So after a lovely few days in Udaipur I said goodbye to Neetu and Basant and took a regular bus to Jodhpur. Another long journey in a pretty cramped, hot and quite uncomfortable vehicle made pleasant by having a lengthy conversation with an Indian student who was in his second year studying agricultural research at a prestigious university.
He told me about the challenges of gaining admission to university, the considerable annual costs involved for families (around 30,000 rupees in fees and around 20,000 rupees for board and lodging) and the mushrooming of private universities in recent years, although apparently qualifications gained from public institutions are looked upon more favourably than those from private ones. He had needed to score really high marks to gain admission, and was very proud of gaining admission, especially as his course involved placements with agricultural firms looking to undertake small research studies of interest to them, which he hoped would maximise employment opportunities for him. Quite an interesting insight into the hot-house of Indian academia, where the pitfalls of not making the grade are quite perilous given the absence of a social security system. The pressure on families must be immense. But for all that, he and his friends were really enjoying their student days in the hostel, despite all the pressures. We talked about the challenges of poorer students gaining admission and he reckoned that about 10% of his colleagues had all their fees paid by the government as their families could not afford to support them, so there is a basic means-testing system in place.
Arriving in Jodhpur, I took an autorickshaw to a cheap haveli virtually opposite the railway station, which meant the occasional railway announcement filtering across from across the road, but not as obtrusively as it might seem.
I spent 3 nights in the haweli, partly resting up from all the travelling i'd done, although I did find time to fit in a haircut which was an interesting experience as whenever I said something, the staff and customers found my English accent hugely amusing. Decent haircut though, better than the usual catastrophes I regularly encounter in that regard. Telling assembled customers and staff that I was there when a 17 year old Tendulkar scored his first Test hundred at Old Trafford went down very well, although the highlight - literally - came when the owner wishing to write down a recommended eaterie for me on a scrap of paper (by now it was turning dark), took me outside his salon and inserted some device into an adjacent electricity cable to provide some light, with sparks flying in all directions! I'm not sure if that was strictly legal.
With the trek in Nepal creeping upon me, I also came across a Tibetan market near to the station, where I bought a pullover, some gloves and socks. Quite a large number of stalls selling all kinds of winter clothing. On the night of the 25th, I awoke in the middle of the night to what sounded like heavy barrels being bounced from the roof of the building, until I realised it was thunder, and the rain that followed was incredibly heavy and persistent. The first rainfall i'd heard since coming to India.
I spent most of the 26th trying to understand how the Indian railway ticket booking system works. Like everywhere its better to book in advance, so I spent a while in the railway booking office looking at available trains for the journeys I needed to make around Rajasthan:
Jodhpur to Jaisalmer; Jaisalmer to Jaipur; Jaipur to Sawai Madhopur
There are so many railway lines, and particular trains don't run on every day of the week, and there is a tightly regulated system for booking different classes of train ticket and sleeper accommodation, which is particularly relevant for overnight trains. Generally the better and more expensive sleeper trains are coded '3AC' (and even better '2AC', but these seem mainly reserved for government officials and hence rarely available to the general public). '3 AC' means 3 bunk beds situated on either side of a compartment that is secured at both ends, which means that people from other parts of the train can't wander in and out, which provides a greater sense of safety.
Its interesting that most trains either leave early morning or late evening, with comparatively few services during the day time, which I found surprising. So the process for obtaining tickets involves choosing the train you wish to travel on on-line, filling out a form with your details, the name of the train, departure and arrival times, etc and handing it to the booking clerk who processes it using the railway's online system, takes payment and hands you an electronic ticket. I had earlier tried to book tickets online, but found that non-Indian credit cards were not acceptable, which seemed a bit odd. The man in the office was really patient and helpful. I also followed Federer's win against Nadal in Melbourne; what a triumph! Later on i bought a blanket, as the regular sleeper trains provide no bedding.
He told me about the challenges of gaining admission to university, the considerable annual costs involved for families (around 30,000 rupees in fees and around 20,000 rupees for board and lodging) and the mushrooming of private universities in recent years, although apparently qualifications gained from public institutions are looked upon more favourably than those from private ones. He had needed to score really high marks to gain admission, and was very proud of gaining admission, especially as his course involved placements with agricultural firms looking to undertake small research studies of interest to them, which he hoped would maximise employment opportunities for him. Quite an interesting insight into the hot-house of Indian academia, where the pitfalls of not making the grade are quite perilous given the absence of a social security system. The pressure on families must be immense. But for all that, he and his friends were really enjoying their student days in the hostel, despite all the pressures. We talked about the challenges of poorer students gaining admission and he reckoned that about 10% of his colleagues had all their fees paid by the government as their families could not afford to support them, so there is a basic means-testing system in place.
Arriving in Jodhpur, I took an autorickshaw to a cheap haveli virtually opposite the railway station, which meant the occasional railway announcement filtering across from across the road, but not as obtrusively as it might seem.
I spent 3 nights in the haweli, partly resting up from all the travelling i'd done, although I did find time to fit in a haircut which was an interesting experience as whenever I said something, the staff and customers found my English accent hugely amusing. Decent haircut though, better than the usual catastrophes I regularly encounter in that regard. Telling assembled customers and staff that I was there when a 17 year old Tendulkar scored his first Test hundred at Old Trafford went down very well, although the highlight - literally - came when the owner wishing to write down a recommended eaterie for me on a scrap of paper (by now it was turning dark), took me outside his salon and inserted some device into an adjacent electricity cable to provide some light, with sparks flying in all directions! I'm not sure if that was strictly legal.
With the trek in Nepal creeping upon me, I also came across a Tibetan market near to the station, where I bought a pullover, some gloves and socks. Quite a large number of stalls selling all kinds of winter clothing. On the night of the 25th, I awoke in the middle of the night to what sounded like heavy barrels being bounced from the roof of the building, until I realised it was thunder, and the rain that followed was incredibly heavy and persistent. The first rainfall i'd heard since coming to India.
I spent most of the 26th trying to understand how the Indian railway ticket booking system works. Like everywhere its better to book in advance, so I spent a while in the railway booking office looking at available trains for the journeys I needed to make around Rajasthan:
Jodhpur to Jaisalmer; Jaisalmer to Jaipur; Jaipur to Sawai Madhopur
There are so many railway lines, and particular trains don't run on every day of the week, and there is a tightly regulated system for booking different classes of train ticket and sleeper accommodation, which is particularly relevant for overnight trains. Generally the better and more expensive sleeper trains are coded '3AC' (and even better '2AC', but these seem mainly reserved for government officials and hence rarely available to the general public). '3 AC' means 3 bunk beds situated on either side of a compartment that is secured at both ends, which means that people from other parts of the train can't wander in and out, which provides a greater sense of safety.
Its interesting that most trains either leave early morning or late evening, with comparatively few services during the day time, which I found surprising. So the process for obtaining tickets involves choosing the train you wish to travel on on-line, filling out a form with your details, the name of the train, departure and arrival times, etc and handing it to the booking clerk who processes it using the railway's online system, takes payment and hands you an electronic ticket. I had earlier tried to book tickets online, but found that non-Indian credit cards were not acceptable, which seemed a bit odd. The man in the office was really patient and helpful. I also followed Federer's win against Nadal in Melbourne; what a triumph! Later on i bought a blanket, as the regular sleeper trains provide no bedding.
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