Mumbai.
2011/12/23
Last year, I went to North India and had to be hospitalized, so this year, I decided to go to South India as a kind of revenge. Last year, I went from Kolkata to Varanasi, then to Khajuraho, and finally had to be hospitalized in Agra. This year, I'm starting in Mumbai and traveling south in a counter-clockwise direction, going as far as Chennai. I plan to visit Mumbai, Goa, Hampi near Hospet, Mysore, Madurai, Tanjore, and Chennai in about two weeks. It feels a bit rushed, but India is a big country, so I guess that's unavoidable.
My flight is tomorrow, but it's unusually cold outside, and I didn't want to start my trip with a lack of energy from an early morning departure, so I decided to stay overnight near Narita Airport. To reduce the amount of luggage I'm carrying to India, I'm bringing a thin fleece and light clothing.
Regarding underwear, I used to bring a few pairs and either wash them or buy them locally, but this time, I'm bringing all of my underwear. I'll be stocking up on underwear that I'm about to throw away and disposing of them locally. Some people might not appreciate this method, but as those who have been to India know, shirts worn in India get incredibly dirty very quickly, and even after washing them in a washing machine upon returning home, they often remain dirty. Hand washing doesn't remove the dirt effectively, and even if you buy underwear in India, the quality that Japanese people would find acceptable costs around 500 yen, so it's better to bring them from Japan. It's also a matter of hygiene.
So, I'm leaving with the bare minimum of luggage, but a cold wave is hitting, and it's snowing in the northern prefectures, so it's quite cold. During the 5 minutes it took me to walk from my house to the outer ring road, I got quite chilled. Then, I took a taxi to Shinjuku, took the NEX to Narita, and stayed at the Narita View Hotel. From the time I left my house to when I got into the taxi, for the 10 minutes, for the 5 minutes I walked from Shinjuku Station to the platform, and for the 5 minutes it took to get on the hotel bus at Narita Airport, I was exposed to the cold air, and even though it was only that amount of time, my energy was significantly depleted, and by the time I arrived at the hotel, my complexion was pale. If I had left at dawn, I might have been in a very dangerous condition. I'm glad I stayed overnight. The cold is different when it's likely to snow. Next time, if something like this happens, I'll call a taxi to my house.
I had a light meal at Narita Airport, but I didn't have enough energy, so I enjoyed some Chiba-style shabu-shabu and Chiba sake at the hotel.
2011/12/24
Today is the day of my flight. I'm flying to Mumbai via Hong Kong. The round-trip airfare for this trip was about 68,000 yen, so I was worried about what kind of plane it would be, but the flight to Hong Kong was with ANA, so it was comfortable, and I was even sitting near an emergency exit, which gave me more legroom. The meal was also a decent hamburger, so I've reevaluated ANA. ANA, you're quite something.
At Narita and Hong Kong airports, I spent my time in the lounges. Priority Pass is really convenient. I recently got a JAL Gold Card and wanted to try out the JAL Gold Card lounge at Narita Airport, but it seemed to be on a different terminal, and it wasn't available on Terminal 1. It's true that there are no lounges in the areas where our flight isn't departing from. It seems obvious when you say it, but Priority Pass might be more convenient because it offers more options.
The lounge at Hong Kong Airport offers free meals. I'm not expecting much for the meal on the flight to Mumbai, as it might be Indian food, so I'm eating something there beforehand. The flight from Hong Kong to Mumbai is with Jet Airways, an Indian airline based in Mumbai.
Jet Airways was surprisingly comfortable, and the plane was new, and the food was decent. The in-flight movie was also available on individual screens, which was more than enough for me, considering the price.
And now, finally, to Mumbai. The atmosphere at the airport is very calm, probably because it's a major city. It's not like the rural airport in Kolkata, and the clientele are also decent.
After passing through immigration, I went to the exchange counter and prepaid taxi counter right outside, and then headed to the hotel. I often see in other travelogues that people stay at the airport overnight when they arrive late at night, but I don't think that's necessary, so I'm taking a prepaid taxi to the hotel, even if it's late at night. In the past, it might have been necessary, but now I can use GPS on my smartphone to track my location, and if necessary, I can also use GPS-enabled emergency contact. Also, I'm not trying to save money by taking a cheap bus, so the cost isn't a big deal. So, I took a prepaid taxi to the hotel.
The hotel is smaller than it looked on the website. It's the New Bengal Hotel. It's said to be a good deal because it's close to Central Station, but considering the price, the room is small, which probably means that the land prices in Mumbai are high. The room is small, but it's enough for one night. The hot water is also sufficient, which is a plus. In a way, it's a blessing just to have a room, especially during the New Year's holidays.
2011/12/25
I woke up in the morning and ate the free breakfast that came with the hotel at the restaurant next door. It was a meager meal, but I suppose that's what you get with a hotel at that price.
Then, I left my luggage at the hotel and took a taxi to India Gate. It's near the Taj Hotel. My goal was to take a ferry from there to Elephant Island. That's almost all I had planned for today.
After buying a ticket, I headed towards the ferry terminal, and there seemed to be a ferry that looked like the one I needed, so I immediately boarded it.
Soon after, it departed.
I don't know if there were many ferries available, or if I just got lucky, but it departed smoothly.
About an hour later, we arrived at Elephant Island.
After buying a ticket, I headed towards the ferry terminal, and there seemed to be a ferry that looked like the one I needed, so I immediately boarded it.
Soon after, it departed.
I don't know if there were many ferries available, or if I just got lucky, but it departed smoothly.
About an hour later, we arrived at Elephant Island.
After buying a ticket, I headed towards the ferry terminal, and there seemed to be a ferry that looked like the one I needed, so I immediately boarded it.
Soon after, it departed.
I don't know if there were many ferries available, or if I just got lucky, but it departed smoothly.
About an hour later, we arrived at Elephant Island.
After buying a ticket, I headed towards the ferry terminal, and there seemed to be a ferry that looked like the one I needed, so I immediately boarded it.
Soon after, it departed.
I don't know if there were many ferries available, or if I just got lucky, but it departed smoothly.
About an hour later, we arrived at Elephant Island.
After buying a ticket, I headed towards the ferry terminal, and there seemed to be a ferry that looked like the one I needed, so I immediately boarded it.
Soon after, it departed.
I don't know if there were many ferries available, or if I just got lucky, but it departed smoothly.
About an hour later, we arrived at Elephant Island.
After buying a ticket, I headed towards the ferry terminal, and there seemed to be a ferry that looked like the one I needed, so I immediately boarded it.
Soon after, it departed.
I don't know if there were many ferries available, or if I just got lucky, but it departed smoothly.
About an hour later, we arrived at Elephant Island.
Last year, I went to North India and had to be hospitalized, so this year, I decided to go to South India as a kind of revenge. Last year, I went from Kolkata to Varanasi, then to Khajuraho, and finally had to be hospitalized in Agra. This year, I'm starting in Mumbai and traveling south in a counter-clockwise direction, going as far as Chennai. I plan to visit Mumbai, Goa, Hampi near Hospet, Mysore, Madurai, Tanjore, and Chennai in about two weeks. It feels a bit rushed, but India is a big country, so I guess that's unavoidable.
My flight is tomorrow, but it's unusually cold outside, and I didn't want to start my trip with a lack of energy from an early morning departure, so I decided to stay overnight near Narita Airport. To reduce the amount of luggage I'm carrying to India, I'm bringing a thin fleece and light clothing.
Regarding underwear, I used to bring a few pairs and either wash them or buy them locally, but this time, I'm bringing all of my underwear. I'll be stocking up on underwear that I'm about to throw away and disposing of them locally. Some people might not appreciate this method, but as those who have been to India know, shirts worn in India get incredibly dirty very quickly, and even after washing them in a washing machine upon returning home, they often remain dirty. Hand washing doesn't remove the dirt effectively, and even if you buy underwear in India, the quality that Japanese people would find acceptable costs around 500 yen, so it's better to bring them from Japan. It's also a matter of hygiene.
So, I'm leaving with the bare minimum of luggage, but a cold wave is hitting, and it's snowing in the northern prefectures, so it's quite cold. During the 5 minutes it took me to walk from my house to the outer ring road, I got quite chilled. Then, I took a taxi to Shinjuku, took the NEX to Narita, and stayed at the Narita View Hotel. From the time I left my house to when I got into the taxi, for the 10 minutes, for the 5 minutes I walked from Shinjuku Station to the platform, and for the 5 minutes it took to get on the hotel bus at Narita Airport, I was exposed to the cold air, and even though it was only that amount of time, my energy was significantly depleted, and by the time I arrived at the hotel, my complexion was pale. If I had left at dawn, I might have been in a very dangerous condition. I'm glad I stayed overnight. The cold is different when it's likely to snow. Next time, if something like this happens, I'll call a taxi to my house.
I had a light meal at Narita Airport, but I didn't have enough energy, so I enjoyed some Chiba-style shabu-shabu and Chiba sake at the hotel.
2011/12/24
Today is the day of my flight. I'm flying to Mumbai via Hong Kong. The round-trip airfare for this trip was about 68,000 yen, so I was worried about what kind of plane it would be, but the flight to Hong Kong was with ANA, so it was comfortable, and I was even sitting near an emergency exit, which gave me more legroom. The meal was also a decent hamburger, so I've reevaluated ANA. ANA, you're quite something.
At Narita and Hong Kong airports, I spent my time in the lounges. Priority Pass is really convenient. I recently got a JAL Gold Card and wanted to try out the JAL Gold Card lounge at Narita Airport, but it seemed to be on a different terminal, and it wasn't available on Terminal 1. It's true that there are no lounges in the areas where our flight isn't departing from. It seems obvious when you say it, but Priority Pass might be more convenient because it offers more options.
The lounge at Hong Kong Airport offers free meals. I'm not expecting much for the meal on the flight to Mumbai, as it might be Indian food, so I'm eating something there beforehand. The flight from Hong Kong to Mumbai is with Jet Airways, an Indian airline based in Mumbai.
Jet Airways was surprisingly comfortable, and the plane was new, and the food was decent. The in-flight movie was also available on individual screens, which was more than enough for me, considering the price.
And now, finally, to Mumbai. The atmosphere at the airport is very calm, probably because it's a major city. It's not like the rural airport in Kolkata, and the clientele are also decent.
After passing through immigration, I went to the exchange counter and prepaid taxi counter right outside, and then headed to the hotel. I often see in other travelogues that people stay at the airport overnight when they arrive late at night, but I don't think that's necessary, so I'm taking a prepaid taxi to the hotel, even if it's late at night. In the past, it might have been necessary, but now I can use GPS on my smartphone to track my location, and if necessary, I can also use GPS-enabled emergency contact. Also, I'm not trying to save money by taking a cheap bus, so the cost isn't a big deal. So, I took a prepaid taxi to the hotel.
The hotel is smaller than it looked on the website. It's the New Bengal Hotel. It's said to be a good deal because it's close to Central Station, but considering the price, the room is small, which probably means that the land prices in Mumbai are high. The room is small, but it's enough for one night. The hot water is also sufficient, which is a plus. In a way, it's a blessing just to have a room, especially during the New Year's holidays.
2011/12/25
I woke up in the morning and ate the free breakfast that came with the hotel at the restaurant next door. It was a meager meal, but I suppose that's what you get with a hotel at that price.
Then, I left my luggage at the hotel and took a taxi to India Gate. It's near the Taj Hotel. My goal was to take a ferry from there to Elephant Island. That's almost all I had planned for today.
After buying a ticket, I headed towards the ferry terminal, and there seemed to be a ferry that looked like the one I needed, so I immediately boarded it.
Soon after, it departed.
I don't know if there were many ferries available, or if I just got lucky, but it departed smoothly.
About an hour later, we arrived at Elephant Island.
After buying a ticket, I headed towards the ferry terminal, and there seemed to be a ferry that looked like the one I needed, so I immediately boarded it.
Soon after, it departed.
I don't know if there were many ferries available, or if I just got lucky, but it departed smoothly.
About an hour later, we arrived at Elephant Island.
After buying a ticket, I headed towards the ferry terminal, and there seemed to be a ferry that looked like the one I needed, so I immediately boarded it.
Soon after, it departed.
I don't know if there were many ferries available, or if I just got lucky, but it departed smoothly.
About an hour later, we arrived at Elephant Island.
After buying a ticket, I headed towards the ferry terminal, and there seemed to be a ferry that looked like the one I needed, so I immediately boarded it.
Soon after, it departed.
I don't know if there were many ferries available, or if I just got lucky, but it departed smoothly.
About an hour later, we arrived at Elephant Island.
After buying a ticket, I headed towards the ferry terminal, and there seemed to be a ferry that looked like the one I needed, so I immediately boarded it.
