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India Travel Guide

One of the most inspiring and uplifting experiences involving the

quest for spiritual enrichment is no doubt a pilgrimage to a Holy Land. This
being said, one’s dreams of the beauties and mystic wisdom one can
encounter in the most ancient Holy Land of India are always mixed with
anxieties and perhaps even fears. Both of these feelings are well founded, for
one of the most profound truths concerning India is:

“India is the best and the worst of all things;

simultaneously!”

Nevertheless, spiritual aspirants from every corner of the world seem

to be endowed with a special grace of endurance and great luck. But, the first
spiritual maxim that the wise Masters convey to the hopeful aspirant is:

“Don’t push it!”

It is, therefore not a coincidence that the Buddha Himself proclaims

his first of eight Nobel Truths as, “Right (skillful) action”. As with all things
in life, and most specifically in spiritual life, one must always avoid the
“bad” while seeking the “good”. Of course, “bad” and “good” are relative
terms – and even so to the highest extreme in India!
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While seeking for decades the highest truths amongst the most
advanced Masters of the Himalayas, I finally was told the ‘sacred trinity’ of
rules never to be broken from one of the most renowned saints of Holy
India:

“One: never eat anything from a street vender; Two: never

drink anything that is not sealed (and I mean really sealed);
Three: never forget, if you disobey the first two you might, or
might not, live to regret it!”

But, yes, it is true; taking chances is the spice of life. And of all
countries in this world, India offers spices that seem ‘out of this world’. A
young lady, who was a seasoned Indian traveler, once just could not resist
the mystical joy of partaking of hot and freshly deep “street” fried
cauliflower and pepper fritters on a chilly Calcutta night. Early the next
morning, when the sacred “Brahma mahurta (four a.m.)” hour dawned upon
her, she was contemplating a new aspect of the mystery of life after death.
Instead of wondering how and where her soul would travel after being freed
from the body, all she could think of was:

“If I die here in Calcutta, my mother is going to kill me!”

All of the travel facts and suggestions within this article are
specifically aimed at helping you achieve the most enriching experiences
while traveling in India; experiences that will, and should, change your life
forever. And, hopefully at the same time, helping you avoid getting really
sick, or worse, and then at the same time being consumed with the thought
that if you did not survive, your own mother would be after you to kill you!

“May the Gods go with you, Guide and protect you, on your
road to Higher Life.”
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The best way to see India is at ground level on the Indian railway
system, and not at 30,000 feet.

This is especially true after you have offered your hard-earned wages
to a questionable travel agent for the ‘privilege’ of spending a seeming
lifetime in a flying can, breathing the worst quality air to be found in the
universe! In fact, no visit to India would be complete without the experience
of traveling on Indian trains and negotiating busy Indian railway stations,
robustly thriving with humans, animals, and everything in-between! Train
travel is safe, cheap and (in AC classes) comfortable. Even long distances
such as Bombay to Delhi or Delhi to Varanasi can be covered more time-
effectively than flying, using overnight sleeper trains. Although this fact is
universally accepted as true, most travelers from the West embrace every
minute away from the ‘daily grind’ as precious, and rightly so. One of the
most regretted experiences of travel in India is the remembrance of deciding
on the 44hr. (which turned out to be 52hr.) train from Madras to Haridwar.
By the time I ‘got down’, I was not really sure what planet I was on! Spice
Jet Airlines was running a special at that time, and the difference between
the “train from hell” and a flight was less than a ticket to see the Home Team
at your local stadium.
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The Right Train for you

With 63,000 km of rail routes and 6,800 stations, the railway network
in India is the third biggest in the world after Russia and China, and the
biggest in the world in terms of passenger kilometers. Indian Railways are
also the world's biggest employer, with over 1.5 million staff. The trains in
India go almost everywhere, and it's generally safe to assume that you can
travel between any two Indian cities or major towns by train.

For an Indian railways route map see www.indianrail.gov.in and look

for maps. For a printed map see the Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable.

There's currently no railway to Kashmir, but a line to Srinagar is under

construction, due to open in stages from 2007 onwards. The line heads
through tough terrain, and will feature the highest railway bridge in the
world, (built with material that is deemed thoroughly sub-standard in all
other parts of the world). But after all, once you have done it, you will never
worry that you don’t have ‘amazing tales’ to tell your grandchildren. The
kids will worship you even more if you did it in the border region “war
zones”.

It's easy to check train times & fares for any journey in India at
www.indianrail.gov.in, the official Indian Railways website. This is an
amazing site, but a little bewildering. It's a good training course for your
travels in India! There are some tips for using www.indianrail.gov.in below.

