghat. It was like a maze so I decided to follow him. At the ghat I took of my trouser and just put my knees in the water. After bathing he asked me to come to a silk factory. They showed several cloths but I refused to buy. After showering my legs carefully at the guest house I checked out.
Strolling around Varanasi Old City
I walked around this complex city. I saw people shaving, washing, walking to Manikarnika Ghat with sorrow, having chai, and animals including cows, goats and monkeys. At a ghat many people talked me for shaving boating massaging, but I neglected them. I might be too wary because the guest house owner warned me not to react to people talking to me.
I thought Varanasi is a simbol of diversity of India. It involves everything and still shows its harmonious unique characteristic in Ganga ghats. If I had more time, I would like to stay this city longer and feel it more.
Going to Sarnath by Cycle Rickshaw
I took a cycle rickshaw to go to Varanasi Junction, which locates at new city of Varanasi, to change to a micro bus to Sarnath, another Buddhism holy place for Buddha made his first preach there. At the station, the other passenger got off and paid Rs20. I thought the driver was a good persoon because the payment was same as the price he asked to me. At the micro bus stop, he found the bus was already gone. Instead he offered to make a round trip to Sarnath, 8km away, for Rs200. I accepted his offer. On the way he guided many buildings and monuments, and talked about his family. I enjoyed the ride except for some bouncing bad road.
He took a short rest at a street stall near Sarnath. He treated me a small cup of masala chai. It was in fact the first time to taste. The sweet taste of milk and herbs healed my body. He bought one pack of betel and started to chew it. I thought it expensive because it's a kind of drug. He said it was just Rs2. In north India I saw countless times people spitting out red saliva. After he started chewing, I felt his became aggressive. At each temple he try to force me sightsee quickly. I started to regret hiring him, I wanted to sightsee at my own pace.
Picnicking at the Holy Place
At the main site, he told me to sightsee by myself and come to an west gate. This way I finally became free. The place has large field with Deer Park. It seemed rather a recreation park than a holy site. Local people were enjoying a weekend picnic with their family and friends. Away from the bustle city of Varanasi I also enjoyed walking in holy park.
After one hour had passed, I tried to find the driver but couldn't. He might be taking a rest somewhere else. I then visited Wat Thai and Archaeological Museum. The museum had the famous Ashoka lion capital and a huge stone umbrella. When I came back to around the gate, he was still not there. I guessed he was fed up with waiting for me and went back to Varanasi with another passenger. Having not much time left, I decided to go back by another rickshaw to Varanasi Junction Station. I didn't pay any money to him yet. I felt sorry to him. Instead I paid Rs160 including parking fee to the auto rickshaw driver.
My Waitlist Ticket not Charted!!
The first thing I had to do at the station was to confirm my waitlisted ticket. A passenger at a platform confirmed my ticket by phone as I showed him my e-ticket. He told that mine was still waitlisted 1 (means just waiting one person)! Oh my goodness! I soon hurried to the enquiry wicket. A staff told that I should get in the train anyways. I had applied for 3A class so I got into Coach B2.
There came a man speaking to me kindly. I asked him about my waitlisted ticket. He told me not to worry; just paying some money to a conductor would solve it. According to him, it should be up to Rs800 to 1000. He was heading to Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, where he would make a presentation for selling a medicine for respiration. As he ordered a train dinner, I also ordered it too. According to him, Indian Railway is operated by public organization so their food must be fresh and clean. It was fun to experience a train food. I used my right hand when eating.
After a few hours, a conductor came to check tickets. I showed my waitlisted ticket. According to him, my e-ticket fee was already refunded, which meant I didn't pay any money yet. After a while he discussed with another conductor and found an empty bed for me. I ended up moving to a bed in a sleeper coach. I paid Rs500 for train fare including extra charge.
Freezing Night in Sleeper Coach
Apparently sleeper class didn't seem so much different than 3-tier class. It also had three 3-tier beddings. Just there weren't curtain nor blanket. It didn't take much time to find the biggest and critical difference. While air-conditioned coach windows shut out air outside, openable windows in sleeper class allow air to come in. As the train went in the night fog, the cold air kept sneaking in from the gap of window and coming towards my body. It was around five to ten degree outside. Sleeping without any blanket was almost impossible for me. I wore almost all cloths I brought and put my backpack and a T-shirt to protect my body from the wind. In spite of my effort, I had to raise my body many times. It was too cold to stay sleeping. At around four thirty am, I thought it was dangerous to stay lying down anymore and started to move my body at the end of the coach to warm by myself. There's no night without dawn -- I never appreciated the meaning of this word more strongly than this night. It was the most painful experience in this trip.
