After travelling through 6 continents, on a range of budgets, in a range of styles, there’s nothing more thrilling, culturally immersive, and enjoyable, than a shave at a local barber.
I had a shave in Ledo today, the Easternmost railway stop in India. A couple of the other guys had shaves in Udhampur too. From having my shave, to hanging out the door of a local train to, today was one of those days I really enjoyed. So rather than spoil the fun by retelling it in detail, I’ve put together some of our favourite photos from the Great Circular Indian Railway Challenge.
Steve’s shave in Udhampur
This barber wanted to give us shaves for free, we are not sure why, but paid him 100 Rs
Warrior at India-Pakistan Border Crossing
He stood almost 7ft Tall and marched the goose-step with ferociousness
Lauren at Golden Temple
Lauren at the Golden Temple in Amritsar - feed for free with hundreds of other pilgrims - Photo by Fogg Odyssey
The GCIRC Team
The GCIRC Team huddled into a single cabin on the way to Dibrugarh
Lauren at the Window
I took this from outside the train door looking in, a perfect day for a non-AC carriage
Sharing Photos
Troy sharing a photo with a local cycle driver - the big DSLR really helps to make local connections
Locomotive at Jamnagar Junction
We took a bus from here to Amritsar to see the Golden Temple and border crossing
Smile! You’re on GCIRC Camera
Everyone, so far, has loved being in our photos, especially if we show them the results afterwards
GCIRC Day 8
Steve and I hopped off the Rajdhani earlier than the others at New Tinsukia station. Why? Because we would have to backtrack to get the train to Ledo anyway. The others want to stay on to get more sleep. So rather than hopping off at 3am, they could sleep until 5am.
- Train: Dibrugarh-Ledo Passenger
- Depart: Dibrugarh @ 07:05 on 25-Feb-11
- Destination: Ledo @ 10:45 on 25-Feb-11 (estimated)
- Distance: 102 km, over 3.5 hours
We then hopped aboard the local train to Ledo, which the rest of the team were already on, and we all headed to India’s Easternmost railway station, the 3rd objective of the GCIRC. I spent most of the local ride sitting by the open door with the warm wind blowing by. Steve and I spilt again to spend time in Ledo, while the others headed to Tipong to see the steam engine. We all met again at an eco lodge in Margarita for a couple of beers and some food, before heading off to Tinsukia station by taxi.
- Train: Rajdhani Express
- Depart: Tinsukia @ 19:55 on 25-Feb-11
- Destination: New Jalpaiguri @ 11:55 on 26-Feb-11 (estimated)
- Distance: 925 km, over 16 hours
This is such a cool adventure! Apparently I’ve been in the dark because I’m just seeing this now. Where does it wrap up? What’s next after that?