On to Delhi

I had planned, with some trepidation, to take the bus to Delhi. I have been deciding to move from place to place on fairly short notice, and the train tickets are usually in a wait list situation by the time I am ready to book a ticket. It's not the best system to use. So the bus has been a better way to go. I asked at the guest house how to get to the bus station and how much it would cost to go to Delhi. I was told that I could just go to the train station and buy a ticket and go to Delhi. I wasn't sure this was the best solution because that would probably mean I would be standing all the way, given how India's train system is so over-used. But I figured it was only a 3 and a half or 4 hour train journey, so it wouldn't be too bad. I decided to do it that way. Trains don't stop for traffic. And they don't make all sorts of stops for dropping off passengers or getting new ones.

I got to the train station and bought my ticket, for 62 rupees, about a buck and a half, and got on the train. It was a bit unclear which train I was supposed to get, but it worked out in the end. And I did end up standing for the entire journey. I don't know if I could have forced myself into the carriage and ended up sitting, but I just didn't feel like bulling my way into a position to be able to sit down at some point, so I didn't bother. I did find out though that my back is sooo much better these days. In months past, to stand like that would have caused me a fairly difficult time with my back. This was somewhat uncomfortable, but I recovered quite quickly and it didn't get unbearable.

After getting off the train, I wandered around, avoiding touts and found a hotel that would take me. It was right on a busy street. And there was lots of noisy traffic. And I had a room facing that street. And it had a balcony with a door that had a grate that wasn't closable. So it was extremely noisy. And the bed was rock hard with a terrible mattress. And there was no attached shower. And the communal bathroom on the floor had a door with no lock. And the water didn't come out very well in the communal shower on the next floor. And for the, ahem, privilege of staying in that rat hole, I got to pay up to twice as much as vastly superior places where I have stayed. So, even though I had said I was going to stay for 2 or even 3 nights, I resolved that the next morning I would cough and splutter and say the city was making me sick and tell them I was leaving. Then I would find another hotel on the street I was actually trying to find when I arrived but just fled when I was all but attacked by touts trying to “help” me find a place to stay.

It was not the most comfortable of nights.