This Tshirt Was Outsourced in Bangalore
June 3rd, 2006 | Published in dispatch | 7 Comments
Goodbye for a while, IR.
Train journeys, 18 April to 3 June -
Sealdah (Calcutta) to New Jalpaiguri (for Darjeeling): 569km
New Jalpaiguri to Mughal Sarai (for Varanasi): 849km
Varanasi Junction to Agra Fort (for the Taj Mahal): 607km
Jaipur to Jaisalmer: 614km
Ahmedabad to Mumbai: 491km
Mumbai to Madgaon (for Goa): 765km
Total distance covered by train - 3895km
We must have covered a similar distance by bus.
Breakdown of train classes: Tier 3AC (4 times), non-AC Sleeper (once), AC Chair Class (once)
The trains are the arteries of the Indian transport system. Contrary to the popular belief that Indian trains are hopelessly overcrowded with passengers on the roofs and sides, the IR is doing a pretty good job, considering its size (it is the world’s largest employer, and has been in existence for 150 years). Travel in the classes of 3AC upwards is very comfortable and clean. Sleeper class might be a better idea in the winter. Sometime during the 3895 kilometres that I’d travelled, I struck upon the great idea of travelling the same distance from Singapore by trains, and trains only, and seeing where I’d end up.
The fact that I know exactly where I’ll end up (China), and which succession of trains to take (Singapore to Hat Yai, Hat Yai to Bangkok, Bangkok to Nong Khai, then into Vietnam, to catch the twice-a-week train to Beijing… is quite scary. That I’m seriously contemplating this journey, and doing it myself, is the other thing.
Home is the Stopover Before the Next Destination
First dinner back home: Butter crabs and crab beehoon at Melben
I liked Bangalore: the weather was great, the people were great (except the rickshaw men), and I got to meet Kiran, Zainab, and Avinash from Delhi. I think I could actually live there for a couple of months. Then again, by the time we got there, we were so fatigued from backpacking (though admittedly we did much more _flash_packing), that we just settled nicely into nice dinners that cost hundred-something (yes, Singapore dollars), and the other flash on MG and Brigade Road.
This post was originally named How Many People Does It Take to Get Something Done at Bangalore International Airport? But I lost count, trying to recount this morning’s events.
June 3rd, 2006 at 2:41 pm (#)
Hi !
i am first again, stealing internet from neighbour to come first…….
Indian railways is one of the most modern transport system of the world. You can book a ticket from anywhere to whereever…. Imagine the number of trains IR has and number of passengers. 3 MRTs would make an indian train………….
well… if there was no corruption in the IR the rails would be made of gold…….
June 3rd, 2006 at 4:11 pm (#)
It was nice that you take away an overall good impression of India - I was very impressed by your excellent planning and sustaining yourself in India for over a month is no easy job!
Well done, Adri.. let’s hope you will be back in India soon! :)
June 3rd, 2006 at 8:30 pm (#)
Bir, Indian Railways is modern? cough
Yes, the ability to book a ticket from anywhere is nice, but the rest of it is an ancient, creaking system being dragged into the present, not a modern enterprise preparing for the future.
June 3rd, 2006 at 10:52 pm (#)
or you could just keep taking the MRT and go round and round for 3895kms. NEL to EWL to NSL to LRTs to wherever else..
June 3rd, 2006 at 11:48 pm (#)
Hi Jace !
well a ride from Koeln to Paris in Thalis costs you a good 100 euros = 5700 Rs. for a 5 hour journey (approx)
in 1000 Rs you can travel 5 times the distance….. i.e. less than 1/5th the cost……
Its one of the world’s largest network….. today when there are people more in the MRT for example during NDP, the whole system crashes in singapore. The MRTs full, too many people…. mismanagement……But in India everyday there are 1000 times more people but stil the trains run and life is ON.
Indian railways has in itself a culture…. a tradition…. that can make 1 billion people depend on it… how many railways/rail networks can boast of this……
June 5th, 2006 at 1:30 pm (#)
Bir, yes, so the system is remarkably resilient given the load, but isn’t “modern” the wrong word to describe it?
Contrast the Bombay suburban trains with the Delhi metro, for example. Bombay’s carries a heck a lot more people than Delhi’s, but also kills ten people every day. I don’t recall any such statistic for Delhi’s.
June 5th, 2006 at 1:31 pm (#)
Uh, link got stripped: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3528811.stm
What markup system does this use? Textile?