So the last day in Kolkata was fun, we walked around, saw some mud did some shopping and sat at the hotel for a couple of hours. I was tired, so I thought that the first train ride would be fairly easy. But things did not go as planned...
First Twila got a lecture from our guide that she was suppose to tip the driver. Unbeknownst to him she had already given the driver a huge tip plus a gift. Then I was suppose to give the guide a tip. I had 500 rupees in my pocket to give him, but I also had two ten rupees. I found out when I went to tip the people who brought up our luggage today that I had given him a ten and not the 500. Oh well he was rude anyway.
But when I entered the train compartment I was like this can not be first class. It just could not be. I was ready to cry. Twila went searching for the bathroom for me and came back to tell me that they only had Indian toilets no western toilets. At that point I almost got off the train. How was I going to go for 12 hours without using the damn bathroom. I felt the tears welling up and I was feeling very sorry for myself. Further, it was not a pleasant smell. As Ted knows, I am very very sensitive about smell. Me and JFK.
Then Twila said that she was going to the bathroom before she went to bed, and when she came back she told me that there was a western toilet. You can not imagine my relief. Suddenly everything was okay, and I was not feeling so bad anymore. Even the smell started to disappear. l knew that would happen since my dog has been skunked a couple of times.
I couldn't fall asleep in the beginning so I took some sleeping pills and listened to my book on tapes. Every time I would start to doze off I would hear myself snore then I would wake up. Twila said that I was snoring like a long shoreman, I guess I kept everyone up in the compartment. She had told me that some of the people in the compartment might be a little portly and they might snore, but believe me snoring doesn't bother me. After 22 years with Teddy bear I find snoring to be white noise. But I guess I made some snide comment about snoring and she thought it was funny that I was the only one snoring. Oh well it was par for the whole experience.
I woke up about 6 and trepidly made my way to the bathroom. It was seriously not what I would like to use on a regular basis, but I did not drink anything for the train ride so I didn't have much output. I think I can put up with it once a day. I just might get a little dehydrated on the train days, but that is okay.
Twila asked if I wanted to go home. At that point on the train was the first time that I regretted the trip. That I just wanted to throw in the towel and say forget it. I could have gone my whole life without experiencing an Indian train ride, but now I know what it is and what to expect, I don't think I will have any more problems with the train. I am adaptable. I just lowered my expectation - all is good.
First Twila got a lecture from our guide that she was suppose to tip the driver. Unbeknownst to him she had already given the driver a huge tip plus a gift. Then I was suppose to give the guide a tip. I had 500 rupees in my pocket to give him, but I also had two ten rupees. I found out when I went to tip the people who brought up our luggage today that I had given him a ten and not the 500. Oh well he was rude anyway.
But when I entered the train compartment I was like this can not be first class. It just could not be. I was ready to cry. Twila went searching for the bathroom for me and came back to tell me that they only had Indian toilets no western toilets. At that point I almost got off the train. How was I going to go for 12 hours without using the damn bathroom. I felt the tears welling up and I was feeling very sorry for myself. Further, it was not a pleasant smell. As Ted knows, I am very very sensitive about smell. Me and JFK.
Then Twila said that she was going to the bathroom before she went to bed, and when she came back she told me that there was a western toilet. You can not imagine my relief. Suddenly everything was okay, and I was not feeling so bad anymore. Even the smell started to disappear. l knew that would happen since my dog has been skunked a couple of times.
I couldn't fall asleep in the beginning so I took some sleeping pills and listened to my book on tapes. Every time I would start to doze off I would hear myself snore then I would wake up. Twila said that I was snoring like a long shoreman, I guess I kept everyone up in the compartment. She had told me that some of the people in the compartment might be a little portly and they might snore, but believe me snoring doesn't bother me. After 22 years with Teddy bear I find snoring to be white noise. But I guess I made some snide comment about snoring and she thought it was funny that I was the only one snoring. Oh well it was par for the whole experience.
I woke up about 6 and trepidly made my way to the bathroom. It was seriously not what I would like to use on a regular basis, but I did not drink anything for the train ride so I didn't have much output. I think I can put up with it once a day. I just might get a little dehydrated on the train days, but that is okay.
Twila asked if I wanted to go home. At that point on the train was the first time that I regretted the trip. That I just wanted to throw in the towel and say forget it. I could have gone my whole life without experiencing an Indian train ride, but now I know what it is and what to expect, I don't think I will have any more problems with the train. I am adaptable. I just lowered my expectation - all is good.
Since I've been wearing a "sleep apnea" mask for several years, Tanya really does have "white noise" from the apnea machine rather than the less than dulcet sounds of my snoring. I guess that's an improvement although a friend who was unlucky enough to room with me on last year's South Dakota trip said, "I didn't know I was rooming with Darth Vader" - sorry Bruce!
ReplyDeleteUnless you've been to my duck club, you just can't appreciate snoring - particularly when half the members have hearing losses - ehh? ehhh? ehhhh? EHHHH? The snoring was loud enough for the house to shudder from sympathethic vibrations with the snoring.
I saw the pictures of the train I THOUGHT you were going to be on & it looked pretty cool. So sorry about the toilets, but at least you did find a western toilet. I worry about dehydration (I once had a kidney stone), so drink & dink!
Boy, lectures from guides on tipping - particularly when you've already overtipped. Sorry about your giving 10 versus 500 rupee. Isn't a rupee today worth about 2 cents, so 10 rupees is 20 cents versus 500 = $10 US?
I just got off the SKYPE with my T3 & it was great hearing your voice & seein your face. You got to see Taya & Tolar too, so you know they're OK (even though they're leaving today for a 5 day stay at "Pet Camp" - I'll miss them too)!
Keep the blogs & emails coming!
500 rupees would have been way too much. 10 is okay, but I would have voted for 1 rupee for a rude driver. It's bargaining, in a way.
ReplyDelete