Eclectic Read: Gujarat

11th January, 2016

On reaching the Jaipur railway station without a ticket to Vadodara and oblivious of the train timings, I passed the security check and kindly asked the security guard regarding the train. I am sure he was a curious man to ask me why I was in Jaipur. I, in my pure honesty, answered that I am travelling alone for recreation. It seemed as if he got a little offended and interjected what in the world set me off to travel alone. A short smile and I went for the ticket queue.

Obviously, I had to get a General Ticket and that meant standing in the line or apparently, in a group of men howling in front of the ticket counter to get information about the train timings. Once, I got to know that my train was supposed to leave at 2 pm, I bought a ticket and had three hours to kill. I went to a small dhaba outside the railway station for brunch. The rotis and kadai paneer with hardly two small pieces of cottage cheese and a layer of oil surely gave me the calories to keep me going till evening.

Never in my life have I sat on a platform of a railway station. I had more than two hours to kill and even my playlist seemed to be taking me to the age of monotony. After an hour, I decided to sit on a proper seat.
On seeing me with the rucksacks, a man approached me and started his questionnaire until the whole shebang started feeling creepy. When you don't want to create a scene, the least you do is answer politely and look away. The creepy man (who also saved his number on my phone and dialed it to get my digits on his phone but luckily, I snatched it back just early enough!) finally left me after he took my word on getting a call or message from me. *Phew*
Time to board the train. And there comes a disaster. Due to the cancellation of a train, the General coach was unbelievably full till the gate. I walked to the Non AC coach and decided to sit there until the Travelling Ticket Examiner arrives to charge me with a fine. During schooldays, there used to be times when getting punished with classmates felt better than standing out alone. This was a similar situation. I found accomplices who didn't get any space in the General coach and were apprehensive to sit in the Non AC coach. They were two families travelling together with two young kids.
I have never been through this situation and travelling with the wrong ticket felt crazy.

We stayed together throughout the train journey. The imminent problem was to find some place to sit once the lawful temporary occupants of our seats arrived. Sundown, many came and many left. Night arrived and so the TTE who charged us all with a good amount of fine.
The families were unwilling to pay the amount and I felt it wasn't our problem that we didn't get to stand in the stupidly crowded coach resulted due to the cancellation of some train.

I slept for two hours until the train reached Vadodara at 2 am. The ladies and the kids of the two families were asleep in a cramped space of a lower side berth. Their destination was four hours away from mine.

An auto-rikshaw ride to reach my CS host's place and I was received by Meghal downstairs. He lives with his wife at his beautiful abode. I was given some biscuits and a water bottle once he showed me my room. He went to his room and I decided to kip once and for all.

12th January, 2016

The next morning, I set off to see what Vadodara has got for me. My first stop was Lakshmi Villas Palace which proved to be the best palace I have ever visited.

The next stop was Sayaji Baug.

The next stop was Kansaar Gujarati Thali Restaurant which proved to be worthwhile. If you have a sweet tooth to the extent where you would like your whole meal to be rife with sweetness, Gujarati food is for you. Once I was done with my sumptuous meal, I decided to walk back to Meghal's place. It was a long walk in the scorching weather but which traveller wouldn't like to take a city tour.

Below are the pictures clicked during the walk.