I awoke early the next morning to show Andy and Rachel a little of Worli prior to our train trip to Baroda at 1:35 pm. They noted that there was a lot of dog barking going on in the middle of the night, and that they liked the seaside view through the balcony in my cousin's apartment. I took them around a path along the sea in Bombay. We walked around for about a kilometer, taking pictures and watching the sea, oncoming traffic, and the lives of those around us.
After eating a large meal, we were driven to the train station in Mumbai. I witnessed there for the first time the rush to get on one of the trains traveling regionally around India. It was a general boarding call, and people were shouting, and pushing one another to try and get the last couple of seats on a long distance traveling train. The scene was chaotic to say the least, and I was slightly taken aback. Apparently the rush for local trains is even greater, as people end up crammed within the general boarding bogeys or with parts of the body hanging off the train.
The train we boarded was air conditioned, and trip to Baroda was 6 hours long. There were about five stops along the way, for about three minutes apiece. We met AIESEC Baroda upon arrival in Baroda. From here we had to carry all of our heavy luggage up two flights of stairs, over a bridge, and down two flights of stairs. An exasperating experience to say the least, we then stacked all nine of our bags and our selves into the back seat of a rickshaw. Needless to say, I was stuck in the middle of Andy and Rachel, and could not see anything but bags or Andy or Rachel all the way to the AIESEC office.
Here we stored some of our luggage, and met the AIESECers in Baroda, all of whom were friendly and helpful. Being Gujurati (Baroda is a part of the state of Gujurat, where most people speak and are called Gujurati), they all introduced themselves and spoke to me in English and Gujurati. For some reason, each of them called me by my first and last name (Karan Pandya-with an indian accent of course). We all went to eat at a Chinese place (was average in terms of taste).
Most of the AIESECers in Baroda smoked cigarettes, which was quite surprising to me.
Andy and I traveled around Baroda after dinner. The both of us were driven around on a tiny moped/motorcycle with four total bags. Needless to say, space was limited as we were all squished. Seeing the nightlife was a lot of fun, as one of the AIESECers took us to some of his favorite spots. Having visited India before, I was used to riding around in a motorcycle. I could tell that Andy was surprised by this, but it seemed like he was enjoying himself as we roamed squished together around Baroda.
We would spend the first couple of nights at this AIESECer, Nilay's house. He took us there after showing us around, and we prepared for bed. Unfortunately, this house had no A/C units, and the fan was blowing/recirculating hot air. The windows were opened to bring in some cooler air (not cold) but along with the air came mosquitos. Until I turned the lights off, these guys would not stop bothering me. After a good deal of time, I fell asleep only to wake about about 3 to 4 hours later, unable to fall asleep due to the heat for the rest of the night.
After eating a large meal, we were driven to the train station in Mumbai. I witnessed there for the first time the rush to get on one of the trains traveling regionally around India. It was a general boarding call, and people were shouting, and pushing one another to try and get the last couple of seats on a long distance traveling train. The scene was chaotic to say the least, and I was slightly taken aback. Apparently the rush for local trains is even greater, as people end up crammed within the general boarding bogeys or with parts of the body hanging off the train.
The train we boarded was air conditioned, and trip to Baroda was 6 hours long. There were about five stops along the way, for about three minutes apiece. We met AIESEC Baroda upon arrival in Baroda. From here we had to carry all of our heavy luggage up two flights of stairs, over a bridge, and down two flights of stairs. An exasperating experience to say the least, we then stacked all nine of our bags and our selves into the back seat of a rickshaw. Needless to say, I was stuck in the middle of Andy and Rachel, and could not see anything but bags or Andy or Rachel all the way to the AIESEC office.
Here we stored some of our luggage, and met the AIESECers in Baroda, all of whom were friendly and helpful. Being Gujurati (Baroda is a part of the state of Gujurat, where most people speak and are called Gujurati), they all introduced themselves and spoke to me in English and Gujurati. For some reason, each of them called me by my first and last name (Karan Pandya-with an indian accent of course). We all went to eat at a Chinese place (was average in terms of taste).
Most of the AIESECers in Baroda smoked cigarettes, which was quite surprising to me.
Andy and I traveled around Baroda after dinner. The both of us were driven around on a tiny moped/motorcycle with four total bags. Needless to say, space was limited as we were all squished. Seeing the nightlife was a lot of fun, as one of the AIESECers took us to some of his favorite spots. Having visited India before, I was used to riding around in a motorcycle. I could tell that Andy was surprised by this, but it seemed like he was enjoying himself as we roamed squished together around Baroda.
We would spend the first couple of nights at this AIESECer, Nilay's house. He took us there after showing us around, and we prepared for bed. Unfortunately, this house had no A/C units, and the fan was blowing/recirculating hot air. The windows were opened to bring in some cooler air (not cold) but along with the air came mosquitos. Until I turned the lights off, these guys would not stop bothering me. After a good deal of time, I fell asleep only to wake about about 3 to 4 hours later, unable to fall asleep due to the heat for the rest of the night.
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