Weekends in the land of Rajahs: Air Costa, Indigo, and Indian Railways!

[SQueeze]

Winter has descended over northern India and it's time to roam around the region again and soak in the spectacular landscapes, and festivals of Rajasthan.

Earlier last year, I had the opportunity to explore Jaipur, Rajasthan (whose trip report is also posted here) and I was really impressed with the architectural splendour of the palaces and the forts

Late in the same year, it was luck that brought me back to the region for some business events and I extended these into the weekends to check out a few other sites.

The following trip report is actually not a continuous trip but a combination of 2 weekends. The first is where I explored gorgeous Udaipur and then flew to Mumbai with Indigo. And the second is where I explored Pushkar / Ajmer and then flew to Bangalore on a long thin route JAI-BLR with Air Costa (a little known domestic airline). On both weekends, the preceding journeys were by trains! A truly only-in-India experience.

Since many parts of this particular report is not necessarily aviation-related or of interest to everyone here, I am chopping the reports to segments and one may fast forward accordingly.

Part 1: Delhi to Udaipur by 2Tier AC class
Part 2: Goregous lake city Udaipur
Part 3: Udaipur to Mumbai by IndiGo
Part 4: Pushkar Camel Fair
Part 5: Ajmer to Jaipur by Sleeper Class
Part 6: Jaipur to Bangalore by Air Costa

Part 1: Delhi to Udaipur by 2Tier AC class

Train: 12963 (Mewar Express)
Seat: A1-0030 (side upper berth)
Duration: 12h20

My journey to Udaipur started from Nizamuddin station in East Delhi just next to Humayun's tomb. This is a major railway station that serves mainly trains heading south. The other 2 major stations are New Delhi station near Connaught Place, and Delhi station in Old Delhi. The former serves trains all over the country and also the west. The latter serves trains heading east.

I arrived at Nizamuddin station half an hour before scheduled departure of 745pm (a plus point of Travelling by train as there is no check-in required).



To my dismay, this seems to be the rear or secondary entry to the station and i had to lug my suitcase up the forbidding steps.



At the top of the stairs, there are the ticket counters - a typical scene in an Indian railway station.



But there is no need for me to visit it. Indian Railways has a sophisticated e-ticketing system and there is no need to show any paper tickets as my name is already in the system which the conductor will have access to onboard. Buying tickets is a breeze as well if you do it far in advance. But seats run out fast and very typically one needs to waitlist first. I find it hard to find confirmed berths anywhere in any of the reserved classes <30 days. Just like award tickets! But there is a saving grace, the Tatkal quota. This is reserved for last minute purchases released a day before travel. For this particular journey, I had to purchase this type of ticket which also runs out in 2-3 hours upon release. But with the convenience of e-ticketing I could issue it in the mobile app. No need to visit the stations.

Anyway, after the ticketing hall, one needs to go through a security check point - a single X-Ray machine. Luckily there were not too many people. In any case, the attitude is quite relaxed typically, unlike at airports.



Then I crossed the bridge over all the different platforms as my train would depart from the last platform



The platform was well lit and the passengers were waiting. The train was not there yet. I started to wonder if we would depart on time. This train was to originate from this station so why was it not there yet half an hour prior to departure.





As I was walking towards the area of the platform where my reserved carriage will be, the train rushed past.



It's a pretty Long train with accommodation in all classes.

Second Class car. I took this type once 10 years ago and I swore I won't be on it again. Haha.



Then AC 3 Tier, I haven't tried this type yet. This is with a cluster of 6 berths.



Mine is an AC 2 Tier, which has a cluster of 4 berths and has privacy curtains.

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My train is called the Mewar Express and it's a point to point journey between Delhi and Udaipur with a stop in Kotak. Most passengers travel between origin and final destination.



The passenger list was pasted near the entrance as per usual practice. Yes, my name was there, as was my age.



Going onboard, the carriage is quite pleasant and well-maintained. Like I said, it's a cluster of 4 berths in one section in this class.



Upper berths are accessed by ladders.



My Favourite is the side section which has only 2 berths and is parallel to the direction of travel. This is the best in the house, a side lower berth with huge window. A basic pillow (too thin and soft) and a basic thin blanket are also part of the service. This is not SQSuites certainly. Haha.



