Thirty-Eight point something
Goa was good.
We were 6 of us who were supposed to go. My 2 uncles, 2 aunts, my uncle's daughter and i. (clarifications right at the beginning : My uncle's daughter calls me Anna. So it ends there...)
Let me get to the point(s) straightaway.
/*Chennai
1. 6 tickets were booked in a 3-tier AC train. All 6 tickets were available only in the RAC category.
2. One of my uncles then was called upon to go to Germany on official matters. So 1 ticket cancelled.
3. My other uncle, now the leader of the pack (and the sole sponsor too ;)), now had this brainwave that the remaining 5 tickets might not get confirmed, and with 3 ladies in the group, we better book 2nd class tickets too, just in case.
4. 5 second class tickets booked, in addition to the already existing AC tickets. These newly booked tickets too, were in the Waiting List. Drat.
5. This led my junior aunt(who happens to be the most i-dont-give-a-damn-to-what-i-spend kinds), to egg on my uncle to book 5 tickets to and fro on a Jet airways flight at apex rates of 3K per head or so.
So now we have 5 tickets to and fro on AC train, Sleeper train and Flight.
6. Our AC tickets advanced to RAC numbers 1,2,3,4,5. Bright chances of confirmation, with 3 days to go.
7. So my uncle promptly cancelled the flight tickets the next day.
8. One of our AC tickets got confirmed.
9. My uncle cancelled the sleeper class tickets as well.
10. Now my senior aunt, dealt a divine digression to the whole trip, insisting that we halt at Mantralayam on our way back from Goa.
11. All 5 return tickets from Goa cancelled.
12. Return tickets from Mantralayam booked. 2nd class tickets. Goa to mantralayam could be decided after we reach Goa and explore options there.
13. The sole accompanying uncle now gets some work in Chennai, has to be here early, so HE cancels his return ticket alone, and books a flight ticket for himself for the 24th.
14. Day of journey, we book a Call Taxi, to pick us up from home at 12:30 for a 2 PM train.
15. 12:45 no sign of the taxi. Call him up, CANCEL the taxi booking (no form of transport spared from our cancellation chaos), and rent another cab down to the station.
16. Arrive at station, all tickets stand confirmed. Vaazhve Thavam.
exit Chennai*/
/* Start of Train Journey
17. On train, female company at long last. A voluptuous aunty was all i had for company for a while, until the only vacant seat in the entire compartment, the seat opposite mine, was taken by a 20-ish girl. Wow. Never happened before ever. Hasbi Rabbi Jalallah!
18. Then came her amma. Kezha bolt aunty. Maafi Qalbi Ghairullah!
19. And then came the son. 2 years old. Noor-e Muhammad Sallallah!
20. And then she called her son Kaif... Haq La Illa-ha Illallah.
End of Train Journey*/
--in Goa now--
21. Search begins(!), for transport from Goa to mantralayam.
22. Nothing. NOTHING. WTF is mantralayam, people ask. Zilch.
23. Retrace plans. Look for alternate destinations. Bangalore.
24. Book tickets on a semi-sleeper bus to bangalore for the 24th night.(this was after enquiring flight charges from Goa to Bangalore and chennai).
25. Cancel the Mantralayam - Chennai return train tickets.
26. New brainwave - why not leave by a comfortable AC Volvo bus instead of a non AC semi-sleeper?
27. Book 4 tickets to bangalore on a Volvo Bus.
28. Cancel the other bus ticket.
29. Also meant that we could cancel our hotel room bookings for the 24th. Checking out one day ahead of time.
--exit Goa--
-Goa to Bangalore--
30. Bus journey. Seats numbered 1,2,3,4. First 4 seats on bus. Clear view of Road ahead. Bus going up and down the western ghats. At speeds nearing and crossing 100 kmph.
31. Man sprawled on road, drunk, sleeping in bliss, middle of road. Bus brakes hard. gets my aunts' heads spinning.
32. Senior aunt vomits all over.
33. Plans of stay in Bangalore in jeopardy.
34. We reach Bangalore at 10-ish the next morning. head straight for the railway station.
35. Unreserved tickets to Chennai for a 2 PM train, 3 hours in the bangalore railway station waiting room, and then a rush for the seats that get toweled up even before zeroth hour.
