Woke up early again but still need to catch up on sleep. Had breakfast at the restaurant attached to the hotel and organised my photos so I could give a copy to Alan but then went back for a siesta.
My panniers have fallen to pieces. It is very frustrating as they are supposed to be really good. They are Altura Fuse 42L panniers. I choose them because they are lighter than many other makes and I was really concerned about excess baggage charges when I was purchasing equipment for this trip. Having looked at how Alan's Ortlieb water-proof panniers have held together over time I now think that this was the wrong decision.
I spent some time glueing the seams together with super glue but I could not get the seams together as well as the machines that built them can and so there are still several gaps and so my panniers are no longer water proof. Arrrgggg.
I think that I will buy some new Orilebs at some point in the future and send back my panniers to the UK and ask for a refund or a replacement before they are over 1 year old.
Alan was really not feeling well again. This is the 5th time during his stay in India over the last 3 months that he has been ill. I think this picture illustrates very well how he was feeling. Bless.....
I left Alan to sleep and went off to use the internet and upload photos. As usual I ran out of time to update my blog completely.....
Back to the hotel to pack my things. I then popped to where I was staying the previous few nights to take a photo (I try to take a photo of every place I sleep) but the idiots at the hotel said no - even though there was no one in the room.
I said goodbye to Alan. It has been great biking with him for the last few weeks :-)
I left for the station to get there for 7pm, 2 and a half hours before the train leaves. When I arrive they told me that I was too late and the parcel office was closed so I could not get my bike on the train. I said that I doing as I was told when I bought the ticket "just turn up 2 hours before the departure to check on your bike". I ended up going back and forth from one office to another at different ended of the station (about 10 mins walk with all of my stuff) for about 2 hours before I eventually got it sorted. One office would tell me to go to the other office to sort it out and then I would be sent back. One of the guys was screaming instructions at me when it was obvious that I was trying to do my best to get the right paper work and pack up my bike in the right way. NOT a fun experience. I was hot and uncomfortable and the station was dirty, smelly and very busy.
I got a porter to help with my luggage but he kept on wondering off and I was worried about my bags all the time. Eventually I jumped through all of the loops and left my bike at the parcel office with 30 mins to spare. I tried to get a refund on my ticket from yesterday. It was a 2nd class train and I did not get a seat (I was left on the waiting list). Therefore, I could not have taken the train and so thought I would be able to get a refund..... apparently not. You have to do it in 12 hours of the train leaving. ARRRGG Indian's and their paper work. It can be so difficult to get anything done here.
When I got on to the train it was jam packed. I went to my seat to find someone else already in there. Unfortunately none of the Indians spoke English and they were really not very friendly at all. Someone went to find a lad that spoke English and he checked my ticket and told the others that it was a confirmed ticket and for the right seat. I got evil looks from all of the people around me. I just put all my bags in my seat and squashed up. It was very uncomfortable. I could not get out my laptop and work on my diary or blog because I did not feel that my things were safe. I ended up partly sharing my bunk with another Indian lady. There were then 2 other ladies sharing a bunk and 2 men on the floor between the bunks. The toilets were grotty and I did not want to leave my things. However, I still had a little bit of diarrhea and so it was not the most pleasant journey.
The lights went off about 9 and people got ready for bed. I did not really feel like I could go to sleep as I have heard about a large amount of theft from foreigners and also assaults on women on this train journey.
I wished that I had manage to get off the waiting list for the train ride yesterday instead. It was 2nd class and would have been much nicer. However, my previous sleeper class journey to meet Alan had been absolutely fine....
Not my picture.... but yes that is what they are like!!!
My panniers have fallen to pieces. It is very frustrating as they are supposed to be really good. They are Altura Fuse 42L panniers. I choose them because they are lighter than many other makes and I was really concerned about excess baggage charges when I was purchasing equipment for this trip. Having looked at how Alan's Ortlieb water-proof panniers have held together over time I now think that this was the wrong decision.
I spent some time glueing the seams together with super glue but I could not get the seams together as well as the machines that built them can and so there are still several gaps and so my panniers are no longer water proof. Arrrgggg.
I think that I will buy some new Orilebs at some point in the future and send back my panniers to the UK and ask for a refund or a replacement before they are over 1 year old.
Alan was really not feeling well again. This is the 5th time during his stay in India over the last 3 months that he has been ill. I think this picture illustrates very well how he was feeling. Bless.....
I left Alan to sleep and went off to use the internet and upload photos. As usual I ran out of time to update my blog completely.....Back to the hotel to pack my things. I then popped to where I was staying the previous few nights to take a photo (I try to take a photo of every place I sleep) but the idiots at the hotel said no - even though there was no one in the room.
I said goodbye to Alan. It has been great biking with him for the last few weeks :-)
I left for the station to get there for 7pm, 2 and a half hours before the train leaves. When I arrive they told me that I was too late and the parcel office was closed so I could not get my bike on the train. I said that I doing as I was told when I bought the ticket "just turn up 2 hours before the departure to check on your bike". I ended up going back and forth from one office to another at different ended of the station (about 10 mins walk with all of my stuff) for about 2 hours before I eventually got it sorted. One office would tell me to go to the other office to sort it out and then I would be sent back. One of the guys was screaming instructions at me when it was obvious that I was trying to do my best to get the right paper work and pack up my bike in the right way. NOT a fun experience. I was hot and uncomfortable and the station was dirty, smelly and very busy.I got a porter to help with my luggage but he kept on wondering off and I was worried about my bags all the time. Eventually I jumped through all of the loops and left my bike at the parcel office with 30 mins to spare. I tried to get a refund on my ticket from yesterday. It was a 2nd class train and I did not get a seat (I was left on the waiting list). Therefore, I could not have taken the train and so thought I would be able to get a refund..... apparently not. You have to do it in 12 hours of the train leaving. ARRRGG Indian's and their paper work. It can be so difficult to get anything done here.
When I got on to the train it was jam packed. I went to my seat to find someone else already in there. Unfortunately none of the Indians spoke English and they were really not very friendly at all. Someone went to find a lad that spoke English and he checked my ticket and told the others that it was a confirmed ticket and for the right seat. I got evil looks from all of the people around me. I just put all my bags in my seat and squashed up. It was very uncomfortable. I could not get out my laptop and work on my diary or blog because I did not feel that my things were safe. I ended up partly sharing my bunk with another Indian lady. There were then 2 other ladies sharing a bunk and 2 men on the floor between the bunks. The toilets were grotty and I did not want to leave my things. However, I still had a little bit of diarrhea and so it was not the most pleasant journey.
The lights went off about 9 and people got ready for bed. I did not really feel like I could go to sleep as I have heard about a large amount of theft from foreigners and also assaults on women on this train journey.
I wished that I had manage to get off the waiting list for the train ride yesterday instead. It was 2nd class and would have been much nicer. However, my previous sleeper class journey to meet Alan had been absolutely fine....
Not my picture.... but yes that is what they are like!!!
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