Toilet training— you need special skills in order to do your business on a train. Luckily I know how to squat in all the wrong places. The drain dumps out onto the track. Isn’t that a shitty concept?
I left Delhi on my most pleasant train journey to date. I found the right train, the right compartment and my correct seat. Since it was only a short six hour ride there were only chair options. I had second class air con and it was fabulous. I read, walked around with little intrusion (apart from one man who changed seats to gawk at me but I did the same to avoid his eyes).
Dehra Dun is the capital of newly named Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal until January this year). Even though it’s a capital city, there’s absolutely nothing going on here. I walked around most of the day getting a feel for this new state. One thing I noticed right off the bat was that women dressed more present here. Casually they dressed while driving scooters and working in shops. There’s even a woman working behind the counter at my hotel.
Get this: the autorickshaw drivers here take no for an answer. A few asked me if I needed a lift. I said no and that was the end of the exchange. No following. No screaming, “cheap price”. Nothing. I was amazed.
Most people here take share taxis and I would have used one if I could figure out where they heading. Like minibuses, they hold about 8 people comfortably and the lot shares the cost of the ride. It works out cheaper for everyone.
The climate here is blessedly moderate. All day I felt nice breezes as I wandered around the traffic jammed streets.
I spent most of my day at the Forest Research Institute Museum. Fittingly the museum is set in a 500 km park. Once you enter the main gates it’s a 2 km walk to the actual museum. I didn’t mind because the route is lined with wonderful trees on both sides of the road. It was hard to believe I was in India.
The museum’s building is quite grand. The LP says it is larger than Buckingham Palace in England. This red-brick mammoth was built with Mughal towers and Roman columns. Six museums in all displayed just about every aspect of Indian forestry. Highlights include some wonderful black and white photography, medical use of trees and wooden furniture.