PALACE ON WHEELS
Romance of the Rail
There is simply on better way to see Rajasthan than by rail, Easch destination
is conveniently connected with the oter, there are overnighters as well
as day trains, and because there are not busy commericial routes there is
little chance of being delayed That is the sheer practical side of the arrangements,
but on the other, there is the chaos, colur and confusion on the trains
that is so amazingly interesting. Women sit in groups therir faces veiled,
as they bring railway carriages to bloom with bursts of colour mendicants
move up and down the aisles men puff at biris the leaf warapped smokes they
enjoy while gazing out at the scenery outside.
The
railways in Rajasthan were privately owned by the maharajas.For people cut
off from the rest of their own state, the railways became a link to a life
that they could not even begin to imagine, So far the camel had truly been
the ship of the desert, but now they had an iron monster that wheezed and
puffed but carried them across in increasing comfort at a small price, The
princes on their part, attempted to build as many railway stations as they
could, so that the hinterlands of the desert were no longer neglected, Which
is why when you sit in your carriage and look out at the dunes, the spread
of fields, the silhouse ttes of camels as they plough furrows through the
sand, at childeren playing a rudimentary game of cricket by the tracks and
at women gathered at village wells you cannot stations which the trains
whiz through.
TRAIN JOURNEYS IN GENERAL
Since the princely kingdoms that make up Rajasthan invested in
their own railways lines, making rail travel convenient by the early years
of this century, it is not surprising that the network of tracks is particularly
well established,
It also meant that to link with palaces in Rajastha, passengers had to terminate
their journeys at some mid-point (usually Delhi) and transfer from broad
gauge trains to its metre gauge network, which was proving an irritant.
There are airconditioned and not-airconditioned classes of travel and obviously
those airconditioned are better, even though they're more insular.
Both have first and second classes, and airconditioned berths come with
bed linen. Use bathrooms in most general trains only if you must and carry
your own toilet kit.
Palace
on Wheels Tours Itinerary
Duration- 7N/8Days
