Train to Agra

 

February 4, 2026, Wednesday

We were supposed to take the high speed rail from Varanasi to Agra, which would have meant a five-hour trip on a modern train. But best laid plans did not work out. When it came down to purchasing tickets, we found out there was no high speed train leaving on the day we had scheduled to leave. Instead, we had a different type of train adventure. We took the "super fast" ten-hour train that left at 7:30 am. We met our drivers at 5:30 am to get to the train station, with one pit stop on the side of the road while Goutam purchased tea for all who needed the caffeine to get going.

Notice the stacks of terra cotta cups.

Clay is in abundance in India. Instead of using single-use paper or plastic cups, outdoor tea shops sell their tea in these terra cotta cups. Once they have been used, people just toss them on the side of the road. (They incidentally do that with plastic and paper cups.) While we were in the hotel lobby waiting for our driver, Karl had a plastic water bottle he crushed and was looking for a trash can. The doorman took it from him, went outside the threw it on the ground!

In our first-class coup.

We had an assortment of seats for our ten-hour journey. Karl and I had a "coup" that had two bunk beds, a window and a small desk. Next door, Emily and three students had a "cabin" that had two bunks on each side. We both had a door to the hallway and a curtain, so it was a private space. The rest of the group, including Goutam-ji, were in second class. They had three bunks facing each other, but no private door. The walkway went down the middle of the car. Goutam wanted to be with the students to help them be mindful of their possessions. Our room came with clean sheets and a wool blanket. It didn't take long before we were both very sleepy. We laid down and dozed until we got a text that breakfast had arrived. Goutam ordered a toast sandwich and a juice box for all of us. When the train stopped, a delivery man brought it to him in his seat!

Reading an article on Hindu religion and I was suddenly very sleepy!

View from our window.

It was very interesting to see rural India. We have not seen crops growing anywhere, so we enjoyed looking out the window. We saw goats in herds with the goatherd, lambs, cows, water buffalos and dogs. Brickyards and kilns for firing bricks. Crops of wheat and rapeseed in bloom (for making canola oil). Monkeys. Not much in the way of motorized farm equipment. Humble homes. Humble Hindu temples and mosques. 

Second class car. It was very interesting to the students. Some had never even been on a train before!

This train was moving and incredibly crowded.

Goutam ordered lunch for us. It was challenging because it was in a shallow TV-dinner style tray with some very liquid sides and the train was bumpy! We brought cricket-themed Oreos for a snack.

Our train stopped frequently. There are many sections where there is only one set of rails, so we stopped and waited for the other train to pass. And as we approached Agra, Emily warned us to be ready. Our train would only stop for ten minutes and we should jump off. So, at the 5:20 stop, Emily and all of us in first class got off the train. I thought it was very strange that we were in Agra and the only ones getting off. And it was so quiet and sleepy. It didn't look like a big city. Then we heard Goutam-ji yelling at us to get back on the train. It was not our stop! He was standing on the platform a good four cars down. So, we scrambled to climb back on with our luggage only to sit on the train for another 25 minutes! We were crossing a railroad bridge and there was only one track and the other train had priority. So, in the end, it was not the rush we thought it was.

We got to the train station and were met by a big, fancy bus. We went to the hostel and checked in and then walked to a group dinner at a restaurant that boasted it had a view of the Taj Mahal. It was too dark and the air had poor visibility, so we are getting up at at 6:00 am for a morning tour. Another early morning tomorrow!