India virgin seeks India whore for free advice

keeefer

Hi People,
Ive been sitting and reading this site for a few days now and firstly id like to thank you all for supressing the fear i have at travelling India.
My wife and i will be spending about 30 days in total travelling thru the place and i was hoping to get a bit of advice from you seasoned Pros.

We intend to travel extensively by rail, i have looked at various websites (inc indiarail.com) but none are very forthcoming regarding the ease of their train system. I am expecting delays etc but is the rail network good enough to travel around on or will i find myself repeatedly passing thru the major cities and being rerouted via half of the continent?
We are likely to do the following in terms of travel

Dehli - Agra - Varanasi -Orccha - Bhopal - Bhimbetka - Bhojpur - Mumbai - Goa - Mumbai

Im considering the A/c india rail pass as it seems to be easier than queing for the tickets (not bothered by cost too much as this is a kind of honeymoon/one off trip). Anyone travelled this way? if so is it worth it?

Travelling India concerns me greatly (I dont cope with poverty well and will probably donate the contents of my backpack to some scamming youngster.....though it is a country ive always wanted to visit), are there any useful phrases people can pass on that are essential for survival over there?

Thanks for any help....oh btw we will be out there around decemberish depending on how much we get wrapped up in Egypt

cyberhippie

The rail network is great and one of the great "experiences" of a trip around India. The train will get you almost anywhere you need to go.
I'm not familiar with all the destinations you mention but at least two of the legs you mention should be wonderfully scenic i.e. the Varanasi-Jhansi (for Orccha) and the Mumbai-Goa route along the konkan railway is stunning try to take a morning train out of Mumbai/Goa to see all the views as pass through mountains and over rivers.
Trains are one experience that will stay with you down the years definitly something to tell the grandkids about!
For the amount of travelling your doing a doubt very much if an Indiarail pass is economicaly viable but that is of course your own personal decision.
As for not having to stand in line for tickets, well unless you book all your tickets up front (something you could do on your own at the tourist cell in Delhi withouth purchasing the indiarail pass) you will still find yourself queing up for reservations!!
The chief advantage of a rail pass is it will sometimes produce a couple of seat/beds where there weren't any before.
There are separate windows for rail pass travellers but the window is often shared by other groups of special/concessional travelers and as such are often busy though perhaps not as busy as other "general" windows
Don't worry too much about how you'll react to poverty you'll get through like most of us do and I notice your coming through Egypt, a great training ground for getting accustomed to beggers touts etc. India isn't noticably worse than Egypt in some ways perhaps it's easier but I leave that for you to decide.
I promise you when you leave Indias shores it will be all the smiles, colour and generousity you'll remember.

Happy Traveling

P.S. that willl be 20 airmiles towards my next trip

lobo

That is a lot to do in 30 days..... maybe drop a couple of places and concentrate on teh places you REALLY want to see.
you could easily spend a week in dehli goa or mumbai.

steven_ber

The Brit humour sometimes doesn't travel well.

India virgin = someone who has never been to India.

India whore = someone who has been to India many times.

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How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions.



Train information.

webtraveller

Topic name is offensive.
Yes like steven said, we need to understand the brit humor.
But not a good idea

SHIMLA

Though Steven has explained, I agree with meera and webtraveller.

Smacks of the "other forum" culture and quite out of place here !

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Whoever said money can't buy happiness didn't know where to shop !

edwardseco

The British used to have culture..

crvlvr

keeefer,

If you search this forum for "trains" and you will be treated with more than 20 pages of posts on this subject. Would be great if you use that information and then sposte specific questions that have not been answered already.

Also, here is a map of the indian railways http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/rai.../all_india.htm

the topography of india does prevent some train journeys to be extremely long or slow, and travel between those destinations might be better accomplished via road.

you should be able to check the travel times between most destinations here -http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/

do keep in mind that the Indian railways is a govt undertaking, and don't expect too much..

Baldy

Not offensive at all. North Americans can be way judgemental. An Australian or Brit would understand the humorous intention straight up.

keeefer

Sorry to those that found/find the thread name offensive, it really isnt intended to be, i just wanted somthing that caught the eye and solicited a response so it worked on that front.

Thanks for all the advice people

seventies'hippy

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."

steven_ber

All the following trains can be easily booked from abroad and an Indrail pass would just be a waste of money, see the Bhimbetka & Bhojpur section for a better way of spending your money and making the holiday easier.

Booking Indian Rail tickets from abroad: A Beginner’s Guide. (by Beach)


Classes of travel on Indian trains.

1A = First Class air-conditioned (AC1)
2A = 2 Tier air-conditioned (AC2)
3A = 3 Tier air-conditioned (AC3)
FC = First Class NOT air-conditioned
EC = Executive chair class, air-conditioned
CC = Chair class, air-conditioned
SL = Sleeper Class, NOT air-conditioned

Detailed information including photos of the above classes of accommodation


Delhi - Agra

Train 2002 departs New Delhi daily at 06:00 and gets to Agra Cantt at 08:10. (EC, CC.)

This train is one of the fastest in India and will very soon have Broadband Internet access available on the journey, possibly the first train in the world with this service, so can we expect a real-time commentary from you?


Agra - Varanasi

Train 4854 departs Agra Fort at 21:15 and gets to Varanasi at 09:30 (M, Th, Sa)

Train 4864 departs Agra Fort at 21:15 and gets to Varanasi at 08:20 (Tu, W, F, Su)

Both trains have 2A, 3A and Sleeper Class.


Varanasi - Jhansi(about 12 kms from Orccha)

Train 1108 departs Varanasi daily at 14:05 and gets to Jhansi at 06:10 (FC, SL.)


Jhansi - Bhopal

Train 2002 departs Jhansi daily at 10:48 and gets to Bhopal at 14:10. (EC, CC.) (Same train you get from Delhi - Agra)


Bhimbetka & Bhojpur

I think the money you had planned to spend on an Indrail pass would be better spent on a car & driver to get you round this area, Bhimbetka & Bhojpur are both within easy reach of Bhopal and a local driver would have knowledge of these places.


Do you want to go to Mumbai, then Goa and back to Mumbai, or did you think that you had to pass through Mumbai to get to Goa?


Bhopal - Mumbai

Train 2138 departs Bhopal daily at 17:00 and gets to Mumbai CST at 07:35 the next morning, (1A, 2A, 3A, SL.)


Bhopal - Goa

Train 2618 departs Bhopal daily at 20:05 and gets to Madgaon at 19:35 the next day, (2A, 3A, SL.)

This train also stops at Thivim at 18:36.

This train also covers the scenic part of the journey in daylight.

Thivim is in north Goa and may be more convenient for you, Below is 2 parts of a map, Thivim station is called Mapusa Rd RS on this map.

North Goa.

Central Goa.


Mumbai - Goa - Mumbai

Click on the following link for trains between Mumbai + Goa.

Mumbai - Goa - Mumbai.

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chapatigirl

That was a good one Edward.......

keeefer

Thanks for that stephen,
Just the kind of thing i was after.

Hopefully i will be able to post a running commentary on whats happening on my trip for you all to enjoy. I may even be able to get some photos up as we travel about. Am i limited to just India posts or do you want to see shots from egypt etc as we travel about?

lobo

Edwardseco: The British used to have culture..

chapatigirl: That was a good one Edward.......

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


Edward: the cheek!!!!! dont forget not so long ago that culture was to invade other lands kill loads of people and take advantage of them, and call it an empire.............

Chapatigirl : Just as cheeky , still culture is something you cant accuse the americans of ever having

Keefer: glad we could help and have a great time.