Trains & Permits
A highway number in India tells you who maintains the road, not how good it is
National and state designations describe administrative responsibility rather than quality, and the things…
· 3 min read
Trains & Permits
Booking, classes, inner-line permits and the paperwork nobody mentions.
20 articles · page 2 of 2
Trains & Permits
Crossing a big Indian city is a choice between four different systems
Metro rail, suburban trains, auto-rickshaws and app cabs each solve a different part of the urban journey…
· 3 min read
Trains & Permits
India runs on identity documents and the checks come at predictable moments
Hotels, trains, SIM cards and domestic flights all require identification, and knowing which document is…
· 3 min read
Trains & Permits
A night on a bus and a night on a train are not the same night
Both move you while you sleep, but the motion, the berth and the way each one handles a stop produce very…
· 4 min read
Trains & Permits
Photography in India is decided site by site, and the sign at the gate is the rule
There is no single national permission covering cameras, so what is allowed depends on who manages the…
· 4 min read
Trains & Permits
An itinerary for elderly parents is built around fewer bases, not fewer sights
Most of the difficulty in travelling with older relatives in India comes from the moving rather than the…
· 3 min read
Trains & Permits
A state border changes the road, the rules and sometimes the vehicle
Crossing from one Indian state into another is administratively invisible for a private traveller and…
· 3 min read
Trains & Permits
Below the booking-app line, an Indian town books over the phone
Most rooms in most small towns are not listed anywhere online, which means the way to find and judge them…
· 3 min read