THE INDIAN TRAVEL EXPERIENCE 🇮🇳
Few years ago now when I was India I used to use public transport to travel the long distances between cities - buses, trains etc. Was rarely a pleasant experience because there was always some kind of low-level of dysfunctionality but it was still mostly tolerable if you didn’t mind pissing into a bottle. Occasionally would have bad trips though, worst was between the holy city of Varanasi (where Shiva established the cosmic centre of the universe) and the holy city of Bodh Gaya (where the Buddha attained Enlightenment)
Had been in Varanasi, by the Ganges, for a few days. Depending on who you ask the Ganges is either the embodiment of the Goddess Ganga or a de facto open sewer where burnt corpses and human waste wash over the worshipers who wade into the river to pray and bathe. (Seeing actual human corpses being burnt in front of your eyes on the ghats is a strange experience, can talk more about that another time though. Won’t forget the sight anyway - didn’t expect human bodies to burn quite like that ie extremities first, torso last)
After I left my hotel had a bumpy 30 minute tuk tuk ride through honking, swerving traffic to an intersection near the bus station where a flyover had recently collapsed, trapping and crushing many people. A lot of people dead. Driver stopped near the rubble and said oh you have to walk 2 minutes down this road to get to the bus station. It seemed a lot with a heavy bag but still doable. Turned out I had to walk 20 minutes along a dirty roadside and of course there were loud honking horns, people shouting at me etc along the way. Was very hot, really wanted to punch someone
I get to the bus station sweating, agitated and tired and ask “Sasaram, Sasaram”. (City where I wanted to go first.) People just shake their head. Walk around for 15 minutes and people keep saying no, no. Eventually a tuk tuk driver comes up to me and asks if I need a tuk tuk. I ask if the Sasaram bus is nearby and he says other side of town, back the way I came. We go back down exactly the same road, even driving along the road right next to the hotel I had stayed. Another 15 minutes to get to a muddy field where the buses go to Sasaram. Note - reason I wanted to go to Sasaram and not Bodh Gaya directly is Indian state boundaries mean buses don’t go directly there. Varanasi is in Uttar Pradesh and Bodh Gaya is in Bihar. Sasaram is right on the border of Bihar, when you get there you have to take further transportation. In theory you can drive Varanasi to Bodh Gaya in 5 hours, which is long but not ‘long’ long
Wait in the muddy field for 30 minutes for whatever reason then finally we go. Driver starts driving into oncoming traffic before building up enough speed to accelerate over the raised pavement that separates the two road directions, was about 5 minutes of driving on the wrong side of the road in all. He took the raised pavement to hop back to the correct side like it was a ramp in Mario Kart. Nobody cared. 3 hours later, crammed in the bus in the dark we arrive in the grimy and in that a way a little intimidating Sasaram. The city and surrounds were visibly very very poor, there is litter everywhere etc
At the bus station they say there is no bus onwards to Bodh Gaya, I must go by train. Concept of a bus to a major nearby city seemed confusing for some people. And apparently the train was the same train I could have caught in Varanasi anyway. I have to walk out the bus station, down a dark, creepy-looking track past some slums and then across live railway lines to get to the station. Here they only have general standing tickets available, so I pay 65 rupees (>$1) because no other alternative. Was hungry but the only food available to buy anywhere near the station was biscuits so I had biscuits and coca cola for my evening meal. It was dark now too so I went to sit under the one working lamp on my train platform. Would still need to wait 90 minutes for my train to arrive
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Jayant Bhandari@JayantBhandari5
India's cosy, safe bullet train.
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