Arriving in Aurangabad

After spending 6 hours the night before uploading photos due to numerous power failures rendering Internet use almost impossible, a 6am start was tiring. We set of to find a rickshaw hoping that we would receive the usual battle. After dismissing the first group on a scam, the next was ok and we made it to the station having spent the right amount of money and in good time. The train departed under “training cumulus” clouds, which signal the onset of the Monsoon season and say goodbye to the risk of rain as we head north to Aurangabad. In the spirit of trying everything we opted for 3-AC class this time due to travelling across the Deccan plateau for 9 hours (in Goa we used the standard sleeper “SL” class). My suspicion was that 3-AC was a standard sleeper, plus the “luxury” of air conditioning, which attracts a charge of at least 70% extra (this Internet café is charging Rs15 instead of 10 due to their AC, and hotels do the same- the rooms are the same they just switch AC on). Note:  I am now informed that being 2012 the prices of Internet are at least Rs15.   However I was wrong. The train actually had something that resembled a toilet and not just a hole onto the tracks below. The clientele was also middle class Indian people, there was far less screaming, noise and crowding, which made the experience a lot more civilized. I do question the value of AC overall, but burning your hands on double glazed windows from the sun also made me think twice. Fans, as is the outside breeze traveling at speed are great for cooling down and so AC is perhaps an unnecessary luxury, but both of these do increase dehydration and so maximum comfort is worth it occasionally. Arriving in Aurangabad with dust filled air at 7pm the same evening our first impression was the swarms of Rickshaws. Harassed instantly we head for the only guy sat patiently and get in, most to the disgust of the other people. Trouble is he doubled the fare when we arrived at the Youth Hostel (the meter was the reading per person didn’t you know!) to which I told him where to go and paid the actual reading.

Youth Hostel of Aurangabad

Thankfully the hostel was Rs70 per night for a dorm room because it was more like a concentration camp. I have been to quite a few hostels and this was the dirtiest. Why a lady is sweeping the outside area from falling leaves and flowers when the floor inside makes your feet instantly filthy is beyond me. I also wonder of the benefits of urinals which are disconnected from any water supply or sewerage system so that going to the toilet means you urinate all over your feet… use the floor next time (you think I am joking). Either way due to the low season we are in a pretty much empty hostel, although there is no food available as the guidebook states for this reason (another limitation of guide books is that they are written with high season visitors in mind). The hostel though resembles the city as a whole- a bit of a dump. More baron wastelands and rubbish, plus a river running through it that literally has more poo in it than water (you can see this due to the colour and consistency, oh and the smell is a bit of a giveaway). That is a shame considering that this area is perhaps the most historically significant due to the sights collected in an area of 100km. Built predominantly by Aurangzeb who eventually decided to march the population of Delhi over 1000km to Aurangabad, only to turn back later as they realised Delhi was defenseless against attack!

sugar cane juice for breakfast