wizehop
Chasing the Darkness
So 30 mins after arriving in the desert town of Jaislemer, Rajasthan, India, I already had a nice chunk of hash and a bag of liquid opium in my hand. Now my drug days are mostly behind me but traveling has always been about the experience, so I had to run with it. Throw in the Government sanctioned "Bhang" shops (which are basically weed drinks and baked goods) and it was a really great time. I got fucked up out in the desert, slept under the stars on sand dunes and pretty much did everything I hadn't been able to do in India since I got here, minus the meat of course. Not to mention I wasn't pissing out of my ass anymore which was great, especially considering the washroom situation here......whole other story.
One night we where mixing the hash with opium and smoking it on the rooftop of our guest house. I ended up having a nice puke session over the side that night. Some lady came to the guest house the next day and complained that I puked all over her clean sheets. I didn't see anything there but what can I do. I told the owner it was his shity pizza that made me sick and that was the end of that. I mean what am I supposed to say, "I was up on your roof smoking too much hash and opium and I puked all over the fucking place...naaa!
But after a week it was all starting to get to us so it was time to move on. Of course there was one thing left to do before I left the desert, and that was to ride a freight though the vast openness that was the Rajasthan desert. Now there are a few things about riding freight trains in India that I should point out. If your not into hopping freight you can skip to part B as you may not find any of this interesting.
If your not into hopping trains skip to THE STORY, For the rest heres a train hoppers break down of how it came to be.
THE SET UP
Okay so In India:
1) there are fucking people everywhere. No matter what time of day places are busy, so forget about sneaking in and out of places unnoticed, practically impossible. You would have an easier time going through time square naked unnoticed, than trying to blend in here. even with a million people around people notice and remember shit about you. They would be like oh ya we saw you three days ago, you went and sat on that bench, then walked to the other end for a while....WTF!
2) People here are fucking nosy and curious about foreigners. I could never go more than 30 seconds in one spot before some kids would come over, stand in front of me and just fucking stare. I'd go trackside to watch a yard to figure shit out and within minutes people would be there asking questions. Or if I was walking to go check out a a yard people would drive by, stop and be like "where you going?", and I'd be like "for a walk", and they would say "there is nothing down there" and I would tell them I didn't give a shit, but they would literally follow me to see what the FOREIGNER was doing.
3) Most crew changes ext are done at public train stations so there are always a million people around, including cops with big sticks. As I stated above people are curious and nosy so if you go anywhere off the beaten path they will come and ask you what your doing.
4) Most train work in India is done manually as they don't have computer set ups. So there are no FREDs, its a manned caboose, they don't scan cars to track them, they have guys with pens and paper who go out and write them all down. So every time a train pulls in its like ants on a fucking log. Add in that trains here are a quarter the size of North America and you have quite the challenge.
There are more but these are the basics and as a train hopper they all fucking suck.
One thing we originally thought was an asset ended up being a major pain in the ass. Bandita speaks fluid Hindi so when we would go scope a yard she could talk to all the workers and since no one hops trains in India we got amazing info right off the bat. The problem was that when we actually got to trying to catch out everyone would come hang out with us and talk. Again not cool and because of it my first catchout I had planned ended up going into the toilet.
If I have learned one thing its dont chill in yards here if you plan on catching out. Study them from affar and only go there when your actually making your move, rule #1 as far as Im concerned at this point.
So fast forward to Jaiselmer and I have my next trip planned. I checked out the yard from atop the fort walls from afar at first. Luckily Jaiselmer was a small city and half the yard was in a quiet residential neighborhood on the edge of town. The other half of course was the train station...nothing new there.
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India - Google Maps
The trains were lime stone trains and the yard was set up really basic with no fences or security for that matter. Basically trucks bring in crushed limestone from a nearby quarry and dump piles of rock along two different tracks. A train arrives with all empty deep well cars and parks them on either of these two tracks. Backhoes then come scoop up the rock and dump it in the cars.