Unfortunately, I had to be contented with last minute quota so I was allocated the upper side berth with no window. I made it as comfortable and homely as I could. Haha.



Every section has 2 charging points which is useful and is actually essential because some of these trains run for 2-3 days across country. The longest I think is from Kanyakumari in the tropical south where palms sway to Jammu in Kashmir near the Himalayas.



Travelling by train is quite interesting. Fellow passengers having their dinners. It actually feels like being in the same house.



Soon after departure, I retreated to my berth, closed the curtain and slept. It was pretty comfortable.



Morning scene rushed through the window. I went down from my berth. As is usual practice, the lower berth passenger has to share their berth as seating space during the day. This is the disadvantage of occupying the lower berth. It becomes everybody's space during daylight hours. The lower berth is actually convertible into 2 seats which collapse together to form the berth.



I walked around the car as well and wow, what first class service is this? The attendant has partially made up the berths whose passengers had got off at an earlier stop and he just piled it all in some empty berths.

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I also checked out the toilets. They are still bearable to me despite the rusts and wear and tear. I guess I am quite well-seasoned to India. Haha.







To my surprise, the train also arrived perfectly on time. It was scheduled to arrive at 720am and we pulled to the station exactly on the dot. Well done Indian Railways. You won't win Skytrax awards but I was quite a happy customer.

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Part 2: Udaipur gorgeous lake city

Udaipur is a Super gorgeous city set by Lake Pichola, in a spectacularly romantic setting. No wonder tonnes of honeymooners descend into it every winter.



Every day I had breakfast, I was in admiration of what lay before me. Unfortunately, the Taj hotel on the lake (Taj Lake Palace, a real palace converted to a hotel) is out of company's budget. And no chance for me to redeem my vouchers as member of Leading Hotels of the World either as they had pulled out of their membership. I have Taj Inner Circle points but they have horrible burn rates which tie to the hotel's actual rate. But for those interested and can afford, the rate is actually not too bad at about USD 500-600 / night if compared with rates in London, or São Paulo.



The city has to be explored from the water certainly. From certain angles, it does remind me somewhat of Mediterranean or Venice.





The City Palace is a must see once on land. And it's gorgeously detailed.





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Like many buildings in the region, framing by arches is a common architectural language.

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Colour is playfully and spectacularly used in many areas.











And this is my favourite room. It's like a jewel box.



More bejewelled splendour.



Even a simple unnamed functional corridor has a certain beauty in it in the light and shadow.



Sunset is a good time to be on the water.

And what spectacular view from my simple haveli (an old merchant house converted to a guest house). It felt like paradise.



As the sun set, I could see a spectacular wedding going on on the one of the islands. This was a really huge extravaganza. Not captured with my camera, but they had laser lights shooting all over the sky. Would you want so much spectacle for your wedding ??? Every one can feel the energy from 10 km away.

[SQueeze]

Part 3: Udaipur to Mumbai with IndiGo

Flight: 6E 748
Aircraft: A320
Reg: VT-IEG
Seat: 28F
Class: Economy
Load: 100%

Udaipur has been relatively under served from Mumbai with only Jet and Air India flying and that too at some crazy hours (5am). IndiGo's entry on Dec 1 marks the first LCC entrant into the market and as I could see on this flight, they are doing really well.

My flight was a morning flight scheduled to depart at 10am.

Like many Indian airports, they are newish but not well constructed (to the trained eyes who are in the industry).



Like elsewhere in India, there is an entrance check point where tickets (on phones are accepted) are checked. Here, it has a unique pyramidal form (which I find pretty cheesy).



There is an ante-hall after that just before another security checkpoint where luggage goes to X-Ray. So many checks I know!



Only after that then one finds the check-in hall.



Which has a spacious waiting hall.



For a popular tourist place, I think Udaipur is under served. So few flights throughout the day.



After then there is another security. Yes, another security! This time for hand carry items.

And then up the escalator to the upper level waiting hall. This is where you go for flights that depart from contact gates.



Looks like it would be a full flight.



My flight was already at the gate (unlike Jet/AI, IndiGo is mostly on time).



I sat at the back of the craft so I was called to board first. And wow, people were actually wheeled across the tarmac.



