Around the world with 80 gadgets - Around the world with 80 gadgets

Riding a train in India is a little adventure in itself, just like riding the bus. The doors are always open, and people hop on and off while the train is still moving. Tickets are dirt cheap and you usually don't have to wait long for the next one (who needs timetables anyway?).

There are separate women's carriages that Indian women traveling alone seem to be using, but I just get in where there's room for me and my backpack and try not to mind the men staring ...

Fun things to see on the train: People walking on he tracks, men pooing by the tracks, a man using a toothpick in his nose, people sticking up posters illegally, crazy people laughing and talking to themselves, a woman cleaning her ear with a pin needle and carefully examining her findings, men selling snacks and drinks through the windows from the platform

A little sad story: On my first day, waiting for a train, I saw a man dressed up as a woman (wearing a sari) standing on the platform with a woman and a very small child. All of a sudden I realised the man and the woman were teasing and laughing at the little boy and hitting and kicking him in the back, apparently just for the fun of it. I heard the loud thumps and tried not to stare, as I suspected they were on drugs, but when I just had to look they actually lifted the poor boy by his neck. But he didn't cry at all, so I suspect that he was used to this kind of treatment.

I took the night train on the way back to Chennai for my flight to Singapore. It's a little more expensive than a hotel, but a LOT more comfy than the bus. Plus, I won't have to get a hotel for that night. I have many night flights, so I'm hoping to save a few pennies on accommodation there.

Riding a local bus in India is a real adventure. I remember this from Sri Lanka, it starts at the bus stop where the drivers and conductors shout out their destinations. Then we get on the bus and have no idea when it will leave. They turn on some very loud Hindi music and start using their car horns while still at the bus station. They use the horn for many things: Turn signal, "get out of my way, I have a bigger vehicle than you"-signal, I'm overtaking you now, I'm finished overtaking now, warning signal for pedestrians/auto rickshaws/motorcycles, warning when approaching an intersection or sharp bend and so on. In Chennai it was just a constant honking, which was a little tiresome. I have good hearing and would like to keep it that way, so I always use earplugs the whole bus journey. I'll never get on an Indian bus without earplugs!

When on the bus, you're lucky if you get a seat and especially a window seat. People are likely to get on and off the bus while it's still moving and/or cling to the outside, holding on to the window bars and door. On my way from Kanchipuram to Mamallapuram I was on a bus used by many school children, and the bus quickly filled up with kids eager to get home. At least TEN young boys were clinging to the outside! Even he locals were a little worried and annoyed with this.

Fun things to see while on the bus: Cattle and water buffaloes, rice paddies, wild boar piglets, cart-pulling oxen with painted horns and bells, snack vendors yelling, children assembling in the schoolyard, whole families crammed on one motorbike, eagles, goat herders, a father kissing his child, an old couple joking and laughing, a young man smiling shyly to his even younger wife

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