[India] Slowly understanding

Location: Mumbai Airport (waiting for my 3:15am flight to Kenya)

SO, I am slowly getting used to how things work around here. 

Also there is minimal access to the internet, which is why I'm actually updating this 2 days after I actually wrote it (I saved it on word doc until I had access). There are internet cafes (also called cyber cafes here), but the internet connection is usually bad and half the time the computer freezes. I was forced to realized how much I've been dependent on internet to get through everyday, and how vulnerable I become when placed in an environment without it. 

Anyway, putting that aside, I will organize future posts by categories and episodes (because its easier for me to recall episodes than every detail of the day in order)

Another Beginning

On the Rickshaw to New Delhi Station (50 Rupees)

Today was the beginning of the 3-day survival in India. I left my senpai’s house at 8:30am, and took the Rickshaw to New Delhi Station. Senpai and his wife treated me too good that I didn't know how say "thank you" in the most applicable way, so I guess it was good that I left early while they were still asleep. But that was that. I later realized (as I write 3 days later), that I should of never expected anymore, car, AC, fancy restaurants, chilled bottled water, and most importantly: respect.  

Getting used to New Delhi Station

So I suggest every backpacker who will go to New Delhi to read this carefully. This is some serious stuff and I’m writing based on my own experience, and I don’t want anymore confused tourists to follow my footsteps. Even if you don’t plan on going to Delhi, I think it still helps understand how things are in a major city like New Delhi.

• Don’t listen to the people who come up to you. Okay, you’d probably heard this many times, but it is important and should be strictly followed. They will tell you to go to some “tourist office” or something sketchy like that. DON’T.  Where you want to go is the International Tourist Bureau on the 2^nd floor. When you first get to the station, go to the main entrance, where you see a huge screen with train schedules (there will be many people sitting or sleeping on the floor). Then, look to your right and left. You should see a blue sign that says “International Tourist Bureau”. This is the only place in Delhi that will give you a fair price. Go upstairs, get in line, and talk to the workers. I also recommend looking up the train schedules online before you go because the workers aren’t always nice enough to suggest trains for you. If you can, I definitely suggest going there and reserving a seat couple days before because 1. The train gets full quick, and 2. Who knows what kind of adventure awaits for you at New Delhi Station.

• Don’t trust the Schedule Board

So when you get your ticket, you realize that it doesn’t tell you the platform number. That’s because that is the only part that you find out on the day of. You have to look at the big black schedule board in the main entrance. Here’s the issue: half the time the train doesn’t appear on the screen. To overcome this, you have to two options (though I cannot guarantee success in neither). First option is to go back to the International Tourist Bureau and ask them which platform your train will depart (if there is a huge line, there should be a small information desk on your right hand side when you enter the room). Second option is to listen carefully for the announcements. They will announce which train will arrive in what platform, so when it’s almost the time for your train to arrive and you still don’t know what platform you have to be at, make sure you listen to the announcements because that should be the most accurate (and last minute) information.

• and the train…

Again, don't be surprised

Once you purchase your ticket and find your platform, you still have couple challenges ahead of you. First, the train will arrive late. Don’t be surprised if its late by 1,2, or 3 hours. I heard of trains being late by 7 hours. Another challenge is locating you couch. To be honest, this is a challenge that I have yet to overcome. It doesn’t say the couch anywhere on the platform or the train, so how are we supposed to know where to wait and to get on? I ended up asking the train snack boys where my couch is and sprinting across the platform (and the train is pretty long).

• and the train…(part 2)

So you’d think you can relax after you find your seat (and no one is sitting there). Wrong. Or at least I was. After a while, a man will come by and ask if you want veggie or chicken for your meal. I was impressed with this service and someone actually giving me respect (though I paid 500 Rupees for it), and I ended up ordering chicken. After a while, the food was served. After a while after that, the same man came and said “80 Rupees”. Moral of the story, don’t assume anything is free in India, it’s not.

• and the train…(part 3)

Lastly, of course the train will arrive late. Be surprised if it arrives early or even on time. For my 13-hour train from New Delhi to Varnasi (the one that leaves at 16:20 and arrives at “05:30”), the train arrived at Varnasi Station 5 hours late. There was another backpacker I became friends with on the train whose train ride was 20 hours long, I wonder if he’d ever get off the train.

• Final thoughts

-       Reserve for the most expensive couch. It is worth it. This is the only thing I didn’t skrimp on, and I’m glad I didn’t.

-       Secure your luggage. Locking zippers and keeping your luggage beside you at all times is a given. Seriously, lock yourself to your luggage and don’t make it visible as much as possible. One backpacker I met had her backpack stolen, and another got her cellphone stolen.

-       Make friends during the ride. This definitely helped me. It is very difficult to tell which stop is the one you’re supposed to get off, because sometimes there is no sign on the station, and they surely won’t announce it. Make a friend, preferably someone who is used to the ride, and have them help you getting off.

