Train to Amritsar

Friday 24 October 2014

Early Friday morning, at 3:30 am, Pati and BeeBee got up to shower and finish packing all those items that you must have available up until the last minute. In their case, it was squeezing the last bit of charge into their camera, phone, and tablet batteries. 

An aside: The travel agency provided a cell phone to help wifh coordination, and that cell phone needs to work! Pati has a Samsung Notepad and BeeBee has an iPad, and they hoped that, using both tablets, they would be able to blog and keep in touch with family and friends. It hasn't worked out that way consistently: Pati's Notepad stopped seeing the internet on Wednesday, and BeeBee's blogging software is unable to see pictures on her iPad. Hopefully, the situation will improve in Amritsar with a different internet provider. 

The train station was very crowded. Pati and BeeBee's guide, Shiva, led them from the car to the platform while constantly warning them to carefully watch their belongings. Near them there was an ancient mosque surrounded by track on all sides. It was there before the station was built and they simply built around it. While waiting, Pati and BeeBee saw track workers whose job it was to keep the tracks clean after passengers violate the "do not use restrooms in the station policy." Their guide told them that this - and all other railroad jobs - are considered very good since they are with the central government which pays very well.

Finally their train came and Pati and BeeBee were hustled into seats 41 and 42 of Executive Class 1 (the highest of six classes). Their guide made sure their luggage was stowed on the rack above them and that they were comfortably settled before leaving them. (He had bought a platform ticket so that he could take them to the correct platform and place to stand on the platform, and he accompanied  them on board to find their seats.)  BeeBee had a window seat but the lack of a window was a little disappointing. There was a sliver of a window behind her left shoulder and another sliver just behind the seat ahead of her. The journey took six hours and cost 1985 rupees (well under $40 USD) for them both. 

They had worried about a possible lack of food on their long journey. However, their B&B had cheerfully offered to get the kitchen staff up early (after a late and noisy Diwali!) to prepare their usual delicious breakfast, so Pati and BeeBee were well fed before the trip. What they had not discovered from researching train travel (and they did not know what class ticket they would have) was that they would get a second breakfast, served in many courses. In roughly this order, they were given a liter bottle of water, a box of mango juice, a tray with vegetarian breakfast entree and digestive crackers, a cup of tea, cereal with hot milk, a tray with vegetarian lunch entree and toast, and another cup of tea. Each meal on a tray had the same paper placemat describing the contents of the meal, down to the silverware and napkin (1 napkin).

At the front of their train car were two restroom compartments (with doors) and an open compartment with a sink for washing hands. One restroom compartment had a Western-style toilet and sink; the other restroom had an eastern ("Turkish") toilet. There is no notion of flushing a toilet, as both types open directly to the tracks below. Hence the admonishion to avoid using the restrooms in the station.

The train arrived in Amritsar at about 1:30 pm and they were met by their new guide and driver.

New Delhi - Amritsar Swarma Shatabdi Express