October 10, 2007
In the last couple weeks we haven't had a whole day to relax or even slow down. Italy was wonderful, but sped by us: there was just too much to do. And I defy anyone to actually relax on a plane, especially an overnight flight, so I don't count those either. And then in Mumbai, what with Leah becoming a Bollywood star and all, we didn't have much to slow us down there, either. Oddly, the break we did get came at an unlikely time--while on the train down the west coast of India from Mumbai to Trivandrum, Kerala's regional capitol.
To cover the roughly 1,200 kilometers it was scheduled to be 31 hours on the train. (For planning I was thinking of this as 5 meals.) At the last moment we made the decision to buy the least expensive tickets: 3 tier sleepers without air conditioning. I was concerned that the AC car would be sealed up. And, we both know how to sweat, so that's not a problem. Occasionally, we both suffer from motion sickness and fresh air helps measurably. The open windows allowed a cool air to blow in and some fans mounted above circulated it. Basically, our car was quite comfortable, or at least more comfortable than our Mumbai hotel room, which also had no AC. But, it was more than just the breeze.
There was space--space to move or sit or walk around or stretch out and sleep. Everyone had there own bunk upholstered with thick vinyl. When we weren't sleeping, the middle-tier bunk folded down to form a back rest for the bottom bunk, which was a bench seat. And somehow, there seemed to be more seats than people even though the train was full.
The train was dirty, but still cared for. The floor was swept and the bathroom was cleaned periodically and a couple of times smelled lightly of flowery detergent. The next car back was a "pantry car" and there was a frequent flow of uniformed food servers with meals (flat bread and curry, dosas and rice with vegetables), snacks (like spicy, unsweetened donuts with yogurt) and drinks (Indian tea, coffee, water and sodas). And here is the surprising thing: the food was okay, tasty even, all things considered. (Of course, this is true only if you like Indian food. I do. In just under a week I've had so many good meals, my mouth starts to water when I smell Indian food.)
The other travellers in our car were friendly. Some asked where we were from or going. One expressed surprised that we were eating the Indian food on the train. We chatted for longer with a few, and others read quietly. The man in the upper bunk was reading, among other things, "Foreign Jobs Times" and, when I noticed this, I recalled reading about how many skilled workers from Kerala work internationally (often in the Middle East) and send money home. The man on the bottom bunk, Joseph, was going back home before leaving to work as a civil drafter in Bahrain at the end of the month.
As the trip progressed I notice the train was also home to a small community of wildlife. My favorite was the tiniest mouse I've ever see that occupied the floor and acted like a Wimbledon ball boy. If a small piece of food was dropped, say a peanut, and was considered "out of play", the mouse would dart across the floor, grab the food and clear to the nearest side. It was adorable, though possibly not fantastically hygenic.
It was in this atmosphere that I did finally relax, watched the green countryside slide past, read, wrote, chatted, slept and napped. In the end, the train was 7 hours late, but since that just meant more time to relax, it wasn't a problem. I might not really recommend such a long train ride as a way to relax, but it certainly served its purposes for us.
