Let the Games Begin!

Alright, at this point in time of writing this entry, I am very awake and charged up despite it being 11.30pm. Why's that? Because in about 2 days time, I am about to go on a 1-month journey to India! WoOhOO!!

Haha, you'd probably think I am crazy to have chosen to spend 29 days of my life in such a place. Why INDIA?!?! Well, here's my answer to you:

1) India is a cultural melting pot - you may think that all Indians are the same. If you do, you're absolutely wrong! Each part of India has its own unique traditions and even its own unique language! (Or so I'm told, and I want to find out!)

2) India is an excellent place to study religion - it's the birthplace of Hinduism and Buddhism and was also home to an Islamic Empire (the Mughal Empire in northern India). Most of you who know me well enough would know that I enjoy studying theology, hence, for me, India is also a place for spiritual development.

3) India is a reasonably cheap place for a vacation. I've to admit, I'm one hell of a cheapskate, can't really bear to see anything more than 3000 ringgit blown up just for one backpacking journey. It's a fact, India, being as a whole, a less developed country than Malaysia, will have relatively lower general price levels than us.

4) Continuing from the previous point, India is a developing country. I want to see how it is progressing, in person. And I also want to be one of the people who cherish and enjoy India today before it is absorbed into our increasingly globalised world.

5) I have amazing friends from India who painted pictures of their homeland that I myself, want to experience personally. While I was studying in Singapore with them, theywould tell me their experiences back home: how things are much different compared to the little red dot, how the so-called indian food in temasek can't compare to anything that there is to offer back home. After putting all these ideas in my head, I just had to go and see for myself what life is truly like in India. Best thing is that these friends gracefully offered to accommodate me in India! Thank you Japees and Chaitanya! Mere words cannot express how grateful I am to have the two of you as my host and tour guides!

So yes, those are some of the reasons why I want to go to India. What other reasons do I have? That's for me to know and for you to find out.

As you can most probably guess from the frenzied style of writing, I'm really really hyped up on the journey. It's also partly because bureaucracy problems are already cropping up, and I'm not even anywhere close to India yet! To save words, the following is a cut-and-paste excerpt from a google conversation I had with Japees:

10:42 PM me: lol, i'm already having problems with bureaucracy and aim not even in india yet!
Japees: lol
wht happened?
me: well, basically, i cant book any of my train and plane tickets
10:43 PM all of them don't accept my parent's credit cards
Japees: what??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
then how?
me: chup
plane tickets to india and back is settled
its the domestic ones that are the prob
Japees: hey even then
u
10:44 PM *u'll die if u r plannin to buy ur tickets after comin here
it won't work
me: uh oh
Japees: r u sure u'll get vacancies?
me: thats the prob
Japees: dude don't take tht risk
me: i dont know how to go about it since none of the credit card work
hmmm
i agree
its pretty high risk
any ideas?
Japees: hmm
10:45 PM hav u talked to ur agent?
can't he buy u the tickets?
me: i dont think they cover the local transportation
i can call them tmrw and try
ok
lets see, worse case scenario
they dont cover
Japees: no dude...they better cover
10:46 PM otherwise u'll end up stranded at some railway station someplace in india.
me: agreed... and i dont want that happening
Japees: yup
tht won't be good.
me: ok, so action plan is i'll call up agent tmrw
10:47 PM Japees: yup
me: any plan B?
Japees: tht shld be ur priority
me: could u book the tix for me?
Japees: hmm
i've no idea
me: then i just have to settle the one from delhi to ur place
Japees: okay... if u can get ur tickets from delhi to chd.. then u shld be able to get the other tickets as well
10:48 PM so plan B shld only be if u can't get any tickets
btw
its 19th already
tmr's 20th
will u get any tickets if u try now?
i mean isn't it already a bit late?
me: there are still places yes
thing is i just cant book em
stupid system wont accept any of the credit cards
Japees: i see
me: ive been trying for the past 2 days
10:49 PM Japees: wht does it say?
me: something along the lines of "we're sorry. your transaction has failed."
"unauthorised usage"
Japees: hmm
me: i'm like O(*&*^&*%&*^!!!
Japees: lol
10:50 PM wht was the alternative u suggest, once u come here, buy ur tickets from whr?
me: the international tourism bureau
Japees: whr's tht?

me: its on the 1st floor of the new delhi railway station
Japees: hmm
me: apparently theyve got tourist quotas
Japees: they do?
me: so i might be able to get places on the trains
yeah
Japees: hmm
10:51 PM me: so assuming that is good, there's still the plane to mumbai
Japees: besides the first train journey tht u need to take (acceptin chd) is on 28th
so it isn't very late even if u buy tickets once u've come down to india
me: hmmm
yeah
i think the hardest will be the first train
10:52 PM Japees: tht shld be okay
u know why
me: but the kalka shatabdi still has 300 seats available
Japees: yup
also wht u cn do is
once u land
go straight to hotel namaste
then leave ur luggage thr
n go to this place n buy ur tickets includin the one to chd
me: yeah
Japees: u shld be able to get a ticket to chd
one day in advance
the same day is risky bt one day advance is good enough

Thankfully, the problem has been solved. Or so I hope. The plan now is that I book all my tickets in the New Delhi Railway Station. Hopefully, there are places left. And hopefully, I don't get conned by some bunch of people who claim that that the tourism bureau has been burnt down and that the temporary office is just nearby...

Well, gotta keep my fingers crossed... Off to pack my bags now...

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