Did I mention I hate Pune?

Trip Start Sep 22, 2004
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Trip End Dec 13, 2004


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Flag of India  ,
Tuesday, November 9, 2004

I should know better than to accept offers of hotels from rickshaw wallahs by now.. but no, every now and then I think "well, I'll just take a look". So it was upon my arrival in Pune. He had a brochure from this hotel which made it look very nice, and he told me he'd show me this hotel for Rs.10. However when we got there I didn't even get a chance to look at a room as they were full. i told the driver to take me back where he found me, which he did, only he drove straight past in order to take me to a second hotel despite my protests (you see, they don't just get the Rs.10, they also get a commission for an inflated price the hotels charge for these referrals). As he stopped for traffic, I jumped out of the rickshaw and told him I wasn't going to pay as he was wasting my time. A little harsh, perhaps. Suffice if to say he was rather miffed, and a bit shocked.

Ended up at the Hotel National, opposite the train station. Judging by this area I decided I didn't even want to stay in Pune. However I couldn't get on the train I wanted and ended up stuck for another night. Then I was able to get a train ticket back to Goa and onward to Hospet, which was a relief. Or so I thought.

In the morning I'd stopped by at the station and checked the display boards and ascertained my train was to leave from platform 4. At least I thought so. The sign flicked from English to Hindi just as I looked at it so I might have been wrong. Anyway, standing on platform 4 a good half hour before departure another train was there which soon departed. Then another train arrived which also turned out to not be going to Goa.

It was only then that I asked so discover that my train was sitting on platform 1 (you see I'm accustomed to dealing with Sydney's Cityrail, so had just assumed I was right and the train was late).

By the time I had battled my way over to platform 1 (I think you can finish this sentence).

I tried to exchange my ticket for the next day but could only get a 50% refund. Not only that, but because it was now less than 24 hours to departure I was unable to buy a reserved ticket and I was still stranded in Pune.

As a last resort I tried to find a bus out and ended up booking a seat to Hubli. The sleeper bus was booked up but I got a "semi" which is the coach version of a La-Z-Boy recliner, not bad, actually, and 1000 times better than 2nd class on the train.

Hubli was nothing special, but rather ore pleasant than Pune. From there I travelled to Hospet, again by bus, although just your average reclining coach seat this time.
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