じゃじゃーん

駅で電車が到着する際に流れるメロディーがありますよね？日本だと「トゥル・ル・ルン」的な（そのあとに「○○線に○○行きが到着します」が続く）。

何故かインドはそれが「ジャジャーン」なんですよ。

なんだこの感じ。どこかで聞いたことある。。正義の味方の登場音？いや、違う。ムッズムズする。あれだ、あれ。

そう、まさかの大晦日にやる「ガキの使いあらへんで」の罰ゲームが決定する時にある「松本、アウトー！」の前の「じゃじゃーん」でした。ちょっと日本にいる感じがしてささいなホックリ。

Arriving in Agra

Agra Station

Besides all the hassle mentioned above, the bright side is that I did arrive in Agra. Offerings of Auto-Rickshaw, normal Rickshaw, tours and hotels are nothing new here. One man followed me from the minute I stepped off the train, until I was 5 minutes away from the station (that's like 15 minutes in total). I figured that rather than getting him off my back and once again becoming an obvious target (being a backpacker), I’d tease him and make him “guard” me from other offers. At the end, when there are less rickshaw and tour offerings, I just stopped talking to him and kept walking (though he still followed me for 10 minutes after that).

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

After blowing off Rickshaw drivers, now it was okay for me to open up the map and try to figure out where I actually was. By the way, staring at the map in front of the station is just asking for trouble (experienced it in Delhi). To be honest, if you have time, take the auto rickshaw (its really not that expensive if you can negotiate and prepay). I just wanted to get lost a bit and discover the Taj Mahal with my own eyes and feet, not by a driver taking me there. I think it’s worth the time.

Friends I made at Taj Mahal who protected
me from beggers and ticket sellers

Another thing about India

To enter Taj Mahal for India citizens was around 50 Rupees. For anyone else, 750 R. That's 1500%. It was worth the money so I wouldn’t complain, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel being taken advantage of. This isn’t just with Taj Mahal, but also with other major places that many tourists visit.

日本人はナメられすぎ

「日本？」「東京？大阪？」「こんにちは」。こんな風に話しかけられるのはもうインドでは当たり前です。始めインドに着いて驚かないで下さい。なぜならその日以内に５度以上同じように話しかけられます。「私日本に行ったことある」。これも良くあります。しかも大抵、東京・大阪ラインです。賢いインド人は札幌や九州を出してきます。少し高級な店のおっさんは「赤坂」とピンポイントしてきました。それにしてもインド人の日本語はなかなか上手。なかには「本当に日本にいたんじゃないか？」と思う人もいますし、実際に行った人もいるはずです。でもまぁ、基本的には、日本人はすぐ狙われますんで、気をつけて下さい。自分としては話しかけてくる人を避けるパターンが二つあります。

１：ずっとシカト。あまりにもしつこかったら最後に逆切れ。こちらは女性にオススメ。

２：最初は適当に会話し、最後は爽やかに「いや、いらない」。相手のメンタル面を狙うパターン。「こんだけ交渉して結局かよ」と思ってもらえれば◎。

「ジャパン？」と聞かれることが１０回あれば、「コリア？」「チャイナ？」は１・２回。それだけ今までの日本人が簡単に餌食となってきたのか。。（「ネパール？」と聞かれるのはジャパン？と同じぐらいあるが、それは個人的なルックスの問題であろう。。）

Jiggy-Jiggy Shakair

Shakair (and half the plate I bought)

I met Shakair right outside of the Taj Mahal gate. He started talking to me in Japanese, which wasn’t perfect but still better than many others. Impressed, we started to have a decent conversation. Turns out (as he claims) that he has lived in Akasaka for couple years because the company that he runs sells some of the products to Japanese customers. I only half believed him, but I thought it won’t hurt to check it out so I followed him to his shop (and I made him promise me that he’ll treat me to chai). So I ended up going to his shop and of course he showed me all his products so I told him I’ll buy something. Oh and to Japanese tourists, 「見るだけね。。(only look)」is their favorite technique to use on Japanese buyers. They probably think it's a magical word that prevents Japanese from saying “no” (which they already have an issue with). So thanks to Shakair, I learned the usage of “mirudake” in India, and when I hear clerk use that word since then, I just smile.

Anyhow, Shakair did succeed in making me purchase his goods, but I did make him give me some free stuff and customize what I bought. He also did treat me to chai, cookies, and curry. He also drove me to Agra station, which saved me from fighting my way through Rickshaw offers and bargaining with drivers. To the Agra Cannt station he brought along his cousin, and the whole way there they kept asking me about jiggy-jiggy (basically, sex). In the end Shakair gave me his email address and told me to send him an email if my Japanese friends (girls) will visit India. I told him okay, but “Mirudake”.

Here we go again…

After getting dropped off at Agra Cannt Station by car, I realized that getting on the train at the station was equally difficult as getting to the station. Since I arrived about 30 minutes before the departure time, I decided to look for either foreigners, or people with huge luggage (technique I learned from the past 3 days). I found a Phillipino couple and asked what their couch number was. Since we were both 2A (which I assumed we were because many tourists buy the higher level ticket), I asked to follow them and their guide to the waiting spot. Success.