New Year, More Travel
I want to leave Delhi but I’m not sure where to go. I know I want to go south and there’s a flight to Chennai that’s pretty cheap. Resolved: I’ll travel south and start in Chennai, where my former manager grew up.
Organizing parts of the trip, I start telling my cousins that I’m going to Chennai and they dismiss the suggestion. The South is nice culture I thought? I was determined to scuba dive and hang at the beach for cheap. I spent quite a bit of time looking at accommodation. The lack of hostel culture and places to stay had me a little apprehensive about spending more than a night. After my cousin’s friend who frequents Chennai advised me not to go, I think maybe I can pivot. Pondicherry was going to be my next destination. Maybe I can go straight there after I land in Chennai. I learned a lot about the Indian train system while researching for my trip.
The main thing you need to know is that most Indians travel via train and so they’ve created a very complex system to make sure tickets are distributed evenly. There’s a confirmed ticket, which is what you and I think of buying tickets is like. After that, there is a potential for a double-sold ticket (2 people to 1 seat). This is usually bench style, so it’s expected that some people will cancel and the bench will accommodate more people than the listed capacity (finding out this is a separate section appeased a lot of my fear). After all that is sold out, there is a waitlist that may or may not move up. And lastly, there is tadkal - which is basically emergency tickets. They open up at 10am the day before the train leaves. As you can guess, this is the option that I tend to use to travel. I spent 95 rupees on a waitlist ticket with spot number 324 for a 500-seat train.
So the next best option is a bus. I felt so accomplished finding a bus that basically picks me up from the airport and takes me to Pondicherry with a bit of a layover. Redbus for the win!
I went to Pondicherry, Bangalore, and Mysuru during the time that I was traveling. I spent quite a bit of time in each trying to catch festivals like Pongal, staying at hostels, and getting my travel mojo back. I traveled with a mix of buses, trains, and planes and felt like I was an expert at traveling to India. With Gpay and my Indian ID, it feels like I can make anything work. Hostels and random strangers usually give me things to do in each location and I’m never stressed about food. I’m so thankful for Jed, Puja, Adarsh, and the whole Pondicherry crew that made me feel at home. I haven’t gotten the group tattoo yet, but I have a feeling I will by the end of the trip.