Day 126, Guwahati — [Sunday 6th April 2008]
Previous day: Day 125, Shillong [Saturday 5th April 2008]
Next day: Day 127, Patna, Bodhgaya [Monday 7th April 2008]
We get a shared Sumo ("No Jeep. Only Sumo.") to Guwahati station, 4 hour's drive away. From there we go to Nanda hotel for lunch before getting the train to Patna. The menu is hilarious, one of the most hilarious abberations of grammar I've ever read. In his quest to find words to describe the kitchen's delights, the author was either extremely over zealous in his use of a thesaurus, or he ran his menu through the most godawful online translator he could get his hands on. To whit:
"Vegetable Pick-Me-Up — an enthusiastic tug-o-war between seleced vegetables, dry fruits and mayonnaise, trumped with paneer."
"Apple Diplomat — crumbled paneer and khoya metamorphosized on an apple axis."
The meal, as happens on occasion, but usually in expensive and self-regarding places, is a farce. Every dish takes an age to appear, some dishes turn up, some dished turn up incorrectly, and cold, some dishes are taken away and never seen again, naans turn up roasting hot 20 minutes in advance of the meal. The staff shamelessly lie about the whereabouts of our food, or else are particularly stupid. Others are sniggering fools, or mute. It's truly irritating, and you cannot trust anyone as to the whereabouts of your food — in the kitchen? Being cooked? Being bought? Lost?
Our train leaves almost on time, only 5 minutes late at 4.50pm. Our roomie in our 2AC curtain-bound cubicle is a policeman transferring offices. He's going to Madya Pradesh, and is laden with Assamese souvenirs for his grandchildren.
Next day: Day 127, Patna, Bodhgaya [Monday 7th April 2008]
Previous day: Day 125, Shillong [Saturday 5th April 2008]