"keeping india beautiful, one train ride at a time" = a slogan born out of the lack of trash cans on the train. even well-educated indians just throw their trash, biodegradable, plastic, aluminum, whatever - it all gets chucked out the door on to the tracks, whether it's a city or previously unspoiled countryside.
"squatting in style" - one has the choice of an 'indian style toilet' or a 'western style toilet'. either way, you can't miss the fragrance of indian eau de toilette.
dani got a good seat where she could lie down and peek out the window at the moon. we were in 3-tier a/c coach, so the seats transformed into 3 beds on top of each other - with the rocking motion of the train, pretty cozy all in all. they deliver pillows, sheets, and blankets. indian families and kids ready to chat and share food always make for a homey journey. can't forget our favorite little munchkin, named krishna, a.k.a. butterball.
my favorite part was watching the scenery pass by from the seat between the trains. just a trip to watch the scapes pass by with the wind in your face.
many chai-wallahs were there...the men who carry big canteens of chai and announce their arrival in a distinctive voice: 'chai, chai, chai, chaii'....
julia and dani were on cell phones at the same time - julia to change her ticket to an earlier departure date, and dani to extend. julia's back (and throat among other ailments) have been giving her trouble, and india's not the kindest land at times. so last night she left around midnight, and hopefully by now or very soon she'll be in her comfy home with no more backpacking for a little while. dani, on the other hand, after hearing about how many things there are to do in dharamsala in the north (home of the dalai lama and tibetan refugees, and many chilled out travellers), decided to stay in the motherland for another week.
we landed in mumbai after a 1.5 local train from panvel to the city (after a 24-hour train ride from kerala to panvel), and found our hotel without relative incident, always a blessing.
today we went on a tour of dharavi slum, but those statistics are for another post altogether.
dani and carly head to delhi to see the taj tomorrow morning early; the following day at 11pm lynne and i take off for the east; and tom stays till sunday - he's always happy to meander or see what finds him...but hard to believe that the trip is coming to a close. seems like we've been here for a lot longer than 2 weeks, as the experiences just keep coming...
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