Monday 9th - Mandovi Express

One of D's targets for this trip is a daylight run on the Konkan Railway between Goa and Mumbai. We did the trip two years ago but nearly all of it was in darkness so we didn't see much. The plan almost didn't come off because our first choice (Sunday) booked out in no time and by the time we had decided to reschedule for Monday there was only 1AC left. D would cheerfully have gone Sleeper but suspects that R is secretly pleased with this development. We say goodbye to the Aussies  at breakfast. They are going to Mumbai today but by plane.

We gather our belongings and take a mini-van taxi out via Old Goa to Karmali Station.  This saves us both money and time but the downside is that Karmali is a pretty small wayside station.  Our train is twenty four coaches long and we are in coach 4. The shaded seating is all around coach position 16. We wait as long as we dare before setting off up the platform in the full glare of the sun. A southbound train pulls in at the opposite platform and a bunch of giggling girls start taking photos of us. D reciprocates and provokes shrieks of laughter which are reprised as their train pulls out and they wave goodbye.

 As usual the train is late, by about 25 minutes this time. We don't quite get cooked but we are glad of the AC in our coach. The coach attendant checks our names as we board and carefully points out the bedding and the soap and hand towels. A man in search of a tip perchance?

Our 2 berth coupe is fine although window visibility is only adequate at best. Not a problem as there is no competition for riding the open doors. R visits the loo and pronounces it one of the cleanest she has seen on Indian Railways. This is faint praise indeed. D is pondering how the allocation system has worked this time. 1AC on this train has 2 four berth cabins and one 2-berth coupe. In our previous travels we have more often been allocated a coupe than not. D's theory has been that we have been given it because we have been the oldest travellers. Today this does not hold good as one cabin contains an Indian couple who are a combined 10 years older than us and the other has a couple who are a combined 34 years older than we are. There is no guesswork in this as each passenger's age is published on the Reservation Charts displayed by the coach door.

As we ride northwards the scenery changes. There are fewer palm trees and more open land.  We cross some big rivers and an awful lot of dry or nearly dry river beds. The route taken by this line cuts across the grain of the country with many viaducts and tunnels. Mercifully no screamers on this train. To save money the line was built with single track and passing loops as recently as about twenty years ago. It operates virtually at capacity and there is talk about doubling it - a very expensive project if it comes off.



At nearly every loop we pass a southbound train, mainly passenger trains but we do see a couple of trains of flat cars full of lorries with their drivers. No AC, no toilets, no catering but maybe better than driving for hundreds of miles on India's disintegrating roads.

One of the attractions of the Mandovi  Express is its reputation for having the best onboard catering of any Indian train. We worry a little that we are not getting all of the good vendors at our end of the train but just as the sun is going down and we are getting hungry we get the pakora man (OK), the samosa chap (better) and a man who wants to take our dinner order. We go for Manchurian vegetables with fried rice, just the one portion. When it comes it is surprisingly good and well big enough for the two of us. 

One surprise is the airline trolley gift sales service that appears part way through the trip. It has all of those things you can live without and nothing useful like Duty-free booze. The trolley dollies aren't exactly easy on the eye either.

The last 3 hours of the trip are in darkness but we make decent progress and get into Mumbai's Victoria Terminal at 9.45, only five minute late. A brisk walk takes us to the Fort Residency Hotel where, once again, we are greeted with the news that we have a free upgrade to a club class room. This time it is only for one night and when we see the room we fear for the rest of the week. The houseboy is sent out for beers and returns in double quick time. Good sign. There must be an Off-Licence nearby.