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Articles Tagged ‘Train’

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Zen and the art of bowel maintenance

Friday, February 15th, 2008

Hey kids: Have you ever tried a shaking public squat toilet on an overcrowded train. It’s like an extreme sport! It makes all other comodes feel dull and boring! And hey parents… it’s actually more sanitary too! [read on]

Back to Bombay and Beyond

Friday, February 15th, 2008

 

So my fate brought me back to Mumbai, just a little early than anticipated.  I made my way through the uncharacteristic cold dawn air and mist on a local train towards Chembur.  A short time later I climbed the flight of steps to Ratnadeep’s door and rang the doorbell.  Surprise; I’m early!  He unexcpectedly but warmly welcomed me in, and for the next week I was at home again.     [read on]

“Sleeper”

Friday, February 8th, 2008

All sleeper tickets to Mumbai are booked for a solid week, but I must escape the magnetism of Gokarna before I become a permanent fixture in the wave kissed sand.  The beach of Arambol in Goa sounds like a nice stop on the way north, and it happens to be home to a reputable Tabla instructor, so I board a second class train headed there.  Even if people are packed in so tight that I’m left hanging out the door, it’s only a two hour trip so it shouldn’t be that bad.    [read on]

The Big Boss’ Bodyguards

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

The last nine months of travel have thoroughly introduced me to squat toilets; from my first experiences in the relatively sterile Japanese karate dojo to the stinkiest shit-holes high in the Himalayas.  My earlier fears have long since past.  I can now see the benefits of sanitation and the fact that everything just comes out easier.  Still, as I draw deeper into the Indian subcontinent, I keep finding more and more standards to judge the worst toilets of the world.  I can already feel his presence, the Big Boss is near!     [read on]

The Highest Railroad in the World

Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

It is sometime in the middle of the night.  I’m not exactly sure when.  The train’s clock has been flashing 20:35 since I boarded on Sunday, and I only know today is Tuesday.  I can’t seem to stay asleep for very long, and have awoken several times only to find the rest of the cabin in a deep slumber.  Maybe it’s the increasingly high altitude and thin air or maybe it’s the high pitched whizzing of the oxygen being artificially pumped into the train.  Maybe it’s just anticipation for the unique culture and breathtaking (literally) scenery I have yet to experience in Tibet.    [read on]

Ambushed on a train…

Saturday, October 20th, 2007

Today is Saturday.  I got on a train on Thursday and I’m still on board now.  The trip from Nanjing to Chengdu takes almost two days.  It is the longest continuous stream of transport I’ve endured so far.  At least no hard seat is involved.  Rather, I’m comfortably residing on the bottom of a three-tiered hard-sleeper bunk compartment with my journal, a copy of ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’, deck of cards and the most excellent travel companion, Carrie.   [read on]

Liberation

Monday, September 10th, 2007

Ah, freedom… I can taste it again! I am happily writing this on my way away from Songshan and the hellish Kung Fu training experience endured there.    [read on]