Day 1 Arrival in Delhi and...the train...

The fourteen hours on the plane actually went very fast, It was as if we boarded on Wednesday evening and when we arrived in Delhi even though it was a whole day later it seemed to us like it was still the same night. As a result of it and because we slept quite a bit on the plane we did not mind going to be at almost 1 am and waking up at 6 am in order to catch our train. The Imperial Hotel in Delhi is a true triumph of the Raj, gorgeous, marble everywhere, incredibly beautiful and comfortable!
The rude awakening comes with the train to Ranthambore, a train that makes the worst Italian train seem luxurious…I wish we could see more from the windows, but , on the other hand, it may be a blessing in disguise. The little I see is huts, cows, buffaloes, open sewers and of course people….
Can’t help thinking that Jimmy would have already run away…screaming.…I just hope I can manage NOT to go to the bathroom until we arrive at destination! That is a must even though as my usual hypochondriac self I have brought seat covers for the toilet…ha ha ha…..

En Route to Rajasthan

Boarding our train early this morning at the Delhi rail station really was like a scene out of The Darjeeling Limited. Lucky for us, our tour operated-arranged driver negotiated a baggage-lugging price with three porters (he called them coolies, but that just seems wrong to me) and before we knew it, the three men had our suitcases atop their heads and were marching single file towards our train car.

Although we are on this train for a mere four hours, it turns out this train continues south through the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, all the way to Mumbai--a 24 hour train ride from Delhi. Hence, the sleeper berths we are currently using as seats. Not the most comfortable way to travel, but I’m not complaining. Actually, my only complaint thus far is that the train windows are far too small and dirty to see much as we travel, but perhaps we will have better luck on our next train trip to Jaipur,

I’d like to note at this time that until moments ago, someone was blasting Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” through external speakers, and the teenage girl sitting opposite me is reading Twilight.

Peaches Is Back!

Hello, friends! Your girl Peaches in back in Asia and back online, blogging away as I tour the land of a billion people with a **new** partner in crime (to be introduced to you shortly.) We landed in Delhi this evening, a city that holds the dubious distinction of being the most polluted world capital. Fabulous. Our lungs will thank us for leaving early tomorrow morning by train for Ranthambore, where we will stay on a tiger preserve. Fret not, I brought only cinnamon; No pepper. And let's hope our train doesn't get lost. I will warn you now that this is only the first of many references to my second favorite Wes Anderson film and the tiger-in-the-bathroom scene from The Hangover, so you might consider rewatching both now.

"Dude! They have flat screens!!"

[Editor's Note: This post was written aboard the HCMC to Nha Trang yesterday evening.]

This afternoon, when we decided we should take the train from HCMC up to Nha Trang, we acknowledged that this attempt at budget travel could be a fun and convenient way to get to our next destination, or that it could be a colossal failure resulting in a miserable god-knows-how-long trip inside a tiny shoebox of a sleeping car. After hearing the disappointing news that the Golden Express luxury train was not an option (it only runs during the high season) and examining five different train schedules where each train took anywhere from seven to eleven hours to run the same exact route, we took a leap of faith and purchased three berths in an overnight train departing HCMC at 9:40 p.m.

To be completely accurate, we actually purchased four berths in the event that our friend, Cecilia, wanted to join us. Fine, in the interest of complete disclosure, in the event that she did not join us, we wanted to ensure we didn’t wind up with some rando sleeping next to us (or on top of us, as it were.)

We arrived at the train station a little on edge. We knew the moment of truth would soon be upon us. Would the train be a plush and romantic way to travel the up Vietnamese coast? Or would it be a flea-invested, smoky, broke-down, no A/C nightmare of an overnight ride? Regardless, we all agreed that it couldn’t possibly be worse than Amtrak.

You can imagine the look on our faces and the delight in our hearts when we caught our first glimpse of the sleeping car through the train window and saw wood paneling and brand-new LG flat screen televisions. The downside is that it’s an overnight train, so we won’t really see anything. The upside is that we will wake up tomorrow on one of the world’s best snorkeling and SCUBA beaches.

And for all of USD $96, we have our very own, cedar-scented, 5 x 7, double-bunk bed box. Con flat screen. Score.

The television, by the way, is tuned to some kind of celebration in honor of Ho Chi Minh’s 119th birthday, in case you were wondering. There appears to be no way to change the channel.



7:42 p.m.-- And we’re off! On time!!

7:45 p.m.-- A lady conductor in a very smart uniform just came by to give us bottled water and a refreshing towelette. Awesome.



7:56 p.m.-- Another conductor knocked on our compartment door, said hello, then left.

8:25 p.m.-- We are stopped. Haven’t moved an inch in the last 10 minutes. Rethinking how great an idea this was…

9:00 p.m.-- I'm nodding off thanks to the gentle rocking of the train. G'night!

6:00 a.m.-- Fritz just went to grab us some water from the bar car and returned very flustered. Apparently he put his hand through a glass panel in one of the intra-car doors and the conductor is after him. This whole experience suddenly feels like something out of the Darjeeling Limited.

6:30 a.m.-- It was unclear exactly at what time we were scheduled to arrive, but we appear to have made it! Time for some fun in the sun.