36. Mahesh 'macha kammanaati' balaji has to leave to mysore too, and comes to the station, gets to talk to my uncle's daughter. @%&$#%@.
--exit Bangalore--
--Bangalore to Chennai--
37. Drunken sleepard on train on berth above. Constantly absently shifting positions, almost giving us a 'the sky is falling' feeling. Sick. in more ways than one definitely.
38. Back in Chennai, and living happily ever after...
Soragame endraalum.. adhu nammoora pola varuma.
We were 6 of us who were supposed to go. My 2 uncles, 2 aunts, my uncle's daughter and i. (clarifications right at the beginning : My uncle's daughter calls me Anna. So it ends there...)
Let me get to the point(s) straightaway.
/*Chennai
1. 6 tickets were booked in a 3-tier AC train. All 6 tickets were available only in the RAC category.
2. One of my uncles then was called upon to go to Germany on official matters. So 1 ticket cancelled.
3. My other uncle, now the leader of the pack (and the sole sponsor too ;)), now had this brainwave that the remaining 5 tickets might not get confirmed, and with 3 ladies in the group, we better book 2nd class tickets too, just in case.
4. 5 second class tickets booked, in addition to the already existing AC tickets. These newly booked tickets too, were in the Waiting List. Drat.
5. This led my junior aunt(who happens to be the most i-dont-give-a-damn-to-what-i-spend kinds), to egg on my uncle to book 5 tickets to and fro on a Jet airways flight at apex rates of 3K per head or so.
So now we have 5 tickets to and fro on AC train, Sleeper train and Flight.
6. Our AC tickets advanced to RAC numbers 1,2,3,4,5. Bright chances of confirmation, with 3 days to go.
7. So my uncle promptly cancelled the flight tickets the next day.
8. One of our AC tickets got confirmed.
9. My uncle cancelled the sleeper class tickets as well.
10. Now my senior aunt, dealt a divine digression to the whole trip, insisting that we halt at Mantralayam on our way back from Goa.
11. All 5 return tickets from Goa cancelled.
12. Return tickets from Mantralayam booked. 2nd class tickets. Goa to mantralayam could be decided after we reach Goa and explore options there.
13. The sole accompanying uncle now gets some work in Chennai, has to be here early, so HE cancels his return ticket alone, and books a flight ticket for himself for the 24th.
14. Day of journey, we book a Call Taxi, to pick us up from home at 12:30 for a 2 PM train.
15. 12:45 no sign of the taxi. Call him up, CANCEL the taxi booking (no form of transport spared from our cancellation chaos), and rent another cab down to the station.
16. Arrive at station, all tickets stand confirmed. Vaazhve Thavam.
exit Chennai*/
/* Start of Train Journey
17. On train, female company at long last. A voluptuous aunty was all i had for company for a while, until the only vacant seat in the entire compartment, the seat opposite mine, was taken by a 20-ish girl. Wow. Never happened before ever. Hasbi Rabbi Jalallah!
18. Then came her amma. Kezha bolt aunty. Maafi Qalbi Ghairullah!
19. And then came the son. 2 years old. Noor-e Muhammad Sallallah!
20. And then she called her son Kaif... Haq La Illa-ha Illallah.
End of Train Journey*/
--in Goa now--
21. Search begins(!), for transport from Goa to mantralayam.
22. Nothing. NOTHING. WTF is mantralayam, people ask. Zilch.
23. Retrace plans. Look for alternate destinations. Bangalore.
24. Book tickets on a semi-sleeper bus to bangalore for the 24th night.(this was after enquiring flight charges from Goa to Bangalore and chennai).
25. Cancel the Mantralayam - Chennai return train tickets.
26. New brainwave - why not leave by a comfortable AC Volvo bus instead of a non AC semi-sleeper?
27. Book 4 tickets to bangalore on a Volvo Bus.
28. Cancel the other bus ticket.
29. Also meant that we could cancel our hotel room bookings for the 24th. Checking out one day ahead of time.
--exit Goa--
-Goa to Bangalore--
30. Bus journey. Seats numbered 1,2,3,4. First 4 seats on bus. Clear view of Road ahead. Bus going up and down the western ghats. At speeds nearing and crossing 100 kmph.
