Traveling is a
great experience and this blogger considers himself a travel buff. When I had turned thirty I had traveled so much around the country that I used to consider myself as one of the very few in my age group who had traveled that much!!. Last few years my travels has become quite limited, more to do with dwindling resources than lack of enthusiasm. While traveling one tends to face different situations, in most cases totally unpredicted, Indian reality is about contingency decisions. Since I have traveled so much I have thousands of anecdotes. Here is my travel scribble on my recent road travel, the experiences may give insights or some understandings (need to add here that I do read lots of travel blogs and gained a lot).
One basic rule I follow while I travel is to relax, when you are relaxed your senses tends to be sharper and intuitions works better. Intuition is very important since one has to not only experience but anticipate. The latter is about survival instinct. Things can go terribly wrong so one has to be a step ahead to reduce the damage. Hundreds and thousands of tragic incidents of cheating, injury, murder…happening around the country is a testimony of things gone wrong. I too had my share but nothing serious.
My travel to Rajasthan recently started on a wrong note. I had managed to get tatkal ticket from Bangalore to Pune. I was quite happy since traveling in unreserved is always dreadful experience (within-5-days tatkal is a clever ploy to fleece passengers that Indian railways have introduced sometime back, now there is even waiting list for tatkal -I was surprised when saw that one. You end up paying 300-400rs more than usual fare, and yes it is not refundable). I got the timing wrong, this had never happened before. I took departure time 20.10 as 10.10pm, so missed the train!!. I came to know later that many people had similar experience to share. You see we rarely say the time is 20:10 when somebody asks it is 8:10. Maybe the railways could write this in the bracket for the benefit of people. So here I was stranded in the railway station with money loss not knowing what to do next, going back was an option I ruled out instantly as had already planned the itinerary also got a confirmed ticket back from Rajasthan. I took out the atlas to check out what are the options I have, first rule here is never stick to a pl
ace keep moving. I took a bus to Belgam (reached about 8am), then to Kholapur (reached about 12) then to pune, reached at 4.00 pm earlier than the train would have reached albeit with more than 1000rs hole in pocket. I need to add here that in last one decade the roads in India have improved tremendously, it’s a miracle. It is a pleasure to travel on road, offcourse buses are quite cramped (I guess that is ok considering Indian reality), body does go stiff. Traveling in bus is quite different from train, apart from physical restrictions, interaction is also very limited. You get hypnotized in the drone of the engine as also similar terrain (pic here is of visually handicapped copassenger).
Two days at pune, found that my ticket to Jodhpur is still in the waiting list but tantalizingly close to the confirmed so went to the station tried to talk it out with the TT, who after initial courtesy told me to get lost. Went to counter and got the refund, also had to fill up somebody else’s form, there still are substantial number of illiterate people but the good news is they are traveling, must be unskilled migrant worker. So took a bus to Ahmedabad. Had some bad vibe about the verbose fellow on the next seat, something about him told me to careful. As he talked he offered me chips I refused, he insisted I had to be bit rude. Maybe I was wrong the way I behaved but one never know what could have happened, with drug laced food and so on. Or probably he was a friendly guy, the latest casualty of increasingly paranoid society. It was quite late as the bus raced to Mumbai (I gave out a curse I had preferred Nasik route). The fellow on the far end was busy on his laptop, my interest became obvious he turned it away, far from eavesdrop my fascination was for the contraption. The bus stopped for dinner at eatery and fast food chain next to petrol pump, found that shops and fast food joint were manned by malayalis (you cant miss that accent !!). The young man who could be in his early twenties told me when asked that he himself doesn’t know how he landed up here. I understood him. His Malayalam accent suggested that he was from mid travancore region.