Look for 'Trains Between Stations' at the top of their home page. This
will give you train times & fares between all the most important places in
India. Do you need to change trains? www.indianrail.gov.in will only show
direct trains. If there isn't a direct train you'll need to guess at a likely
interchange station and make separate enquiries for both sections of the
journey. For example, for Varanasi to Jaisalmer, try asking for Varanasi to
Delhi and then Delhi to Jaisalmer, or Varanasi to Jaipur then Jaipur to
Jaisalmer. If you have difficulty with a journey that involves a change, like
Delhi to Simla or Madras to Ooty, try using the alternative unofficial online
timetable at www.indiagroove.com (currently unavailable as at Jan 2009).
It's new, and only in beta, but it can cope with changes of train.
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How many nights?

If the system shows a train running overnight, make sure it isn't

actually two or more nights. The journey from Bombay to Calcutta or from
Delhi to Madras is about 36 hours, i.e. typically two nights. On the other
hand, traveling on a fast train, Bombay to Delhi or Calcutta to Delhi takes
just one night.

What class should I travel on a train?

There are 8 different classes on Indian Railways, but not all of them are
available on every train. There is an illustrated guide to what each class is
like further down this page. For overnight journeys, most visitors choose
AC2 (2nd class 2-tier air-conditioned, shown as '2A') or if they can afford it,
AC1 (1st class air-conditioned, shown as '1A'), although more adventurous
backpackers might choose sleeper class ('SL'). AC3 is also fine. For
daytime journeys, air-conditioned chair car ('CC') is a good choice where it's
available.

Rajdhani Express trains are excellent extra-fast air-conditioned long-

distance trains linking Delhi with regional capitals such as Bombay,
Calcutta, etc. These are the best trains to take: The Delhi to Bombay and
Delhi to Calcutta Rajdhani Expresses leave in the early evening and arrive in
the morning, so actually save time compared to flying. Clean and tasty meals
are included in the fare, served at your seat. The Delhi-Bombay Rajdhani
uses brand-new German-designed coaches - Highly recommended, they beat
flying, hands-down! Of course, if you don’t book your seat far in advance,
you will never get your hands on a ticket!

Train classes
Air-conditioned first class (AC1)

This class is spacious and carpeted

(and lockable) with 4-berth and 2-
berth compartments with
washbasin. All necessary bedding
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is provided, and berths convert to seats for daytime use. AC1 is a very
comfortable and a ‘civilized’ way to travel, although it is found only on the
most important long-distance trains and costs about twice the price of AC2.
In AC1, you'll be mixing with bank managers and army officers. You
cannot specify that you want berths in a 2-berth rather than a 4-berth
compartment when you book - specific berth numbers are only allocated by
Indian Railways closer to the departure date and shown on reservation lists
at the station before departure and on the coach side. Couples are normally
given preference for the 2-berth coupes, families and passengers traveling
alone are normally allocated berths in one of the 4-berth compartments, but
of course this can't be guaranteed.

Air-conditioned 2-tier (AC2)

AC2 provides seats by day, convertible to

bunks at night. AC2 coaches are not divided
into separate compartments, but are open-
plan, with berths arranged in bays of four
(two upper, two lower) on one side of the
aisle, and in bays of two along the coach
side above and below the windows on the
other side of the aisle. Each bay is curtained off for privacy, and an
attendant distributes pillows, sheets and blankets in the evening. AC2 is
found on almost all decent long-distance trains, and it is the way the Indian
middle classes travel. Its relatively clean and uncrowded, and a good choice
for most visitors to India.

Air-conditioned 3-tier (AC3)

AC3 is very similar to AC2, but it has three

tiers of bunks - upper, middle and lower -
arranged in bays of six on one side of the
aisle, and bays of two (upper and lower)
along the coach side on the other side of the
aisle. It's more crowded than AC 2-tier, and
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it lacks the privacy curtains and individual berth lights found in AC2. As in
AC2, an attendant distributes pillows, sheets and blankets in the evening.
Berths convert to seats for daytime use.

Westerners who select this class of travel are usually disappointed with the
limited headroom available while the bed position is in place. If you wish to
meditate while others are sleeping, you will experience less headroom than
you need.

AC Chair class

These are comfortable air-

conditioned seating cars. AC Chair
Class is found on a number of
'intercity' daytime trains (for example
Madras-Bangalore, Delhi-Jaipur,
Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Kalka for Simla), and is available to holders of an AC2
class IndRail pass. A good choice for daytime travel!

