india-syncrasies..

India-syncrasies..

This part of our blog is going to be mostly a collection of observations and anecdotes of our travels, so if you just want to see the pretty pictures then this may not be of much interest.

Part 1 getting there and away.

On the road: The biggest part of travelling India is simply travelling, there are numerous options for the tourist and adventurer alike. The first thing to get sorted out is obviously which option you require for a particular part of a journey, so far Buses have been our mainstay so I will start with a few oddities about the vast India bus network.

Buses come in all shapes and sizes and with varying degrees of discomfort, ranging from Uncomfortable to hot, crowded, noisy and bumpy. The government run buses are the work horse of the bus network and these are generally a pretty scruffy and beat up affair, though some journeys can be made on "Express Deluxe A/C " Buses for the longer journey. The main difference being you actually get a seat, there is somewhere to stow your luggage and you also have a curtain over the window. Otherwise the buses are very similar.

Another option is to use one of the many private buses, these sound like a good option on the face of things but you soon realise that these will usually take a diverse route to where you are going ( avoiding all the nice direct toll roads ) in favour of the single lane country roads meandering through countless small villages, the reasoning soon becomes clear, Pile em high and count your rupees. Yes these are real money makers, passenger comfort and safety ? whats that ? So you soon realise that some of the good deals are really not that clever, also the promotions on most private buses show you a sparkling new Volvo, oddly enough we have yet to see that bus.

Once you decide on which bus to use, you then have the pleasure of trying to purchase a ticket, the standard government buses usually sell tickets from a multitude of small cages in which a wizened little man will print you out a ticket and direct you to your Bus. For the Deluxe express buses things get a little more tricky, first you have to identify if there is such a bus, then you have to locate and fill out a bus journey paper request form, once completed you trundle to the back of the biggest queue and wait till you either get lucky or barge your way along with everyone else to the minute ticket window, where upon if you have filled out your request slip correctly you will be presented with the appropriate bus ticket ( after parting with a certain amount of rupees ). The private buses can be confusing as they do not leave from the known bus stands so you need to make sure in advance you know where this miracle of transport will be departing from. Otherwise its a snip.

On the Road: Once on your bus you then simply sit back while the certified psychopath *( that's your driver ) treats you to a journey of multiple near death experiences. The roads are designed to aid your "psychodriver" by having giant pot holes , Cows, tractors, Rickshaws and a plethora of immovable and movable objects all of which need to be negotiated or run off the road ( depending on size the latter is usually the psychodrivers preferred choice) , only the formidable TATA lorries cause any real concern though a seasoned psychodriver will also consider running these off the road as well. Journeys often stop at smaller bus stations allowing for a comfort break and the chance for the driver to top up his intake of hashish. Eventually you will arrive at you required destination, usually a bit shaken and certainly a bit numb in some areas, to be greeted by another infamous transport option the auto rickshaw.

Auto rickshaw drivers are a genetic breed, they all have a degree in exaggerating the length and cost of any onward journey ( however small ) and also know in advance that your preferred hotel, haveli, guest house is either fully booked, has a rat infestation or has just burned down, luckily he will have an alternative option for you ! Clever that. The best option in dealing with Auto Rickshaw drivers is to try and get two of them bargaining against each other for your custom, once one of them backs down you have a marginal idea of your actual fare ( usually about 90% less that their first fare quote ) Once agreed though, they generally take you to where you want to go at the price agreed, though you may have to remind him a few times en-route.

Trains: Trains are not the best way to travel India, they are generally already booked by the time you want a ticket and you are placed in a wait list or they run at seriously early or late times of the day. However if you lucky there are some which fall outside of this criteria and can be a good option ( if not a tad expensive when compared to the buses ) . Trains are notoriously slow, and delays of several hours are commonplace. They also seem to be involved in a proportionately high number of accidents, since we have been travelling, an American couple escaped a nasty crash by two stops on the Mumbai to Delhi train where 31 people were killed when another train ran into the back of it, a day later more people were killed when a water pipe fell on a train. Apart from that there as safe as houses.

