Hey
Maintain the 'Q'
People say they both love and hate India, all at the same time. We're beginning to understand why. Today is the first day that I've felt angry and helpless...
Yesterday, we were peacefully strolling through the hills of Darjeeling -- past teenagers sneaking kisses along remote pathways, men carrying baskets of tea leaves into town, and children playing cricket in the streets near the market...
This morning, we found ourselves in a crowd of line-cutters and curt ticket agents at the train station... we left frustrated and infuriated -- and with NO tickets, mind you. We gave up. We threw our hands into the air and left, lest we make a scene (and it would have to be a doozy of a scene, as in India, everything is out of the ordinary). Benjamin is a man of infinite patience, and for him to say, "f*** it and succomb to frustration is a rare occurence indeed.
To purchase a train ticket, first you must speak to the man behind the 'enquiry' window. Here, you find out about the availability of seats. Then you proceed to the 'reservation' window to book the ticket.
There is a sign posted on the window at the counter, "Maintain Q." Ha. No one pays attention to that sign. There are 2 lines to "Q" in, as well: Enquiry and Reservation. It's hard to make out where the line actually is... people suddenly appear in front of you and to the sides of the counter window and soon a single file line turns into a tight crowd akin to groupies waiting to see their favorite rock group exit a building. Once we made it up to the window, after telling several locals to get to the back of the line (a few did manage to cut in front of us), we had to postition ourselves aggressively in front of the counter to hold our place. I felt like a miser hunched over his coins.
You cannot simply ask the 'enquiry' man for the first available ticket to wherever it is you want to go. You can't even ask about options. You must have the train number and desired date of travel at the ready or else be shood away. The 'enquiry' man will look up the train/date and tell you, "yes," or, more frequently, "no." If it's the latter of the two, you must start over with a new train/date.
Once you do find available seats, you must fill out a form and proceed to the 'reservation' window. Of course, there is a line to wait in and the chances are great that by the time you make it to the window, the train you wanted, the one you 'enquired' about, has been booked solid in time spent navigating the lines and reservation "Q". At this point, you must return to the 'enquiry Q' and start all over again.
After all this and several hours, Benjamin and I left without any tickets. The trains going where we want to go are full for the next week or two, or so we were told. So we are thinking of another way to approach the problem and trying to remain cool-headed.
I must keep reminding myself, it's all part of the experience... and as I travel with the mantra, "Find the humor," I have decided that the humor of this morning's experience can only be found in the fact that finally, Benjamin is just as impatient as me (he always says that patience is my "lesson" in life).
Yesterday, we were peacefully strolling through the hills of Darjeeling -- past teenagers sneaking kisses along remote pathways, men carrying baskets of tea leaves into town, and children playing cricket in the streets near the market...
This morning, we found ourselves in a crowd of line-cutters and curt ticket agents at the train station... we left frustrated and infuriated -- and with NO tickets, mind you. We gave up. We threw our hands into the air and left, lest we make a scene (and it would have to be a doozy of a scene, as in India, everything is out of the ordinary). Benjamin is a man of infinite patience, and for him to say, "f*** it and succomb to frustration is a rare occurence indeed.
To purchase a train ticket, first you must speak to the man behind the 'enquiry' window. Here, you find out about the availability of seats. Then you proceed to the 'reservation' window to book the ticket.
There is a sign posted on the window at the counter, "Maintain Q." Ha. No one pays attention to that sign. There are 2 lines to "Q" in, as well: Enquiry and Reservation. It's hard to make out where the line actually is... people suddenly appear in front of you and to the sides of the counter window and soon a single file line turns into a tight crowd akin to groupies waiting to see their favorite rock group exit a building. Once we made it up to the window, after telling several locals to get to the back of the line (a few did manage to cut in front of us), we had to postition ourselves aggressively in front of the counter to hold our place. I felt like a miser hunched over his coins.
You cannot simply ask the 'enquiry' man for the first available ticket to wherever it is you want to go. You can't even ask about options. You must have the train number and desired date of travel at the ready or else be shood away. The 'enquiry' man will look up the train/date and tell you, "yes," or, more frequently, "no." If it's the latter of the two, you must start over with a new train/date.
Once you do find available seats, you must fill out a form and proceed to the 'reservation' window. Of course, there is a line to wait in and the chances are great that by the time you make it to the window, the train you wanted, the one you 'enquired' about, has been booked solid in time spent navigating the lines and reservation "Q". At this point, you must return to the 'enquiry Q' and start all over again.
After all this and several hours, Benjamin and I left without any tickets. The trains going where we want to go are full for the next week or two, or so we were told. So we are thinking of another way to approach the problem and trying to remain cool-headed.
I must keep reminding myself, it's all part of the experience... and as I travel with the mantra, "Find the humor," I have decided that the humor of this morning's experience can only be found in the fact that finally, Benjamin is just as impatient as me (he always says that patience is my "lesson" in life).
posted by Cheryn at 1:37 PM
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