Apparently no lift that gets from lower to upper level? Only escalator perhaps. This became a pain onboard because these poor elderlies had to walk really slowly with assistance from the rear door towards their assigned seats in the front and against the general traffic. It was traffic jam in the aisle for awhile.

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IndiGo blue seats.



Very comfortable for me. It's spectacularly much much much better than what we are used to having in ASEAN region with our Super cramped Air Asia, Jetstar, and Lion.



But not too good for my tall hunky seat mate to my left. Poor knee. Hahaha.



Inflight magazine



Menu



I had preordered my meal and it arrived in cute packaging.



It didn't look too attractive - this was the beetroot wrap. But it actually tasted real yummy. Will order again for sure.



Drinks was a refreshing local drink which is sweet sour spicy and really hard to describe. This is an acquired taste for foreigners and I have somewhat acquired it.



A short 1.5 hour later and after the mandatory hold patterns near Mumbai we descended.

First look at the coast after spending sometime in the interior deserts.



And then over the dense suburb of Santa Cruz and the Western Express Highway. The scene of descending aircrafts is quite spectacular scene from the highway too.



And then that's the end of the journey.

[SQueeze]

Part 4: Pushkar Camel Fair

On another weekend, I had attended some business event in Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan and since I had explored that city earlier in the year, I decided to venture out a few hours into the desert for the annual Pushkar Camel fair which is said to be the largest in the world. This is an authentic fair where actual Camel breeders and Traders descended once a year into this pilgrim town to trade. There are a lot of shows (Camel beauty, etc) and competitions (Camel racing, etc). The fair coincides with a full moon Hindu festival in the town's holy lake as well and for this one week of the year, the town bursts to the seams with at least half a million pilgrims and perhaps another half million camels.

It's truly an incredible sight and I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

As far as the eyes can see - camels are everywhere







They have to be beautiful.



And cute with its so many faces



Adjacent to the fair ground, is a modern day fun fair. It's quite basic, nothing like Universal Studio. But, boy, scary it was. These are the fastest Ferris wheel I have been on. And its ricketyness, and creaking sounds make the ride 10 times scarier than anything I had been on in any of first world amusement Parks!

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A Hindu festival is also going in the town's many Temples and the town's pedestrian-only narrow alleys were packed.





I could imagine this has been going on the same for centuries. I felt I was transported to another era.





Rajasthan is famous for its colourful fabric. One can see why here.



Even the rear shots are gorgeous





Contrary to the throngs on the street, the town's lakeside is tranquil. It's also a holy lake so you do see devotees bathing in it.

As the sun set, I spent an hour or two by the holy lake and what a sight - I fely like I was in paradise. The sounds of 'om' and chants were meditative also.

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Part 5: Ajmer to Jaipur by Train

Train: 19609 (Aii-Hw Express)
Berth: S5-0056
Duration: 2 hours

Pushkar has no train station and to go back to Jaipur, I had to fetch one from the neighbouring large town of Ajmer.

A half hour ride by Uber (yes, Uber has come to these parts) and 3 dollars poorer later, I found myself in Ajmer station to catch my train.



In India, don't be surprised if your fellow passenger is four-legged!



When my train pulled into the station, people rushed to it. See so many of them tried to get in from the windows!



That is unreserved 2nd class which I took once many years back and swore never to subject myself to the same experience again.



On tonight's short journey, I will be on a reserved sleeper class carriage such as this one.



It's a reserved class and you board only when your name is in the passenger manifest, pasted outside the entrance for all to see. Your name and your age!



Sleeper class is where most Indians travel. On AC Tier classes, your fellow passengers are middle income families and professionals and you will see laptops and iPhones. On sleeper class, you will see the 80% of real India. If you come to India, take sleeper class for this real experience.







It's actually quite comfortable. Better than coach class on any airline! Everyone has a reserved berth and it works the same like I had described in Part 1. During the day, the lower berths will be shared by all passengers.The middle berths are folded down to form the seat backs during the day.

The upper berths are for your use only but there are no windows. No bedding, pillows, or curtains provided. Be prepared!



There is no air conditioning. But there are a lot of fans. In the winter, air conditioning is not required as the outside temperature is aircon temperature. But at night, it does get cold inside.

