India: Travelling to Aurangabad

Well, train journeys aren’t too bad when you can get everything sorted and aren’t rushing around trying to find the platform with only seconds to go!

I begun the day in a mild panic as the hotel hadn’t given me back my clothing that had been sent for washing, and with only a few t-shirts and a skirt left I was beginning to freak out. However, it did arrive, still warm from the drying.

I had thought that getting to the train station a good hour before it was due to leave would be a great idea so that I could chill out and not have to rush. I soon discovered that as I can’t read any of the signs and have no idea where the train is going to actually stop within the station, I was going to have to be on my toes. The station that I went from, Dadar, is huge and when the tannoy finally did announce the train, it was illegible and I couldn’t hear what platform to go to. THEN when I eventually did hear the platform name it was nowhere in sight! Luckily this was forty minutes before the train was going to leave so I had loads of time to look for it. Eventually I found that Platform 7 (my platform) was actually out of the main station and round the corner, with nothing to signpost it.

On the train you have to find the correct carriage and then look for your name to ensure that you are in the right place. The train journey took eight hours but it really didn’t feel that way, I took some crochet and a big book and I was perfectly happy for the whole time, only getting a bit of a stiff neck at the end of the journey.

Aurangabad seemed very dark when I got there and walked to the hotel that I’d chosen: Tourist Hotel. It is a sort of hotel and hostel type of place with a communal canteen and it seemed that there were loads of businessmen there!

The room was perfect and squeaky clean with bright white sheets and newly painted walls. The only problem was the bathroom, it only had a squat toilet. I am point blank refusing to poo in it! I’m too scared! The shower isn’t that brilliant either but realistically how much time do you spend pooing and showering. The main part is that it is clean and tidy and good for sleeping!