Soon after, it departed.
I don't know if there were many ferries available, or if I just got lucky, but it departed smoothly.
About an hour later, we arrived at Elephant Island.
After buying a ticket, I headed towards the ferry terminal, and there seemed to be a ferry that looked like the one I needed, so I immediately boarded it.
Soon after, it departed.
I don't know if there were many ferries available, or if I just got lucky, but it departed smoothly.
About an hour later, we arrived at Elephant Island.
Goa.
A night bus departing from Mumbai.
Soon, it became bright outside, and we were approaching Goa. That's when the incident happened.
My luggage was fine, but the luggage of the passenger in the seat behind mine had been stolen during the night. They said a camera, an iPhone, and a passport were stolen, and the bus stopped several times, causing some commotion, and eventually broke down in front of the police station in a town just before Goa.
Actually, when I woke up in the morning, my luggage was also in a strange state. The bottled water, which should not have fallen unless it was shaken quite a bit, had fallen off the holder and onto the floor, and it felt like the position of the zipper on my bag had changed slightly. It's true that I had a slight sense of unease even before the person in the back seat found out they had been affected. However, when I checked, there was no damage to my luggage. The zipper was locked with a key, and the luggage itself was tied with wire, so it was unlikely that someone would take my bag or open the zipper on the spot. If a knife had been used, it probably would have been a disaster, but this time, thankfully, it was fine.
Because the bus didn't go all the way to the end of the line, I reluctantly took a taxi from Mapusa, a town slightly north of Panaji, to Panaji. The other people negotiated, and three of us took the same taxi. I thought the distance was short enough that it should have been cheaper, but it seemed quite expensive, at 500 rupees one way, and I paid half.
Then, I transferred to a local bus at the Panaji bus station and headed towards Margao. The fare was 30 rupees. After arriving at the bus terminal, which is a little away from the Margao railway station, I took another bus to a terminal near the station. I arrived there quickly and had lunch nearby. I ordered what I thought was an ordinary chicken curry, but it was surprisingly delicious. Last time I traveled in North India, I had a hard time with the food, but maybe I can expect something better in the South.
And then, I got on a rickshaw near the station and headed to the hotel I had reserved. It was a resort hotel called The RETREAT BY Zuri. Because it was newly built, only two years old, the building was beautiful, and the staff were friendly, which was great.
Because I was tired, I took a break by the side of the pool, and I ended up sleeping for about two hours.
And I had a meal, which was also delicious. The seasoning might be a little light, but perhaps this level of spiciness is what prevents it from getting boring even after eating it multiple times.
Then, while checking my email, I saw that the train tickets I had been waiting for for tomorrow were suddenly available. So, I canceled the tickets for the trains I didn't need... but it seems like there's a problem with the system, and I can't cancel them. I'll just go to sleep for now.
Tomorrow, I will take a train early in the morning and head to Hospet, which is the closest town to the Hampi ruins.
Soon, it became bright outside, and we were approaching Goa. That's when the incident happened.
My luggage was fine, but the luggage of the passenger in the seat behind mine had been stolen during the night. They said a camera, an iPhone, and a passport were stolen, and the bus stopped several times, causing some commotion, and eventually broke down in front of the police station in a town just before Goa.
Actually, when I woke up in the morning, my luggage was also in a strange state. The bottled water, which should not have fallen unless it was shaken quite a bit, had fallen off the holder and onto the floor, and it felt like the position of the zipper on my bag had changed slightly. It's true that I had a slight sense of unease even before the person in the back seat found out they had been affected. However, when I checked, there was no damage to my luggage. The zipper was locked with a key, and the luggage itself was tied with wire, so it was unlikely that someone would take my bag or open the zipper on the spot. If a knife had been used, it probably would have been a disaster, but this time, thankfully, it was fine.
Because the bus didn't go all the way to the end of the line, I reluctantly took a taxi from Mapusa, a town slightly north of Panaji, to Panaji. The other people negotiated, and three of us took the same taxi. I thought the distance was short enough that it should have been cheaper, but it seemed quite expensive, at 500 rupees one way, and I paid half.
Then, I transferred to a local bus at the Panaji bus station and headed towards Margao. The fare was 30 rupees. After arriving at the bus terminal, which is a little away from the Margao railway station, I took another bus to a terminal near the station. I arrived there quickly and had lunch nearby. I ordered what I thought was an ordinary chicken curry, but it was surprisingly delicious. Last time I traveled in North India, I had a hard time with the food, but maybe I can expect something better in the South.
And then, I got on a rickshaw near the station and headed to the hotel I had reserved. It was a resort hotel called The RETREAT BY Zuri. Because it was newly built, only two years old, the building was beautiful, and the staff were friendly, which was great.
Because I was tired, I took a break by the side of the pool, and I ended up sleeping for about two hours.
And I had a meal, which was also delicious. The seasoning might be a little light, but perhaps this level of spiciness is what prevents it from getting boring even after eating it multiple times.
Then, while checking my email, I saw that the train tickets I had been waiting for for tomorrow were suddenly available. So, I canceled the tickets for the trains I didn't need... but it seems like there's a problem with the system, and I can't cancel them. I'll just go to sleep for now.
Tomorrow, I will take a train early in the morning and head to Hospet, which is the closest town to the Hampi ruins.
Hampi.
2011/12/27
Today is moving day. I woke up at 6:00 AM, got ready, and took a taxi to the nearest train station, Margao Station. The taxi was from the resort hotel, so it cost 550 rupees, but the price doesn't change even in the early morning, and I didn't want to haggle with the resort hotel, so I decided to let it go.
I tried to cancel the seat again, but I couldn't cancel it. I later received a message from the agency CLEARTRIP, saying that I could file a complaint and get a refund. Although the amount is not significant, I want to check what happens, so I will apply within 30 days after returning home.
When I arrived at the platform, I realized that I didn't know where my car was. Suddenly, I remembered seeing the arrangement of other cars on the LED display, and I thought about going back to check, but it was almost time for departure, so I asked people around me to find out the location. Surprisingly, there were many people who didn't know and were just waiting there. Since you can't pass through if you're in a different class, I wanted to avoid changing cars after departure.
At first, I went to the front and asked, but I didn't get a clear answer. When I went back to the middle, I still didn't know, and while I was going to the back, the person next to the person I asked knew, and it turned out that my car was located in the back. As I approached that area, there were police officers, so I confirmed again, and it seemed that my car was a little further back. I checked near where people were hiring luggage carriers, and finally, I was able to determine the location.
Finally, the train arrived, but as I watched, a 2nd class and 3rd class car passed in front of me, followed by the 1st class car and the luggage car. I thought I might have made a huge mistake, but I resisted the urge to run after the cars and decided to check the cars in front of me before the train stopped. The car that stopped in front of me was a 2nd class car with air conditioning, which was exactly the class I had reserved. It's hard to tell the difference between the classes on Indian trains at first.
When I boarded the train, it seemed to be a sleeper car, and it wasn't reclining. That's interesting. The train will continue running past Hospet, and it will become a sleeper car there.
I realized while browsing the internet that I didn't know how to check the train reservation status. I didn't use the official website, but used Cleartrip and an Android reservation status check app. Both of them showed "W/L (Wait list)" until the seat was confirmed, so I thought that the seat was not confirmed. However, the detailed screen of the Android app suddenly showed "RLGN," which means that a seat has been secured, but the exact seat is not yet determined. Both the Cleartrip website and the Android app still showed "Wait list," so I thought that the seat had not been confirmed yet. It turns out that the seat is decided 4 hours before departure. I had booked a night bus from Hospet to Bangalore as a backup, but if I had known this earlier, I wouldn't have needed to book the bus. However, I'm not sure if that's really the case, so I'll leave the bus reservation as it is. This is because I'm getting an error message saying that the email address doesn't exist when I try to inquire from the bus reservation website, so I don't even know if the reservation was actually made. The reservation website is a different site, so I can probably cancel it, but if it's considered a backup in case the train is not available, it's okay to leave the bus reservation as it is.
I spent the time on the train using mobile Wi-Fi to browse the internet. This time, I rented it from a company called Global Data with a plan of 1000 yen per day (VISA Gold only). Since there are many communication companies in India, I considered another rental company, Telecom, but it was limited to Airtel and didn't support roaming, so I chose Vodafone in the UK, which I thought would work anywhere. As expected, it worked perfectly. However, the connection speed was quite slow, so it might not have cost much even if I had used DOCOMO's roaming. Looking at the usage history, I only used a few megabytes in 30 minutes.
I arrived at Hospet and reached the hotel. I was originally thinking of staying at a guesthouse near the Hampi ruins, but I decided to stay at a resort hotel because I didn't want to end up in a bad location. The current price is around 4000 rupees, and it seems to be a well-maintained hotel for that price.
Here, take it easy and prepare for tomorrow.
2011/12/28
I woke up without being bothered by mosquitoes. I guess, for this price, there aren't many complaints. The bed is comfortable. The only problem is that the room is a little dark.
Breakfast was a light meal. There seem to be several items, but when I went, only one was available, and the other two came out while I was there. In Japanese terms, it might seem like a problem that everything isn't ready at the start, but it can also be interpreted positively, as it's better to have them come out gradually rather than getting cold and losing their flavor. This is because the food tasted pretty good when I took it right away, but when I took a little more later, it tasted a bit bland and cold.
The coffee served here seems to be a bazaar (?), which I sometimes see in Tokyo, and it tasted quite good. I might try to find it in Tokyo.
After breakfast, I checked out, left my luggage, and headed to Hampi. I was told that a private car for the whole day would cost 2000 rupees, but I was hesitant because I didn't know my schedule. Then, I was told that a private car for one way would cost 300 rupees. However, since it's just a short distance, an auto-rickshaw would be fine, so I asked an employee to stop an auto-rickshaw that was passing by. I think if this were a resort hotel, they should have auto-rickshaws waiting in front of the reception. The employee, or rather, the security guard, told me that from this hotel, which is located near the center of Hospet and Hampi, a shared auto-rickshaw to Hampi costs 20 rupees. He tried to negotiate for 50 rupees, but it didn't work, and even when he raised it to 70, it still didn't work, so I intervened and got it for 100 rupees. The employee looked like he was saying, "You're spending so much money." I gave him a tip of 10 rupees.
As I got closer to Hampi, my GPS showed that Hampi Bazaar was right there, but just before it, an auto-rickshaw driver stopped and spoke to me. He said "NO TOUR?" in broken English, so I guessed he was trying to get me to pay for a tour. I showed him Google Maps on my smartphone and pointed out that the Virupaksha Temple in Hampi Bazaar was just a short distance away, so he immediately backed down. Probably, in the past, they used to stop travelers who didn't know how to use maps and persistently pressured them to take tours. It might still work on travelers who don't have GPS, but it's useless if they're already within walking distance.
And we arrived at Hampi Bazaar, and visited the Virupaksha Temple. This temple is larger than expected, and it was quite impressive. The entrance tower is said to be 50 meters high.
And, after leaving the temple, there were tour touts, and I was offered a course that included visiting a nearby temple and the royal palace district, and then being dropped off at the Vittala Temple. It seems that the area along the river from Hampi Bazaar to the Vittala Temple is inaccessible to cars, so I thought this was probably a common and reasonable tour course. The course, which included visiting the royal palace district for about 3 hours and then being taken to the Vittala Temple, cost 400 rupees. It felt expensive, but even if I tried to bargain it down to half that amount, it wouldn't make much of a difference, and since I'm prioritizing not getting tired and not getting sick on this trip, I decided to go with this price.
Thinking back, it was like the rickshaw driver who took me from the station to the hotel yesterday... I didn't notice it at first... But perhaps he was waiting for me to come out of the temple.
First, we went to see the Ganesha statue. Ganesha is a god of statues, and according to my memory of the explanation at the museum I visited the other day, he was created because a goddess named Parvati was crying and screaming because another god killed someone she loved, so someone cut off someone's head (or something like that), and attached an elephant's head to it. That's why this Ganesha statue is a very large elephant statue. It's quite magnificent.
And then, right there, you can see the Narasingha statue and the Krishna temple.
And then to the royal palace district.
Stopping, I looked at the Sister Stone without getting out of the rickshaw, and then went to the underground temple. Then, I entered the area called Zanana Enclosure, paid the entrance fee (shared with the Vittala Temple), and saw the Lotus Mahal building and the Elephant Stable building.
After that, I looked at the museum, or rather, the place where stone statues are lined up, which is in front of the parking lot, and then saw the Hazara Rama Temple.
And then, I saw the King's Audience Hall, which is very close to that, and after seeing the Queen's bath, I think I have seen almost everything in the royal palace district.
Finally, I came to the entrance of the Vittala Temple and finished.
