Transport Madness At The Cape Of India


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Asia » India » Kerala » Kovalam
April 9th 2008
Published: April 12th 2008
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Getting off the trainGetting off the trainGetting off the train

Can you see the bemused look on my face - Madness!
After another 24 hour train journey traveling from Mysore to Kanniyakumari via Bangalore I was yet again climbing the walls of the train. Complete boredom is the only words I can use to describe the long train journeys we endure... and for what? to see yet more mayhem in another part of India! Is it worth the effort .. Probably not, but we keep pushing on to try and find the real India advertised in those glossy magazines.

We left Mysore (eye sore!) very disappointed. Apparently it is supposed to be the next big IT centre following Bangalore. I still can't imagine it to be true. The place is a shit hole and the fastest internet connection I could find ran at 128kbps. Again everyone tries to rip you off and you have to suffer constant scams to fleece you of your cash. You had better watch your step in Mysore because it isn’t dog poo you’re standing in!

The most Southern tip of India (Kanniyakumari) made a pleasant change. The locals seem very friendly and helpful. You can actually get information out of most of them without a single rupee changing hands - believe me in India that
Kanniyakumari TownKanniyakumari TownKanniyakumari Town

The most southern point of India
is a miracle!

Well come on, we had to try it! We traveled third class on the train from Kanniyakumari to Kovalam (3 hours). We were put in a compartment designed to hold 4 people and sat on little wooden chairs that give you a numb ass. In the mayhem of getting onboard the train, about 10 people decided to pile into our compartment (I couldn’t help think about those racist jokes you were told when you are a kid - you know the ones).

They used my backpack as a seat and my shoulder as a cushion. It was a little close for comfort in 38c heat, but an experience I will never forget. We didn’t have any problems traveling third class; actually people were very friendly and curious as to why foreigners would want to travel with the lower class people of India. We lied our ass off and told them we were poor students! The train journey only cost 34 rupees (35 pence)

Getting off the train proved to be insane. As soon as the train stopped at the platform everyone got up and charged for the exits. At the same time everyone on the platform decided to get on the train through the same doors. It resulted in lots of shouting and people climbing over one another. Luckily my backpack is rather large. I reversed through the doors knocking everyone out of my way. I can’t stop laughing at the faces of the people trying to get on while I was exiting. My backpack put a stop to the madness - well at least while I exited the train!

Once we were off the train we stood on the platform and watched the madness unfold in complete disbelief. How India is ever going to become a leading economy when there is absolutely no order or consideration for others I have no idea. I have yet to see them work together as a team without fighting among themselves, with the exception of when they are trying to fleece foreigners of their cash.

Kovalam is a nice beach resort by Indian standards. As I write this blog, we are chilling out among the package holiday tourists. It’s always nice to tell them we only pay 350 rupees (5 pounds) a night while they are paying almost 100 pounds a night! Still we had to endure madness and mayhem to get here!

For more photos look in the "Darrens Travels 2008" folder on: www.DazCrawford.SmugMug.Com


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7th July 2008

you may be paying 5 pound a night mate but most people prefer a bit of comfort as opposed to your 5 pound shithole,depends on what yourused too mate eh!!!!!

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