Discovered the Tourist quota for tickets. The International Tourist Bureau, located at train stations in major cities, reserves seats for foreign tourists and Indians who have been out of the country for more than 6 months. I got to the train station at 6, the office opened at 8, so a little waiting but I kept myself occupied with catching up the the blog.
There was a mad rush to get through the doors when they opened. I was luckily pushed in the right direction and got my seat in the correct line so I got my ticket relatively quickly. My train was at 3:45 so I checked my bag in the cloak room, which involved over an hour and half wait in line. Once unencumbered I headed back into town to hit the National Museum.
Delhi redeemed itself with the National Museum. It's certainly not world class but it showcases India's magnicicent art history divided into various periods. I saved over 500 rupees by asking for my museum and camera use tickets in Hindi! Coming back to the train station on a 10 rupee airconditioned bus was a nice change from the 100 rupee auto ride in hot mid-day Delhi. I spent the rest of my day in the nice clean air conditioned tourist office, so unlike any other part of Indian train stations.
The train from Delhi was unique in that I was in the 1st class section coming from a big city, so no one stared at me. I'm also getting darker so as long as I keep my mouth shut I'm totally in. I'm no longer exotic. It's frustrating that stations are not announced, you have to peer out the window and hope you catch a sign with the station name. It would have been a lot more convenient if I had a timepiece so I can guess at the station by the scheduled arrival time.
There was a mad rush to get through the doors when they opened. I was luckily pushed in the right direction and got my seat in the correct line so I got my ticket relatively quickly. My train was at 3:45 so I checked my bag in the cloak room, which involved over an hour and half wait in line. Once unencumbered I headed back into town to hit the National Museum.
Delhi redeemed itself with the National Museum. It's certainly not world class but it showcases India's magnicicent art history divided into various periods. I saved over 500 rupees by asking for my museum and camera use tickets in Hindi! Coming back to the train station on a 10 rupee airconditioned bus was a nice change from the 100 rupee auto ride in hot mid-day Delhi. I spent the rest of my day in the nice clean air conditioned tourist office, so unlike any other part of Indian train stations.
The train from Delhi was unique in that I was in the 1st class section coming from a big city, so no one stared at me. I'm also getting darker so as long as I keep my mouth shut I'm totally in. I'm no longer exotic. It's frustrating that stations are not announced, you have to peer out the window and hope you catch a sign with the station name. It would have been a lot more convenient if I had a timepiece so I can guess at the station by the scheduled arrival time.
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