Journey
By Plane
With opening of the aviation sector to private operators
many big names have joined the Govt. carriers- IA and
AI in catering to the domestic commuters.
With companies
like Sahara India, Jet Airways and many other companies
offering their services more and more places got connected
on the airservices map of India.
The bad conditions
of airport and the outdated equipments at these places
have added to the misery of the commuters. The Aviation
Ministry is trying hard to provide better facilities
but the the number of airports has reduced the pace
of improvement. Plus many accidents has gripped the
air travellers who now are looking for alternate means
of transport.
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Journey
By Train
The railways provides some of the better means of transport
in India. Railway tracks cris-cross the country and
connect almost all the major tourist destinations in
India. There are tourist places which have a direct
railhead which connects them with other places of transition.
But there are many tourist places which are waiting
for the railways to lay down the tracks. Nevertheless,
the number of commuters being handled by railways is
tremendous.
About the
trains, there are many categories in which the trains
have been divided and accordingly the fare and time
taken to cover a distance varies. There are Rajdhani
trains from Delhi which connects the other state capitals
with the national capital of India. These trains have
three classes first class, second class and three tier
sleepers. The fare differs accordingly. In the Rajdhani
trains catering is free according to your taste also
they provide you beddings if you need one.
Then there
are Shatabdi trains which run for not very long distances
and are the fastest trains in India. These trains only
have chair cars and catering is free. Often these trains
have special events on board like fashion show on the
train and music by a DJ. Both the Rajdhani and Shatabdi
trains are fully air conditioned.
Apart from
the Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains are the superfast trains
which connect the various places and have limited stops.
These trains have AC classes and Sleeper class. The
fare of these trains varies from the ordinary trains.
Then there are mail trains which were started primarily
to carry mails from one place to other. The passenger
and local trains carry local commuters travelling for
short distances.
Then railways
have special trains running in major tourist sectors
and often are designed to bring back the memories of
bygone eras. Like the Palace on wheels as the name indicates
has been designed to connect the tourist places in Agra,
Rajasthan. It starts from Delhi and covers Jaipur, Udaipur,
Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Agra and other historic
places. As the name indicates this train infuses royalty
in travelling with modern restaurant, bar and library
on board. The train has been decorated in Royal style
and gives a royal feeling. One has to pay in dollars
for this train and reservation is done at the Government
of Rajasthan tourist offices and Railway headquarters.
Also, there are some authorised travel agents who do
the reservation for this train. On the same lines chugs
the Royal Orient Express which covers the tourist destinations
in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
Apart from
these trains are the special trains like the Buddha
Parikrama train or the Fairy queen which run for particular
time period and cover some specific destinations.The
Buddha Parikrama covers the major places related to
Buddha. Fairy Queen is the oldest running locomotive
in the world and runs between Delhi and Sariska National
Park.
For the convenience
of commuters railways has opened computerised reservation
offices all over India and one can get reservation for
any train form these counters. But there is a major
rush for reservations and it is better to get tickets
well in advance.
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Car
Rental
There are plenty of tour and travel operators who provide
car rental services. These rent a car agents provide
variety of choice in various categories of cars at your
service. From the long running Ambassador cars to the
latest Mercedes all are availble for hire at these car
rental services.
The rents
for these car depends on many factors. Diesel &
patrol cars have different rates. Then the cars are
rented for a day or more and again the rates goes up
and down accordingly. Also there are differnet charges
for A.C and non-A.C cars, delux, luxury and ordinary
cars. Above all there are some agents which also charge
according to the KM used by the car. There are others
who charge extra for the driver and others include the
charge in the rent. Some even provide you with guide
cum driver to take you around the place.
Rental agents
have carvans which they rent out. It is better to know
details of the place where you want to visit in terms
of distance and type of transportation suitable for
that place. Like if want to go sightseeing in Delhi
then there are many tourist buses which offer you services
for 120/- to 150/- for A.C coaches but a car might cost
you ten times more. Similarly while going from Agra
to Rajasthan you may hire a car. They might be costly
but they are worth that much rent as you want to see
the place at your own time .
It is always
adviced to varify the rent being charged from you by
the agent. TIt is better to ask your reliable travel
agent to fix for the cars.
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