So back to the train tracks…..this train from Kolkata was a slow train to begin with, another lesson always take the express trains! So to make a long story short, we were supposed to get into Guwahati (the capital of Assam) at 9 am. At 8:30, we passed a town and I asked my berth mate if we were getting close…oh, no, still six hours. Ok, that’s fine, whatever I’m flexible…than the train stops. And a half hour goes by, and I see people getting off the train and standing on the tracks staring into the distance. And so I join them, and I ask what’s going on: “oh, a strike”. Ok, so when might we start moving? “Within 5 days, for sure…” Ok…are we being serious? Can we be serious? So I go and ask a train attendant, “oh, within a half-hour” Ok, so no one knows…and the hours pass, and pass. I’m trying to remain flexible: this is a learning opportunity, right. So what do I do? Introduce thousands of Indians to the banjo. All sorts of people came out to experience first-hand that strange sound. And then we go back to just sitting in the train car…and blowing bubbles.
Until 5 am the next morning, when we headed back on the road…
Lessons learned: take an express train; people can be incredibly kind: all sorts of people kept coming by to check on me, ask me if I needed food etc. (did I look that distraught?);
always carry a banjo, after all you never know who will be the next Indian banjo superstar…
One last note: this trip I took in "sleeper class" (the cheap lower-class option); usually I travel in 3AC, slightly more expensive but worth it, so for those of you who'll be taking train trips with us soon, the cars look nicer than this!
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