A rail journey around India, beginning & ending in Mumbai...

A rail journey around India, beginning & ending in Mumbai...

Thursday 25 July 2013

The "Why" of this trip....

      So far, blog entries for this rail odyssey have attempted to cover the who, when, what, where and how
Second class air conditioned berth. Indian railways.
of the projected journey.
       I am prompted to write this entry in response to several people who have asked the question: "But WHY would you sit in crowded & slow trains in India for a least 40 days & nights when inter-city air-travel is fast and (relatively) affordable". The answer maybe: that as a mid/late sixties guy, I am unlikely to want to undertake such a journey a second time and as such, would like to cram in as much as possible during the planned 90 days.
        Travelling encased in an aluminium tube at 30,000 feet provides only limited human contact and so the opportunity to view, from the railway tracks, a slice of the life in the small towns and villages of rural India is most appealing and perhaps to chat with some of those 6000 who call Calcutta station 'home'.
        The Indian rail system is an institution of superlatives-- employs the greatest number (1.5 million) people of any organisation in the world, carries 18 million passengers per day, 17,000 locomotives on 64,000 kms. of track-- nearly equal to twice around the world .
     I feel sure that this explanation of  "WHY" will not convince those who may find unappealing the process of catching packed trains from crowded & chaotic stations at 2.30 am, to their taste. It has frequently been my 'rough' travel experience that any actual temporary discomfort is quickly forgotten and that one is left afterwords with a sense of accomplishment & satisfaction to have surmounted the logistical and cultural challenges and at least have a story to recount afterwards.
     Over a working life, I have stayed in many major luxury business hotels and flown business class world-wide. I truthfully say, in retrospect, collectively, these journeys are mostly a blur to me. Who wants to be the tourist to Jamaica, who when asked how many Jamaicans he had chatted with, confirmed that at his resort that he had only met folks from New York?

Tuesday 9 July 2013

Budget work-up...

         Budget planning for extensive travel, always advised. There is nothing worse than being at the two thirds point on the journey and finding that only 10% of funds remain. Murphy is invariably lurking somewhere out there to catch the underfunded traveller with an unexpected expense. I suspect that this might be especially so, in an 'exotic' destination like India that is potentially a minefield of missed travel connections, cancelled hotel reservations, plus health issues ready to raise their ugly head without warning.
          My first-cut at a budget in $Cdn. for the trip is:

  Airfare: Toronto- Mumbai return                        $1211 ---actual
  India 90 day rail pass (2 AC class)                        650
  Hotels @ $35/night x 90                                     3150
  Visa                                                                       90
  Health shots & travel medication                            300
  Health insurance                                                    300
  Food  $20 x90                                                    1800
  Misc expenses (auto-rickshaws) $15 x 90          1350
  Day pack--light ruck sac                                          25----actual

                                                  Total                 $8876.

 Possible savings  in several of areas:
    a)  Most Indian express trains (Rajdhani and Shatabdi) between major cities seem to involve overnight travel--according to timetables: it is not unusual to board at 2.30am! The cost of a hotel room obviated.
   b)  Super (Indian) first (civilised) class rail carriage accommodation is only offered on the system on a very few of the new long distance direct Duronto express train routes. It may be more cost effective just to book a regular 1st. class air con (1AC) pass at half price.
  c)  Food. I do not plan to eat expensive 'European' style food for the most part, opting rather to live off local fare, if suitable and if not too spicy for this delicate British stomach.