Trains!

The Indian way of travel is by train (ironic, because Gandhi says in Hind Swaraj that the fast movement of trains accommodates evil rather than good). On the way to Panchmarhi, we travelled in 3AC, which means that there are 6 bunks per “compartment,” and air-conditioning! We travelled back in style in 2AC, which means there are only 4 bunks per compartment, allowing for each person to sit on his or her own bunk comfortably without hitting his or her head.

I should have taken some pictures of Varanasi Junction, a rough and crazy place, but I did not.

Another interesting point: trains here tend to run on “Indian time,” meaning that they are running on time if they are 20 minutes late. Although our train to Panchmarhi started at Varanasi (and thus started actually on time), we arrived in Panchmarhi an hour late. On the way back, the train was initially only 20 minutes late (thus, “on time”), and we arrived in Varanasi almost 3 hours late, which was fine by me because we were supposed to arrive at 4:30am.