Overnight train

For a long time I have had a romanticized image of what it would be like to take an overnight train and always dreamed about doing it. Last night, I made this wish a reality. I am not sure if it is because I was overly excited about the idea or because it was truly remarkable, but I enjoyed the experience entirely from the moment we reached the rail station. The trains were huge, solid, and stately looking blue trains that arrived to a simple station and platform where people were sprawled all over the floor waiting to travel.

We then loaded onto the train and found our assigned seat/bed. I had a top bunk and since the person below me had already set up bed position, it left me to other option than to set up my bed as well. Luckily I was very tired and ready to crawl into my bed space and relax. I am not going to lie and say that it was the best night of sleep I have ever had, but there is certainly something relaxing about the click of the train and the constant movement in the night that lived up to my expectations. In the morning I was eager to get down, take a seat and check out the view from the window. This again fulfilled my expectation of a beautiful countryside train ride.

When we arrived in Jodhpur we were greeted by "coolie" ( a British term for general unskilled laborers) who we could pay to carry our bags up to flights of stairs. I watched in amazement as the one man placed our two largest and heaviest suitcases on top of his head and walked up two flights of stairs among crowds of people. Wow!