From there, you go to the front of the Vittala Temple on something like a golf cart. For the locals, it seems to be 10 rupees, but if you line up on the side that skips the line, it's 20 rupees.
The Vittala Temple is also quite intricately designed and worth seeing.
And, while walking along the river towards Hampi Bazaar, there were numerous temples along the way.
We visited the Purandaradasa Mantap located along the river, the cave temple, the Sree Kodandarama Temple, and the Achutaraya Temple.
And then, I climbed Matanga Mountain, which overlooks the Hampi area. The map in Lonely Planet and the description on Google Maps have slight discrepancies, but it is possible to climb from the Achutaraya Temple side, and the security guard there said it was possible, so I decided to climb from the Achutaraya Temple side. Looking back, that was the right decision. Initially, it was a narrow path that no one seemed to use, and I was surprised to see someone sleeping in a temple along the way, but because I had a GPS and it was easy to see where the mountain was, I was surprisingly able to climb without getting lost. I walked along a path that looked like a game trail, went around the south side of the mountain, and then saw a path leading up the mountain from the game trail, so I followed the rocks to join that path, and after that, it was relatively easy to reach the summit.
The view from there was spectacular.
And I went down towards the Hampi Bazaar area, but I may be mistaken because I've only been there once, but I felt that this path was longer. It didn't seem like I was climbing as much as this time. Perhaps the Achutaraya Temple was in a relatively high place, but from the riverbank, Hampi Bazaar didn't seem to be in such a low position, so it might just be that I was tired.
And by the time I returned to Hampi Bazaar, it was past 3 PM.
Since I hadn't eaten lunch, I decided to have palak paneer and naan for dinner. I also had lassi.
Then, I tried to get a massage to pass the time, but they quoted a price of 750 rupees for an hour, which was more expensive than the hotel massage. The hotel charges around 500 rupees for an hour. I thought it was too expensive to pay that much for a massage I wasn't even sure about (I asked for a foot massage).
I didn't have anything else to do there, so I decided to go to Hospet station.
I checked the reservation status on my mobile, but it was still in the W/L (waiting list) status, and the seat hadn't been confirmed. However, since it was the RLGN train, I wanted to go early to check the seat, so I decided to go.
On the way back, I probably could have gotten it for 150 rupees, but I felt a strange vibe from the driver who was negotiating the price. He initially said 250 rupees, then lowered it to 200 rupees, and finally said, "Okay, 150 rupees, just get in this one." While we were talking like that, he tried to put me in the back of the car, and I said I didn't want it. As expected, the Indian driver said, "Go!" (meaning "get out of here!"). Well, this is a rural town, so it doesn't have the same prickly and unpleasant feeling as in North India like Varanasi, but I still felt a similar vibe, so I was glad I refused. When negotiating prices, if someone insists and then suddenly changes their attitude to a "hmpf" kind of tone and says "okay," you should be careful, and it's a lesson learned from traveling that you should stop the negotiation, even if it's cheaper.
In such situations, the best thing to do is to leave the place immediately. I walked a little further and asked a different driver for the price, and he said 200 rupees. I thought I could probably get it even cheaper, but he seemed like a genuine driver, so I decided to go with that price. Just then, the driver who had said "Go!" was following me, so I stopped him with my hand and shook him off.
Then, I picked up my luggage at a hotel on the way and went to Hospet station. When I asked at the ticket counter at the station, they said that the RLGN train had seats available, so I should ask at the ticket information desk. I went there and asked again, and they confirmed that I had a seat and told me to wait in the waiting room next to the departure time board, which would display my name 10 minutes before departure.
Then, I checked the status again, and the waitlist number had changed from 3 for weeks to 1. I wonder if the two people in front of me gave up or changed their plans...? Anyway, it seems like I can board the train.
I decided to relax in the waiting room until departure.
But then, 10 minutes before departure, I checked the board, and my name wasn't there. Hmm... It said RLGN, and online information said that it should be possible to board, but when I asked a station employee, they said that I couldn't board because it wasn't confirmed. Since it was already the train's departure time, I reluctantly gave up on the train and went to the waiting area for the backup overnight bus that I had reserved.
This overnight bus was booked online, but the website had a slightly suspicious homepage that seemed to return an error saying that the email address listed didn't exist when I tried to send the confirmation email. However, I was relieved to find the same travel agency a little further down the road in front of Hospet, leading to the bus terminal. I confirmed that this was the right place.
I killed time at a roadside cafe nearby, and then took the bus to Bangalore. It was scheduled to depart at 11 PM and arrive around 6 AM.
I took out my sleeping bag and went to sleep early.
Today is moving day. I woke up at 6:00 AM, got ready, and took a taxi to the nearest train station, Margao Station. The taxi was from the resort hotel, so it cost 550 rupees, but the price doesn't change even in the early morning, and I didn't want to haggle with the resort hotel, so I decided to let it go.
I tried to cancel the seat again, but I couldn't cancel it. I later received a message from the agency CLEARTRIP, saying that I could file a complaint and get a refund. Although the amount is not significant, I want to check what happens, so I will apply within 30 days after returning home.
When I arrived at the platform, I realized that I didn't know where my car was. Suddenly, I remembered seeing the arrangement of other cars on the LED display, and I thought about going back to check, but it was almost time for departure, so I asked people around me to find out the location. Surprisingly, there were many people who didn't know and were just waiting there. Since you can't pass through if you're in a different class, I wanted to avoid changing cars after departure.
At first, I went to the front and asked, but I didn't get a clear answer. When I went back to the middle, I still didn't know, and while I was going to the back, the person next to the person I asked knew, and it turned out that my car was located in the back. As I approached that area, there were police officers, so I confirmed again, and it seemed that my car was a little further back. I checked near where people were hiring luggage carriers, and finally, I was able to determine the location.
Finally, the train arrived, but as I watched, a 2nd class and 3rd class car passed in front of me, followed by the 1st class car and the luggage car. I thought I might have made a huge mistake, but I resisted the urge to run after the cars and decided to check the cars in front of me before the train stopped. The car that stopped in front of me was a 2nd class car with air conditioning, which was exactly the class I had reserved. It's hard to tell the difference between the classes on Indian trains at first.
When I boarded the train, it seemed to be a sleeper car, and it wasn't reclining. That's interesting. The train will continue running past Hospet, and it will become a sleeper car there.
I realized while browsing the internet that I didn't know how to check the train reservation status. I didn't use the official website, but used Cleartrip and an Android reservation status check app. Both of them showed "W/L (Wait list)" until the seat was confirmed, so I thought that the seat was not confirmed. However, the detailed screen of the Android app suddenly showed "RLGN," which means that a seat has been secured, but the exact seat is not yet determined. Both the Cleartrip website and the Android app still showed "Wait list," so I thought that the seat had not been confirmed yet. It turns out that the seat is decided 4 hours before departure. I had booked a night bus from Hospet to Bangalore as a backup, but if I had known this earlier, I wouldn't have needed to book the bus. However, I'm not sure if that's really the case, so I'll leave the bus reservation as it is. This is because I'm getting an error message saying that the email address doesn't exist when I try to inquire from the bus reservation website, so I don't even know if the reservation was actually made. The reservation website is a different site, so I can probably cancel it, but if it's considered a backup in case the train is not available, it's okay to leave the bus reservation as it is.
I spent the time on the train using mobile Wi-Fi to browse the internet. This time, I rented it from a company called Global Data with a plan of 1000 yen per day (VISA Gold only). Since there are many communication companies in India, I considered another rental company, Telecom, but it was limited to Airtel and didn't support roaming, so I chose Vodafone in the UK, which I thought would work anywhere. As expected, it worked perfectly. However, the connection speed was quite slow, so it might not have cost much even if I had used DOCOMO's roaming. Looking at the usage history, I only used a few megabytes in 30 minutes.
I arrived at Hospet and reached the hotel. I was originally thinking of staying at a guesthouse near the Hampi ruins, but I decided to stay at a resort hotel because I didn't want to end up in a bad location. The current price is around 4000 rupees, and it seems to be a well-maintained hotel for that price.
Here, take it easy and prepare for tomorrow.
2011/12/28
I woke up without being bothered by mosquitoes. I guess, for this price, there aren't many complaints. The bed is comfortable. The only problem is that the room is a little dark.
Breakfast was a light meal. There seem to be several items, but when I went, only one was available, and the other two came out while I was there. In Japanese terms, it might seem like a problem that everything isn't ready at the start, but it can also be interpreted positively, as it's better to have them come out gradually rather than getting cold and losing their flavor. This is because the food tasted pretty good when I took it right away, but when I took a little more later, it tasted a bit bland and cold.
The coffee served here seems to be a bazaar (?), which I sometimes see in Tokyo, and it tasted quite good. I might try to find it in Tokyo.
After breakfast, I checked out, left my luggage, and headed to Hampi. I was told that a private car for the whole day would cost 2000 rupees, but I was hesitant because I didn't know my schedule. Then, I was told that a private car for one way would cost 300 rupees. However, since it's just a short distance, an auto-rickshaw would be fine, so I asked an employee to stop an auto-rickshaw that was passing by. I think if this were a resort hotel, they should have auto-rickshaws waiting in front of the reception. The employee, or rather, the security guard, told me that from this hotel, which is located near the center of Hospet and Hampi, a shared auto-rickshaw to Hampi costs 20 rupees. He tried to negotiate for 50 rupees, but it didn't work, and even when he raised it to 70, it still didn't work, so I intervened and got it for 100 rupees. The employee looked like he was saying, "You're spending so much money." I gave him a tip of 10 rupees.
As I got closer to Hampi, my GPS showed that Hampi Bazaar was right there, but just before it, an auto-rickshaw driver stopped and spoke to me. He said "NO TOUR?" in broken English, so I guessed he was trying to get me to pay for a tour. I showed him Google Maps on my smartphone and pointed out that the Virupaksha Temple in Hampi Bazaar was just a short distance away, so he immediately backed down. Probably, in the past, they used to stop travelers who didn't know how to use maps and persistently pressured them to take tours. It might still work on travelers who don't have GPS, but it's useless if they're already within walking distance.
And we arrived at Hampi Bazaar, and visited the Virupaksha Temple. This temple is larger than expected, and it was quite impressive. The entrance tower is said to be 50 meters high.
And, after leaving the temple, there were tour touts, and I was offered a course that included visiting a nearby temple and the royal palace district, and then being dropped off at the Vittala Temple. It seems that the area along the river from Hampi Bazaar to the Vittala Temple is inaccessible to cars, so I thought this was probably a common and reasonable tour course. The course, which included visiting the royal palace district for about 3 hours and then being taken to the Vittala Temple, cost 400 rupees. It felt expensive, but even if I tried to bargain it down to half that amount, it wouldn't make much of a difference, and since I'm prioritizing not getting tired and not getting sick on this trip, I decided to go with this price.
Thinking back, it was like the rickshaw driver who took me from the station to the hotel yesterday... I didn't notice it at first... But perhaps he was waiting for me to come out of the temple.
First, we went to see the Ganesha statue. Ganesha is a god of statues, and according to my memory of the explanation at the museum I visited the other day, he was created because a goddess named Parvati was crying and screaming because another god killed someone she loved, so someone cut off someone's head (or something like that), and attached an elephant's head to it. That's why this Ganesha statue is a very large elephant statue. It's quite magnificent.
And then, right there, you can see the Narasingha statue and the Krishna temple.
And then to the royal palace district.
Stopping, I looked at the Sister Stone without getting out of the rickshaw, and then went to the underground temple. Then, I entered the area called Zanana Enclosure, paid the entrance fee (shared with the Vittala Temple), and saw the Lotus Mahal building and the Elephant Stable building.
After that, I looked at the museum, or rather, the place where stone statues are lined up, which is in front of the parking lot, and then saw the Hazara Rama Temple.
And then, I saw the King's Audience Hall, which is very close to that, and after seeing the Queen's bath, I think I have seen almost everything in the royal palace district.
Finally, I came to the entrance of the Vittala Temple and finished.
From there, you go to the front of the Vittala Temple on something like a golf cart. For the locals, it seems to be 10 rupees, but if you line up on the side that skips the line, it's 20 rupees.
The Vittala Temple is also quite intricately designed and worth seeing.
And, while walking along the river towards Hampi Bazaar, there were numerous temples along the way.
We visited the Purandaradasa Mantap located along the river, the cave temple, the Sree Kodandarama Temple, and the Achutaraya Temple.
And then, I climbed Matanga Mountain, which overlooks the Hampi area. The map in Lonely Planet and the description on Google Maps have slight discrepancies, but it is possible to climb from the Achutaraya Temple side, and the security guard there said it was possible, so I decided to climb from the Achutaraya Temple side. Looking back, that was the right decision. Initially, it was a narrow path that no one seemed to use, and I was surprised to see someone sleeping in a temple along the way, but because I had a GPS and it was easy to see where the mountain was, I was surprisingly able to climb without getting lost. I walked along a path that looked like a game trail, went around the south side of the mountain, and then saw a path leading up the mountain from the game trail, so I followed the rocks to join that path, and after that, it was relatively easy to reach the summit.