All windows have no glass but they have grills. There is charging point also for electronic devices.



The journey was short at 2 hours and yes, it was punctual both at the origin and destination.

[SQueeze]

Part 6: Jaipur to Bangalore with Air Costa

Flight: LB 697
Aircraft: E190
Reg: VT-LVR
Seat:14A
Class: Economy
Load: 80%

Air Costa is a relatively unknown airline based in the South (Vijayawada I think) and they run regional routes mainly in South India with the occasional service to Ahmedabad and Jaipur from Bangalore. These are relatively medium thin routes although the market is definitely there and is now served by LCCs only (IndiGo, Air Asia, and Air Costa)

As I was late, I didn't take any pics at the airport so I'll zoom straight to the plane.

AirCosta operates a fleet of Embraers (which is a refreshing change from the countless 320s and 737s).

It has a mainly grey livery.



Typical of smaller airports, boarding is by stairs.



FA's uniform is in a turquoise shade and in modern style.



Layout is 2-2 which Air Costa advertises as 'good layout with no middle seats'



The seat.



Legroom is comfortable. I have so far noticed that all of the Indian airlines, although they are LCCs, offer standard legroom pitches with the exception of Air Asia or so I heard since I have never been on the I5 franchise yet. No wonder they lose money.



Advertisements adorn the seat backs, typical LCC.



Inflight magazine.



They operate 2 types of Embraers. I was trying to book Economy Plus which seems to be markedly better in a 1-2 layout. But for Jaipur, they are deploying only E-190s without Economy Plus. They deploy their E-170s on very short routes like Bangalore to Coimbatore. I would think that they should have fitted Plus seats on the Jaipur route (their longest in the network).



Route map. Like I mentioned earlier, it's mainly south-based.

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Take-off was slightly delayed.

Reached cruising altitude. What beautiful contrast between the desert and the clear blue winter sky.



Menu.



I had preordered my non-vegetarian meal. Quite a good amount.





2.5 hours later, we descended into green and wet Bangalore.



And landed under dark skies. This was the week before the mad cyclone that wreaked havoc in Chennai.



Another dreadful bus gate disembarkation. As a small operator, Air Costa doesn't have its own buses. We used an Air India bus.



So that's the end of the report. Thank you for staying through and reading this.

[Tonitan]

What a great journey! I felt i was transported into another era through the eyes of your photos. India has always escaped my radar and your TR has certainly drummed my interest fkr a visit!

May i ask how is the security situation over there,i believe in some states there are mounting tension between followers of different religions and their place of worships are regular targets for retaliation. What are our risk for visiting?

Once again,Thank You for the great effort in producing this enjoyable TR and bless you with a great 2016 ahead!

[SQueeze]

May i ask how is the security situation over there,i believe in some states there are mounting tension between followers of different religions and their place of worships are regular targets for retaliation. What are our risk for visiting?

Once again,Thank You for the great effort in producing this enjoyable TR and bless you with a great 2016 ahead!

Thanks tonitan, welcome here

India has its sectarian problems at times but those are really really rare.
Most people live peacefully side by side, more peaceful than anywhere else on the planet. My office has hindus, muslims,and christians and i believe they see each other as none other than Indians - irrespective of religions.

Kashmir may be more tricky with its proximity to Pakistan and there can be infiltration issues but army and police presence is huge and they have not been in the news for a very long while. Tourists are trickling back and boy, it has some of the friendliest people on the planet. I got invited home a few times. Such an amazing and life-changing place.

Security at airports is typically very high and there has hardly been any incident throughout history except for 1 hijack. Usually, we get checked at least 5-6 x on the way to the plane.

Security is not an issue here. It's more of the comfort level because it can be shocking. Yes, it can be shocking - the overcrowding, poverty, disorganization, and not to mention the risk of diarrhea if you land up at the wrong place.

But that's one side of India. The other side is also cosmopolitan, worldly, upward middle class, and wealthy. This side is not in the pictures above.

[yflyer]

Amazing trip, SQueeze!

The train journey must have been quite an experience! I hope those folks hanging on to the outside of the trains did not have far to travel!

Udaipur looks incredible too! Beautiful photos!