Our team is in Chennai right now. We thought the train wasn't going to get in until about 10:30pm tonight, but it got in at about 5-something pm instead. I don't think it got in early... that's not the sort of thing trains do. Then again, this is India. Kristin is pretty sure that she just got confused about when the train was supposed to get in. Still, it was a very nice surprise to get in about five hours early.
The train ride was actually really nice. I was uncomfortable for the first little bit of it, but I think it was the unfamiliarity more than anything. We were riding in sleeper class. That doesn't mean individual rooms, just that the space can be converted back and forth from seats to stacks of three lofted beds. The beds were small, and fairly hard, and the train was kind of noisy, but I was still able to sleep pretty well. I guess it really wasn't much different than the level of noise or the stiffness of my bed in Kolkata. It was great getting to see parts of India that aren't gross like Kolkata. The train went through a lot of village and farming areas, as well as just middle of nowhere type areas. The clean air was such an amazing treat after 6 weeks of Kolkata.
One thing I wasn't expecting was beggars. There are a lot of beggars that just come on the train and walk down the isles asking for money. There are also kids that come down the isles sweeping the floor, and then ask for money. Since they know they have a fairly captive audience, they would often just stop and pester you for five minutes or until someone from your area gave them something. It wasn't just a few of them either. Particularly early on in the train ride it seemed like they were coming in almost a constant flow. One would leave and within a minute or two there would be another one. This morning, the same boy came by sweeping the same section of floor three times within about an hour. Every time he would stop and ask for money.
There were several options for food on the train. First, there were a bunch of vendors that would walk by with various foods and drinks. It seemed like there was always one coming by... except of course when you actually wanted something. Then they were nowhere to be found. The other option was that whenever we stopped at a station, you could get off and buy food from vendors at that station. Once Todd and I didn't realize the train was about to leave and had to run and jump on before it had gotten up to speed. They generally go pretty slow until they're out of the stations, so it wasn't that much of a problem.
1 comment:
Sleeper cars are fun! And trains in general are fun! Make sure whenever possible, you go to the doors between the cars and hang outside. The wind whipping through your hair and the beauty of the Indian countryside is just awesome to take in. I used to do that for hours.
Train food is fun! Scary, but fun. :)
Train kids are fun! Some definitely just ask for money and keep on moving. But try to get conversations started if you can. A camera is a great starter - we would have a lot of fun with it, even though I don't speak a lick of any language that meant anything to them. Video capability is especially cool to play around with.
Jumping on trains is fun! We made quite a habit of it for a while. It was best once when I had to go at a dead sprint to catch up to a non-females-only car; the guys in the car made room for me at the entrance and were gesturing with their hands and encouraging me as I tried to catch up. When I finally made it, they caught me and pulled me in with them.
Ahh...you bring back memories of good times. :D
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