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"Chai chai...chai chai chai" shouts the 9th passing vendor holding a kettle or bucket to the train windows. How any of them can make ends meet competing with the other 17 (or so) sellers is beyond me, but they keep at it, in case a passenger missed the 'chai' call the 95th time, and may actually now want some. Chai is one of India's main drinks, tea with lashings of sugar and synonymous with India's trains. England could learn a thing or two from their cousins abroad when it comes to these long, moving things - they're quick, extensive and plentiful, every station is connected to the National Booking System by computer, and if you don't mind the occasional crowds or stink from the abysmal toilets, they're a great way of travelling.
From homeless guy to Wedding dancer
Simon Wadsworth2006-09-04 13:25:09
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"Chai chai...chai chai chai" shouts the 9th passing vendor holding a kettle or bucket to the train windows. How any of them can make ends meet competing with the other 17 (or so) sellers is beyond me, but they keep at it, in case a passenger missed the 'chai' call the 95th time, and may actually now want some. Chai is one of India's main drinks, tea with lashings of sugar and synonymous with India's trains. England could learn a thing or two from their cousins abroad when it comes to these long, moving things - they're quick, extensive and plentiful, every station is connected to the National Booking System by computer, and if you don't mind the occasional crowds or stink from the abysmal toilets, they're a great way of travelling.
First you must book a ticket - if you can reserve a sleeper in advance, good for you, otherwise (such as now, during holiday season) you queue for an unlimited supply of passenger seats. But there are two mystery words in that sentence however: 1)Queue = a scramble to see who can get their arm through the ticket window first; he who dares, wins, which can be highly amusing with my big bag on my back, and 2)Seat = any patch of floor or bag space possible to rest a fifth of a bum on, which can include the entrance/exit with legs dangling outside of a train moving at over 100km/hr.
Going from Bhopal to Kota was one such trip - taking over 8 hours and no sleepers available, I nabbed a space near the exit of one of the sleeper carraiges, until, what i expected would but hoped wouldn't happen, a conductor moved me to the passenger section. Trying to convert to the "what's good for them is good for me" mentality, I made my way over and find it to be busy but pleasant. I get chatting to some locals, one of whom made me promise if I ever visited India again, I would call him (the 3rd Indian to do so in a week, and could make for a strange second trip), and miraculously found a patch a floor
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