mrsjono

Foreign nationals require a visa to enter India. Somehow, he didn't manage to get his visa done before departure. Fortunately, Singapore citizens are one of the 11 nationalities eligible for tourist visa on arrival issued at designated international airports in India only. (Pls check with your embassy for any changes to this scheme.) It took 30-45 mins and costs Rs 2,870, approx S$77 compared to S$54 if you do it in Singapore. Make sure the stamp on your passport is clear, not faded and you are able to see and read the key words. Otherwise, you may be held up along the way trying to explain the validity of your visa, especially if you're visiting protected/restricted areas in India.

An Inner Line Permit is required in addition to your India visa if you're visiting protected/restricted areas. Don't worry, it's free when you apply in India. We decided to pop by the Sikkim Tourist Information Centre in Siliguri so that we can get this paperwork over and done with quickly. We walked in and there was no one else except a man sitting behind a table. The man looked at my donkey friend's passport for a long time and said I can only do hers but not yours. We explained, a few times, that his visa was done at Kolkata airport and even produced proof of receipt. Still, he refused to issue him the permit. No reason or explanation given. We told him to call his boss, twice. After speaking to his boss, he shook his head for the second time and explained that boss signature is required and boss is in Gangtok now. He told us to try other office instead. I was so mad at his rigidness and shirking of responsibility I found myself yelling at him. We came all the way here with a valid visa issued by your immigration office but were denied of a permit without any valid reason?! We suspect it's because he has never seen a visa on arrival and afraid he may get into trouble if he grant permit. My donkey friend gave up and told him to issue my permit first. A foreigner came and got hers done within 10 mins. When my permit was done, I looked at the signature at the bottom of the form and asked him Is this your signature? No it's my boss signature. You said your boss need to sign and his signature is right here so can you issue his permit now??????? I reasoned. Oh my lord. We were stuck here for 1.5 hours just to fill up two forms...

Finally Padatik Express arrived at 10.55pm. Sleeper class has no bed linen and we didn't bring anything to lay on our beds. We climbed up our side berths and I started scrubbing the mattress with wet tissue, inviting puzzled looks. Boy the layer of dust was like 10 years thick! Whoever is the next sleeper is so lucky to have a clean berth. Everybody else started to wrap themselves up like cocoons and fell asleep rather quickly. It was pretty cold at night and I had to slip on another layer of Uniqlo heattech turtle neck. 10hrs later, I woke up to find a toddler smiling shyly at me and sounds of "chai! chai!" as chai wallahs hustled down the narrow alleyway. Good morning NJP!

India's railway system is complicated and competitive. I spent a fair amount of time deciphering the various classes, quota codes and train schedules. Reservations start 4 months before departure and tickets are sold out super fast (especially from Nov-Mar) so reserve as far in advance as you can. Online reservation also saves you the hassle of having to battle with locals at the ticket window (madness). 1 month before departure, I was only left with sleeper class for our first overnight train and there were just 5 confirmed berths left. For 2 other overnight trains we had to catch, I couldn't get any confirmed berths and the waiting list was way too long.

A saving grace for foreigners is the Foreign Tourist Quota (FTQ). You can check availability under this quota online but you can only buy it when you are in India. On average there are 2 places per class. Can you imagine how nerve wrecking it was to monitor the status of that pathetic 2 places everyday and keeping your fingers crossed they are still available when you finally get to India? Now the tricky part is not every train station sells FTQ tickets and there is no official website listing where are the reservation counters. Sealdah train station does not have a FTQ window. Go to Fairlee Place reservation office at 17 Netaji Subhas Rd instead! Opening hours 10am-5pm (Mon-Sat), 10am-2pm (Sun, public holidays). Counter is temporarily closed during lunch hour between 1-2pm. Grab a form and number, wait for your turn and keep your fingers crossed.

If FTQ is sold out and you can't afford to wait, try transferring a few trains to get to your final destination. For this you may have to seek help from an agent who is familiar enough with train routes and schedules. If this can't work, there is one very last resort which involves some risk-taking. Agent told us we pass off as Nagaland people and we could sneak in using VIP quota. If anyone has tried this and it works, pls let me know.

Below are some links which I find useful:
1. A beginner's guide to train travel in India: Comprehensive introduction to the various classes and step by step guide on how to purchase tickets online
2. Globetrooper Todd's How to plan and book a train trip in India: Simple overview including how to check availability and steps involved to book FTQ tickets
3. Indian Railways RAC and Waitlists: Detailed explanation on RAC/WL tickets and how they work
4. Indiamike.com: If you can't find what you're looking for anywhere, post your questions on this India travel forum, some very experienced members may be able to answer your questions.

We arrived in Kolkata at night and the city was asleep. When I stepped onto the streets the next morning, I was in shock. Babu babu! Cycle rickshaws pedaled past women in saris along the dirt road. This was the first photo I took in India. At that point in time, I felt like I've woken up to a nightmare. Have I travelled back to the past? Such a far cry from my idea of what Kolkata, one of the major cities in India, ought to be like. We wandered along Airport Gate No 2 looking for food but nothing looked edible to us. In other parts of the city, the smell is overwhelming as open defecation and dumping are ubiquitous. Lucky we just had to hold our breaths for 12 hours...

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You can imagine what Singaporeans think of India when they go "Are you out of your mind? Why would you want to go there?" I was looking forward but at the same time afraid and anxious. The plan was to start from West Bengal, go north to Sikkim and then west to Uttar Pradesh. It turned out to be worse than I thought and more beautiful than I imagined. The good, the bad and the ugly, all in India.