Sleeper Class

This is the way most of the Indian

population travels long-distance, and
the majority of cars on a long-
distance train will be sleeper class.
Sleeper class consists of open plan
berths with upper, middle and lower
bunks arranged in bays of six on one
side of the aisle, and along the coach
wall in bays of two (upper and lower) on the other side of the aisle. Bedding
is not provided, so bring a sleeping bag. Sleeper class is found on almost all
long-distance trains except for the premier 'Rajdhani Express' services.
Sleeper class can be quite crowded (although in theory all berths must be
reserved, so it can't get overcrowded), and it's fairly grubby and basic. On
the other hand, you get a better view of the countryside then in AC coaches,
where the windows are sealed, tinted, and sometimes (usually) dirty. In
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summer, there are fans on the ceiling (working most of the time) and a
breeze from the windows. In winter, wrap up warm at night and take a
sleeping bag and fleece, as it can get cold. Sleeper class is used by the more
adventurous backpackers, who are prepared to take the rough with the
smooth.

Unreserved 2nd class

This is a once in a lifetime experience

for Westerners, and unforgettable!
All are open plan cars with wooden
or padded plastic seats. Not
recommended for long distance
overnight journeys (you'll see the huge scrum of Indians all trying to bag a
seat), but quite acceptable for daytime journeys of up to a few hours.

How to buy tickets - when in India

Do you need a reservation?

Yes, you do! You need to make a seat or berth reservation for all long-
distance journeys on Indian trains; you cannot simply turn up and hop on.
Bookings open 90 days before departure - this was originally 60 days, but it
was experimentally extended to 90 days and now made permanent in 2008.
Some short-distance inter-city trains may open for bookings less than this.
Reservations are now completely computerized (this probably represents the
only dangerous aspect of Indian train travel). Indeed, according to an Indian
professor with whom I shared a compartment, computerization saved him
50% of his travel costs, as he had always had to pay the same again in bribes
to get a reservation! Indian trains are usually very busy, and they often get
booked out weeks or even months ahead. You should make reservations as
far in advance as possible - you may see TV screens in the reservation
offices in major cities showing berth availability on the main trains from that
city over the next few weeks. However, a special 'tourist quota' gives
foreigners (and IndRail pass holders) preferential treatment. I will not
burden you and try to explain what “preferential treatment” in India means.
Let this fact suffice: “It probably does not, nor did it ever, exist!”
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Buying train tickets online at www.irctc.co.in:

The best way for foreign visitors to buy Indian train tickets before they
get to India is online at www.irctc.co.in. This is the official government-
sponsored sales website for Indian Railways. Some people love it, but
others struggle, so here are some tips for using this service:

Period of operation: The online booking service is not (at the time of
writing) available 24 hours a day, but 05:00-23:30 Indian time, which is
23:30-18:00 GMT. The system can sometimes be overloaded with visitors,
so if you have any problems or if it rejects your credit card, try again later.
This may be why some people breeze through it and love it, while others
struggle. It gets significantly less busy after about 18:00 Indian time (13:00
GMT).

Signing up: The first step is to go to www.irctc.co.in and sign up for a user
name and password. This is a very straightforward process. It won't accept
UK-length postcodes, so just use the first few digits.

Reservations: For most long distance trains open 90 days before departure.
Some short-distance inter-city trains open for bookings less than 90 days.
To state the obvious, you can't buy tickets before reservations open!

Use tickets from the general quota (or if booking at short notice within 72
hours of departure, the taktal quota), as you cannot book tourist quota places
online.

10 ticket limit: You can only buy a maximum of 10 tickets per calendar
month using this website, so bear that in mind if you expect to book a whole
series of trips through this system. A more complex itinerary requiring more
than 10 journeys may be better booked using an IndRail pass.

Ticket delivery: Tickets cannot be sent overseas or picked up at the station,

but there are both 'e-ticket' and 'i-ticket' options.

The e-ticket option: This is the recommended option. You simply book
online and print out your booking reference, then show it to the conductor on
board the train along with your passport. It's easy, and avoids any problems
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with ticket delivery. www.irctc.co.in introduced this hassle-free ticketless

option for traveling on the best Shatabdi and Rajdhani Express trains in
2005, then extended it to cover almost all long-distance express trains in
2006. A small charge is made for e-tickets, currently RS 25, about 35p. If
you lose the printout you can still travel as long as you have your passport as
ID, but there's an RS 50 fine.

Since the Gods are traveling with you, you will from time to time,
“feel” a little apprehension (really an intuitive hunch) about the validity
of your ticketless voucher that you printed out while in the security and
straightforwardness of your own home. Don’t worry; it is a sign of
grace. Simply find the “Station Master Office”, within your departing
station, and show him your printout. ASK HIM TO INITIAL IT. He
will feel charmed at your respect, and you will also “charm” the
conductor on your train when he sees the initials of his Master.

