By 1am we were both still wide awake as the train stopped & started on it's way to Delhi. I could hear Tom sniffling from allergies & I was really restless with an overactive mind.
We both drifted off at different points, but it was light, broken sleep that was permanently disturbed at 7am by train staff hawking chai tea & food! Literally they would yell multiple times through the carriage and walk from the front of the train to the back again. Between the water, 2 food options, chai tea & coffee being sold by different staff, every few minutes someone was in the carriage, yelling.
At 8am, we eventually gave up on sleep, brought a vegetable cutlet sandwich & some chai.
Our train arrived in Delhi at 12.15pm at the Delhi Sarai Rohilla station, which is not the main Delhi station.
As we arrived in the outskirts of Delhi we went past kilometers & kilometers of shanty town villages. The poverty in India will never stop breaking my heart. I'll never get use to seeing it.
After departing the train & exiting the platform we were approached by the usual friendly tuk tuk drivers. The first price dictated by the tuk tuk driver to take us 5 kilometers to the bus station was 500 INR. Bloody disgusting & a complete rip off. I told him flat out "that's a rip off, we don't want to buy your bloody tuk tuk" but as usual in this country, I was given a brief glance before he spoke directly to Tom & ignored me. Tom was feeling less argumentative & less patient from the heat & agreed to 250 INR, still a rip off.
We arrived at the ISBT Kashmere Gate bus station at 1am & had another 2 hour wait before our bus was scheduled to depart.
A wait that would be devoted to swatting flies, internally questioning the common sense of people around us & ignoring hawkers trying to sell us balloons, pens & books.
We boarded the bus & took our seats 4 rows from the front just before 3pm & left on time.
The bus was relatively new & comfortable, most notable attributes were the suspension & air con.
We were both asleep in our seats before too long.
At 5pm the bus stopped for a toilet break & it was here we noticed how green everything was! We have left behind the dry, dirt & dust of south India's summer.
We arrived in Rishakesh just before 10pm, nearly an hour late.
Tom once again quickly negotiated a rip off tuk tuk fare to get us to the street our hostel was on. The tuk tuk driver didn't want to drive up the hill to our hostel. Understandably, the tuk tuk didn't feel or sound like it could get up the hill. I've used 2 stroke lawn mowers with more power.
The walk up the hill was blessedly short & before long we had checked in. We both had showers & were tucked in bed before too long! The shower alone was amazing after 23 hours of travel. What a way to spend our 100th day abroad.
My high school drama teacher once told me "never underestimate the rejuvenating effects of a shower" she has been proven right on many occasions!
Our train arrived in Delhi at 12.15pm at the Delhi Sarai Rohilla station, which is not the main Delhi station.
As we arrived in the outskirts of Delhi we went past kilometers & kilometers of shanty town villages. The poverty in India will never stop breaking my heart. I'll never get use to seeing it.
After departing the train & exiting the platform we were approached by the usual friendly tuk tuk drivers. The first price dictated by the tuk tuk driver to take us 5 kilometers to the bus station was 500 INR. Bloody disgusting & a complete rip off. I told him flat out "that's a rip off, we don't want to buy your bloody tuk tuk" but as usual in this country, I was given a brief glance before he spoke directly to Tom & ignored me. Tom was feeling less argumentative & less patient from the heat & agreed to 250 INR, still a rip off.
We arrived at the ISBT Kashmere Gate bus station at 1am & had another 2 hour wait before our bus was scheduled to depart.
A wait that would be devoted to swatting flies, internally questioning the common sense of people around us & ignoring hawkers trying to sell us balloons, pens & books.
We boarded the bus & took our seats 4 rows from the front just before 3pm & left on time.
The bus was relatively new & comfortable, most notable attributes were the suspension & air con.
We were both asleep in our seats before too long.
At 5pm the bus stopped for a toilet break & it was here we noticed how green everything was! We have left behind the dry, dirt & dust of south India's summer.
We arrived in Rishakesh just before 10pm, nearly an hour late.
The walk up the hill was blessedly short & before long we had checked in. We both had showers & were tucked in bed before too long! The shower alone was amazing after 23 hours of travel. What a way to spend our 100th day abroad.
My high school drama teacher once told me "never underestimate the rejuvenating effects of a shower" she has been proven right on many occasions!
- Alli
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