The Ladies Car (travel)

Yesterday would have been one of the worst days I've had traveling if it had not been for the amazing generosity I experienced every step of the way. We tried to take a train from Chennai (on the southeast coast) to Goa (on the northwest coast). We were very pleased with ourselves because we booked the tickets there and to the next city in advance. The first little problem was that we did not really book the ticket to Goa. It seems we booked a ticket to a town close (on the map) to Goa. We were going to have to take another train and a bus to Goa. This sounded fine when the lady told us at the train station. But, it was not as it seems.

On the first train, families offered us their food, asked us about our plans, and were interested in finding out why we decided to come to India. On the second train, a woman invited us to her home, was so excited when I gave her my American coins for her children and then gave me her bangles as a gift. She also asked us not to take the bus because the roads were too dangerous. Everyone warned us not to trust anyone and wanted to keep in touch after we returned to America.

At the end of our overnight train ride and the little 2 hour trip, we ended up in the very small town of Londa. There were two main roads, many cows, and several monkeys. Because the next train to Goa left at 3 in the morning, we decided to spend the next 15 hours in the town of Londa and checked into their hotel. The hotel cost $1 and was worth every cent. We had to lock our stuff/ourselves in with our own locks and shared a bathroom with whom ever came walking in (and did not really expect to see two women there). When we walked in the town, we met a man and woman who had a bangle and clothing shop. They were so kind--they helped us see the insanity of our plan, invited us to their home for a meal, and spoke about Ayurvedic medicine with us for hours. In the end, we left Londa at 8, for an overnight trip to Bangalore instead of trying to get to Goa.

That train was general seating. The shop owner told us to go to the ladies car because we could not get a sleeper. This car seems to be the way most Indians travel and lacked some of the basic comforts of home (space, something that was not hard to sit on, and space). A woman slept under the chairs. Another slept on the luggage rack. After a moment of utter hesitation, we sat down. Two girls in university quickly befriended us and helped us navigate the ways of the ladies car. An hour into the ride, my friend was working with an old grandma and auntie to wind her ball of yarn.

The exhaustion of not sleeping for two days and uncertainty of the situations was diminished by the conversations I had with all of these people. It's hard to believe that all of that happened in two days--the events of each day seem to be so far from one another. I wonder if I will ever feel like my instincts are correct in India--I think it helps when I am a little sleepy; my crankiness mode seems to get things done in a much more efficient manner than my patient and polite mode. I can't wait to see what happens today.