The view from there was spectacular.
And I went down towards the Hampi Bazaar area, but I may be mistaken because I've only been there once, but I felt that this path was longer. It didn't seem like I was climbing as much as this time. Perhaps the Achutaraya Temple was in a relatively high place, but from the riverbank, Hampi Bazaar didn't seem to be in such a low position, so it might just be that I was tired.
And by the time I returned to Hampi Bazaar, it was past 3 PM.
Since I hadn't eaten lunch, I decided to have palak paneer and naan for dinner. I also had lassi.
Then, I tried to get a massage to pass the time, but they quoted a price of 750 rupees for an hour, which was more expensive than the hotel massage. The hotel charges around 500 rupees for an hour. I thought it was too expensive to pay that much for a massage I wasn't even sure about (I asked for a foot massage).
I didn't have anything else to do there, so I decided to go to Hospet station.
I checked the reservation status on my mobile, but it was still in the W/L (waiting list) status, and the seat hadn't been confirmed. However, since it was the RLGN train, I wanted to go early to check the seat, so I decided to go.
On the way back, I probably could have gotten it for 150 rupees, but I felt a strange vibe from the driver who was negotiating the price. He initially said 250 rupees, then lowered it to 200 rupees, and finally said, "Okay, 150 rupees, just get in this one." While we were talking like that, he tried to put me in the back of the car, and I said I didn't want it. As expected, the Indian driver said, "Go!" (meaning "get out of here!"). Well, this is a rural town, so it doesn't have the same prickly and unpleasant feeling as in North India like Varanasi, but I still felt a similar vibe, so I was glad I refused. When negotiating prices, if someone insists and then suddenly changes their attitude to a "hmpf" kind of tone and says "okay," you should be careful, and it's a lesson learned from traveling that you should stop the negotiation, even if it's cheaper.
In such situations, the best thing to do is to leave the place immediately. I walked a little further and asked a different driver for the price, and he said 200 rupees. I thought I could probably get it even cheaper, but he seemed like a genuine driver, so I decided to go with that price. Just then, the driver who had said "Go!" was following me, so I stopped him with my hand and shook him off.
Then, I picked up my luggage at a hotel on the way and went to Hospet station. When I asked at the ticket counter at the station, they said that the RLGN train had seats available, so I should ask at the ticket information desk. I went there and asked again, and they confirmed that I had a seat and told me to wait in the waiting room next to the departure time board, which would display my name 10 minutes before departure.
Then, I checked the status again, and the waitlist number had changed from 3 for weeks to 1. I wonder if the two people in front of me gave up or changed their plans...? Anyway, it seems like I can board the train.
I decided to relax in the waiting room until departure.
But then, 10 minutes before departure, I checked the board, and my name wasn't there. Hmm... It said RLGN, and online information said that it should be possible to board, but when I asked a station employee, they said that I couldn't board because it wasn't confirmed. Since it was already the train's departure time, I reluctantly gave up on the train and went to the waiting area for the backup overnight bus that I had reserved.
This overnight bus was booked online, but the website had a slightly suspicious homepage that seemed to return an error saying that the email address listed didn't exist when I tried to send the confirmation email. However, I was relieved to find the same travel agency a little further down the road in front of Hospet, leading to the bus terminal. I confirmed that this was the right place.
I killed time at a roadside cafe nearby, and then took the bus to Bangalore. It was scheduled to depart at 11 PM and arrive around 6 AM.
I took out my sleeping bag and went to sleep early.
Mysore.
2011/12/29
Overnight bus from Hampi.
I woke up a few times, but I managed to get to Bangalore. It's definitely easier to sleep when you can lie down. Also, because I was facing forward, the swaying of the bus didn't affect me as much. Perhaps I've gotten used to sleeping in small spaces, but I was also able to sleep somewhat on the airplane.
I arrived near Bangalore station, walked to the station, and decided to spend some time there. I could have gone sightseeing a little, but I'm prioritizing conserving energy and avoiding getting sick, so I avoided going out even though I had time.
I drank coffee at the station, and it was delicious again. I feel like I haven't had a bad coffee since I came here. Could it be that Indian coffee is delicious? Or maybe it's because I'm traveling. I had a pastry and coffee for breakfast at the station's convenience store, and even the bread was delicious.
Then, a man sitting next to me started talking to me. He said that the bank had collapsed, so his savings were gone. He asked me to give him 200 rupees as a fare for a ticket to Chennai.
It's a typical scam, I thought... But because his English accent was strong and difficult to understand, I listened to him in order to get used to the accent.
When I said that I had read somewhere that you could ride Indian trains for free, he argued that that wasn't true.
After talking for a while, I said I was going to have another coffee and left, and I didn't go back.
I saw him from a distance, and he was buying bread and coffee at a different convenience store. It probably cost him about 20 rupees. Hmm...
Then I went to the waiting room on the platform. If you have a reservation for a first-class car, you can enter a slightly cleaner waiting room.
I spent time there while using the internet, and I left the waiting room 30 minutes before the departure time. First, I wanted to check where the air-conditioned first-class car, coach C5, would be located, so I went to the ticket counter, but I couldn't figure out where it was written.
There were LED displays for each car on the Bangalore platform, so I expected the car number to be displayed there. I went to the platform, but there was only information about the type of car, not the specific car number.
So, I decided to move to the area where the train was expected to arrive, and when the train arrived, I would look at the car number written on it and follow that car.
This is probably the most reliable method, especially when the information isn't clear.
As expected, the car I was supposed to board passed by, so I followed it, and I managed to get on.
However, the entrance was crowded with people getting off and getting on, making it difficult to get out and difficult to get in... It was a pretty chaotic situation. Also, you can't tell which of the two entrances is closer to your seat until you get inside, so there was a lot of movement from both sides of the car to reach the seats, making it very confusing.
This level of chaos in a first-class car is typical of India. Well, maybe this isn't even considered chaos.
There was a power outlet right in front of the seat where I sat, so I used it to browse the internet while heading to Mysore.
It's about a 2-hour ride, but for the price, it's not that expensive, and it includes water and a meal.
And then, Mysore.
When I got off, a taxi driver offered me a fare of 200 rupees, but I decided to take an auto-rickshaw, which would cost me 50 rupees for about 2 km.
However, the auto-rickshaw driver didn't go directly to the hotel, but tried to go in a different direction. I was checking the location on GPS, so I told the driver, "It's that way, not this way," and he looked embarrassed and said, "No, I'm going that way first, then I'll go this way." So I let him do what he wanted.
As expected, the driver wanted to take me to a hotel, and he asked, "How about this one?" I told him that I had already booked a hotel, so he started heading towards my hotel.
Even then, he wanted to recommend another hotel, saying that it was right next to the hotel where I was staying...
It's a little unfair that it costs 50 rupees for such a detour, but I didn't mind because the driver took a detour on his own, so I just paid and went to the hotel.
This hotel was clean and had good facilities for the price. It was a good value. I probably could have stayed longer here.
Then, I went to the zoo, which is nearby.
The zoo had rare white tigers, as well as cool lions and tigers. The giraffes and deer were also active.
Compared to Japanese zoos, it felt relatively spacious, and it seemed like the animals had an environment where they could move around to some extent. However, this is only in comparison, and it's not a particularly large place.
And after visiting the zoo, I walked towards the Mysore Palace and viewed it from a distance. I plan to visit it tomorrow. Since cameras are not allowed inside the palace, the photos I take here might be the only ones I get.
As I walked a little further towards the hotel, a rickshaw driver approached me and offered to take me to the hotel for 30 rupees, so I decided to go with him.
As expected, he tried to take me to a souvenir shop along the way, and I thought it might be interesting, so I decided to go in.
If it were a notorious town like Agra or Delhi in North India, I would have refused to enter from the beginning, but based on the rickshaw driver's simple nature, I judged that it wouldn't be that bad.
Inside, there was a souvenir shop with saris, decorations, and souvenirs. I picked up a souvenir and looked at the price tag. It was a wooden figurine, about 20 cm high and 3 cm in radius, and the price was 2700 rupees. That's outrageous... I thought, but I looked around the store, and I was offered a sari, but I declined with a smile and went outside. Fortunately, it wasn't as pushy as I expected.
Then, I returned to the hotel, relaxed for a while, had dinner, and decided to get a good night's sleep early because I didn't get enough rest on the overnight bus last night.
2011/12/30
Today, I will visit the Mysore Palace and its surrounding museums.
Since it was an overnight bus the day before, I woke up around 7 am and had breakfast. The breakfast was a buffet. As expected, the amount and variety of food were appropriate for the hotel's grade.
I went back to my room and checked my schedule for today and the next few days. It seems that the hotel I had previously booked in Madurai is located near the station, and it looks like a convenient business hotel, but it might be a bit noisy. I didn't think much about it when I booked that hotel, but considering that it's similar to a hotel I stayed in Mumbai, and if I pay a few times more, I can stay in a hotel of a higher grade like the one I stayed in last night, it would be a waste to spend New Year's Eve in such a business hotel, so I decided to book a different hotel.
It's a little far from the station, and the lowest class seems to be fully booked for New Year's Eve, but a superior king room is about 8000 yen for New Year's Eve, and about 6000 yen the next day. With a 5% discount using a credit card promotion on Expedia, it's 16000 yen for two nights including tax, and the grade is incomparable to the price in Japan, so I decided to switch to this one. The original reservation has a cancellation charge of about 2700 yen for one night, but I don't really care about it. When I made the reservation, I didn't know the balance between the price and grade of hotels in India, but it seems that 4000 rupees is the borderline, and with the current exchange rate of about 1.5, I think I can have a relatively comfortable stay if I spend more than 6000 yen. A few years ago, the exchange rate was 3, so 12000 yen would be a bit expensive, but 6000 yen is a reasonable price to pay. Is the yen appreciating, or is the Indian rupee depreciating? According to the news, it's the latter, but I haven't been following the exchange rate of the Indian rupee, so I don't feel it.
Anyway, I finished booking the hotel and went to the Mysore Palace after checking out.
I arrived at the Mysore Palace 10 minutes before it opened, but it was strange that there were only a few people in line at the ticket counter. I wonder if there are a lot of tour groups?
Inside the palace, you cannot bring cameras, so I left my camera at the counter on the right side of the entrance. However, Indian people were taking pictures with small cameras and cell phones. The staff were not paying attention to this. I don't know why, but it seems like they are ignoring it because it's pointless to say anything.
So, there are no pictures from inside, but it was a building that made me think, "This is how extravagant the rich people in India are."
After leaving the palace, I stopped by the Resident Museum, which is located on the same grounds. This museum displays items that belonged to the Maharaja.
Then, I took a tour of the area surrounding the palace.
Now that the main purpose of visiting Mysore has been fulfilled, we stopped by the nearby Shree Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery and viewed paintings from old times and instruments used for performances.
And then, I walked to the nearby Devaraja Market and explored inside. The guidebook says that it retains the atmosphere of the kingdom, but if you think about it, it might not be that way. It's probably closer to a local market in Southeast Asia.
After strolling around the area, I will return to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then proceed to the station.
Tonight, I will travel from Mysore to Madurai by train, which departs at 6:00 PM.
Overnight bus from Hampi.
I woke up a few times, but I managed to get to Bangalore. It's definitely easier to sleep when you can lie down. Also, because I was facing forward, the swaying of the bus didn't affect me as much. Perhaps I've gotten used to sleeping in small spaces, but I was also able to sleep somewhat on the airplane.
I arrived near Bangalore station, walked to the station, and decided to spend some time there. I could have gone sightseeing a little, but I'm prioritizing conserving energy and avoiding getting sick, so I avoided going out even though I had time.
I drank coffee at the station, and it was delicious again. I feel like I haven't had a bad coffee since I came here. Could it be that Indian coffee is delicious? Or maybe it's because I'm traveling. I had a pastry and coffee for breakfast at the station's convenience store, and even the bread was delicious.
Then, a man sitting next to me started talking to me. He said that the bank had collapsed, so his savings were gone. He asked me to give him 200 rupees as a fare for a ticket to Chennai.
It's a typical scam, I thought... But because his English accent was strong and difficult to understand, I listened to him in order to get used to the accent.
When I said that I had read somewhere that you could ride Indian trains for free, he argued that that wasn't true.
After talking for a while, I said I was going to have another coffee and left, and I didn't go back.
I saw him from a distance, and he was buying bread and coffee at a different convenience store. It probably cost him about 20 rupees. Hmm...
