Agra bound

We’ve boarded the train to Agra, it’s a 2.5 hour ride. I’m always interested to see how transit operates in other countries. The Indian train system is heavily utilized, as evidenced by the very busy Hazrat Nizamuddin station. It’s like Penn station in NYC during rush hour but with only 8 tracks. India has an interesting mix of modern and old world technology. We have electronic tickets for the train yet this lovely lady is sweeping the entire platform with this broom.

Another observation I’ve made is transit riders are 80% male, even those walking around. I see very few ladies out and about. And actually, Ben told me today that Agra is 80% male. I concur with that stat after today.

India rail puts Amtrak to shame. A lot more leg room and a big meal came with our tickets. They offered instant coffee or tea kits too. My guess is they have the space for a hot water cooler but not power to actually make coffee.

It’s pretty flat in this region. You can see some of the air pollution in these photos. I overheard a guide say these were probably mustard plants. The above was taken near Faridabad, southeast of Delhi.

Livestock roams free here, especially cows. They are everywhere. Today we saw monkeys, cows, dogs, peacocks, ponies and a goat! This was all in the streets of Agra and in the park by Agra Fort. We had a moment with a bull. He did not want us to cross his path. It was on a side path, no one else around. Before, we had just walked by, no issue. On the return, however, he stared right at me and stopped eating. We were about 15 feet away. Oh yes, he’s got his horns. We stopped and decided to go no further, backed away. Luckily the bull didn’t follow, and the owner/watcher pedaled his bike to our aide. The bull went back to eating. The man stood in front of the bull so we could pass. He smiled and said something in Hindi, gesturing at the cows. Adventures in Agra! 😊