We took a rickshaw from the Baha'i Centre to the railway station yesterday, and squeezed our one suitcase and two knapsacks in with us too! We hired a coolie (luggage carrier) to take us to the platform, because these guys know the train stations inside and out. He got us there quickly and we gave him a little tip, which made him happy too.
We had some time before departure, so we got some chai, puri bhaji, and vegetable puffs for dinner while we waited. The guys at the little shop said Roya looks just like one of the Indian movie stars! We boarded the train and got settled into our berths. We had expected the walls of the compartment to be grimy and dirty, but they were actually cleaner than we expected, although they were by no means clean by western standards.
Christina and I read our books for a while and the kids played some games on the laptop, and then it was time for prayers and bed. They had given us sheets, blankets and pillows, but we noticed that one of the pillow cases looked like it had been used a few times and not washed. So I exchanged it with the one on the next bunk, which was not occupied. All was well, and then we noticed a few little roaches - my old "friends" had found me again! So we stepped on a few of them and made sure our sheets were tucked tightly into the sides of the berths so none of the creatures could come into our beds while we slept.
After a fitful sleep, we got up around 6 in the morning and the train actually arrived on time. Surprise, surprise! There was a driver from the hotel to meet us at the station and we made our way to the hotel in Cochin. This place is quite nice with air-conditioning, and actually has an enclosed shower in the bathroom, so we are pretty excited about that. It is spotless and actually has nice decorations too!
We will be in Cochin for 3 days, then off to the south of Kerala for a few days. We are ging to fly to Bangalore from Cochin on March 17, because the trains were all booked up. We are also going to fly to Goa and back from Bagalore, so this was the last night we are spending on a train in Asia! No mixed feelings about that!!
NM
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1 comment:
Reminds me of the bedtime rhyme my mother used to tell me:
Good night, sleep tight
Don't let the bed-bugs bite!
Nice thing to tell a kid isn't it...I later found out the rest:
If you do, take your shoe
And beat them 'til they're black and blue!
Though somehow I doubt this was really about bugs...
Gotta google!
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