But this is where its kind of fucked because they then have guys who manually level out the load stone by stone. They will come on with a metal bowl and a shovel and literally go through it rock by rock leveling it out, and throwing out any access ricks.
I took the next day to head down to the yard and check things out a little closer.
For the most part it looked really easy, other than the usual fact that when ever a train would pull in there where 40 guys working on it including the non stop trucks delivering stone. It was a lot of people but I was confident that there would be a gap when we could make our move. Since the yard was small it wasn't far from the side lines to the train so it was minimal exposure as far as I was concerned.
Of course I didn't heed what I had just learned a week before and we met some kids hanging in an abandoned caboose. They talked to us first but I still ended up saying we'd come back the next day with beer and drink with them in the caboose. I figured it would give me a chance to scope the yard.
So the next day we came back with beer and smokes and chilled in the caboose with these kids. I couldn't speak the language so I just filmed and photographed the freights and studied the patterns.
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I had done research on an Indian Railway forum called [IRFCA] Welcome to IRFCA.org, the home of IRFCA on the internet., and was told two trains per day leave the yard, one at 7:30am and one at 9pm. I was hoping to film as much of the trip as I could for a doc I'm working on so the 7:30am train would be the best option. Unfortunately talking to the locals I heard that trains come and go all the time, so now I wasn't too sure.
We found a worker and asked about the schedule but buddy wanted a bride in order to talk to us. He was already hustling off access coal to the locals and he was clearly a sleaze but I figured what the hell. He basically told us shit and only told us one was coming in 30 mins, we paid him less than a dollar for his advice and we were off.
Of course we got fucked up that night and when I set my alarm for 4:30am I didn't even think about the time difference. I never used my phone as a watch here, fuck it didn't even work as a phone. I just used it for the music. So long story short we woke up a 7:30am instead of the 4:30am "under the cover of darkness" time I had planned.
So we packed up and left our hotel in hopes that we could still pull something off. We got down to the yard and they were loading a train so we still had a shot. But not even 2 mins after lighting a smoke, the kids from the day before show up...fuuuuck!. "Don't you guys have school?", "no not until 10am" I was already not happy about missing my mark and it was early to boot, I was in no mood to chill with these kids when I was planning an attack.
"Tell them to fuck off!" I told bandita, of course shes much more diplomatic and told them we had to go by train tickets. Of course the kids are like the" train doesn't leave until 4pm to Johdpur." So we just left them with a confused stare. We felt a bit bad because they had no clue but I had a fucking freight to catch.
We decided to try the passenger side of the yard and see how it was there. Of course the train was teaming with workers who were all staring at us like we where zoo creatures. The last straw was one of the other kids showed up and I was like FUCK we aren't catching out of here today. With that we caught a bus to Johdpur and I felt like shit the hole way. Passing through the desert on a shity over crowded dilapidated but was in no way what I cam here for but here I was.
After spending 4 days here in Johdpur I just couldn't get it out of my head that I threw that run away so I packed a small bag and me and Bandita took the 5 hour bus ride back to Jaiselmer to catch that fucking train. We arrived at 9pm, had a bite to eat in the old fort and made our way to the yard.
THE STORY
It was a Friday and the kids would be up later than usual so we took the long way around the yard and entered from the outside of the city on the other side of the tracks. It was pitch black but using Bandita's cell phone we could see enough to get in avoiding all the man dug sewage culverts. Just as we got close to the tracks we saw a train leaving the yard. At first my heart sank as I knew Bandita wasn't cool with catching on the fly, not to mention the ladders on these cars are next to the couplers on the inside which is pretty much suicide to try and jump on a moving train like that.
Luckily it turned out to be a passenger train and as the last car passed I could see a whole string of deep wells sitting in the darkness. They had lights in this yard but most of them were so far away from the tracks the train wasn't even light up. We climbed over the first set of rocks and made our way over the first set of empty tracks. There was no one around and it was pretty dark so I was feeling pretty confident. All I needed now was to look into the wells and see them full.