An hour later I was fast asleep, and when I sleep I sleep. Period. So tied the end of my bag to my wrist. Ahmedabad was quite chilly, the auto charge from stand to station took 100rs, quite hefty. The auto fellow had lot to talk about forthcoming parliamentary elections, I though was not keen so just kept up with hanji-since I wanted him to keep speaking otherwise I would sleep (he was an admirer of Modi- he has done a lot for development he said, but added outside Gujarat he will not work, and if he persists he might fail in Gujarat too. He mentioned that Manmohan Singh was a good PM, Rahul Gandhi will take 4 to 5 years more. I vaguely recall him saying that that middle class prefer him married, his appeal will increase with family!!. I was quite drowsy and disoriented from travel so
couldn’t catch much. I guess Gandhi family don’t really has much privacy!). Had cup of tea with delicious healthy dokhlas (I am a big fan of this dish). Train to Ajmer had left next one was in the afternoon, so changed the plan and took a bus to Jodhpur. It was tiring day journey the Rajasthan state bus was not one of the best I have traveled in, predictably it broke down, waited on the highway with other passengers for a substitute bus, realized that I was famished but the nearby shop had nothing worth eating- packet chips and freshly fried delicacies, people in this region are mostly vegetarians but the eating habit don’t seem to have too many healthy choices (atleast that is what one gathers from roadside shops. I like poha though. The pic of typical breakfast at Pushkar hot milk in kulad + hot jalebis=heaven!!). So sipped some water, reached Jodhpur quite late, next day afternoon took a bus to Phalodi, a day later another bus to Pushkar. It is here I realized that I have traveled thousands of kms on bus!!.
While traveling from Ajmer to Pushkar an 8year old boy was my co-passenger, he was going back alone for holi vacation. There are
no good schools in the village he stays so he studies in city school. It is supposed to be “English medium” but he couldn’t converse in that language. I asked him what his father’s occupation was. He said woh shanth ho gaye (he has attained peace). That is a beautiful way to define death. I recall an incident some years back I was traveling from benaras to ahmedabad, a boy who was almost the same age and had lost his father (infact he was coming back with his family after immersing his ashes) said woh off ho gaye ( he is off!!). In his nonchalant gujarati accent it sounded so funny that I laughed. This gujarati boy even suggested me how to put money on share!!. The difference between these two kids I felt was the pushkar boy had so much of innocence and a deep desire to learn, he asked me many questions. The Gujrati boy was study in contrast matter of fact tone, seen it all attitude and a confidence that he can handle anything. He firmly believed in making as much money as possible, his reference point was always money. Quite interesting experiences.
great experience and this blogger considers himself a travel buff. When I had turned thirty I had traveled so much around the country that I used to consider myself as one of the very few in my age group who had traveled that much!!. Last few years my travels has become quite limited, more to do with dwindling resources than lack of enthusiasm. While traveling one tends to face different situations, in most cases totally unpredicted, Indian reality is about contingency decisions. Since I have traveled so much I have thousands of anecdotes. Here is my travel scribble on my recent road travel, the experiences may give insights or some understandings (need to add here that I do read lots of travel blogs and gained a lot). 
ace keep moving. I took a bus to Belgam (reached about 8am), then to Kholapur (reached about 12) then to pune, reached at 4.00 pm earlier than the train would have reached albeit with more than 1000rs hole in pocket. I need to add here that in last one decade the roads in 
couldn’t catch much. I guess Gandhi family don’t really has much privacy!). Had cup of tea with delicious healthy dokhlas (I am a big fan of this dish). Train to 
no good schools in the village he stays so he studies in city school. It is supposed to be “English medium” but he couldn’t converse in that language. I asked him what his father’s occupation was. He said woh shanth ho gaye (he has attained peace). That is a beautiful way to define death. I recall an incident some years back I was traveling from benaras to ahmedabad, a boy who was almost the same age and had lost his father (infact he was coming back with his family after immersing his ashes) said woh off ho gaye ( he is off!!). In his nonchalant gujarati accent it sounded so funny that I laughed. This gujarati boy even suggested me how to put money on share!!. The difference between these two kids I felt was the pushkar boy had so much of innocence and a deep desire to learn, he asked me many questions. The Gujrati boy was study in contrast matter of fact tone, seen it all attitude and a confidence that he can handle anything. He firmly believed in making as much money as possible, his reference point was always money. Quite interesting experiences.