The i-ticket option: You only need to use the i-ticket option if for some
reason the e-ticket option isn't available for the train you want. i-tickets
(i=internet) are sent by courier to any Indian address you specify (for
example, the hotel where you will be staying) in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta,
Madras and other specified Indian cities. If you ask for them to be delivered
to your hotel, the courier will need to see a letter authorizing delivery if you
are not there to sign for the tickets, so you will have to arrange this with the
hotel. An email or fax to the hotel authorizing them to take delivery is
sufficient. To see which postcodes in which cities are covered by the courier
service, select 'PIN codes covered' from the www.irctc.co.in home page.
You will need to know the full address and postcode (which is called a PIN
code in India) for your hotel. If these collection and delivery arrangements
don't suit you, and for some reason you can't use the e-ticket option, it may
be better to book through an IndRail pass agency using an IndRail pass as
explained below. In addition, if this i-ticket option seems, to say the least,
dubious, then you can consider yourself a “seasoned” traveler. The
“possibilities of error or delay” are so numerous that even the Creator
questions why He invented it!

Credit card payment:

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You can pay securely by Visa, MasterCard or Amex credit card. It

will offer you a list of Indian banks, but don't panic, at least try not to panic!
It is not asking you which Indian credit card you have, but which Indian
credit card merchant service you want to handle your transaction. It's been
reported that the Citi Bank payment option works better than the others with
overseas (non-Indian) debit cards, and Axis works best with non-Indian
credit cards. Unlike some Indian budget airline websites, www.irctc.co.in
does accept credit cards issued outside India, making it easy for tourists to
book train travel this way. After payment, you will (should) receive an
email from Indian Railways with your booking details.

Some western banks are now so worried about fraud that they put a
'hold' on your credit card the moment any unusual foreign transaction goes
through. If your credit card doesn't work, or if it worked to buy one ticket
but won't work for a second ticket, try contacting your credit card company
to confirm that you're making a legitimate transaction and ask them to
unblock your card.

Tips for train travel in India

Your train, coach and berth number will be printed on your ticket.
Reservation lists for each long-distance train are posted on the notice board
at each station about two hours before departure, showing the name, age and
sex of each passenger reserved in each berth in each coach - the age and sex
help the ticket inspector identify that the right passenger is in the right berth.
The reservation list for each coach will also be pasted on the train itself, next
to the entrance door. Check to see that your name is listed. The system is
very efficient (for India), and the days of finding your reserved berth already
occupied by several passengers are long gone. But, if your karma is to
become one in a “long gone” million, remember to smile and seek for help
from the conductor.

Food and drink on Indian trains

There are no restaurant or buffet cars on Indian Railways, but on long

distance trains an attendant will appear in your coach and ask you if you
would like to order food. He will note down your order (usually a choice of
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'veg' or 'non-veg') on a bit of paper. An hour or so later he will reappear

with some rice and curry in small foil containers from the kitchen car. It is
not expensive – usually Rs. 30 to Rs. 50 per meal. Attendants also regularly
pass down each car selling soft drinks, snacks, or excellent hot sweet Indian
tea (garam chai) for a few rupees. Please remember that even though long
train travel gets boring; do not let your boredom dim your skilful resistance
to the “snack from hell”. Also remember your mother will kill you if you die
while traveling in India! On the premier Rajdhani Express trains (linking
Delhi with Bombay, Calcutta, etc.) and the premier daytime Shatabdi
Express trains (linking Delhi with Jaipur and Agra, etc.), food is included in
the fare, served at your seat.

Cleanliness, toilets and crowding

The efficient reservation system means that you can safely forget any
photos you've seen of overcrowded Indian trains with people on the roof or
hanging on the side - these photos show suburban trains, or basic unreserved
2nd class on long distance ones. On fast long-distance trains in AC1, AC2,
AC3, or AC Chair Class, all passengers have an assigned seat or sleeping
berth so there's no overcrowding. Don't expect pristine western standards
anywhere in India, but you'll find AC1, AC2, AC3 and AC Chair class fairly
clean by Indian standards, with both western-style and squat toilets usually
in a reasonably sanitary condition. On the other hand, Sleeper Class gets
much grubbier than the AC classes and unreserved passengers can
sometimes enter the coaches making it crowded. 2nd class unreserved can
be incredibly crowded. Toilets in sleeper class or basic non-AC 2nd class
seats can leave a lot to be desired. But again, it will be a story that will
amaze your grandkids.