Just as we were crossing over towards the train headlights popped up. At first I couldn't tell where they were headed but it soon turned out they were headed right towards us. Of course by now we where in the yard and the two choices available to us where to either run back over the piles of rock and out of the yard, or hide behind a small bush.
Running over the rock piles would expose us and risk blowing our cover so I decided we would use the bush. It was small so as the truck drove by we drawled around it to stay out of site. Again the truck stopped not to far from us, a door slammed shut and then it started to raise its back to dump a load of rocks. Fewwww!
After a minute or two it drove of leaving us alone with the train. We quickly ran over before the next truck came by. I climbed up the ladder and checking to see if anyone was around I looked in. They were all full, fucking A! they weren't all smooth though so I wasn't sure what the point was to all those guys leveling shit if this is the job they did, but this was India and shit just is weird like that sometimes.
We both climbed in and laid down as flat as we could. The rocks came almost all the way to the top leaving a foot or two. When we arrived in India we weighed a lot more and honestly if we didn't lose so much weight by eating fucking vegetables everyday you would have seen two round humps sticking over the side.
Not 15 mins later and the loco blew its horn, wholly shit as if it was this easy. Within second we where pulling out. The air cylinders are under the car in the middle so for the most part you don't here the train airing up like you do back home. We started rolling out of town but not too far out we stopped. We were about a car and a half from an office building with a big light and Bandita heard them tal on the radio about something to do with 5 cars, or car 5. We were about 5-7 cars back from the loco so I was a little worried but still confident we where golden.
The train then backed up into the yard on to the other track. I wasn't too worried as this is something that happens all the time with catching out of yard. The train was probably picking up a few more cars or the caboose then we would be on our way. It repeated the same pull out back in pattern a few times getting longer each time, all was good.
Then all of a sudden it started backing in real fast and we went all the way back in the yard. "what the fuck is going on?". Once in the yard it stopped for a good 10 minutes both of us hugging the sides trying to lay as flat as possible. Trucks started coming and literally dumping stones right next to our car. These big dump trucks windshield where literally and inch or two too short to actually see in the well but each time I though this would be the one to spot us.
"What if these cars aren't full and their going to dump more rocks in?", or "what if their also dumping these rocks from the train here for some reason and there going to open up the bottoms?". My mind raced but I was confident that I did my research and knew that none of that didn't make sense.
It was quiet for a bit and we were both looking at each other lying there across the rocks mouthing "what the fuck". Not much was going on then we heard voices. I thought maybe they were just guys walking through the yard at night drunk. By now it was around 12:30am and I couldn't see why workers would be around a train that was already full and ready to go.
Well not five Minutes later - TINNGGGG, one of them threw in something metal. I first though they just threw in their empty beer can and thought how typical for that to happen. You always have to have a scare or two before you catch out so when you leave you can be like "fuck that was close".
But then a shovel hooked on to the side of the car where bandita was and I knew we were fucked. Not a minute later I see a head pop up over the ladder, all wrapped in a cloth like you see Muslims wear. He just stared at us for a minute and I was like "Uh Bandita you need to talk to this guy". She didn't move hoping somehow if she didn't move he wouldn't notice us, but again I was like "he sees us we need to talk to him".
She finally acknowledged him and sat up. Well luck would have it that it was the same loser worker we payed days earlier for the shit info. He wasn't shocked that we were lying there, but he was happy. By now a few more workers climbed onto the car and it was getting a bit weired to be honest. Since no one rides freights here in India they really where like what the fuck is going on here, why aren't you sleeping at a hotel? They all just stared at us, but buddy was saying to Bandita, "its okay lay down relax, its okay".
