APR 26, 16 .. THE TRIP FROM GOA TO PONDICHERRY

Disclaimer: Take a nap .. Have water handy .. Bring your popcorn .. This is going to be a long Post in terms of text writing along with a fair number of photos taken from the train.

Here I am .. Writing this in late April of 2016.

We left our guest house in Arambol Beach very peacefully at noon. Our taxi was early. We had a very enjoyable two-hour ride to Margao the largest city in Goa where we were to catch an afternoon train at 3:20PM. We arrived at the train station over two full hours early. The cab ride was just perfect. 

In real time we left the city of Margao in the Indian state of Goa by train in the late afternoon of Thursday the 28th of January and arrived into Chennai Cental at noontime Friday the 29th of January 2016. We then got a taxi from Chennai to Pondicherry. 

Things have been going too smoothly here.

The Time Has Come The Walrus Said For Some DRAMA!

We had a lot of drama just getting onto the train in Margao. 

Then we had a lot more DRAMA after we boarded the train. 

The first dramatic sequence of events began when we arrived at the train station in Margao. First things first!  Find out if our train is on time and what platform we will be boarding from. I left Patti and our baggage in a Ladies Waiting Room area and off I went.

No matter how many cycles I sat through waiting for our train to appear I was totally unable to find our train posted on the station's over head Electronic Train Status Board.

India has its challenges but basically when it comes to trains things are pretty well managed. The below Electronic Train Status Board is in New Delhi but it gives you an idea of the status boards.

The train we were ticketed on runs once-a-week. Evidently because the train runs only once-a-week there was never any information on the Electronic Train Status Board.

IF you miss the train you are out-of-luck for a full week! 

What to do now? Finally I went into the station master's office where I got (only in India!) two answers. Track 2 or Track 3. Luckily these two tracks adjoin one another.

Knowing our track numbers we paid a small fee so that we could wait in a pleasant air conditioned first class waiting room. We were lucky to get into the room as they strictly limited the number of occupants to avoid the usual India overcrowding.

About 2:30pm I decided it was time to get to our track for our 3:20pm departure.

I searched outside the waiting area for a porter to help us get our luggage to the train platform. The train stations are usually teeming with porters. There was not a porter in sight. Not a good sign.

Patti said .. "Go look for a porter." .. I said .. "We don't have time to go searching for a porter!"

So off we went with me handling four pieces of luggage. Our train arriving on either track 2 or 3 meant that I had to ferry four bags up three tiers of stairs to the cross-over above the train tracks. Then, it was three steep ramps down to the loading platform. Once on the platform we could not get an answer from anyone as to where in the LONG train (18 coaches minimum) our assigned car would be located. We ended up going in two different directions. First we headed towards the front of the train and then reversed our course and went towards the rear of the train.  

Do you want frantic? Your train has pulled into the station.The next train is one week away and you are not sure where to board the train sitting at the platform. THAT IS FRANTIC!  Somehow we pulled it off and boarded our coach near the far end of the train.

We got onto the train with our luggage just about the instant that it began to slowly ease away from the loading platform and head East to Chennai.

Our hearts were pounding (and I mean POUNDING!) from the stress above. I was sweating and in some disarray. But we were on the train.

Once on the train, drama number two began. 

It was an overnight train. I had asked for a lower and an upper berth in our (I had assumed one and the same) compartment. After boarding the train we found out that we were assigned (1) two upper berths in (2) separate compartments. 

Trust me (1) Patti can NOT do an upper berth! and (2) obviously we wanted to be in the same compartment.

Normally they give preference to seniors for the lower berths and with Patti's physical limitations, she simply CAN NOT do an upper berth. Normally a couple is assigned to the same compartment! 

I (sweaty and with my heart still pounding) began negotiations with the conductor to switch Patti to a lower berth. That was finally accomplished when I 'slipped-the-conductor' a small gratuity of Indian Rupees 500 which by-the-by was 50% of the cost of the ticket! In the long run it was well worth it however!

We two remained in different compartments for the duration of the trip. Patti was in a compartment with a delightful Indian family, a young professional couple and their charming two year old daughter. They did not mind the fact that I spent a lot of time with Patti in 'their' compartment.

The night went well and we arrived in Chennai a few minutes ahead of schedule at just before noon.

Time for some photos of the overnight train trip from Margao Goa to Chennai Tamil Nadu.

In all of my now twenty five (25) years of riding trains in India .. the next series of thirteen photos taken as we passed through the mountains show some of the most scenic views that I can ever recall seeing from a train in India.

I wish I had a map so I could tell you with certainty that we had now passed completely through the mountains.

I love to get off the train and enjoy the various stops en route.

Evening was now approaching. Time for dinner and to settle for the night. Because Patti and I were in separate compartments and she was with a family I did not shoot any photos of our train accommodations.

