Nostalgia and train journeys part II

A lot has changed and now train journeys are also a preferred mode of transport at work, what with high cost and all..

One of my favorite co-passengers is a colleague of mine as we travelled often from Kolkata to Bhubaneshwar, or Kolkata to Vizag and back  by train.  He would be surprised at my choice of taking  the upper berth. We would chat about work, work on our laptop, discuss strategies and then decide to call it a day. In fact he would treat me a bit like a princess(i don't have a problem with that), as we used to get constant supply of tea and attention from the attendant right from lunch to dinner(in case it was a slightly longer journey)! These used to be so much more productive and restful than the plane rides for these short distances with equal number of time spent to and from the airports..

My most recent train trip was  to Mumbai. We travelled by the 1st class and had an A/c Coupe for two for ourselves. I must say that this was much needed as it gave us so much time to just un wind and be ourselves. Thankfully the phones didn't ring and there were no fires at work(what with it being Friday night and Saturday the whole day perhaps) The privacy adds to the romance of trains. I watched a beautiful movie, "The English Patient" and was really happy with the "me" time.

Oh yeah, add to that the familiar "chai coffee" sounds, the sights have changed as some of the fields seem to be missing and now seem barren and dry, the ghat sections now have bungalows dotting them..its no longer the same..

The best part is having family members coming to pick you up. Whats a journey without some old fashioned love and hugs on the station!Trust my family to do that..no matter when you land or arrive :-)

This train journey was memorable..and timeless. A part of me didn't want it to end..but i know we had reached our destination and we were here for another journey to begin....