Thursday, May 22, 2008

Bus, Train aur....... HUM


Just back from home land and I miss it more. It was a great trip back home; it is always nice find things where you had left it. You will not believe we were out of the Airport and Bang hit the traffic jam at Saki Naka…he he some things will never change. Mumbai felt and smelt the same as it always did warm and welcoming.

After being in the state of lost between countries and time it was my turn for the journey back memory lane. It was refreshing to meet my college buddies and talk back things which we dreamt in college, laugh on same old jokes sorry… pj’s and learn that some relationships never change. Kudos to PAKAUS! Being with friends, family and other familiar things I learned why I hate being in this country. Not only because I am away from friends or family, but fact of being cut off from the outside world. By world I mean outside my little apartment. Let me put it this way “IF YOU DON’T HAVE A CAR IN THIS COUNTRY, YOU DON’T HAVE A SOCIAL LIFE.”

Our country might be termed as developing country but still we have an infrastructure that helps to commute from one place to another.. roads or no roads you will still find a way to commute. I did a lot of travelling this trip home and could feel the upgrades and face lifts that the mode of commuting has gone thru. And I must say a BIG thanks to no other than Lalu ji. After almost 4 or 5 years I travelled long distances by train, and was pleased by my experience. The compartments be it AC coach or the normal sleeper coach are always clean and dry, the loo’s don’t stink (either we have become highly civilized or the housekeeping is very good). Here you take any subway or an Amtrak train they always smell…. Nothing particular, but it does smell. Back home we eat such spicy food in closed AC compartments but it never smells. And yeah the best is… no more you have to stand in Q’s for booking train tickets, just do it online. IRCTC’s payment and refund system is amazing. Things like Mumbai smart card lets you travel in trains and buses. You need not have perfect change to buy ticket in the bus… just have yr prepaid Mumbai smart card punched in the Bus. The best was Megacabs…. Just call them and they will pick you up from home and drop you at the place you want to go…. rates are almost the same and these big air-conditioned cars. All this makes me want to go back to India more and more.