Wednesday morning we both slept in (thankful we weren't waking up for a 6 am train), took super hot, high pressured awesome showers, and had room service for breakfast. We can really get used to this! This is by far, the nicest place we have stayed in India- we wanted to be safe in Delhi so we went with the hotel The Thackers have been staying at for years. We checked out at noon, left our ginormous backpacks at the hotel for our return 2 nights from then, and went outside to catch a rickshaw.
We always ask our hotels how much rickshaws should be because different distances cost different amounts in different city and we don't like being ripped off (which can easily happen.) so armed with the knowledge that the trip should be about 50 rupees, we walk outside and go through several drivers before we find a rickshaw that would take us to the train station for 50 rupees. As we get in, the driver begins to say that we can't buy train tickets at the station. This seemed odd. Instead, he says we must go to "Namaste India". Now I would have thought that we couldn't get train tickets at the station if he gave us another name that didn't scream "im going to rip you off." Ale and I gave each other a look and one of us goes:
"Okay, we are going to just go check with our hotel" and we start getting out.
"Wait, wait" - driver
"We just want to make sure"
"Waaaaiittt. Excuse me". -driver
Not fishy at all. So we went back to our hotel, as they screamed after us to not go ask questions and asked the guys at reception if we can buy our tickets at the train station. They were aghast that we hadn't bought our tickets "you'll never get tickets today, there are only trains at 6 am." This was getting annoying. After telling them that we didn't need 6 am train tickets (we aren't sure if they just want us to use them to book and make money off us or if the trains they book their hotel guests on are just a lot fancier than what we are used to), they told us that yes we could get tickets at the station. I think we might not be their typical hotel guests.
We go back outside and find a new auto rickshaw. After being told it will cost triple (150) what we know it should be, we find a bicycle rickshaw who agrees to 50 rupees. Of course he goes .1 km and then we realize he is bringing us to the metro, he tells us to the train is 200 rupees. Of course, because when we say 50 to the train, we actually mean metro. This is nothing abnormal for us to be ripped off, so we get out, give him 10 rupees for bringing us one block, and go find a rickshaw to bring us for 50 rupees. Our next auto rickshaw, though, works out and he brings us for 80 rupees (fine, we will give him an extra 50 cents.)
Upon getting to the train station, we begin to look for a ticket counter. This station is much much bigger than any station we have been to yet (since we ARE in Delhi) and things get a little confusing. We see signs for tourist counter and even a sign saying "tourists, ignore all touts. Even if you are told the tourist counter is closed, we are still open." Really, there are people trying to confuse us and rip us off in Delhi?! I never would have believed that! Still, it is nice of them to warn tourists.
So we head to the tourist counter and see a lot of tourists and lots of lines. We, of course, have no idea what is going on, but I find a lady who works there and she tells us to go to counter 67/68 outside of this office to get to Agra today. We leave the office (thankful to be avoiding whatever these lines are for), and ask around for 67/68. We get directed to the other side of the train station (10 minutes walk) and when we get there we get confused by another bajillion touts who all say they work there. I mean, I guess it is obvious I'm the only white person in a sea of hundreds of Indians, but still it's annoying. Everyone (touts) keeps telling us we can't get tickets here or there and Ale and I finally just go to one side that says ticket counter and wait in line. We fill out a form similar to the one we filled out in the train station in Mussoorie and by some grace of god, the guy at the counter hands us two train tickets for the 210 pm train to Agra.
Ale and I aren't sure, but we think the guy might have just been doing us a favor, because this wasn't counter 67/68 and we had no clue what we were doing. The good news, is that we are on the train in 3AC (we splurged for the safer class even though it's daytime) en route to Agra and we each have our own bed (middle and top of a 3 high.) This took Ale standing up for us and insisting we put the middle bed down so we could each have the beds we paid for. I'm glad she isn't as weak as me.
And on that note, next time I write, hopefully you'll be seeing lots of pictures of us at the Taj!
Pictures: Ale and I on the train. Chai on the train
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