Security on Indian trains

Indian trains are safe to travel on, even for families or women traveling
alone, and you are unlikely to have any problems at all. Having said that,
theft of luggage is not unheard of, so for peace of mind take along a bicycle
lock or medium-sized padlock to secure your bags. In the sleeping cars,
there are wire hoops hanging down underneath the seats to which you can
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padlock your luggage. As in any busy place, pickpockets operate at the

major stations (for example Delhi and New Delhi), so take care.

Do Indian trains run on time?

Does anything in India run on time?

Generally, Indian Railways are very efficient, but Indian trains do run
late, and sometimes it's hours rather than minutes. To get a feel for it, why
not go to www.erail.in and see how late yesterday's Delhi-Jaisalmer Express
arrived, or last Thursday's Bombay-Delhi Rajdhani Express? At
www.erail.in, select the origin and destination that interests you, and bring
up the train list. Now find the train that you want and click on it. Now
select a date and click the 'train running status' button. It will show you a
table of scheduled times and actual times at each station. Data is only held
for the last few days, not weeks or months ago.

Alternatively, these examples from my own travels may give you a feel
for the likely delay: Delhi-Varanasi overnight express spot on time,
Bombay-Calcutta Mail 1½ hours late, Madras-Bombay 'Chennai Express' 40
minutes late, Calcutta-Delhi 'Rajdhani Express' spot on time (Rajdhani
Expresses get priority and are pretty punctual), Delhi-Agra 'Shatabdi
Express' spot on time (Shatabdi Expresses also get priority and are pretty
punctual), Jaisalmer-Delhi Express 2 hours late starting and 3 hours late
arriving, Delhi-Kalka-Simla 'Himalayan Queen' spot on time, Varanasi-
Agra-Jaipur 'Marudhar Express' 50 minutes late, Delhi-Madras 'Grand Trunk
Express' 1½ hours late.

Recharging mobiles & cameras

These days, people seem unable to go anywhere without an array of

electrical gadgetry. You'll find shaver sockets in most AC1/2/3 sleeper cars,
which can be used to recharge cameras & mobiles, though you won't
generally find specific power sockets for this purpose on Indian trains. One
tip is to invest in a Power Monkey universal backup battery, which will give
you up to 96 hours phone stand-by when your phone's battery dies, and can
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also be used for recharging PDAs, iPods & some cameras whilst on the
move.

Other Indian train tips

If you intend to use it, bring your own toilet paper. You'll normally find
one western toilet and one squat toilet at one or both ends of the car. In
AC1, AC2, AC Chair Class and even AC3 the toilets are normally
reasonably clean by Indian standards, and in full working order. Sleeper
Class and 2nd class toilets may be a different matter!

Hotels & Accommodation

Finding hotels in India

Finding hotels in India isn't usually a problem, so don't be afraid to find

hotels as you go, and stay flexible. Remember that a lot of good cheap
budget hotels don't have a website and can't be booked online. The Rough
Guides or Lonely Planet guidebooks will point you at some good hotels in
each town or city when you get there. Alternatively, if you know your
itinerary, you can pre-book many hotels in India through
www.hotelscombined.com . Hotels Combined is a free search tool which
checks all the main hotel booking sites for you (AsiaRooms, Asiativ.com,
Opodo, Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms and many others) to find the
cheapest hotel rates on the net. Set up in 2005, it's probably the best place to
start for booking any hotel online in any country, worldwide.

If you know that your destination is a specific place of pilgrimage, you

might desire to stay with an Ashram. For example, if you wish to stay in
Kankal (an suburb of Haridwar) and remain close to the Samadhi Shrine of
Sri Anandamayi Ma, you can book accommodations with the International
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Guest House, which is run by devotees of Sri Anandamayi Ma. At present,

the proprietor of this Guest House is a Dr. Gosh, and can be reached by
phone at: (+91) 0133 4246345.

If you are traveling to the sacred Hill of Arunachala and the Ashram Of
Sri Ramana Maharshi, you can easily book accommodation, in advance,
with the following contact information.

Sri Ramana Ashram can organize a taxi from Tiruvannamalai to pick

you up at the airport, or your hotel in Chennai (Madras) on getting all details
from you. The taxi fare will be app. Rs. 2000/-. International monetary
exchange rates vary daily, at the present time $1 = Rs. 48, and 1 British
Pound = Rs. 73.

To enquire about a taxi and to book accommodation at

Sri Ramanashramam

Write to:

Sri V.S.Ramanan, President

Sri Ramanashramam
Sri Ramanashramam P.O.
Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, 606 603 India

Phone: +91- 4175- 237200, +91 - 9244937292

E- mail: ashram@sriramanamaharshi.org