Thoughts Mid-Trip

We’re on a five-hour train trip from Agra to an intermediate stop-over at Khajuraho. This will be a one-night stay but we’ll get to tour the temples of Khajuraho, a UNESCO world heritage site. Next will be an equally long ride in SUVs to Bandhavgarh, where we will begin two and half days of safaris in the national park. This trip was advertised as a tour of northern India and Nepal, but a third of the trip is better described as a visit to sights in central India.

Left: Sweeping the tracks, of course. Right: We arrive at Khajuraho.

Our reaction on the trip thus far is mixed, or rather split in our respective opinions. Frances and I agree on the magnificent sights we have (and will) see, and safaris are always a joy. However, the crowds, the traffic, the pollution, and the glimpses of poverty bother Frances greatly. The child beggars are nerve racking for her, especially when they approach her directly. Somehow I am less concerned with the chaotic traffic flows and roiling crowds and, while keenly conscious of the poverty, am  otherwise intrigued with the colors and dynamism of this society. It doesn’t help that Frances has been fighting a mild cold. I have my fingers crossed that I avoid that fate.

We both agree that the pace of this trip leaves little time for relaxing. We’re envious, when given a few hours “off”, that many in the tour party go shopping or exploring while we rest and recharge. (This time, typically, is when I compose my blog postings.) As we say too often, youth is wasted on the young, or at least the younger.

This doesn’t mean that those finishing their eight decade or older shouldn’t take this trip. My sister and brother-in-law, for instance, I know would love this journey and our travel companions, the McKennas, have admirable stamina. We’re all different in health and attitudes.

Back to the train trip. One of our fellow travelers forgot to empty her hotel room safe so our bus to the rail station returned to the retrieve her items. We made it to the station platform about five minutes before our train arrived. Hint (that I confess I don’t follow), put one shoe in the safe to ensure you don’t forget to empty it. 

We were not lucky in our seat assignment, having a pillar block much of our view, but perhaps another seat will come open farther along on the journey. We have not yet arrived at the more scenic portion of this journey anyway. On the other hand, we’re far away from a crying baby.

Our guides thus far have all been excellent although I struggle, with my hearing problem, to catch all they say. Indian accented English is particularly a challenge for me. Our tour leader, Sidd (Siddhartha), gets high marks from most of the tour group but we find him less than clear, concise and timely in the information he provides. A meeting time, for instance, may be documented as, say 6:30 p.m. in the written itinerary but he’ll announce it as 6:00 p.m. in the middle of longer lecture. Nevertheless, we have only been late for one event.  Non-fatal. Beyond this, however, the tour is well administered, especially concerning tickets and reservations, for which Sidd gets full credit.

That is enough “thoughts” for now.

With apologies, I inflict this posting on only my registered blog followers and will spare my readers who access the blog via Facebook. For my next post I promise it’s back to pictures! 

3 responses
Agree that India, particularly the part you are traversing, is stunning in the poverty. I took the Palace on Wheels a few years ago. At one stop in a desert area, people came out to wash laundry in a trough along the track. The water from our showers was collected in tanks and emptied into the trough for the locals to re-use. In another town, we arrived a bit early and the station master was scooting young people off the platform. Another passenger from India explained that this town was where college-bound students would come for their entrance exams, and many could not afford a room and would sleep on the platform at the train station.
Hello to John & Frances from Iowa! (We spent a few days together in August 2023 on a barge in France). I fear I may be a tad behind on your blog this week (I’ve been doing and intense family-time-workout 😆) but I intend to catch up this weekend. I’m curious about India’s smells, fragrances and sounds that surround you. Does Frances find them nearly overwhelming? Jane
Hi Jane. Neither Frances nor I noted any special smells or fragrances during the trip (beyond a slight ashy smell during the cremations in Kathmandu). It was not an issue, either positive or negative.