Booking a ticket, this is an art form, for most of the main line routes you really need a copy of the trains at a glance book ( 50 rupees from most corner shops ) from here a bewildering set of timetables and routes are shown, at first, deciphering these seem a job for the Bletchley code breakers but after a few hours you soon get a basic grasp and within a matter of just days you can become quite proficient. Once you have identified your train you need to book it !! There are three ways, 1) give up and get a bus instead, 2) complete a paper train journey request form ( after queueing for about 10 min to get a form ) then submitting it at the appropriate ticket booth window ( lots of barging ) or better still get a woman to get the ticket as they can go to the front of a queue, Linda is getting quite adept at this, whereupon you are then told that your train is fully booked or you are lucky and get a ticket ! 3) go online are book your ticket, much less hassle and you can see at a glance if your train is full, the only downside is payment, often UK based Credit cards don't work. An e-ticket is downloaded after you have secured your ticket and all you need to do now is print it out..... most Internet cafes have a printer so this isn't a problem, getting one which has any ink in it can be. You will then need to make an e-copy of your ticket and email to yourself and then find an Internet cafe which has a printer with ink in it so you can print it out.. simple eh ! Once you have you ticket you are 90% of the way to getting onto your train, you then need to find out if the time of departure is correct and which platform you are leaving from, once this has been done its a simple case of locating the printed passenger list and ensuring that your name is on it.. If its not then you have a problem, so far we have been lucky... so far.. Getting off at the right station is usually no problem unless its at one of the smaller stations, where finding any sign telling you which station you are at can be a problem, unless you can read Hindi that is.

Standard Cycle Rickshaw : Finally last but not least the Standard Cycle Rickshaw driver ( usually a very skinny man wearing the globally approved tattered shirt and hole in the arse trousers ) these are a bit like the auto rickshaw drivers but are generally easily bargained down to a sensible fare, they are generally very poor so they tend to get a decent tip. The only problem with the Standard Rickshaws is that very few of the drivers can read so getting them to comprehend where you want to go can be interesting, often it can take a couple of attempts but it's all light hearted so provided you are not is any urgent hurry then its quite an exciting ( but very slow ) way to make your smaller journeys, dodging cars, Buses, Lorries, Cows, Tractors and virtually everything bigger than a rickshaw ensures that you end up with at least one or two quality bruises for your efforts.

Taxis, Just for the posh folk so we don't use them.

Part 2 The Culture shock and the printed word.

Very soon after arriving in India you realise that things are very different, really very different, the printed word is God, if a government bus chucking out all manner of pollutants has a "Greener Delhi" sticker or similar on its side then all is well and there is no pollution problem with that bus. This applies to all manner of things, if a guest house owner provides you with a business card describing his rooms as having hot water, being clean and quite then that's what they are but don't be at all surprised when this fails to be the case, most budget accommodation is a bit shabby, most don't have hot water and few are quiet ( regardless of the business card ). Saying that, there are some really nice cheap places about, the golden rule is not to expect too much and you can be pleasantly surprised. Menus are another example if the printed word being god, if they say Indian and multi cuisine available, then leave the multi cuisine option alone, unless you happen to see someone actually eating something from that menu then expect it to be not worth trying, the Indian food is generally better.

The real culture shock. India is we are told an emerging economy and by 2025 is expected to have and economy equal to Europe, that said we are not seeing any of this Country wealth getting to the common man in any shape or form. India has more billionaires than the UK so why are there so many really poor people around? and why are so many having a struggle to even get food?? I suppose a lot of this current new wealth has only be accrued in the last few decades but India needs some serious funding in Infrastructure and basic human welfare. The people are generally really nice and seem to accept there place in this vast country and its even bigger population. The shear number of people here is simply overwhelming to start with and any quite space is much treasured after a while the volume of people become less apparent ( I think you just get used to it. A problem I wouldn't like to resolve is how to get the much needed support to the poorer element of Indian Society, I get the impression that past corrupt governments have done little to help the man in the street, the daily news papers often contain stores of corruption by senior politicians and Judges. The current man in charge does seem to have a handle on things so hopefully this is a sign of good things to come.

The Police, Not going to say anything about them. They are next in line for a serious shake down.

Part 3 Anger Management.