We are going for a personal record- three overnight trips in a row. Two was pretty bad (Varanasi to Agra; Delhi to Dharamsala) but we decided to do it again and make it three. So two nights ago we took an overnight bus from Dharamsala to Delhi. It was your usual Indian bus trip complete with bossy Indian men hogging the seats, stops at every corner along the way, and wet, hot air blowing on your face. At least they played nice Indian music and turned the lights out every once in a while. We spent the day at Safeena's old apartment which is now inhabited by a gang of Canadians; the burly, aggressive type (joking). That evening, as Pizza Hut rang the bell to deliver Trish's two pizzas, breadsticks, and pop (yep, she's over the stomach bug), it was time for just Magi and I to jump in an auto-rickshaw and go to the train station. Instantly, we missed having her with us (though we did have more room for our bums in that little putter).
We sat across from three Indian men (oooh, they love to stare!) and on our bench sat an American lad named Jamie. He's a Columbia undergrad from the Detroit suburbs studying international relations and Hindi so we chatted with him about New York and other niceties. He spoke to our bunkmates in Hindi and they thought his attempts were pretty funny. Later, I think they got a little friendlier with him and helped him practise talking with them.
So we arrived in Mumbai this morning at 8.30 and went straight to the ticket counter to buy a ticket to go to Goa (beaches at last!).
We were successful and went to check our bags at the station so we could roam around the city all day (our train is tonight at 10.50).
Upon doing this, we learned our train this evening is not leaving from the station in which we arrived but from the one across town instead. We asked ourselves, "why did the ticket counter lady not tell us this?" but hey, welcome to India. Then we got really stiffed on a cab ride over to the Victoria station. The cabbie agreed on Rs. 110 for the trip and then near the destination tried to tell us it was Rs. 110 each! What a scam. He must have thought it was our first day in India but apparently it was only our second day here cuz we found out later that the ride should have only cost us about Rs. 25!!! Anyway, I shouted at him for being dishonest and he tried to bargain us down to Rs. 150 while telling us what a poor man he was. We can get suckered once, but we will not stand to be suckered twice!! Anyway, we arrived and I handed him Rs. 110. We thought we had escaped this type of rip-off scam but once again, bienvenue a India.
So yes, it's grumbling time. For everything we like about India so far, there must be two things we don't like. We enjoy the landscape and we loved Dharamsala but overall and in general, the people in India have left much to be desired. We really hope that things will be better in Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala which are our next destinations.
One more overnight and we arrive in Palolem. It's supposed to be a remote beach where you can live in small huts along the Arabian sea. Next time we write we will (hopefully) feel less jaded and more enthusiastic about our travels through India.
For the record, Magi is feeling better. We went to a pharmacist this morning and bought some Cipro which seems to have aided in settling her stomach pain. Prescription drugs in North America are bought over-the-counter here. Crazy!
tothesea,
k&m