Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-07
A JOURNEY IN INDIA
Delights and Discomforts Of
Parts Of the Trip.
PROVISIONS NEEDED
MEAL STATIONS ARE SOMETIMES
VERY FAR APART.
Anticipating Dinner in Real Dining
Car and the Sad Expert
ences Of It.
PROVISIONS NEEDED

Written for The Evening Star
To those-all such as are meditating TAX
Ing the journey from Ajmere to Oudeypore
and back, would say. either do not go at
all, or pay for reserved carriage, which,
for two people with servant, will cost for
the return ticket about 5000, a third more
than the ordinary first-class ticket. By
doing this you will avoid changing trains
on the way down at in the morning, and
on the way back at -, when the sun is SO
hot as to make it almost dangerous. Our
carriage was reserved only for the journey
down, and consequently at IL o'clock noon
we had to have our countless packag es
bundled out on one platform, loaded on the
heads Of many coolies and carried across
to the opposite side Of the track, We our
selves making that journey in the blazing
sun, across a bridge which seemed to have
endless stairs on both sides. The station
was at white heat, and we pulled our pith
hats down over our necks as much as pos
sible and hurried to the compartment which
we found we could have to ourselves
nothing to eat except what we had brought
In our lunch basket, which was only
enough to make us long for more. The
stations for meals being few and far be-
tween, and very unsatisfactory when one
reaches them, it Is necessary to start from
Calcutta with well-stocked basket - in
fact, If such thing were possible, bar
rel of provisions would be great comfort.
Soda water can be had at any Of the sta
tions, and it is only necessary to take bot
ties enough to last from one station to
another, when your bearer will exchange
the empty bottles for full ones at four
cents each, but at no station nearer than
Delhi can one get any food. I would stock
my barrel Of provisions with the following
timed things for journey from Bombay to
Delhi: One dozen small tins Of meat, one
dozen tins Of cherries, peaches and plums;
one-half a dozen tins of marmalade and
damson jam; four boxes Of biscuit, one
glass bottle of lime tablets, one bottle Of
sweet pickles, two bottles Of white currants,
two tin boxes Of cakes, one cheese in tin,
four tins Of unsweetened condensed milk,
tea, sugar, ETC., a large box or basket Of
oranges, apples and lines.
One could subsist on these things, and
hardly does without them.
At Tea Time.
At o'clock we came into our tifin sta
ton. and Abdul, the bearer, popped his
head into the window saying, "Tiffin, Sir,
twenty minutes, please, sir; thank you,
sir" and then accompanied us into the sta
ton, where we were seated at long table
packed closely with chairs and set for
large number of people, although we were
the only ones. Then came the usual menu
of tough fowl, some kind Of meat, we knew
not what and caulifower and very good
potatoes, vermicelli pudding and apples, or
sour green oranges. How the people of
India dare to eat their fruit in SO unripe
state l cannot imagine, but / have never
yet seen an orange or a banana which was
not either absolutely green or in a state of
rottenness In room next us four Tommy
Atkins were seated on top of table drink
ing tea and smoking pipes, big healthy
looking men, just out from home evidently
We had had all day long one happy event
to look forward to which had made us
patient over the vacuous appearance Of our
lunch basket and also over the horrors of
tiifin, the event Of dinner in a dining car
at $780, Our ideas of dining cars were, CT
course, taken from the very elegantly ap-
pointed ones Of the Cleveland trains in
America, and great was our surprise and
amusement when we were ushered into
what looked like a rather nice horse box
whitewashed and with two rows of common