Then I went to the waiting room on the platform. If you have a reservation for a first-class car, you can enter a slightly cleaner waiting room.
I spent time there while using the internet, and I left the waiting room 30 minutes before the departure time. First, I wanted to check where the air-conditioned first-class car, coach C5, would be located, so I went to the ticket counter, but I couldn't figure out where it was written.
There were LED displays for each car on the Bangalore platform, so I expected the car number to be displayed there. I went to the platform, but there was only information about the type of car, not the specific car number.
So, I decided to move to the area where the train was expected to arrive, and when the train arrived, I would look at the car number written on it and follow that car.
This is probably the most reliable method, especially when the information isn't clear.
As expected, the car I was supposed to board passed by, so I followed it, and I managed to get on.
However, the entrance was crowded with people getting off and getting on, making it difficult to get out and difficult to get in... It was a pretty chaotic situation. Also, you can't tell which of the two entrances is closer to your seat until you get inside, so there was a lot of movement from both sides of the car to reach the seats, making it very confusing.
This level of chaos in a first-class car is typical of India. Well, maybe this isn't even considered chaos.
There was a power outlet right in front of the seat where I sat, so I used it to browse the internet while heading to Mysore.
It's about a 2-hour ride, but for the price, it's not that expensive, and it includes water and a meal.
And then, Mysore.
When I got off, a taxi driver offered me a fare of 200 rupees, but I decided to take an auto-rickshaw, which would cost me 50 rupees for about 2 km.
However, the auto-rickshaw driver didn't go directly to the hotel, but tried to go in a different direction. I was checking the location on GPS, so I told the driver, "It's that way, not this way," and he looked embarrassed and said, "No, I'm going that way first, then I'll go this way." So I let him do what he wanted.
As expected, the driver wanted to take me to a hotel, and he asked, "How about this one?" I told him that I had already booked a hotel, so he started heading towards my hotel.
Even then, he wanted to recommend another hotel, saying that it was right next to the hotel where I was staying...
It's a little unfair that it costs 50 rupees for such a detour, but I didn't mind because the driver took a detour on his own, so I just paid and went to the hotel.
This hotel was clean and had good facilities for the price. It was a good value. I probably could have stayed longer here.
Then, I went to the zoo, which is nearby.
The zoo had rare white tigers, as well as cool lions and tigers. The giraffes and deer were also active.
Compared to Japanese zoos, it felt relatively spacious, and it seemed like the animals had an environment where they could move around to some extent. However, this is only in comparison, and it's not a particularly large place.
And after visiting the zoo, I walked towards the Mysore Palace and viewed it from a distance. I plan to visit it tomorrow. Since cameras are not allowed inside the palace, the photos I take here might be the only ones I get.As I walked a little further towards the hotel, a rickshaw driver approached me and offered to take me to the hotel for 30 rupees, so I decided to go with him.
As expected, he tried to take me to a souvenir shop along the way, and I thought it might be interesting, so I decided to go in.
If it were a notorious town like Agra or Delhi in North India, I would have refused to enter from the beginning, but based on the rickshaw driver's simple nature, I judged that it wouldn't be that bad.
Inside, there was a souvenir shop with saris, decorations, and souvenirs. I picked up a souvenir and looked at the price tag. It was a wooden figurine, about 20 cm high and 3 cm in radius, and the price was 2700 rupees. That's outrageous... I thought, but I looked around the store, and I was offered a sari, but I declined with a smile and went outside. Fortunately, it wasn't as pushy as I expected.
Then, I returned to the hotel, relaxed for a while, had dinner, and decided to get a good night's sleep early because I didn't get enough rest on the overnight bus last night.
2011/12/30
Today, I will visit the Mysore Palace and its surrounding museums.
Since it was an overnight bus the day before, I woke up around 7 am and had breakfast. The breakfast was a buffet. As expected, the amount and variety of food were appropriate for the hotel's grade.
I went back to my room and checked my schedule for today and the next few days. It seems that the hotel I had previously booked in Madurai is located near the station, and it looks like a convenient business hotel, but it might be a bit noisy. I didn't think much about it when I booked that hotel, but considering that it's similar to a hotel I stayed in Mumbai, and if I pay a few times more, I can stay in a hotel of a higher grade like the one I stayed in last night, it would be a waste to spend New Year's Eve in such a business hotel, so I decided to book a different hotel.
It's a little far from the station, and the lowest class seems to be fully booked for New Year's Eve, but a superior king room is about 8000 yen for New Year's Eve, and about 6000 yen the next day. With a 5% discount using a credit card promotion on Expedia, it's 16000 yen for two nights including tax, and the grade is incomparable to the price in Japan, so I decided to switch to this one. The original reservation has a cancellation charge of about 2700 yen for one night, but I don't really care about it. When I made the reservation, I didn't know the balance between the price and grade of hotels in India, but it seems that 4000 rupees is the borderline, and with the current exchange rate of about 1.5, I think I can have a relatively comfortable stay if I spend more than 6000 yen. A few years ago, the exchange rate was 3, so 12000 yen would be a bit expensive, but 6000 yen is a reasonable price to pay. Is the yen appreciating, or is the Indian rupee depreciating? According to the news, it's the latter, but I haven't been following the exchange rate of the Indian rupee, so I don't feel it.
Anyway, I finished booking the hotel and went to the Mysore Palace after checking out.
I arrived at the Mysore Palace 10 minutes before it opened, but it was strange that there were only a few people in line at the ticket counter. I wonder if there are a lot of tour groups?Inside the palace, you cannot bring cameras, so I left my camera at the counter on the right side of the entrance. However, Indian people were taking pictures with small cameras and cell phones. The staff were not paying attention to this. I don't know why, but it seems like they are ignoring it because it's pointless to say anything.
So, there are no pictures from inside, but it was a building that made me think, "This is how extravagant the rich people in India are."
After leaving the palace, I stopped by the Resident Museum, which is located on the same grounds. This museum displays items that belonged to the Maharaja.Then, I took a tour of the area surrounding the palace.
Now that the main purpose of visiting Mysore has been fulfilled, we stopped by the nearby Shree Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery and viewed paintings from old times and instruments used for performances.
And then, I walked to the nearby Devaraja Market and explored inside. The guidebook says that it retains the atmosphere of the kingdom, but if you think about it, it might not be that way. It's probably closer to a local market in Southeast Asia.
After strolling around the area, I will return to the hotel to pick up my luggage and then proceed to the station.Tonight, I will travel from Mysore to Madurai by train, which departs at 6:00 PM.
Madurai.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
2011/12/31
From Mysore to Bangalore, there were many empty seats, but the train was quite full after Bangalore, and it became the usual crowded train in India.
This time, I will get off before the final destination, so I will be careful not to oversleep and will try to sleep. I don't want to use an alarm on the train, but I will set an alarm for a little before the arrival time.
I had a light sleep, but I had a lot of time, so I was able to rest quite a bit, and I woke up when it started to get bright outside about 30 minutes before arrival. It is said that trains in India are often delayed, but I confirmed with GPS that this train is running almost on schedule. If I didn't have GPS, I would have been quite worried about where I was, but GPS has been very helpful. In particular, the smartphone connection is the best. I feel that it is essential for future trips.
And, we arrived at Madurai on schedule, and I headed to the hotel. The hotel is on a hill, so I don't know how much an auto-rickshaw would cost, and when I tried to negotiate the price, they wouldn't tell me the price, so I thought it would be a good experience sometimes, and contrary to the usual practice, I got in without negotiating the price.
It would be about 4 km to the entrance of the hotel, and then about 1 km up a hill. The hotel was on top of the hill.
I intended to have the driver wait while I put my luggage down, but I took a chance and asked if I could check in early, and they said that they couldn't give me the king-size bed I had reserved, but they could give me a twin room, so I decided to do that.
When I went back to the parking lot to return the driver and give him the money, he said it was 250 rupees. Here we go. I was expecting this. When I offered 100 rupees, he refused to accept it, so I ended up paying 150 rupees and he left with a parting remark. 150 rupees for 4 km and 1 km of a hill might be expensive from a local price, but I probably thought that everyone is probably paying about this much for a one-way trip to this hotel, and I felt that way considering the overall situation.
Then, I went into the room, took a shower, and relaxed.
Thanjavur.
A train from Madurai to Thanjavur.
Along the way, I made one transfer, and after a light breakfast during the transfer, I arrived in Thanjavur. After getting off the train, I checked into the hotel I had reserved, and then I went to see the Brihadeeswarar Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The highlight here is the main hall, which is 61 meters high, and the massive single rock on top of the main hall, which is estimated to weigh 81 tons.
This is said to be one of the finest masterpieces of the Chola dynasty's peak period.
In front of it, there is also the second largest Nandi statue in India. It is 4 meters high and weighs 25 tons.
After taking a walk and visiting the area, I also went to the nearby palace, but it seems that this is not a World Heritage Site.
Then I returned to the hotel, had dinner at the hotel restaurant, and prepared for the next day.
2011/01/03
Originally, the plan was to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site in Thanjavur today. However, since I had already seen it recently, and I thought I might not need to see it again, I decided to go to a UNESCO World Heritage site in a small town about 40 km away.
I decided to go to the Airavatesvara Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Darasuram, a suburb of Kumbakonam, which is 37 km northeast of Thanjavur.
It is possible to go from Thanjavur by train, but if you take a bus to Kumbakonam from the old bus stand near the hotel, you can get off 4 km before Kumbakonam.
It seems that you can return to Thanjavur by taking a bus from the Kumbakonam bus station, so since the hotel was near the old bus station, I decided to take a bus instead of the train.
First, I went to the old bus station, but there were no English signs, so I had no idea which bus to take. However, after asking a staff member and confirming the approximate boarding location, I asked the young people who were waiting there, and they told me which bus to take, so I was able to take that bus to Kumbakonam.
The bus was a local bus, and it was about 35 km, but the one-way fare was 17 rupees. The bus was crowded, and I had to stand for the first 30 minutes. Then, a seat opened up, so I sat down. When we arrived at Darasuram, I felt like the driver was staring at me, so I asked the people around me, and they told me that was Darasuram, so I got off there.
It would be inconvenient to be suddenly dropped off, but that's where the GPS came in handy. I was able to quickly confirm the location and the location of the ruins, and I was able to reach the ruins in about 5 minutes on foot.
This place was registered as a World Heritage Site in 2004.
Although it is not as large as the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur, it is a well-made temple. The surrounding sculptures are intricate and well-preserved.
The temples mostly close at 12:00 and reopen around 16:00, so I quickly visited the temples in the surrounding area.
I tried to go to a temple on the western end of Kumbakonam, but it seemed to be only 2-3 km away, but the auto-rickshaw driver asked for 200 rupees, and he wouldn't lower the price, so I went back to the bus stop and took a bus, which cost 7 rupees.
First, I visited the Kumaveshwara Temple on the western end. There were elephants there, and it was said that if you made an offering, they would let you pet their heads. Hmm. I tried it. Indeed.
And then, I looked at the Ramaswamy Temple located nearby, and continued on to the Sringeri Sharada Peetham. Compared to other World Heritage sites, these temples are relatively small, but this is said to be a town with many temples gathered around the entrance.
And after seeing the Nageshwara Temple, I was able to see the main temples before 12 o'clock.
After taking a break, I had lunch at the restaurant on the first floor of Hotel Raya. I didn't have the energy to think about what to eat, so I had my usual chicken masala (what is commonly known as chicken curry) with naan bread, and a sweet lassi.
I also ordered water and drank it quickly, which made my stomach feel full. However, there wasn't much left to see, so I went to a place called Mahamaham, which is a reservoir and has 16 small shrines around it. This place is used for a festival that happens once every 12 years, but it seems to be used as a reservoir for washing clothes and bathing at other times.
After resting on the stairs of that small temple, I decided to take a bus from a nearby bus stop back to Thanjavur.
The location of the bus stop was also checked using GPS. If I didn't have GPS, I think I would have gotten lost just by being one aisle off, and it might have been a completely different trip. Even if I asked the locals, I probably would have been anxious until I actually reached the bus stop. Having GPS makes a completely different feeling.
Then, I arrived at the bus stop, asked which bus to take, and got on. The fare back to the old bus stand in Thanjavur was 19 rupees. This time, I was able to sit.
It took about an hour to arrive. The bus didn't enter the old bus stand, but stopped on a street just north of it and immediately left after dropping off the passengers. Hmm. I somehow understood, so I asked the people around me and got off there.
Then, I picked up my luggage at the hotel and headed to the station. There is still plenty of time before the train, but if I move around, I will use up my energy, and if I have a little time, I can write in my diary, so I decided to go to the station early to prepare for the energy consumption of the sleeper train.