I certainly could have. Now I wish I would have. But at the time I was just exhausted from the stress getting on the train and the issues with upper and lower berths and us being in separate compartments.

The remaining photos below were taken on Friday the 29th of January 2016.

 We passed through an area with many rice paddies.

Hello Chennai Central .. Oh My Oh My ..

 Notice number 44 above and a close-up below! You have just got to love India!

All of us often tend to downplay things because we all tend to remember only the fun side of a trip. It is now April and we rolled into Chennai Central last January the 29th.

To say the least Chennai Central is intense. Even though we had a first class air conditioned compartment the two of us were pretty tired when we got into Chennai. The tremendous stress involved in my just finding the correct train platform and then getting onto the train only to be separated took its toll on the two of us.

So for sure the train trip was now compete BUT we then had to get from Chennai to Pondicherry. Puducherry is now the correct name of Pondicherry. No one I know in the International Traveling community uses this word Puducherry!

On-the-street it is called 'Pondi' NOT EVER 'Pudu'.

More drama and some enormous stress awaited the two of us.

I decided that we would hire a taxi in Chennai for the trip South to 'Pondi'. Heretofore I have always taken a bus. Paying the enormous taxi fare was just not acceptable to me. I am positive that Patti could not have gracefully endured the 3-1/2 hour bus ride. I am not so sure that I myself could have endured the bus. I have been there and I have done that and it is a challenge. A taxi was an excellent decision on my part. 

In the Chennai station, I left Patti sitting comfortably with the luggage. I went out to the curb and spoke to a local hawker about getting a taxi to Pondicherry. The man jumped at the opportunity to be of service. He and I came back to collect Patti and our luggage. 

Now it got ugly really ugly. It was so bad that PATTI HERSELF got so upset that PATTI stepped between two warring and almost fist-fighting taxi drivers.

The good news about the terrible 'row' between the taxi drivers is that none of them touched Patti and amazingly each just stepped back away from Patti as she intervened ELSE YOUR VERY OWN CAPTAIN would have gotten involved in a very big time way.

Had I gotten involved THAT could have gotten REALLY UGLY.

Back at the curb, we were immediately surrounded by a "committee" of aggressive men speaking loudly to 'our man'. Our man ushered us across the street where there were some taxis waiting.  The "committee" followed getting louder with their confronting of 'our man'. It reached the shouting stage. One man in particular was nose-to-nose with 'our man' and shaking his fist. Patti does not handle arguments well and usually just removes herself from the vicinity of any argument. The most aggressive man finally started to push and hit at 'our man'. At this point, Patti of all people stepped between the two of them. Whatever possessed her??? The shouting toned down, the aggressive man took a step back, and we were loaded into a taxi that arrived from 'afar' for Pondicherry. End of the drama.

*THE REST OF THIS STORY. In the United States and in many foreign countries there has arisen an 'alternative taxicab' scheme called Uber Car Service. People with smart phones use an 'app' to call their very own Uber Car totally outside of the conventional Taxi system.

From what I understand there has been quite the uproar about this for numerous good reasons. I think this is what happened here.

Prior to getting a quote from the man we eventually dealt with I had asked several 'legitimate' taxis in their 'taxi queue' in front of the Chennai Central station for an estimate to go South from Chennai to Pondi. I was given quotes in the range of Indian Rupees (IR) 4,000 to 4,500 (US $ 59.70 to 67.16.) These rates represent a lot of money to a taxi driver. So of course they are going to fight for that business.

When 'our man' gave me a quote of 3,500 IR I accepted his offer. He immediately got onto his cell phone and placed a phone call to someone. At that time I thought nothing of this. It was the man he had called that arrived from 'afar' into the above chaos with his own car!

After the dust had settled and Patti and I were in the car 'our man' put his head into our car and said to me ..

"Sir. Give me 1,000 IR. When you get to Pondicherry give the driver 2,500 IR."

INSTANTLY I KNEW WHAT HAD HAPPENED!

'Our man' had 'brokered' himself a sweet deal. He called some type of Uber Car Service and ordered up a car to Pondi. I have no doubt he works closely with the driver we rode to Pondi with. In fact his 'car' had a logo on the rear window indicating that he was indeed a part of some sort of conglomerate with others since I saw the same identical signs on several other (identical white Suzuki's) cars as we rode to 'Pondi' over the three hour drive. The driver was courteous and the car was so immaculate that it appeared to border on being showroom brand new. Many taxi cabs in India are absolutely filthy moving-wrecks-waiting-to-happen.

IF I am correct .. and I am sure I am .. it is NO WONDER the legitimate taxi drivers and their business agent were up-in-arms about what was happening in front of them.

We had a peaceful ride to Pondicherry, about three hours.

The time has come to finally close out the trip from Margao to Chennai and to Pondicherry.

More to follow ..

Smiles .. Cap and Patti ..