"So does this mean we can stay on? will he let us ride this car?" I asked. She was having a hard time with his accent but basically he was saying he would tell us ride if he was our friend. Again I pulled out some cash, this time about $2.30 worth. He then proceeded to tell us to go hide by those other cars on the edge of the yard. Sleep for a few hours and when the train is actually ready to leave he would come get us.
So thats what we did, we got off the train and let them level out the car. We went and waited in the dark by an empty well car and had a smoke. It was really odd, paying brides to ride a freight and all. Definitely not the norm or anything Ive ever done before, but fuck it we're here for adventure and this was all as weird as shit so lets do it.
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About 15 mins go by and we hear the horn go on the locomotive. " It can't be leaving he said two hours?". I looked around the car and saw some workers further down so I though nothing of it, then the horn again. I kept watching the workers and now they were getting off in a hurry. " Maybe that guy was fucking with us!" At that moment before anymore trucks came to drop the next load we made the decision to run for the train.
Quickly we ran over climbed up and jumped back in, rocks still not level, hearts beating. One more whistle blew and the cars picket up slack. Could this really be it? well it was and we were off to the races. We waved goodbye to Jaiselmere and said good riddance to what ever buddy had planned, we finally made it out.
The desert at night under moonlight was amazing, not to mention the stars, unfortunately it was too dark to get any footage or photos. Its unfortunate that we don't have the technology to capture some of the things we see at night. I would have loved to share it with everyone. I guess I would just have to wait until morning.
We squeezed in the front end of the well car and tried to get warm out of the wind in order to sleep. The desert gets fucking cold at night and for some reason I didn't come to jaiselmer thinking any of this. I had a cheap spring jacket and a hat, but Bandita had even less. I knew we would live but it wasn't the best of sleeps..
I awoke with the sun about to come up. I filmed a bit and took some photos but I was more interested in trying to sleep by this point. The horizon was pink and fog enveloped the desert only making it more amazing. I managed to see an actual gypsy tribe by the tracks but couldn't get a camera out to record it in time.
Okay so we woke up to the sun blaring down on the desert. We saw allot of amazing things and it was a great ride but here it where it got odd again.
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We had been riding for about 5 hours when we passed through a small city. By now I wasn't too worried about people seeing us, most of them were pour farmers and couldn't do anything about us even if they wanted. we passes allot of people who waved and where happy to see us. But passing through the station I saw a guy up on an overhead car walk.
I filmed him as we passed under and I herd him yell, the kind of yell that said "hey your not supposed to be on that fucking train". Long story short a while down the line our train stops at this small town train station. Of course we are right by the loco so we're right in the action.
We debated getting off but waited, although I didn't have to wait to long. Shortly after stopping I heard footprints then someone coming up the ladder. Seconds later I was greeted by the same look we got just the night before by buddy. No ne really wears uniforms so your never sure if your dealing with am employee or just some guy. I said hi, he said hi back, then I said to Bandita.."uh you need to talk to him
"We gave him some bullshit story that we missed our train and that one of the workers in Jaislemer told us we could ride in these cars for a bit of money. The funny thing is they bought it and actually felt bad for us thinking this guy made a fool of us. They told us we cant ride in the cars but they would take us up to the locomotive to ride with them. WTF, this just keeps getting weirder.
So we get off the train and of course the talk of the town is how we got screwed over by some shady worker back in Jaiselmere. In North America that shit would never fly but here they didn't even think twice about it. Unfortunately our joy was short lived because one of the guys came and told them Women aren't allowed in the locos. Females do not have it good in India, of all the places I have been this is one of the worst, but this, this was taking it too far.
Getting in that loco would have been the icing on one fucked up cake. Instead we took a passenger train the last little stretch, but not before they railways brought us tea and cookies???
This was the first time I have ever been pulled of a train and the whole thing was just so fucking strange I cant even begin to describe it properly. We had our tea and waited for the "right" train too arrive. By the time it came we where both beat from not getting much sleep the night before, so once we got on I climbed up into the luggage wracks and passed out.
