The train station in Delhi is big but we managed to find the correct platform as Colin is very familiar with the station. If I had been on my own I would still be wandering around the station today! We had got tickets in three tier air con class i.e. 6 people sharing a compartment on the train. You enter the compartment through a curtain. on the left are 3 beds protruding from the wall, almost like bunk beds and the same on the right. During the day only the bottom beds are down and the middle and top bunks are stored up against the walls. Therefore, during the day the bottom bunks serve as a seat and you have three people facing three people. We found our compartment and was sharing it with a young Canadian couple and 2 Norweigan females, about ages with us. We chained up and padlocked our bags under the seat to prevent wandering fingers stealing them when we were asleep. Metal hooks are provided under the seats for this purpose.
Colin had learned his lesson about not leaving your bag unattended, several years ago. He was travelling with a friend, Struan. They were not travelling in a compartment but just in the regular class of the train and were the only Westerners there. When the train stopped at a station, as usual all the sellers run on board selling tea, snacks, hair combs etc. An old man came through the train selling tea. He had the tea in a metal urn and when he passed Struan the metal urn burned his leg. Colin and Struan were shouting at the man and all the other passengers joined in. During the commotion Colin suddenly realised what was happening. He looked around and his bag was gone. It was a complete scam and it was impossible to know who was involoved.
We left at 11.30 hours. The six of us all got talking. The young Canadians were going to the North of Goa (the party end) and the Norweigans, Urid and Ranti, were going South like us but unsure which part they were going to. The Norweigans were a gas. They had turned up with a water bottle full of red wine and a very healthy supply of spirits.
The Rajdhani train provides food, served in your compartment, which is included in the price of the ticket. So on this journey you get lunch and dinner on the first day and breakfast and lunch on the next day, so you never go hungry. The seats/ beds are comfortable and the train staff give you bedding in the evening. We got a good sleep although I had got up in the night to go to the loo. I forgot to count how many compartments we were from the loo so on the way back I didn't know what compartment was mine. I was wandering around in the dark looking in everyone's curtains!
Poor Ranti took the trots on the train. It started at 4am and went on until we left the train. She was running to the toilet every 15 minutes with that expression on her face, common in India which says, I HAVE TO GET TO THE TOILET. We had been telling Urid and Ranti how nice Agonda was and they decided to head there.
We all shared a taxi to Agonda and went to Tina Beach Resort (click on Tina Beach Resort to access their web site and you can see how nice it is). Tina and Ragu are a young Indian couple who own this resort and we had became good friends with them in March/April when we had stayed there. It is a great place to stay and I will tell you about it in a future posting. Unfortunatley because it was Diwali (popularly known as the festival of lights) they were fully booked that night. They were delighted to see us though, and it was really nice to see them again, they weren't expecting to see us until next March. Urid, Ranti and us booked in across the road. The next day they checked in to Tina Beach Resort but we just stayed were we were as our main aim was going to be looking for a house to rent. Ragu got Menin, one of the fishermen whom we knew from previos stays, to help us find a house. After a few days we found a house that was within our budget and that we liked. Off to have some food now, Colin has cooked beef vindaloo Goa style, so will tell you about the house in the next posting, about our good fortunes and misfortunes!
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