Monday, 18 Dec 2006: Konkan, here I come! January 12, 2007
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in India, Indian Railways, Travel.trackback
Took the early morning 6348 Mangalore Express to Trivandrum to book my ticket to Madgaon. It is always easier to get a ticket from the originating station of your train, especially on the day of your journey, at least three hours before departure. You pay a lil extra for this facility. It is called as EQ or Emergency Quota in railway parlance. Met with the guard, who is a really close friend, rode with him in his cabin. Visited the Running Bungalow, railway quarters in Trivandrum Central. Got a 3AC ticket on the 168 Trivadrum – Dadar Express Holiday Special train, thanks to his efforts. Rushed back to Kollam on the Mumbai bound 6346 Nethravathi Express, again. The guard was yet another friend, and took a ride with him in the brake van. Got back to Kollam just two hours before my train to Madgaon. Ran around to get my baggage sorted, rode on a bike at breakneck speed and reached the station just as the train bound to Dadar, Mumbai thundered onto platform no. 5. 
Took quite a few snaps of my train and crossing trains on a ride that lasted 1005kms. Thought about the merits and the demerits of travelling in AC class vis-à-vis Sleeper class. It doesn’t make much sense to travel in AC especially in winter. Also, you can’t enjoy much of the scenery through the darkened windows. However, you can make most of the complimentary bedrolls and pillows, and privacy you get in the AC class. You can hang about the doors with your camera and click away to glory. Even the loos are much cleaner. However, in sleeper coaches, you can get to enjoy the scenery and click snaps from your window. And it is much cheaper, when compared to AC classes. But getting tickets in sleeper class for last minute travel can be quite a hassle.
To view more snaps from Kerala and Konkan, click on http://new.photos.yahoo.com/schmoozeby/
Type ‘Kerala’ or ‘Konkan’ in the ‘search tags’ field in the top right corner and click ‘Go’.
Arun Rajagopal 
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