This time, it's a first-class car, so it's not as much as the second class, but since the arrival is early in the morning, I don't think I can relax much.
I arrived at the station and waited for the train, feeling relatively calm.
The train arrived, and I was able to board immediately. Having an electronic display board makes a big difference. It was also a great advantage that I could check my seat using an Android app. You can confirm the car even if you don't check the seat on the station bulletin board (although it's better to do so). There is a chart with names and seat numbers posted next to the entrance of each car, so I didn't check it on the station bulletin board, but I confirmed that the contents of the Android app matched the chart posted in the car, and then I entered the car.
The first-class car is comfortable, but the bed is hard, which is unavoidable. The other three people in the four-person room are coming in two hours, so I decided to go to sleep early.
There was also a power outlet next to my seat, so I was able to sleep while charging, which I was worried about.
I was worried about security, so I tied my carry-on bag with a wire, hid half of my handbag under a blanket, and slept with my shoulder and arm through the blanket. The door of this room locks from the inside, but it's better to be careful.
Along the way, I made one transfer, and after a light breakfast during the transfer, I arrived in Thanjavur. After getting off the train, I checked into the hotel I had reserved, and then I went to see the Brihadeeswarar Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The highlight here is the main hall, which is 61 meters high, and the massive single rock on top of the main hall, which is estimated to weigh 81 tons.
This is said to be one of the finest masterpieces of the Chola dynasty's peak period.
In front of it, there is also the second largest Nandi statue in India. It is 4 meters high and weighs 25 tons.
After taking a walk and visiting the area, I also went to the nearby palace, but it seems that this is not a World Heritage Site.
Then I returned to the hotel, had dinner at the hotel restaurant, and prepared for the next day.2011/01/03
Originally, the plan was to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site in Thanjavur today. However, since I had already seen it recently, and I thought I might not need to see it again, I decided to go to a UNESCO World Heritage site in a small town about 40 km away.
I decided to go to the Airavatesvara Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Darasuram, a suburb of Kumbakonam, which is 37 km northeast of Thanjavur.
It is possible to go from Thanjavur by train, but if you take a bus to Kumbakonam from the old bus stand near the hotel, you can get off 4 km before Kumbakonam.
It seems that you can return to Thanjavur by taking a bus from the Kumbakonam bus station, so since the hotel was near the old bus station, I decided to take a bus instead of the train.
First, I went to the old bus station, but there were no English signs, so I had no idea which bus to take. However, after asking a staff member and confirming the approximate boarding location, I asked the young people who were waiting there, and they told me which bus to take, so I was able to take that bus to Kumbakonam.
The bus was a local bus, and it was about 35 km, but the one-way fare was 17 rupees. The bus was crowded, and I had to stand for the first 30 minutes. Then, a seat opened up, so I sat down. When we arrived at Darasuram, I felt like the driver was staring at me, so I asked the people around me, and they told me that was Darasuram, so I got off there.
It would be inconvenient to be suddenly dropped off, but that's where the GPS came in handy. I was able to quickly confirm the location and the location of the ruins, and I was able to reach the ruins in about 5 minutes on foot.
This place was registered as a World Heritage Site in 2004.Although it is not as large as the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur, it is a well-made temple. The surrounding sculptures are intricate and well-preserved.
The temples mostly close at 12:00 and reopen around 16:00, so I quickly visited the temples in the surrounding area.I tried to go to a temple on the western end of Kumbakonam, but it seemed to be only 2-3 km away, but the auto-rickshaw driver asked for 200 rupees, and he wouldn't lower the price, so I went back to the bus stop and took a bus, which cost 7 rupees.
First, I visited the Kumaveshwara Temple on the western end. There were elephants there, and it was said that if you made an offering, they would let you pet their heads. Hmm. I tried it. Indeed.
And then, I looked at the Ramaswamy Temple located nearby, and continued on to the Sringeri Sharada Peetham. Compared to other World Heritage sites, these temples are relatively small, but this is said to be a town with many temples gathered around the entrance.And after seeing the Nageshwara Temple, I was able to see the main temples before 12 o'clock.
After taking a break, I had lunch at the restaurant on the first floor of Hotel Raya. I didn't have the energy to think about what to eat, so I had my usual chicken masala (what is commonly known as chicken curry) with naan bread, and a sweet lassi.I also ordered water and drank it quickly, which made my stomach feel full. However, there wasn't much left to see, so I went to a place called Mahamaham, which is a reservoir and has 16 small shrines around it. This place is used for a festival that happens once every 12 years, but it seems to be used as a reservoir for washing clothes and bathing at other times.
After resting on the stairs of that small temple, I decided to take a bus from a nearby bus stop back to Thanjavur.The location of the bus stop was also checked using GPS. If I didn't have GPS, I think I would have gotten lost just by being one aisle off, and it might have been a completely different trip. Even if I asked the locals, I probably would have been anxious until I actually reached the bus stop. Having GPS makes a completely different feeling.
Then, I arrived at the bus stop, asked which bus to take, and got on. The fare back to the old bus stand in Thanjavur was 19 rupees. This time, I was able to sit.
It took about an hour to arrive. The bus didn't enter the old bus stand, but stopped on a street just north of it and immediately left after dropping off the passengers. Hmm. I somehow understood, so I asked the people around me and got off there.
Then, I picked up my luggage at the hotel and headed to the station. There is still plenty of time before the train, but if I move around, I will use up my energy, and if I have a little time, I can write in my diary, so I decided to go to the station early to prepare for the energy consumption of the sleeper train.
This time, it's a first-class car, so it's not as much as the second class, but since the arrival is early in the morning, I don't think I can relax much.
I arrived at the station and waited for the train, feeling relatively calm.
The train arrived, and I was able to board immediately. Having an electronic display board makes a big difference. It was also a great advantage that I could check my seat using an Android app. You can confirm the car even if you don't check the seat on the station bulletin board (although it's better to do so). There is a chart with names and seat numbers posted next to the entrance of each car, so I didn't check it on the station bulletin board, but I confirmed that the contents of the Android app matched the chart posted in the car, and then I entered the car.
The first-class car is comfortable, but the bed is hard, which is unavoidable. The other three people in the four-person room are coming in two hours, so I decided to go to sleep early.
There was also a power outlet next to my seat, so I was able to sleep while charging, which I was worried about.
I was worried about security, so I tied my carry-on bag with a wire, hid half of my handbag under a blanket, and slept with my shoulder and arm through the blanket. The door of this room locks from the inside, but it's better to be careful.
Chennai.
2012/01/04
In the morning, I woke up to the alarm on my cell phone while it was still dark. I don't know where I am, but recently, trains seem to arrive on time, so I got up around 5:00 AM, 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival, to get ready. My luggage doesn't seem to be missing.
Suddenly, I noticed that two other passengers (a couple?) were sleeping below. It seems that these two people either don't speak English or have poor communication skills, as they didn't try to communicate with me and got off quickly with sleepy and grumpy expressions. Hmm. It's not surprising that some people look at foreigners with suspicion, I thought, and I finished getting ready and went outside.
Chennai was still dark, so I went to the hotel near the station that I had reserved to leave my luggage. It's called Fortel, and it's a few minutes' walk from Egmore Station. On the way, a rickshaw driver asked me to take me to the hotel for 10 rupees, but he was pointing to a different hotel, so I kept refusing and walked for a few minutes before reaching the hotel.
It seems to be a 24-hour system, so I decided not to check in immediately and just left my luggage and went outside.
First, I went to the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, which opens early in the morning.
I could have taken a rickshaw directly, but I had plenty of time, so I decided to take the train, even if I failed.
At Egmore Station, a ticket to the nearest Thirumaylai Station costs 6 rupees. I thought, "What a price..." while looking at the electronic display to see which train it was, but I couldn't understand it, so I asked the people around me. Apparently, local trains are not displayed on this electronic display, so I went to platform 10 to take a local train and headed towards the sea (beach). I got off at Fort Station, thinking about transferring to an elevated train called MRTS, but there was no elevated structure, and there was no transfer gate, so I was confused. However, it seems that a transfer gate is not necessary, and you can just transfer directly, and it seems that this is not an elevated structure.
Also, I asked around because it was difficult to tell which platform it was, and I thought it was probably a turnaround point, so I waited on the side that was mostly one-way, and I was able to get on the train.
Then, I got off at the station near the Kapaleeshwarar Temple and had breakfast at a restaurant that seems to be attached to a hotel near the temple.
After that, I visited the temple, and it seemed that even though it was small, proper rituals were being performed.
2012/01/04
In the morning, I woke up to the alarm on my cell phone while it was still dark. I don't know where I am, but recently, trains seem to arrive on time, so I got up around 5:00 AM, 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival, to get ready. My luggage doesn't seem to be missing.
Suddenly, I noticed that two other passengers (a couple?) were sleeping below. It seems that these two people either don't speak English or have poor communication skills, as they didn't try to communicate with me and got off quickly with sleepy and grumpy expressions. Hmm. It's not surprising that some people look at foreigners with suspicion, I thought, and I finished getting ready and went outside.
Chennai was still dark, so I went to the hotel near the station that I had reserved to leave my luggage. It's called Fortel, and it's a few minutes' walk from Egmore Station. On the way, a rickshaw driver asked me to take me to the hotel for 10 rupees, but he was pointing to a different hotel, so I kept refusing and walked for a few minutes before reaching the hotel.
It seems to be a 24-hour system, so I decided not to check in immediately and just left my luggage and went outside.
First, I went to the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, which opens early in the morning.
I could have taken a rickshaw directly, but I had plenty of time, so I decided to take the train, even if I failed.
At Egmore Station, a ticket to the nearest Thirumaylai Station costs 6 rupees. I thought, "What a price..." while looking at the electronic display to see which train it was, but I couldn't understand it, so I asked the people around me. Apparently, local trains are not displayed on this electronic display, so I went to platform 10 to take a local train and headed towards the sea (beach). I got off at Fort Station, thinking about transferring to an elevated train called MRTS, but there was no elevated structure, and there was no transfer gate, so I was confused. However, it seems that a transfer gate is not necessary, and you can just transfer directly, and it seems that this is not an elevated structure.
Also, I asked around because it was difficult to tell which platform it was, and I thought it was probably a turnaround point, so I waited on the side that was mostly one-way, and I was able to get on the train.
Then, I got off at the station near the Kapaleeshwarar Temple and had breakfast at a restaurant that seems to be attached to a hotel near the temple.
After that, I visited the temple, and it seemed that even though it was small, proper rituals were being performed.
2012/01/04
In the morning, I woke up to the alarm on my cell phone while it was still dark. I don't know where I am, but recently, trains seem to arrive on time, so I got up around 5:00 AM, 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival, to get ready. My luggage doesn't seem to be missing.
Suddenly, I noticed that two other passengers (a couple?) were sleeping below. It seems that these two people either don't speak English or have poor communication skills, as they didn't try to communicate with me and got off quickly with sleepy and grumpy expressions. Hmm. It's not surprising that some people look at foreigners with suspicion, I thought, and I finished getting ready and went outside.
Chennai was still dark, so I went to the hotel near the station that I had reserved to leave my luggage. It's called Fortel, and it's a few minutes' walk from Egmore Station. On the way, a rickshaw driver asked me to take me to the hotel for 10 rupees, but he was pointing to a different hotel, so I kept refusing and walked for a few minutes before reaching the hotel.
It seems to be a 24-hour system, so I decided not to check in immediately and just left my luggage and went outside.
First, I went to the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, which opens early in the morning.
I could have taken a rickshaw directly, but I had plenty of time, so I decided to take the train, even if I failed.
At Egmore Station, a ticket to the nearest Thirumaylai Station costs 6 rupees. I thought, "What a price..." while looking at the electronic display to see which train it was, but I couldn't understand it, so I asked the people around me. Apparently, local trains are not displayed on this electronic display, so I went to platform 10 to take a local train and headed towards the sea (beach). I got off at Fort Station, thinking about transferring to an elevated train called MRTS, but there was no elevated structure, and there was no transfer gate, so I was confused. However, it seems that a transfer gate is not necessary, and you can just transfer directly, and it seems that this is not an elevated structure.
Also, I asked around because it was difficult to tell which platform it was, and I thought it was probably a turnaround point, so I waited on the side that was mostly one-way, and I was able to get on the train.
Then, I got off at the station near the Kapaleeshwarar Temple and had breakfast at a restaurant that seems to be attached to a hotel near the temple.
After that, I visited the temple, and it seemed that even though it was small, proper rituals were being performed.
2012/01/04
In the morning, I woke up to the alarm on my cell phone while it was still dark. I don't know where I am, but recently, trains seem to arrive on time, so I got up around 5:00 AM, 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival, to get ready. My luggage doesn't seem to be missing.
