My Trip Log

Dear Mods,

Move this thread to an appropriate location if you feel so..here's my trip log bombay - agra - new delhi - nainital - jammu - bombay

So after numerous queries and doubts getting answered on this forum as usual, we set off to VT station from Thane on the 1st evening. Had booked 2 IIac tickets on the punjab mail to agra. Booked a Meru Cab...very very efficient and clean and value for money.

As luck would have it, my wife's seat was in another coach and mine was in another..we decided to try our luck and went to the coach where my wife was allocated a seat and hey! the coach was brand new, brown rexine seat covers, halogen lights (not the tube lights and blue seat covers) and the flooring was good too. i liked it instantly and decided to sit there and ask whoever was coming to move to the other coach. As luck would have it, nobody came and the TC was kind enough to allot us the seat after seeing us with the kid. This turned out to be a long journey through nasik, itarsi, gwalior etc and finally we reached agra the next evening at 6ish...

Walked out straight ignoring all the touts offering taxi and hotel services. Hailed an auto and asked him to go to hotel Crystal Inn (had used makemytrip to book). The auto guy asked 60 bucks and i dint negotiate..reached the hotel in about 15 minutes. The hotel is behind the only 2 malls in the city and on the way to the Taj. The mall has a mcdonalds and a multiplex. The hotel looked good and within minutes we were in our double room which had a 20 inch lcd tv on the wall (without the pay for use channels). The room, i thought was good for 2200/- had a split ac and wooden flooring. But the worst was the room service. We placed the food order and after 20 minutes when i enquired, they asked me to repeat the order. Had to walk down to the restaurant and shout at the manager. The good thing is that they didnt argue and immediately apologised. But i guess that is just one of those things that can happen in any hotel.

Woke up early next morning and started walking to the Taj. Realised it would tae atleast 20-25 minutes and took a cycle rickshaw (20 bucks) to the taj, realised we had to buy tickets 1km back and then were advised to go to the other gate (cant remember which one) through a narrow lane with houses..reached the other gate in less than 7 minutes and queued up after buying tickets (10 bucks for indians and 750 for non indians - no wonder we are looked at as potential touts)..thats just ridiculuous..imagine indians having to pay 700 dollars to see the empire state building...damn!! why are we like this( anyway let me stop).

Entered the taj and wow !! what a beautiful feeling it was...clicked lots of pics and the place was so crowded at 8 in the morning..felt like a college campus . Completed the entire thing in an hour and then the police were busy asking everyone to leave as the president of some country was to visit and the rest of the people could only visit the taj in the afternoon. so everyone was shooed out and we went back to the hotel for our complimentary breakfast..nice spread of omlettes, toast, fruits, cornflakes etc....we then went back to the room around 10ish and slept off till 12ish....woke up, packed our stuff and checked out at 1 30..kept the luggage at the reception locker room and strolled out to the mall..hung out at the mall, had lunch at the mcdonalds and returned to the hotel around 4ish to leave for the station. In the meanwhile realised that my delhi katgodham ticket was still waitlisted and so had to get it cancelled too.

Reached Agra station at 5 for the train to new delhi - had boooked it on the jhelum express and it was a good 2 hours late !!...finally reached new delhi close to 10pm and walked out out to the prepaid auto booth and too a rick to tagore garden. Had also asked a friend to book us on the delhi - nainital volvo via makemytrip..Took the volvo from new delhi the next night after a dinner at Sarvana Bhavan (the famous Chennai chain of restaurants)...and heres how i got ripped off by a couple of hundreds

The makemytrip site or any other site when queried on delhi to nainital buses doesnt show that they have a volvo service. So anyone would assume that it is a normal deluxe ac bus. I was mentally prepared for it. When i reach the counter from where i was to board the bus, a grumpy looking guy hands over to me a brochure containing all his bus services and i look amazed at the fact that he has a volvo to nainital as well at the same time. I ask him when did they start this and he quickly realises an opportunity (have to give it to him...he asks me if mine ws volvo or deluxe and i say deluxe. he replies that he can upgrade me to the volvo for a couple of hundreds. i quickly agree knowing that it will be very comfy in the volvo with a kid on an overnight journey. I pay him 200 bucks and in 2 minutes, the volov arrives. we board the bus and im pleased as hell. For the next 15 minutes, the bus continues to wait for other passengers. So i get off and ask this guy where the deluxe bus was. He doesnt reply and starts folding his table, chair etc and switch off the lights. I then realise that i was conned. This is the only bus service to nainital and its a damn volvo!!! but the problem was the makemytrip doesnt indicate its a volvo. so after paying 1400 bucks for 2 tickets, i pay extra for the same 2 tickets..hehehehe not a big rip off so am okay but a rip off all the same......

To be continued....

I hope they gave you extra padded seats for the 200.