26 Dec 2011 (Mon)
Agra Fort in the Fog
The train arrived at Agra Fort Station at six thirty. It was still dark. Instead of waiting at the station, I walked to Jama Masjid. I should be sleepy and cold, but I was rather energetic. "Just one more day, just visiting Taj Mahal." -- I was reminding myself repeatedly. After seeing the mosque briefly, it started to grow light.
It was still foggy at the entrance of Agra Fort. The entrance staff said the fog was only outside the fort, there wasn't inside. I paid Rs1000 at the entrance: the entrance fee of Agra Fort (Rs250) and Taj Mahal (Rs250), and a commission to ADA (Agra Development Authority) (Rs500). While Red Fort in Delhi remains few buildings inside, Agra Fort preserves many buildings in order, even there are scars damaged by British cannons. I was with a Taiwanese group one of the conductor kindly explained me each building.
Taj Mahal -- Final Destination
It was just 2km from Agra Fort to Taj Mahal. I walked through Shahjahan Park. I left my backpack at a cloak near the west gate. It was still nine thirty and there weren't many visitors so I could smoothly go inside without making a line at the entrance. Taj Mahal is the most famous sightseeing place in India. Everyone knows it, knows its beauty. As I saw it in real, I found the real Taj Mahal more beautiful than any photos and miniatures. It was far bigger than I had expected. Especially I like the proportion of four minarets and the main building.
Going back to Delhi
After seeing the interior of Taj Mahal, I gradually felt sleepy. When I coughed, I felt a backache. Since I was lying down in the cold bed, it seemed my axis didn't move well. I took a cycle rickshaw to Agra Cantt Station.
I arrived at Agra Cantt Station two hour before. When I confirmed my waitlist ticket was charted and the train was running on time, I felt a sense of victory. My trip was about to finish. I decided to spend time in the station without doing anything. After filling my stomach with some snacks sold at a stall on a platform, I took a rest under the sun, warming my axis gently on a bench. People start to gather around me one by one. Idol chatting started naturally.
The train came twenty minutes later than schedule. My seat was occupied by people so I slept for a while on the upper bed. (It was comfortable with blanket.) After one hour direct airconditioner air woked me. Finding empty space at a seat below I climbed down and asked to sit there. So I joined their conversation. They were traveling from Nagpur to Delhi. One of them, Anil R. Sarda, was a preacher working in Nagpur under a famous guru, Sudhanshuji Maharaj. As he asked me few questions, I naturally confessed what happened during my stay in India and what I felt about India. I felt the importance of keeping mental condition. One thing I found during my stay in India was Indian people like meditation. By that they talk to your mind objectively. It might be one of the secrets why many great religions including Buddhism were established in this country. Anil shared me two slogans in India:
- Every people in the world are the members of one family and related to each other.
- Treat farther, mother, guests as a god.
Train arrived at Hazrat Nizamuddin Station at five thirty, one hour later than schedule. He advised me to take a taxi to the airport, instead of using metros. I arrived at the airport Terminal 1D (domestic departure) at six thirty. I had dinner at KFC waiting for the boarding time.
From Pune Airport to the hotel, I used a rickshaw. It cost Rs400 to the Airport three days before so I asked a driver for Rs400. When I arrived at the hotel, the meter of the rickshaw just showed Rs160, but the driver demanded Rs400 as I asked. I had been tricked by rickshaw men from beginning to end of this trip.
Postface
Before the trip, my Indian manager was very worried about my trip for it was (1) a trip alone, (2) to north India, (3) using trains. She told me to be extremely careful at every moment. I had another big concern about waitlisted tickets. The schedule was also so tight that there were higher possibilities of rescheduling due to train delay by fog or an accident. I was very nervous thinking about these risks and many unclear elements before the trip.
Considering these risks, I have to say I was lucky to be able to visit every place as planned. A passenger in the sleeper coach next to me said a train to Varanasi delayed by 12 hours. Delays and a ticket cancellation did happen, but they didn't affect the plan so much.
One of the aspects which made this trip impressive was the conversation in a train. Talking with people who can afford 2A/3A class was very interesting. Every time I discover something new about this country and what Indian people think. When I came back to Japan, I found nobody talking in Keisei line. They were just touching a mobile phone. I already miss Indian Railways.
Visiting different sites with different religious background also enriched my perspective of seeing India. I experienced many things which would never been achieved by just commuting from hotel to workplace. I felt my viewpoints got deepened as if a flat thing grew in depth and became cubic. I feel I like India all the more.
Visiting the holy places of Buddhism was personally significant. Even if just visiting sites of great person never makes you great, I still think it meaningful to share a cultural, geographical, and historical background where Buddhism was established and grown. I think that Buddha was not only a leader of a religion but a teacher of the way of living. Now I feel Buddhism familiar than before, I would like to take this opportunity to learn the teaching of Buddha, not through any Japanese Buddhism sect, but by reading translations of the original texts.
