Road to acceptance - Discovering the traveller within the rider

[raaghave]

Day-1
Date: 25th October 2025

It’s really hard to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Every time you make a decision, the first option that comes to mind is always the easiest one.

This morning, I woke up at 3:30 AM. The first thing I did was check Uber Moto for Secunderabad Railway Station — it was showing ₹150. My first thought was, “Let’s sleep for another half an hour and then take Uber.” But then I realized, if I keep doing this, I’ll never achieve the goal of this trip — to come out of my comfort zone. So, I pushed myself, got ready, and went to the bus stop instead.

I had to wait for about half an hour, but finally, a nice electric bus arrived. Luckily, I got a seat right from my stop, and it was comfortable too. The ride took around 45 minutes, and I reached Secunderabad station by 5:30 AM. The station was under construction, and the washroom conditions were quite poor, so I decided to just wait for the train instead.

The train (Telangana Express) arrived around 6:30 AM. I boarded and was actually surprised — the sleeper coach was clean, with new seats and a decent washroom. After settling in, I had breakfast and tried out my new neck pillow with blindfolds. Honestly, I didn’t expect them to be this useful! Especially during day travel — the blindfold really helps you sleep peacefully.

I spent a couple of hours scrolling through my phone, then took a nap. Around 2 PM, I started feeling hungry. The train food didn’t look great, so I decided to order from Swiggy instead. Since Nagpur was coming up around 3:30 PM, I ordered a Haldiram’s thali. When it arrived, I was asleep, so the delivery guy had to wake me up. The food was a bit cold but tasty, so no complaints.

I always thought sleeper coaches are chaotic — full of people without tickets. But surprisingly, this one was quite peaceful. Even the general coach next to ours wasn’t crowded, though I know the scene will be different once I move further north.

One thing I really don’t understand is when people will stop watching videos loudly on their phones in public places. It’s such a common scene — kids crying, people talking loudly for no reason, and someone playing reels on full volume as if the whole coach wants to watch it. India will take a lot of time to come out of this chaos.

Another random observation from today — upper berths in sleeper coaches are actually better than those in 3-tier AC coaches. There’s more headspace here, so you can sit properly without feeling cramped. No AC ducts hanging right over your head.

With my blindfold on and AirPods in, the only real bother was the occasional smell from the toilets. Otherwise, the journey was quite smooth.

I’ve decided to start writing my daily travel experiences from today. This trip is all about exploring and learning — but with minimal expenses. Today’s journey: Hyderabad to Delhi in the Telangana Express, sleeper coach.

[raaghave]

@sajeesh I planning to write daily blogs from my recent solo backpacking trip before the bulletiapa. Let me know if this can be moved to blogs section, also I want to know if I will be able to continue write in the same blog section daily or I need to write in general discussion section daily before you move it to blog section?

[sajeesh]

@raaghave moved topic to blog section. You can continue adding your journal as a reply to this topic

[raaghave]

@sajeesh thanks bhai

[raaghave]

Day-2
Date: 26th October 2025

So I woke up around 6 AM today. I went to the washroom, freshened up, changed my clothes, and packed everything. By the time I was ready, the train was just about to arrive at New Delhi Railway Station.

After getting down, my first stop was the metro station. I had to drop my main luggage in the cloakroom so that I could move around freely. Once that was done, I stepped out of the metro station to buy a belt — I completely forgot to bring one from home.

Next stop — breakfast. I found a small stall outside New Delhi station and grabbed an omelette. Simple, but tasty and filling. While I was finishing up, Ankit (friend from college) arrived. Together, we decided to head to Chawri Bazaar in Old Delhi to try a famous Chole Kulche shop we had heard about.

When we reached, the place was absolutely packed. We waited for almost half an hour before finally getting our plates. The Chole Kulche were worth the wait — flavorful and perfectly balanced. But I was surprised to know that the “chole” weren’t actually chickpeas — they used white peas instead! Still, the taste was really good, and the experience felt authentically Delhi.
After having Chole Kulche, we started walking towards the metro station to meet ash Bhai. While walking, me and Ankit were just talking non-stop — catching up on everything that’s been happening in our lives, our plans, and all the random things we hadn’t spoken about in a while. It felt nice to have a long, open chat while just walking through the busy lanes of Old Delhi.

Once we reached the metro station, we called Ash Bhai and told him we were starting from there so he could also leave from his place for the spot he had suggested. We reached the location first, and soon he arrived. After meeting, we decided to go to his house inside Pusa Institutional Area.

That place honestly didn’t feel like Delhi at all. It’s a Indian agricultural research campus — full of greenery, clean surroundings, and surprisingly cooler than the rest of the city. His quarter had a huge lawn outside, and as we stood there, I finally understood why our parents always told us to go for a government job — the perks like these!

We spent some time exploring the colony. Ash Bhai showed us small farms, ponds, and quiet corners inside the campus. We stopped at one beautiful spot — calm, green, and peaceful — and just sat there for a while, talking and relaxing. I never imagined we could find such a serene place right in the middle of New Delhi.

After some time, we decided to head out to an old-school bar in the city. The three of us sat there for a couple of hours, had a few beers, and shared stories, laughs, and thoughts — the kind of slow afternoon that feels effortless and real. Eventually, Ash Bhai had to leave for some work, so me and Ankit headed towards Connaught Place to try Kake Da Hotel, a place Ash Bhai had recommended.

We waited for almost half an hour to get a table. But unfortunately, the food turned out to be disappointing — not at all what we expected. To make up for it, we went to Giani’s, probably the original outlet that’s been there since 1956. We had ice cream there, and that instantly lifted our mood.

From there, we walked back to New Delhi metro station to collect our luggage from the cloakroom. After getting our bags, we took the metro to reach the meeting point of the IBR Delhi chapter — a small place called IBR Dhaba. We spent about an hour there, meeting the Delhi riders, chatting, and sharing travel stories.

Later, a few IBR guys who were heading to Gurgaon offered us a lift, so we went along with them. From Gurgaon, we took an auto to reach Ankit’s place.

Once we reached, I took a shower, washed my clothes, and felt fresh again. Then we sat down for a couple of drinks, and that turned into one of those deep, late-night conversations — about our personal lives, mental health, relationships with our parents and loved ones, and even our friends. It was emotional, raw, and honest.

By the end of it, I felt light — like I had released a lot of things I’d been holding inside. Now I’m sitting here, writing this before sleeping. It’s been a long, fulfilling day. Tomorrow is a new day — and a big one.

That’s it for today.