Some thoughts on travel
Clicked in August 2005 / En route Guntur
This is not about train journeys but a snippet from my Kanoor Kote (fort) hike. If you are interested in reading about train journeys, go here for a fantastic piece written by Zeeshan.
Two of us, myself and Vivek were on a hike to Kanoor fort. On the evening of day one we were on the lookout for a place to camp for the night… and we encountered an interesting gentleman outside the shalemane (school) where we were told by some locals we could pitch our tent. By the time we had reached the place the head master of the school had left for his home and this not so pleasant dude was the only person there (he had a shop in front of the school).
This gentleman inquired as to who we were and where we were coming from… and what followed was his method of verifying whether we were trustworthy people. Once we told him we hailed from Bangalore and we were doctors, he asked us with jubilantly (though shaded with suspect) whether we knew some XYZ doctor who was a relative of his and was living in Bangalore. I laughed and told him that Bangalore was too big a place with a considerable population… and knowing this doc was far off and that I didn’t even know all the names of my own neighbors 
And that instant ended the conversation/inquiry, and this young chap made the conclusion that we weren’t from Bangalore and that we were lying… after all, we did not know his relative who had been staying there for an entire year. He also informed us that we could not camp there, and we thought it unwise to risk camping in the school campus against his wishes.
And so started our journey yet again and this time through every house in the village. We went from house to house in the rain looking for anyone who would allow us to camp nearby. But alas, that was not to happen and we had almost traversed the entire village. Well! As to how we finally chanced on a place, etc… go here.