31. Man sprawled on road, drunk, sleeping in bliss, middle of road. Bus brakes hard. gets my aunts' heads spinning.
32. Senior aunt vomits all over.
33. Plans of stay in Bangalore in jeopardy.
34. We reach Bangalore at 10-ish the next morning. head straight for the railway station.
35. Unreserved tickets to Chennai for a 2 PM train, 3 hours in the bangalore railway station waiting room, and then a rush for the seats that get toweled up even before zeroth hour.
36. Mahesh 'macha kammanaati' balaji has to leave to mysore too, and comes to the station, gets to talk to my uncle's daughter. @%&$#%@.
--exit Bangalore--
--Bangalore to Chennai--
37. Drunken sleepard on train on berth above. Constantly absently shifting positions, almost giving us a 'the sky is falling' feeling. Sick. in more ways than one definitely.
38. Back in Chennai, and living happily ever after...
Soragame endraalum.. adhu nammoora pola varuma.
posted by Girish at 1:34 AM
17 Comments:
You should seriously write a book solely on your train journeys! Somehow all your 'train posts' have been my favourite. It's come to the point that the minute I see the word 'train' in your post, I get all excited and do the oompa-loompa dance before I resume reading again!!!
this is only best example of "inbetweengap" na padichu rassikara gapla Miss V comment drops in.....will comment after full rasanai....
hmmm mudichitten....machi you could have left the logistics to me (CPM, PERT lam use pannirukalam ;-)...ny ways i never used to bother to book tickets to b'lore (miss A does not like me calling it BANGS)...all weekends chumma poi open vangittu will sit in any seat...TT ya gavanicha vittuduvan....serii wat abt the happenings happened inbetweengap in GOA????adha sollu..
vasanth, i probably just read faster ;) and keep in mind, this was a family trip. that should explain lack of juicy details!
ms. V,I know his mama and mama ponnu....they are cool...G does not have to hide the juice..There is something fishy....I leave it to G for his enlightenment....
was ther a meaningful gap or a gap in the meaning? lets find out from him...and man, muslim girls are beautiful....whatever allah be praised! damn, the muslim gals here wear the damned purdah...well, ther wud be nothin inside anywayz :P i guess girish wud agree with tht one!
Random Access
The search has just begun !!! ()
hi..
all those details of those reservations and cancellations confused me a bit.. the last few details were fun to read..but u never mentioned about the locations u visited in goa and others! what about them? :-)
Zikr hai behter Nafrat se!
Zikr hai behter Ujjat se!
Har Dil mein
Har Pal main
Reh Zikr-e illa-allah!!!
There cudn't have been a more ill-planned trip despite all the inherent pretence of planning ...what the heck was happening!!!! but then planning wud have killed such a post..
so Chaos Vaazhga!!!
On the other hand, most of the chaos was thanks to over-planning i thought ;)
and goa details are pretty pedestrian.. like Bikini babes, beaches, Water scootering, some shopping and stuff.. This i thought was more blog-material..
Cheers
deii giri.... bikkini babes ellam feelee illa.... andha goa locaionla oru grammathu builtupaa pathamadiri noolll vudu daa....
if bikini babes are not blog-worthy, i don't know what is... ;-)
BURP !!!!!!
Who VB now? I know 2 VBs...
:-s
Long blogs bore me very soon... This one had me all the way to the end! Well written... And like Deepak said, I still cant believe you didnt bother to mention bikini babes on the post.
I was searching for blogs related to india tourism, india travel found your blog as an interesting one with relevant information. Most of the time i wont comment on blog especially on blogspot.com blogs, but with regard to this i cant resist myself from commenting. I enjoyed reading your post. India is truly a great place with lots of diversity and is a unique place in the world. Even in adverse economic situation india tourism industry has performed well. Being a person who is always eager to know more about India and india tourism, i thought that i would share my twitter and my india tourism blog with you. You can follow my updates on @india_tourism in twitter or find my india tourism news and updates in india travel blog and find tour packages in india tours
This comment has been removed by the author.
Post a Comment
<< Home