Madurai to Chennai

Today in Madurai is all about getting to Chennai. Trying to get on a train last minute in India is near impossible. There are taktal (emergency) tickets for tourists but you should give them 24hours warning before attempting. I was pushing my luck with 8 hours notice. However, the station supervisor (at the time) was very sympathetic. I purchased a ticket and became number 1 in the waiting queue. Go back at 5pm and all should be fine.
Shocked, i left the station and headed for some food and a look at the HUGE temple here. Annoyed by touts everywhere around it. "come see the temple from high!" they say, and would try and lead you into their shop, which is 5 stories high and probably did have a great view from the top. Brushing all of these aside, and ever-persistent tuk-tuk drivers became a chore, and i sat back at the station in a quiet corner. Ahhh! 5pm came and i headed back to the supervisors office, there was now a different man on duty, who flat refused me on taktal.

Plan B was a flight. I called the airport and they quoted me 180 pounds for a last minute flight to Chennai. Whatever happened to cheap last second flights??

Plan C was the dreaded coach. Only dreaded from my last experience. At the coach station i scouted around for a single bed sleeper. They're mostly doubles, meaning if you're travelling alone you share with a complete stranger (they're extremely cosy) or nothing. You can't have a double for yourself, even if you pay for it. I eventually found a company that had a single bed coach spare, for a great price. I snapped it up and waited 3 hours for it to show up. I sat in one of  the very dingy (no women allowed) holes at the side of the bus station and had a beer, while all the time being observed by groups of Indian men.

The bus arrived. Very cosy little bed! Fell asleep instantly. I was woken up very loudly in Chennai, in the middle of nowhere and ushered off the bus. Looking around me there were sewers, motorways and dust. Great.  

Kodaikanal to Madurai

A beautifully scenic journey back down the mountain to the baking city. The bus has such gently bouncy suspension it rocked me into snoozeland for an hour before hitting the crazy Madurai bus terminal again.

Madurai (part1)

I arrive out of the station at midnight and need to find accomodation. I'm heading to Kodaikanal first thing tomorrow so any room will do. I shall be back to explore Madurai in a few days.

I come across a few places i recognise from the lonely planet, but they're out of my budget. I stumble across this large block on a dark backstreet, it says "Madurai residences". The young man behind the counter says he has rooms for 300 rupees (£4) so i agree. I wait for him to ask for passport, fill out name and to pay. I try and explain that this is what i want to do but he does the Indian head-shake and hands me the key. Seems unusual but ok. I've got nothing to lose. I head to the room on the 4th floor, it reminds me of a prison. All concrete, dark, with windows from the room to the balcony. Men in wifebeaters are watching TV in some rooms i pass. Opening the door reveals my cell. It's just a bed (clean sheets but no blankets), a TV and a hole-in-the-ground toilet. The walls are a faded snot green colour. I do nothing but get into my sleeping bag and sleep.

I'm woken up by the phone at 1:30am. An irate man says "come reception now, come reception". I head down and a different, older man (possibly the owner) starts going off at me about my name, passport and money. I didn't argue, just entered my details and paid. I said sorry, patted him on the back and he smiled back "no problem sir". He needs to re-train his staff!

Thiruvananthapuram to Madurai

I arrived at the impressive colonial station For my first long haul train trip. I was a little early so did some local watching and drunk some chai. Various kids observed me, laughing to each other. Some came over to practice their English "how are you?" and would run off when asked in return. A grinning man came out of nowhere, shook my hand and said "welcome to India sir!" then walked off. The tracks are covered in litter and have a whiff of urine about them due to the train toilets emptying direct onto the tracks!

I'd booked into an AC 2 tier. These are air conditioned sleeper cabins, two bunks high. Four in one window (coming out from the window) then the other two running alongside the other window, with a passage in-between. In the daytime the bottom beds can converted to a seat, but it's yours to do what you want with. The top bunks have no window and would be an issue if disabled or clausterophobic! The aircon vents blow directly onto the top bunks but there are blankets, pillows and a sick bag provided! All bunks in the AC classes have curtains and are very comfortable. Even the regular sleeper 3 tier class is comfortable, if a little sticky and noisy. Only the bottom bunks have power sockets, although my UK adaptor kept falling out of it as the train was moving. Three Indian men, bemused by my tiny laptop, engineered a fine solution with a combination of gaffa tape and wedging the wire. If you have four things definite on your packing list make it gaffa tape and three Indian men.

The train left promptly at 16:20 and passed through many cute little villages, children waving at the train, litter fires burning at the side of the track. At Nagercoil Junction the train halted for an age. I later realised that the engine had moved around to the other end and we were pulling out of the station reverse. As the train set off I wished i'd grabbed a chai from a chaiwalla. Now heading east the scenery changes from steamy palms to lumpy hills and lakes. A town called Aralvaymoli looks fantastic as the sun sets.

It's now dark, the Indian men are loudly discussing chappathi's with the chappathi seller. I close the curtain and lie down in my cosy little area, smirking at how many times the word "chappathi" has been said in the last 20 minutes.