Traveling on the cuff

Periinudeli

Reading all the wonderful train info I feel like I need to plan out the whole trip before hand. How feasible would it be to just show up and plan travels on the cuff?

vsp27759

Dear periinudeli,
Can you kindly explain the word ""on the cuff""?
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Simultaneously, kindly indicate the Places to be visited that you have in your mind; whether you are travelling alone or with do you have a company; the possible dates;
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V.Srinivasa Prasad
26.12.2005/18.25 hrs.

jarman_ah

I'm sure thousands of people do it, but I confess that, for our five-week odyssey, we booked everything in advance, as the general seating areas on the long-distance train (these are called "sleeper class", but that doesn't mean they have proper beds!) didn't look very inviting. Nor did the "queues" (to use the word very loosely.... it was more like a protest group) at the ticket office... we found these really hard to deal with, and on the one or two occasions we found it necessary to join these, we were forever getting pushed aside by more-aggressive passengers who were able to catch the ticket-seller's eye more easily. By booking ahead, we always knew what our train accommodation would be like (we preferred class 3AC), we could just waltz past the ticket office and the noisy rabble, and we knew that we'd never have to spend a night on the platform waiting for the next train because our preferred one was fully-booked.

However, your way is certainly an adventurous way to do it -- there is something to be said for letting the dice fall where they may and taking whatever comes up, and that is probably the "purest" way to experience this remarkable country -- and I bet you'll return with many interesting stories to tell!

thirdreel

It's certainly possible. It just calls for flexibility, persistence, patience and moxie.

Nick-H

Off the cuff? By the seat of the pants? Off the top of his head? Anyway, whatever the metaphor we know what he means.....

__________________
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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Periinudeli

I am planning to travel to Mathura (and Vrindavan) and down to Varanasi. After that I am hoping to play it by ear. I will be in India for 4 weeks and will be going solo.

MeCasa

I travel on the cuff, so to speak. I have 'general plans' but find it a lot less stressful to let things unfold as they will. Besides, I'm to damn lazy to make complex plans

I think it's the only way to fly, although 'flying' is part of the 'general plan' as 'showing up' at the airport is no longer feasible, at least that's what everybody tells me, no more standby :-(

But as to where you stay, it depends on when you get tired and where you're at when you get tired, how much finances you have when you get tired etc. etc.

vsp27759

Dear periinudeli,
Your observation:-
""and down to Varanasi.""
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@@@You plan in such a way that you will be able to get into the following train from Agra Cantt. to Varanasi on Friday Evening, a relatively free train instead of wasting full day in the Marudhar Express which also does not touch Varanasi:-
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You Queried For Train No Train Name Date Runs From Source Runs On
9569 OKHA BSB EXPRES 27/12/2005 OKHA THU


SNo Stn Code Stn Name Route No. Arrival Time Dep. Time Distance Day Remark
1 OKHA OKHA 1 Source 13:00 0 1
2 DWK DWARKA 1 13:28 13:30 29 1
3 KMBL KHAMBHALIYA 1 15:09 15:11 114 1
4 JAM JAMNAGAR 1 16:28 16:30 168 1
5 HAPA HAPA 1 16:48 16:50 177 1 Train doesn't halt at this station, presently
6 RJT RAJKOT JN 1 18:15 18:25 253 1
7 SUNR SURENDRANAGAR 1 19:55 19:57 369 1
8 VG VIRAMGAM JN 1 21:51 21:53 434 1
9 ADI AHMEDABAD JN 1 23:10 23:35 499 1
10 ANND ANAND JN 1 00:44 00:46 563 2
11 BRC VADODARA JN 1 01:40 02:05 599 2
12 RTM RATLAM JN 1 05:55 06:15 861 2
13 NAD NAGDA JN 1 07:20 07:22 902 2
14 KOTA KOTA JN 1 10:00 10:10 1127 2
15 SWM SAWAI MADHOPUR 1 11:35 11:40 1235 2
16 GGC GANGAPUR CITY 1 12:38 12:40 1298 2
17 AF AGRA FORT 1 15:50 16:00 1460 2
18 TDL TUNDLA JN 1 16:50 17:00 1483 2
19 CNB KANPUR CENTRAL 1 23:00 23:10 1712 2
20 ALD ALLAHABAD JN 1 02:35 03:05 1904 3
21 JNH JANGHAI JN 1 04:13 04:15 1964 3
22 BOY BHADOHI 1 04:46 04:48 1994 3
23 BSB VARANASI JN 1 06:20 00:00 2039 3
============================== ===========
From Varanasi to New Delhi, you may use the 2559 Shiv Ganga Express - the best of all the existing trains & which runs daily, with just two stops in between:-
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You Queried For Train No Train Name Date Runs From Source Runs On
2559 SHIV GANGA EXP 27/12/2005 VARANASI JN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN


SNo Stn Code Stn Name Route No. Arrival Time Dep. Time Distance Day Remark
1 BSB VARANASI JN 1 Source 18:45 0 1
2 ALD ALLAHABAD JN 1 21:35 22:05 125 1
3 CNB KANPUR CENTRAL 1 00:45 00:55 319 2
4 NDLS NEW DELHI 1 07:45 00:00 758 2
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V.Srinivasa Prasad
27.12.2005/9.35 hrs.

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LilyB

We originally planned to travel by train and bus, but being here during the busy season limits flexibility of schedules, so we ended up hiring a driver for 2 weeks. It was just under $200 USD per week and we had all the flexibility we wanted and got to see more than we would have otherwise.

We had a really great driver and it ended up being well worth it.

wonderwomanusa

I've always done it that way, and unless I am travelling at festival time, have never had problems getting train reservations or hotel rooms. Well, Bangalore is tough for hotel rooms, no matter when ... but otherwise, so long as you are a flexible person, you'll be just fine.

In most cases (again, depends on festivals) you should be able to get a train reservation for about 2 day from the day you go to the station for same -- if you can't get a reservation, go somewhere else!