On The Road Again

Because we are constantly travelling, class tends to be on the road. We settle in large rooms provided by the hotel or other large spaces we find outside. Few of our classes are formal, but we do get opportunities to go out and explore. India, in a sense, is our classroom.

In terms of public transportation within the cities, much of it involves rickshaws and auto-rickshaws (what some countries call tuk-tuks). These are tiny open-air automobiles that ride alongside cars and buses, taking up any in-between spaces on the roads. They are cheap and easy to catch – much like our version of taxis, but only travel smaller distances within the city. Although these toy-like cars add a certain charm to the roads, the lack of windows can take its toll since the streets are so crowded and polluted in Delhi. Scarf and hair ties are definitely a must for those rides.

According to a few locals, Delhi also has a great public transport system in terms of city trains. These, however, are hard to access as tourists. Despite not being able to utilize much inter-city public transportation, as a class we are able to travel with the country. We already rode on two trains to get from Delhi to Lucknow and then Lucknow to Agra.
These trains are similar to Amtrak, although not quite as fast. One of our train rides was six hours long and served us chai and two small meals. These tend to be clean, but the long rides can be rough, especially if the train is crowded. Many locals also ride these long-distance trains, and there were quite a few adorable children in our car riding alongside their families.
Other than the train system, we have experienced lots of time on our tour bus – taking day trips from city to village or city to city. These trips give us an interesting perspective on rest stop culture in India. Though toilets can be rare to find through long rural drives, rest stops seem to appear out of nowhere. The few we stopped at were elaborate with cafes, clean restrooms and multiple little stores for souvenirs. Local tourists were even taking photos outside of one of these rest stops, which seem to be hubs of life within the rural villages.
Between tuk tuks, trains, rest stops and everywhere in between, my patience and sense of direction has surely been tested. However, no matter the mode of transport, I always seem to get where I need to go.