Suddenly, I noticed that two other passengers (a couple?) were sleeping below. It seems that these two people either don't speak English or have poor communication skills, as they didn't try to communicate with me and got off quickly with sleepy and grumpy expressions. Hmm. It's not surprising that some people look at foreigners with suspicion, I thought, and I finished getting ready and went outside.
Chennai was still dark, so I went to the hotel near the station that I had reserved to leave my luggage. It's called Fortel, and it's a few minutes' walk from Egmore Station. On the way, a rickshaw driver asked me to take me to the hotel for 10 rupees, but he was pointing to a different hotel, so I kept refusing and walked for a few minutes before reaching the hotel.
It seems to be a 24-hour system, so I decided not to check in immediately and just left my luggage and went outside.
First, I went to the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, which opens early in the morning.
I could have taken a rickshaw directly, but I had plenty of time, so I decided to take the train, even if I failed.
At Egmore Station, a ticket to the nearest Thirumaylai Station costs 6 rupees. I thought, "What a price..." while looking at the electronic display to see which train it was, but I couldn't understand it, so I asked the people around me. Apparently, local trains are not displayed on this electronic display, so I went to platform 10 to take a local train and headed towards the sea (beach). I got off at Fort Station, thinking about transferring to an elevated train called MRTS, but there was no elevated structure, and there was no transfer gate, so I was confused. However, it seems that a transfer gate is not necessary, and you can just transfer directly, and it seems that this is not an elevated structure.
Also, I asked around because it was difficult to tell which platform it was, and I thought it was probably a turnaround point, so I waited on the side that was mostly one-way, and I was able to get on the train.
Then, I got off at the station near the Kapaleeshwarar Temple and had breakfast at a restaurant that seems to be attached to a hotel near the temple.
After that, I visited the temple, and it seemed that even though it was small, proper rituals were being performed.
I finished my visit much earlier than expected, so I decided to stop by Spencer's Plaza, which was nearby, for lunch and some shopping, even though it wasn't originally in my plans.
I had a Kentucky burger set and bought a small box of chai and black tea at a local supermarket as souvenirs. Local supermarkets are useful for understanding local prices.
As usual, I was aggressively approached by a store clerk at Spencer's Plaza, who was trying to sell me something I hadn't planned to buy. I mostly resisted, but I ended up buying about five music CDs, just for fun. They're a reminder of my trip to India.
Then I went back to the hotel, took a shower, and prepared for my departure.
I had previously confirmed that I could take a local train from Egmore Station, just a short distance away, to the airport for only 6 rupees. However, I decided to take an air-conditioned taxi instead, as I didn't want to sweat while walking. The taxi cost 650 rupees, which is 100 times more expensive than the train. Well, whatever. An auto-rickshaw would have cost 400 rupees. Hmm.
After checking out, I went to the airport.
I left the hotel 3.5 hours before my flight, and it took about 50 minutes to reach the airport, which is supposed to be a 30-minute distance according to the guidebook. I must have encountered rush hour.
Moreover, I thought I would have a comfortable ride to the airport in an air-conditioned taxi, but there were mosquitoes buzzing around inside the car. I killed about 5 or 6 mosquitoes before arriving at the airport. This is the last thing I expected. Maybe an auto-rickshaw would have been better.
But the story doesn't end there. After checking in at Chennai Airport, when I went through security and entered the lobby, I realized that all my luggage needed tags. I didn't have a tag for my shoulder bag, so a staff member attached a tag that was lying around. It's strange that there were tags just lying around. Hmm. Is that okay? I don't understand this system. It seems like it's somehow working. My carry-on bag was already attached with a tag by the staff during check-in, so there was no problem with that.
I had heard that Chennai Airport takes a long time, but it was surprisingly smooth, and I arrived at the lobby 2 hours before my flight. I spent about an hour getting a foot massage to pass the time, and when I was about to leave, I heard an announcement that the flight might be delayed by about an hour. I couldn't understand the accent very well. The display on the electronic board was also constantly changing. Hmm... Just then, another announcement was made, and I think I heard something about starting boarding at a different gate, even though the flight was scheduled to depart earlier. I'm not sure, so I asked a staff member, and they told me that boarding would start immediately. What? Just a moment ago, they said there was a possibility of a 1-hour delay. Well, whatever.
So I boarded the plane, but the Kingfisher domestic flight seat was so narrow that I had never experienced anything like it. The space on the sides seems normal, but the vertical space is terribly narrow, and I can't fit my legs without spreading them to the sides. This might be the first time I've experienced such a plane (laughs). I remember riding Kingfisher on an international flight before, and it was normal. Hmm.
Then I arrived at Mumbai Airport. I didn't expect there to be more complications here.
First, I learned that the domestic and international terminals are far apart, and there is no train or anything like that to connect them, so you need to use a free shuttle that runs every 20 minutes or a paid taxi. If you just hear that, you might think, "Oh, 20 minutes," but the actual travel time was much longer. Here's a breakdown of the time it took:
1. Luggage pickup (0 minutes)
I carried all my luggage on board, but it probably takes about 15 minutes.
2. Waiting for the shuttle (15 minutes)
If it's crowded, you'll have to wait for the next shuttle, which will take another 20 minutes.
3. Security check before boarding the shuttle and waiting for it to be full (25 minutes)
Since there's only one shuttle and the security check doesn't start until the shuttle arrives, you have to wait for the shuttle and then go through security. You could probably do it in parallel, but I don't know why I didn't do that this time. Whatever, it's India. Once it's full, it departs. At this point, 25 minutes have already passed since the scheduled shuttle departure time. I might have ended up taking the next shuttle.
4. Moving to the international terminal (30 minutes)
Finally, it takes an unimaginable amount of time to get to the international terminal's departure gate, even though you're on a dedicated road within the airport until you merge onto a public road.
Therefore, it took me 1 hour and 10 minutes to get from the domestic terminal to the international terminal gate. This is an incredibly long time, which is probably not possible at a normal airport. If you're carrying luggage, the timing and congestion can make it take 1.5 hours, and if you're unlucky, it could take 2 hours. Even if you take a taxi, you'll have to wait in line for a prepaid taxi, and a private taxi will probably overcharge you. Either way, you'll probably get stuck in a huge traffic jam near the international terminal, so the time might not be that different.
I had 3 hours and 20 minutes for the layover at Mumbai Airport, but the plane arrived 15 minutes early, so I had about 3 and a half hours. However, almost 1 hour and 30 minutes have already passed.
The story doesn't end there. The Jet Airways check-in counter was incredibly slow, and when I tried to check in my luggage, I instinctively felt that I would definitely miss my flight.
In my case, I had already checked in online, but I couldn't connect to a printer, so I only wanted to get my boarding pass. I decided to use a self-check-in machine next to it to get my boarding pass.
This machine was also difficult to use. Several machines had touch panel buttons that didn't respond, so I had to move around and look for a working terminal. The screen said to insert a credit card or enter my name. I inserted my credit card, and it seemed to be automatically extracting my name, which was quite clever. However, it then told me that it couldn't find my reservation information. I had no choice but to get back in line at the check-in counter, but the line was still moving extremely slowly, so I tried the self-check-in again. This time, I was able to proceed by manually entering my name. Hmm... It seems that the credit card's name recognition was using an abbreviated name. The story doesn't end there. When I tried to print my boarding pass on the working machine, it didn't print, so I tried again on another machine next to it. Furthermore, it's normal for a boarding pass for the entire journey to be printed during check-in, but only the boarding pass from Mumbai to Hong Kong was printed, and the boarding pass from Hong Kong to Tokyo was not printed. Even though I bought the entire ticket through Jet Airways, it seems that the ANA segment couldn't be printed. I wondered if that was the kind of machine it was. I thought, "Is this really okay?" But I figured I could get the ticket at Hong Kong, so I headed to the departure gate as quickly as possible.
Still, India is thorough. It's so difficult to even get through immigration.
As I got in line for immigration, it was moving relatively quickly. Then, I realized that I hadn't filled out the immigration card, so I had to start all over again. Ugh. Usually, you get the immigration card at the check-in counter, so you don't forget it, but I used the machine, so I didn't get a paper and didn't realize it. I had no choice but to do it again, and finally, I got through immigration.
But then, there was another security check. Oh no. We only have less than 30 minutes until departure. Even so, that was the last one, and I was able to make my flight. I was hoping to go to the lounge because I arrived early, but I almost missed my flight, which is quite something, even for India. Especially this Mumbai Airport is notorious.
For next time, here are the things to be aware of at Mumbai Airport:
- When transferring from a domestic flight to an international flight, allow at least an extra 1 hour.
- Allow an extra 1 hour to account for the congestion at the check-in counter.
- Assume that the traffic is twice as bad as what's in the guidebook.
- For transfers from domestic flights, allow an extra 1 hour, even if there's no delay reported.
So, if you're flying directly to an international flight, you would normally arrive at the airport 4 hours before your flight (3 hours + 1 hour). If you're transferring from a domestic flight to an international flight, and you can check in at a different airport, you would normally have a 5-hour layover (3 hours + 2 hours). If you're transferring with a different airline (like in my case), you would normally have a 6-hour layover (3 hours + 3 hours).
In my case, even though my connecting flight arrived early and I didn't have any checked luggage, so I saved time on pick-up and baggage check-in, I still barely made it with about 3 and a half hours. If I had only 2 hours for the layover, I would have definitely missed my flight. India is dangerous.
Finally, I left India and headed to Hong Kong. I felt relieved when I got here.
I got my ticket printed at the transit area, and I finally felt a sense of security. I relaxed in the lounge in the boarding area and waited for my flight, and then I returned home.
In the morning, I woke up to the alarm on my cell phone while it was still dark. I don't know where I am, but recently, trains seem to arrive on time, so I got up around 5:00 AM, 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival, to get ready. My luggage doesn't seem to be missing.
Suddenly, I noticed that two other passengers (a couple?) were sleeping below. It seems that these two people either don't speak English or have poor communication skills, as they didn't try to communicate with me and got off quickly with sleepy and grumpy expressions. Hmm. It's not surprising that some people look at foreigners with suspicion, I thought, and I finished getting ready and went outside.
Chennai was still dark, so I went to the hotel near the station that I had reserved to leave my luggage. It's called Fortel, and it's a few minutes' walk from Egmore Station. On the way, a rickshaw driver asked me to take me to the hotel for 10 rupees, but he was pointing to a different hotel, so I kept refusing and walked for a few minutes before reaching the hotel.
It seems to be a 24-hour system, so I decided not to check in immediately and just left my luggage and went outside.
First, I went to the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, which opens early in the morning.
I could have taken a rickshaw directly, but I had plenty of time, so I decided to take the train, even if I failed.
At Egmore Station, a ticket to the nearest Thirumaylai Station costs 6 rupees. I thought, "What a price..." while looking at the electronic display to see which train it was, but I couldn't understand it, so I asked the people around me. Apparently, local trains are not displayed on this electronic display, so I went to platform 10 to take a local train and headed towards the sea (beach). I got off at Fort Station, thinking about transferring to an elevated train called MRTS, but there was no elevated structure, and there was no transfer gate, so I was confused. However, it seems that a transfer gate is not necessary, and you can just transfer directly, and it seems that this is not an elevated structure.
Also, I asked around because it was difficult to tell which platform it was, and I thought it was probably a turnaround point, so I waited on the side that was mostly one-way, and I was able to get on the train.
Then, I got off at the station near the Kapaleeshwarar Temple and had breakfast at a restaurant that seems to be attached to a hotel near the temple.
After that, I visited the temple, and it seemed that even though it was small, proper rituals were being performed.
2012/01/04
In the morning, I woke up to the alarm on my cell phone while it was still dark. I don't know where I am, but recently, trains seem to arrive on time, so I got up around 5:00 AM, 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival, to get ready. My luggage doesn't seem to be missing.
Suddenly, I noticed that two other passengers (a couple?) were sleeping below. It seems that these two people either don't speak English or have poor communication skills, as they didn't try to communicate with me and got off quickly with sleepy and grumpy expressions. Hmm. It's not surprising that some people look at foreigners with suspicion, I thought, and I finished getting ready and went outside.
Chennai was still dark, so I went to the hotel near the station that I had reserved to leave my luggage. It's called Fortel, and it's a few minutes' walk from Egmore Station. On the way, a rickshaw driver asked me to take me to the hotel for 10 rupees, but he was pointing to a different hotel, so I kept refusing and walked for a few minutes before reaching the hotel.
It seems to be a 24-hour system, so I decided not to check in immediately and just left my luggage and went outside.
First, I went to the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, which opens early in the morning.
I could have taken a rickshaw directly, but I had plenty of time, so I decided to take the train, even if I failed.
