Transport, India, October and November 2019
As in the USA, the plane is the fastest way to get around given the distances between cities. India is a vast country with more than 300 airports. Another widely used means of transport is the train. However, you should not be in a hurry. You will take almost 22 hours to travel Bangalore-Mumbai by train compared to less than 2 hours by plane. The bus is another way to reach the big cities and of course the times are getting longer. Inside the cities, you have the train, the metro (Delhi, Bangalore), buses, taxis, Uber (which I used a lot), tuk-tuks...
When I prepared this trip, I wanted to take as many different types of transport as possible. Thus, I had asked Saiprasad to be able to take the train to go to Mysore. That's what we did but it's not easy to spot his train when it arrives. Moreover, you already cannot imagine the number of classes/tickets available in the trains. There are 9 different classes, from class "G", the cheapest and most crowded with wooden seats, to "1A", the most expensive, the air-conditioned 1st class. We took "2A", air-conditioned cars with lots of space, curtains and individual lamps. There are bunks and an employee comes by to bring clean sheets. There are even power outlets to charge your phone. Street vendors also pass by, you won't starve.
The return was made by bus to the center of Bangalore. A great adventure once again. A stop along the way allows you to eat and take a "technical" break. Then we had to take the Bangalore metro. A very modern and very secure metro. Being used to Paris, I was happy to see people standing on the side of the doors before they opened. But when it opens, people don't wait and try to get straight into the carriages, me complaining about Paris.
During the Local transport tour in Mumbai, we took the train but also tuk-tuks or shared taxis, in France the Uber do it now. In Delhi, we took an electric tuk-tuk, a good initiative that surprised me and made me very happy. During your walks, you may have the chance to come across camels on the main axes, as was my case.
The transport of goods is done by trucks, whose decorations are splendid. We must not forget the distances between the cities and some, remote, can only be supplied by trucks.