With determination we discovered the breadth of India from the mystery of Kashmir in the west, to verdant Assam and Sikkim in the east, to the heights of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the north, to the shores of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the south. We rode the rails throughout our nine months in India in the fall/winter of 2017/2018 and again in the fall of 2019.
There are diverse transport options and we used them all. We loved the vitality and momentum of the fast-growing, super-efficient, IndiGo Airlines. We relished our many point-to-point transfers when hiring a car and driver and the personal, one-on-one conversations where we could learn so much. But riding the trains was next-level excitement, adventure and romance. Just like trains everywhere.
Downloading and activating the IndianRail app on our phones was a little tricky as a foreigner. But once set-up we arranged all our reservations online. We just flashed our e-ticket to the conductor. Such is the efficient, vital backbone and bloodline of blessed modern Mother India! If only America’s Amtrak had the same grit and gristle.
Riding the Indian trains is such a romantic adventure.
Just like trains everywhere!
And by casual observation any train excursion in India involved gristle and grit. The train stations are bustling microcosms of the society at large. Very often we encountered big crowds sometimes a few souls sprawled out sleeping while waiting for trains. Stations might be a bit dirty. They’re just as likely to be well tended. But without exception, they’re all managed efficiently. Often it’s quite cacophonous! It’s not the gleaming, sleek Japanese shinkansen system, we also admire, but damn it, India’s train system works — and moves 24 million people daily! And it’s really fun.
We always bought the highest class ticket we could get — executive class, AC1 or chair class. We just found a reserved seat with AC. The eager red scarf porters — we came to see as the informal, and invaluable, customer service-like representatives promptly locating our platform and car in the gazillion-car long trains — helping with our bags, from our arrival at the curb and sometimes waiting until we were inside our car and placing our bag in the storage above our seat in exchange for a generous tip.
Here’s a short story…
We were sometimes greeted, as we stepped off an Indian train, by eager young businessmen with offers of taxis and tours around the arriving city. More than once we quickly sized up the offer and proceeded to have extraordinary, positive experiences that linger in our memories as among the greatest. Meeting a stranger and making a friend. And learning about a new place through their eyes. We loved supporting a young man’s small business!
Our arrival in Varanasi, also known as Benares, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, was one such opportunity. We were greeted upon our evening arrival from Kolkata by a guy who commanded great English and the wheel of a very suitable automobile. He promptly delivered us to our hotel and closed the deal to collect us the next morning for a look around town. Only in the morning did we learn that two men share this car — one during the day and the other at night. They worked together, clocking long hours, and both providing for their families with the shared resource of one automobile. Ingenious, we thought.
While we were there, if we needed something in the daytime then Bablu was our man; in the evening Anand was behind the wheel! If you’re in Varanasi and looking for some expert guides check out, on Facebook, “Varanasi Excellent Tour.” Tell Bablu the Hotel Guys sent you.
We’re still friends with him to this day! Meet Bablu in the second pic below, while talking with Paul on the train platform.
The first pic below is a porter with both of our roller bags — on his head, walking through the crowd on the platform taking us to our location to board.
