Howrah Express to Kolkata

I really wish I had a digi cam so I could upload photos. Truth is- I haven’t taken much pictures at all on this trip. But regardless, it would have been nice to upload a few images. My darling friend, the talented aspiring photographer, is now posted in Thailand through her job. She has created a blog and will post her pics up on it. If you love photography and want to know about her adventures in Thailand, check out: shonc.blogspot.com. I will be joining her soon =)

I left Bangalore on Mon, Jan 15 at 7:30pm on the Howrah Express train to Kolkata. The Indian railway system really needs it own "Dummies" book! You cannot just walk into a station and expect to leave with a ticket. You have to either put in a booking or a reservation. Confirmation is not guaranteed. Its complicated…I don’t quite get it yet myself. Anyway, I went Sunday at 1PM to the Yeshyampur station to get tix in to AC sleeper class. At the counter the guy tells me that I will #6 on a waiting list for Mondays train. I quickly tell him its an emergency and I have to catch a flight in Kolkata on Wed afternoon. So, the he puts me on a Tatkal waiting list and that puts me at # 2 on a 3 tier AC sleeper class. Tatkal means—I learned later—an emergency. Each train has a particular # of berths reserved for emergencies. On Monday at 2pm my ticket was confirmed. If it didn’t get confirmed, I would have to go back and cancel my ticket for Rs. 20 and re-book or get 80% refund. Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about all that. Why am I taking a 40 hr train instead of a 1 hr flight to Kolkata? It’s the curse of a limited budget and no constraints on my time. A flight was going to cost me Rs. 6,000 (~$135) and the train cost me Rs. 1,700 (~$40). I had no appointments to keep and traveling through Madhya Pradesh and Orissa on the train seemed like a fun idea. It was also AC and a sleeper car, so it should be pretty comfortable as long as I am not stuck with a crying baby next to me!

Dada helped me pack my bags…I couldn’t fit all my random purchases into my small suitcase so I had a total of 4 items to carry. My over packed suitcase, over packed back pack, 3X2 ft wooden art piece and a handbag of access stuff. So much for being a bohemian traveler!! We get to the station and ladies and gentelmen, we were packed like sardines! There is no separate baggae car, everything you have goes in your compartment and you share that compartment with 5 other folks. I ofcourse have the most # of bags. By the time we had gotten there, all the space under the berths were filled to capacity with small suitcases. Dada decided that I deserved to have my space and pulled out two bags from under the space that was designated to me and Nishu stuffed my suitcase is somehow. The bagpack, art and access bag all shared my seat on the berth. Cozy, very cozy!

The people I shared the berth with: a young woman who worked as a bartender at the Hotel Oberoi and grew up in Darjeeling. We spoke about drinks, vacationing in Darjleeing and Sikim and about the trials and tribulation of being a female traveler (bathroom & smoking issues). She sat across from me, we had the window seat and the bottom berth to sleep in. Next to me was a man from Assam who worked as a marketing/sales person for an incense and scent firm in Bangalore. He was travelling for work. We didn't speak much but was a good guy. Gave me two cigs to share with the other woman and informed that it was illigal to smoke in Madhya pradesh. You would be immidiately ticketed and fined or taken to jail. No smokes are sold at any of the stations. Across from him sat a Konkini guy from Bangaore also a marketting manager. Both these guys were traveling for work. They had the middle berths to sleep in. The last two guys were college buddies on their way to Sikim for vacation. they were fun and clowinsh. They slept a lot and had the top most bunk. Oh, they all assumed i was a an artist and writer since i had the big piece with me and whenever i was really bored i would take out my sketchpad i would draw or write!

Food is not a probem on the train. They have excellent catering service. Waiters walk by every 3 mins selling snacks, chips, sodas, water and magazines. About 3 hrs before mealtime a waiter will come by to take your meal order. They serve chicken and egg biryanis, vegetable and chicken fried rice, chicken roast, curries, dal, rice, chapatti...relatively extensive menu. it tastes good and pretty hygenic, I didn't get sick! Since it was 2nd class, even the bathrooms were clean which was a relief. Last time I travelled on the train, the bathroom was so horrible I waited till we reached our hotel to go!

The last night of our train ride was fun, the Konkini guy was getting off at a station before the rest of us so we all stayed up to kep him company. Our compartment became the place of adda (gathering). all the men that couldn't sleep gathered in our compartment and told jokes all night long and stories that had us in stictches. interesting thing was, no one asked each others names, just professional designation and what was the purpose of trip. It was kind of sad to say bye to them all at the end of the journey. Everyone spoke in english cause i am sure within the group there were 5 diff languges--english and hindi was the common language.

One piece of advice i will leave here...when booking, ask for the topmost bunk. Otherwise, you are stuck waking up at 6am and sitting the whole time. That is if you are being nice to your neighbors that dn't want to lay down the whole trip!