Bags packed, and tickets confirmed! There's a certain sense of joy when the ordeal of booking tickets is sorted. The moment the train touches the platform, it is almost an Indian tradition to quickly latch on to one of the doors even before it stops. In a rush to get in first, there's jostling, an argument here and there, and the struggle to get your luggage on the train safely. You only heave a sigh of relief when you reach your seat after a series of 'excuse me's'.
A train journey is an adventure, especially when you're travelling alone at night. Covered from head to toe in a white bed sheet, the snoring competition between uncles begins almost immediately after the lights are turned off. And God forbid someone farts in the AC compartment! If you have a lower berth, everyone wants it. But what happens when you have a middle berth? Here are some typical middle-berth traveller problems:
1. Wait till the lower berth travellers allow you to sleep: They’ll sit there and chit-chat, completely oblivious to the fact that there’s someone waiting to hit the middle berth and doze off. All you can do is wait for them to make their beds on the lower berth or just bluntly tell them it’s past their bedtime.
2. Can’t sit because the lower berth travellers are still sleeping: And when you wake up next morning you won’t be able to sit because the lower berth travellers are fast asleep.
3. You can’t see outside to check which station it is: It’s 3 a.m., you want to check which station it is. But you’re on the middle berth and you can barely see anything beyond the tracks from up there. You try to listen carefully to the announcements, but there are none at all!
4. You fear what if the chains holding your berth broke: What if you just twisted one of those chains and they broke?! It is a common fear in some children and adults. This never really happens but the thought indeed, is scary.
5. You have the easiest access to the switchboard: That’s a good thing, right? You can charge your phone, and flick on the switch whenever you like!
6. Worrying about shoes and bags: Your luggage and shoes are stacked below. You have to wake up every now and then to check if someone hasn’t walked away with them!
7. Exchange seats: If you’re travelling alone and have an entire family around you, one of them will definitely request you to exchange your seat with another one 20 seats away. ‘Actually we had booked tickets together but our daughter got one at the other end. Could you please exchange since you’re travelling alone?’ .
8. You get to sit in the middle between two strangers: As much as you want to take the window seat, the uncles, aunties, or the kids won’t let you enjoy that view. So you sit in between strangers and just wait for the journey to end soon!
A train journey is an adventure, especially when you're travelling alone at night. Covered from head to toe in a white bed sheet, the snoring competition between uncles begins almost immediately after the lights are turned off. And God forbid someone farts in the AC compartment! If you have a lower berth, everyone wants it. But what happens when you have a middle berth? Here are some typical middle-berth traveller problems:
1. Wait till the lower berth travellers allow you to sleep: They’ll sit there and chit-chat, completely oblivious to the fact that there’s someone waiting to hit the middle berth and doze off. All you can do is wait for them to make their beds on the lower berth or just bluntly tell them it’s past their bedtime.
2. Can’t sit because the lower berth travellers are still sleeping: And when you wake up next morning you won’t be able to sit because the lower berth travellers are fast asleep.
3. You can’t see outside to check which station it is: It’s 3 a.m., you want to check which station it is. But you’re on the middle berth and you can barely see anything beyond the tracks from up there. You try to listen carefully to the announcements, but there are none at all!
4. You fear what if the chains holding your berth broke: What if you just twisted one of those chains and they broke?! It is a common fear in some children and adults. This never really happens but the thought indeed, is scary.
5. You have the easiest access to the switchboard: That’s a good thing, right? You can charge your phone, and flick on the switch whenever you like!
6. Worrying about shoes and bags: Your luggage and shoes are stacked below. You have to wake up every now and then to check if someone hasn’t walked away with them!
7. Exchange seats: If you’re travelling alone and have an entire family around you, one of them will definitely request you to exchange your seat with another one 20 seats away. ‘Actually we had booked tickets together but our daughter got one at the other end. Could you please exchange since you’re travelling alone?’ .
8. You get to sit in the middle between two strangers: As much as you want to take the window seat, the uncles, aunties, or the kids won’t let you enjoy that view. So you sit in between strangers and just wait for the journey to end soon!
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