At Egmore Station, a ticket to the nearest Thirumaylai Station costs 6 rupees. I thought, "What a price..." while looking at the electronic display to see which train it was, but I couldn't understand it, so I asked the people around me. Apparently, local trains are not displayed on this electronic display, so I went to platform 10 to take a local train and headed towards the sea (beach). I got off at Fort Station, thinking about transferring to an elevated train called MRTS, but there was no elevated structure, and there was no transfer gate, so I was confused. However, it seems that a transfer gate is not necessary, and you can just transfer directly, and it seems that this is not an elevated structure.
Also, I asked around because it was difficult to tell which platform it was, and I thought it was probably a turnaround point, so I waited on the side that was mostly one-way, and I was able to get on the train.
Then, I got off at the station near the Kapaleeshwarar Temple and had breakfast at a restaurant that seems to be attached to a hotel near the temple.
After that, I visited the temple, and it seemed that even though it was small, proper rituals were being performed.
2012/01/04
In the morning, I woke up to the alarm on my cell phone while it was still dark. I don't know where I am, but recently, trains seem to arrive on time, so I got up around 5:00 AM, 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival, to get ready. My luggage doesn't seem to be missing.
Suddenly, I noticed that two other passengers (a couple?) were sleeping below. It seems that these two people either don't speak English or have poor communication skills, as they didn't try to communicate with me and got off quickly with sleepy and grumpy expressions. Hmm. It's not surprising that some people look at foreigners with suspicion, I thought, and I finished getting ready and went outside.
Chennai was still dark, so I went to the hotel near the station that I had reserved to leave my luggage. It's called Fortel, and it's a few minutes' walk from Egmore Station. On the way, a rickshaw driver asked me to take me to the hotel for 10 rupees, but he was pointing to a different hotel, so I kept refusing and walked for a few minutes before reaching the hotel.
It seems to be a 24-hour system, so I decided not to check in immediately and just left my luggage and went outside.
First, I went to the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, which opens early in the morning.
I could have taken a rickshaw directly, but I had plenty of time, so I decided to take the train, even if I failed.
At Egmore Station, a ticket to the nearest Thirumaylai Station costs 6 rupees. I thought, "What a price..." while looking at the electronic display to see which train it was, but I couldn't understand it, so I asked the people around me. Apparently, local trains are not displayed on this electronic display, so I went to platform 10 to take a local train and headed towards the sea (beach). I got off at Fort Station, thinking about transferring to an elevated train called MRTS, but there was no elevated structure, and there was no transfer gate, so I was confused. However, it seems that a transfer gate is not necessary, and you can just transfer directly, and it seems that this is not an elevated structure.
Also, I asked around because it was difficult to tell which platform it was, and I thought it was probably a turnaround point, so I waited on the side that was mostly one-way, and I was able to get on the train.
Then, I got off at the station near the Kapaleeshwarar Temple and had breakfast at a restaurant that seems to be attached to a hotel near the temple.
After that, I visited the temple, and it seemed that even though it was small, proper rituals were being performed.
2012/01/04
In the morning, I woke up to the alarm on my cell phone while it was still dark. I don't know where I am, but recently, trains seem to arrive on time, so I got up around 5:00 AM, 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival, to get ready. My luggage doesn't seem to be missing.
Suddenly, I noticed that two other passengers (a couple?) were sleeping below. It seems that these two people either don't speak English or have poor communication skills, as they didn't try to communicate with me and got off quickly with sleepy and grumpy expressions. Hmm. It's not surprising that some people look at foreigners with suspicion, I thought, and I finished getting ready and went outside.
Chennai was still dark, so I went to the hotel near the station that I had reserved to leave my luggage. It's called Fortel, and it's a few minutes' walk from Egmore Station. On the way, a rickshaw driver asked me to take me to the hotel for 10 rupees, but he was pointing to a different hotel, so I kept refusing and walked for a few minutes before reaching the hotel.
It seems to be a 24-hour system, so I decided not to check in immediately and just left my luggage and went outside.
First, I went to the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, which opens early in the morning.
I could have taken a rickshaw directly, but I had plenty of time, so I decided to take the train, even if I failed.
At Egmore Station, a ticket to the nearest Thirumaylai Station costs 6 rupees. I thought, "What a price..." while looking at the electronic display to see which train it was, but I couldn't understand it, so I asked the people around me. Apparently, local trains are not displayed on this electronic display, so I went to platform 10 to take a local train and headed towards the sea (beach). I got off at Fort Station, thinking about transferring to an elevated train called MRTS, but there was no elevated structure, and there was no transfer gate, so I was confused. However, it seems that a transfer gate is not necessary, and you can just transfer directly, and it seems that this is not an elevated structure.
Also, I asked around because it was difficult to tell which platform it was, and I thought it was probably a turnaround point, so I waited on the side that was mostly one-way, and I was able to get on the train.
Then, I got off at the station near the Kapaleeshwarar Temple and had breakfast at a restaurant that seems to be attached to a hotel near the temple.
After that, I visited the temple, and it seemed that even though it was small, proper rituals were being performed.
I finished my visit much earlier than expected, so I decided to stop by Spencer's Plaza, which was nearby, for lunch and some shopping, even though it wasn't originally in my plans.
I had a Kentucky burger set and bought a small box of chai and black tea at a local supermarket as souvenirs. Local supermarkets are useful for understanding local prices.
As usual, I was aggressively approached by a store clerk at Spencer's Plaza, who was trying to sell me something I hadn't planned to buy. I mostly resisted, but I ended up buying about five music CDs, just for fun. They're a reminder of my trip to India.
Then I went back to the hotel, took a shower, and prepared for my departure.
I had previously confirmed that I could take a local train from Egmore Station, just a short distance away, to the airport for only 6 rupees. However, I decided to take an air-conditioned taxi instead, as I didn't want to sweat while walking. The taxi cost 650 rupees, which is 100 times more expensive than the train. Well, whatever. An auto-rickshaw would have cost 400 rupees. Hmm.
After checking out, I went to the airport.
I left the hotel 3.5 hours before my flight, and it took about 50 minutes to reach the airport, which is supposed to be a 30-minute distance according to the guidebook. I must have encountered rush hour.
Moreover, I thought I would have a comfortable ride to the airport in an air-conditioned taxi, but there were mosquitoes buzzing around inside the car. I killed about 5 or 6 mosquitoes before arriving at the airport. This is the last thing I expected. Maybe an auto-rickshaw would have been better.
But the story doesn't end there. After checking in at Chennai Airport, when I went through security and entered the lobby, I realized that all my luggage needed tags. I didn't have a tag for my shoulder bag, so a staff member attached a tag that was lying around. It's strange that there were tags just lying around. Hmm. Is that okay? I don't understand this system. It seems like it's somehow working. My carry-on bag was already attached with a tag by the staff during check-in, so there was no problem with that.
I had heard that Chennai Airport takes a long time, but it was surprisingly smooth, and I arrived at the lobby 2 hours before my flight. I spent about an hour getting a foot massage to pass the time, and when I was about to leave, I heard an announcement that the flight might be delayed by about an hour. I couldn't understand the accent very well. The display on the electronic board was also constantly changing. Hmm... Just then, another announcement was made, and I think I heard something about starting boarding at a different gate, even though the flight was scheduled to depart earlier. I'm not sure, so I asked a staff member, and they told me that boarding would start immediately. What? Just a moment ago, they said there was a possibility of a 1-hour delay. Well, whatever.
So I boarded the plane, but the Kingfisher domestic flight seat was so narrow that I had never experienced anything like it. The space on the sides seems normal, but the vertical space is terribly narrow, and I can't fit my legs without spreading them to the sides. This might be the first time I've experienced such a plane (laughs). I remember riding Kingfisher on an international flight before, and it was normal. Hmm.
Then I arrived at Mumbai Airport. I didn't expect there to be more complications here.
First, I learned that the domestic and international terminals are far apart, and there is no train or anything like that to connect them, so you need to use a free shuttle that runs every 20 minutes or a paid taxi. If you just hear that, you might think, "Oh, 20 minutes," but the actual travel time was much longer. Here's a breakdown of the time it took:
1. Luggage pickup (0 minutes)
I carried all my luggage on board, but it probably takes about 15 minutes.
2. Waiting for the shuttle (15 minutes)
If it's crowded, you'll have to wait for the next shuttle, which will take another 20 minutes.
3. Security check before boarding the shuttle and waiting for it to be full (25 minutes)
Since there's only one shuttle and the security check doesn't start until the shuttle arrives, you have to wait for the shuttle and then go through security. You could probably do it in parallel, but I don't know why I didn't do that this time. Whatever, it's India. Once it's full, it departs. At this point, 25 minutes have already passed since the scheduled shuttle departure time. I might have ended up taking the next shuttle.
4. Moving to the international terminal (30 minutes)
Finally, it takes an unimaginable amount of time to get to the international terminal's departure gate, even though you're on a dedicated road within the airport until you merge onto a public road.
Therefore, it took me 1 hour and 10 minutes to get from the domestic terminal to the international terminal gate. This is an incredibly long time, which is probably not possible at a normal airport. If you're carrying luggage, the timing and congestion can make it take 1.5 hours, and if you're unlucky, it could take 2 hours. Even if you take a taxi, you'll have to wait in line for a prepaid taxi, and a private taxi will probably overcharge you. Either way, you'll probably get stuck in a huge traffic jam near the international terminal, so the time might not be that different.
I had 3 hours and 20 minutes for the layover at Mumbai Airport, but the plane arrived 15 minutes early, so I had about 3 and a half hours. However, almost 1 hour and 30 minutes have already passed.
The story doesn't end there. The Jet Airways check-in counter was incredibly slow, and when I tried to check in my luggage, I instinctively felt that I would definitely miss my flight.
In my case, I had already checked in online, but I couldn't connect to a printer, so I only wanted to get my boarding pass. I decided to use a self-check-in machine next to it to get my boarding pass.
This machine was also difficult to use. Several machines had touch panel buttons that didn't respond, so I had to move around and look for a working terminal. The screen said to insert a credit card or enter my name. I inserted my credit card, and it seemed to be automatically extracting my name, which was quite clever. However, it then told me that it couldn't find my reservation information. I had no choice but to get back in line at the check-in counter, but the line was still moving extremely slowly, so I tried the self-check-in again. This time, I was able to proceed by manually entering my name. Hmm... It seems that the credit card's name recognition was using an abbreviated name. The story doesn't end there. When I tried to print my boarding pass on the working machine, it didn't print, so I tried again on another machine next to it. Furthermore, it's normal for a boarding pass for the entire journey to be printed during check-in, but only the boarding pass from Mumbai to Hong Kong was printed, and the boarding pass from Hong Kong to Tokyo was not printed. Even though I bought the entire ticket through Jet Airways, it seems that the ANA segment couldn't be printed. I wondered if that was the kind of machine it was. I thought, "Is this really okay?" But I figured I could get the ticket at Hong Kong, so I headed to the departure gate as quickly as possible.
Still, India is thorough. It's so difficult to even get through immigration.
As I got in line for immigration, it was moving relatively quickly. Then, I realized that I hadn't filled out the immigration card, so I had to start all over again. Ugh. Usually, you get the immigration card at the check-in counter, so you don't forget it, but I used the machine, so I didn't get a paper and didn't realize it. I had no choice but to do it again, and finally, I got through immigration.
But then, there was another security check. Oh no. We only have less than 30 minutes until departure. Even so, that was the last one, and I was able to make my flight. I was hoping to go to the lounge because I arrived early, but I almost missed my flight, which is quite something, even for India. Especially this Mumbai Airport is notorious.
For next time, here are the things to be aware of at Mumbai Airport:
- When transferring from a domestic flight to an international flight, allow at least an extra 1 hour.
- Allow an extra 1 hour to account for the congestion at the check-in counter.
- Assume that the traffic is twice as bad as what's in the guidebook.
- For transfers from domestic flights, allow an extra 1 hour, even if there's no delay reported.
So, if you're flying directly to an international flight, you would normally arrive at the airport 4 hours before your flight (3 hours + 1 hour). If you're transferring from a domestic flight to an international flight, and you can check in at a different airport, you would normally have a 5-hour layover (3 hours + 2 hours). If you're transferring with a different airline (like in my case), you would normally have a 6-hour layover (3 hours + 3 hours).
In my case, even though my connecting flight arrived early and I didn't have any checked luggage, so I saved time on pick-up and baggage check-in, I still barely made it with about 3 and a half hours. If I had only 2 hours for the layover, I would have definitely missed my flight. India is dangerous.
Finally, I left India and headed to Hong Kong. I felt relieved when I got here.
I got my ticket printed at the transit area, and I finally felt a sense of security. I relaxed in the lounge in the boarding area and waited for my flight, and then I returned home.