Never Again...

...will I ever ride on an overnight train in my life!!! I cannot take it. It is just the worst thing ever. As you all already know how my first experience of this in Africa was, here is the India version.

After a most pleasant time in Goa we had to get it together for our 17 hour overnight train ride to Kerala. First off, our train was scheduled to leave at 7:15pm, and we got to the train station about a half hour before {as suggested} to get settled. Of course the train was well over an hour and a 1/2 late. This left us standing outside waiting with our what seems to get heavier and heavier luggage, as the sun set and bugs come out in force. Oh, and also, the spot where we had to stand to get on the proper car had the 2 nearest lamp posts out. So here we were in semi darkness, getting eaten alive, to the point that my magic bug cream was not working so that I had to put on a hoodie just to cover my delicate skin. This made me even more miserable, as now I was way too hot, and had too much time to contemplate the impending doom of the train ride to come. I did get some good stretches in during that time though, and that is the only positive thing about the clock ticking away on us.

When our train finally showed up we climbed on and into the tiny hallway to find our bunk. This train trip we could not get a bunk for 2 just to ourselves like we had in Africa, but rather we had a shared cabin that held 4 beds in total. Two bunks facing each other in a tiny compartment with a curtain only to close against the hallway..not even personnel curtains on each bunk as I had wished. As we wobbled down the too thin hall I saw our room # and slid back the curtain. To my horrified surprise there was a family of five camped out in there on all 4 beds. By family of five I mean four adults and one teenager. They immediately scrambled up and a moved themselves and all their stuff to one side of the cabin. I was in a nightmare. How would I ever sleep with 5 people crammed on the opteher side of this minuscule room??!??!!

Lover saw my immediate and growing distress, and went to try and ask if there was any other free space so that we did not have to cram. As he did this I just sat there with all our stuff as the family less that 2 feet across from me all just stared at me. We were out of luck, and had to stay put. The good news is, one person out of the 5 spoke English, and we ended up having quite nice conversation and learned that they were getting off the train in about an hour. They had ridden from Delhi {a 40 hour train ride!!}.

After they got off the train we had the room to ourselves...at least for a little while. Jonathan and I both settled into our separate bunks and were going to read before we attempted to sleep. After a peaceful 20 minutes a new family came to join us in our cabin. This time it was family of 3, one of which was a bratty little boy around the age of 5 or 6 who just did not shut up..nor did the parents show us any courtesy by telling him to be quiet. As dreamman stood up to my bunk to try and wish me a goodnight, a cockroach scuttled on the wall just by my head, and I just lost it. I hated that moment, and really every moment of that ride. I was literally tempted to get off the train at the next stop, and just be done with it!!

I finally, ..finally, made it to sleep, only to awake so many uncomfortable times due to the jostling of the car, and just from being all paranoid about cockroaches creeping across my face. I was also jolted awake by that same wretched family when they were getting off the train, sometime before 5am, when they ever so polietly turned on the disgustingly bright neon light in our cabin and were making no effort to be quiet.

Shortly after the family left, the guy who goes back and forth up the tiny aisle shouting "coffee, chai......coffee, chai" and then some other nonsense in Hindi started, and he also helped keep me up and disturbed. Sometime during his rant we got a 3rd and final roommate, the best one yet, a guy who just passed out, and when he woke earlier than us sat with the shade slightly open so he could work on his computer. Thank goodness for him, beasue I had at least 2 hours of undisturbed sleep then.

Oh...and the bathroom situation was the same as in Africa...best to be avoided at all costs!
Ok....I repeat NEVER AGAIN!!!!!
XOXOXO
Alicia Claire