I'd been told about the trains in advance, with stories of strangers coming up for a chat, huge delays, awesome Chai and beautiful countryside. As with everything else I've experienced here, the stories are true.
I've been on three train journeys so far (with a few more to go!), and I've been on each class once: AC1, AC2 and AC3. Most of the carriages for the big journeys are sleepers, as the trains go on for so long. AC3 is the economy class, with three bunks on either side of a cabin, and a curtain to close your cabin. AC2 is a little more roomy, with 2 bunks on each side, and AC1 is the top class with 4 bunks and a nice door to keep you safe.
There's quite a bit of variation between the trains too, on the Punjab mail, which I took from Delhi to Agra and back, the doors remain open for the journey, so you get people jumping on and off when the train slows down (it also removes the need for air conditioning). It's not uncommon for people to hit the emergency breaks when a train passes by their village when the train doors don't close, as it saves them the trip back from the main station. Sadly I've not seen this in action.
There's plenty of chats too. On our first trip, we met a doctor who kindly provided us with a prescription note to help the guys with their illness (and it worked a treat!). On the train to Kolkata, we met with the Vice President of the Indian Mining, Geological and Metallurgical society, who took it upon himself to give us a detailed plan of how to spend the rest of our holidays. He also nabbed a taxi driver at the train station and sorted a huge discount on the trip to our hotel (good guy!).
The best rain journey we had was the one spent with the VP on the Geronto express. Once the train pulled away, we were presented with Roses and a bar of soap. Dinner and breakfast were four course affairs, with really good food (curry, naturally). The beds were spacious and comfortable too - I slept the whole night through, only being woken for some refreshing chai!
Speaking of the chai, I really can't rave about it enough. It's like regular tea, but with some kind of special spice/sugar combination going on. I've developed a bit of an addiction...
Next time: Kolkata! The Wedding!
I've been on three train journeys so far (with a few more to go!), and I've been on each class once: AC1, AC2 and AC3. Most of the carriages for the big journeys are sleepers, as the trains go on for so long. AC3 is the economy class, with three bunks on either side of a cabin, and a curtain to close your cabin. AC2 is a little more roomy, with 2 bunks on each side, and AC1 is the top class with 4 bunks and a nice door to keep you safe.
There's quite a bit of variation between the trains too, on the Punjab mail, which I took from Delhi to Agra and back, the doors remain open for the journey, so you get people jumping on and off when the train slows down (it also removes the need for air conditioning). It's not uncommon for people to hit the emergency breaks when a train passes by their village when the train doors don't close, as it saves them the trip back from the main station. Sadly I've not seen this in action.
There's plenty of chats too. On our first trip, we met a doctor who kindly provided us with a prescription note to help the guys with their illness (and it worked a treat!). On the train to Kolkata, we met with the Vice President of the Indian Mining, Geological and Metallurgical society, who took it upon himself to give us a detailed plan of how to spend the rest of our holidays. He also nabbed a taxi driver at the train station and sorted a huge discount on the trip to our hotel (good guy!).
The best rain journey we had was the one spent with the VP on the Geronto express. Once the train pulled away, we were presented with Roses and a bar of soap. Dinner and breakfast were four course affairs, with really good food (curry, naturally). The beds were spacious and comfortable too - I slept the whole night through, only being woken for some refreshing chai!
Speaking of the chai, I really can't rave about it enough. It's like regular tea, but with some kind of special spice/sugar combination going on. I've developed a bit of an addiction...
Next time: Kolkata! The Wedding!
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