tuesday

Tuesday morning

Well, i'm not sure if its late monday night or tuesday morning.. but i froze over.. like literally.. i underestimated the climate when i went to bed without socks..
somehow survived till morning.. and they tell me it'll go down another 15 degrees before we reach Delhi... o.0"

now there are really nice sloping hills and grass fields outside... we passed a river and more fields.. different crops though.. more lush green and yellow stalks...
tried to watch the scenery through the train door.. but was beaten back by the icy wind...

had a pear for breakfast.. and some biscuits... feeling hungry now... hope to get some food in the next station...
which is Agra..




Tuesday afternoon

Finally, Delhi!! no one can say I haven't visited the capital now!! bwahahaha...
first look at the place, dirty, busy, large buildings.. i'm really in a city..
we boarded in the church union guestroom.. very beautiful building..
our church seems to have a knack at getting posh places for their union offices.. :P

Met a traveling africano sharing our guestroom.. Herbert from Uganda.. he has a really impressive traveling log book. traveling solo to so many different places as a NGO volunteer.. Nice to have him around since he has already explored Delhi for 3 weeks..

Mission number 1... to meet up with our fellow Malaysian E who is stuck in Delhi with severe food poisoning in his friends place..
We decided to meet up in central market... mode of transport: metro!!
Can't believe it!!.. the metro is a subway system which connects all the important places in Delhi.. Consisting of some 6 lines it maps out something really really similar to the singapore mrt..
In fact, its so similar to singapore that i had a temporary flashback...
until the crowd part... which really hit me. that singaporeans are really disciplined people... hmm...
but it was impressive..
the rest of the night showed me something better than KL.. as i remember it..
the weather, the buildings, .. and to some extent, the people... yeah.. there is such varied forms of people.. and all of them have such beautiful eyes!!

Had something like fried noodles, and eg roll, something like the huger version of popiah... all from roadside shops which really reminds me of Petaling street..
yes, we are a bit adventurous for eating in these places, especially one of us already had diarrhea.. but, yeah... we enjoyed it.!!

Monday

had a wonderful sleep... woke up around 9:30.. the first thing that greeted me was the blaring of the train horn.. guess I'll get really used to that after a while..

had a small devotion together with the guys... then breakfast time!! Have I ever told you how cheap Indian food can be?? We got some lime rice, and briyanis and an omelet less than Rs100!... and there s enough enough for lunch too.!

the guys friends of the girls we were sharing berths with arrived.. it seems that they are traveling in a different coach.. one of them, J studied in a SDA school previously... had a casual chat...

India is beautiful! there were acres and acres of farm lands and its harvest time! the golden fields are really golden!.. and the laborers are cutting the rop by hand and piling up the hay.. i think...

weather is becoming cooler too.. something that reminds me of our northwardly journey..

today is the day of names... counting the names of the stations we pass by... Chitor, Gugha, Nellore... tongue twisters all of them.. try Balharshahah..
anyway..

forgetting the names.. we had a great time talking.. then playing cards... then the guys had to study.. so i went to find a friend who was also traveling in the same train.. talked to her and her dad... then spent a bit of time watching a movie too..

in the night, we said goodbye to our new friends who's getting off at nagpur... and they gave us a rose..??

Sunday night

Finally boarded the train... preparing for a restful sleep and a long journey northwards.

Can't believe it! Finally on my way to fulfill one of my dreams.. to see snow!!
It will be a long long ride but the excitement that awaits at the end of the road lifts my spirit up...

Was a little unsettled by the setback yesterday... didn't get reservations for our train.. luckily, we had the foresight of double booking on the next date.
but it would mean a small change in our initial plans.. a side trip to Agra and the legendary Taj, might be cancelled depending on the availability...

but sitting here listening to the creaking of tracks and humming of the engines sort of reminds me of the importance of the trip itself rather than the destination..
It would be one that will add to my experiences in life.. after all, it is my first time traveling 2 days by rail, that too the Indian rail...which is supposed to be the pulsating aorta of indian transportation... cessation of the rail would cause the immediate arrest of india's economy...

we got in a berth with 2 girls traveling to Nagpur and a gentleman to Delhi...
hmm.. maybe we'll make friends tomorrow!!