The train in India is literally a form of wealth disparity. As a foreigner walking into the train station you will most likely going to the well-maintained tourist ticket office to skip all the lines and trouble. You get a comfortable seat, and wait in a queue to purchase your ticket. Local are not even allowed to step into the room. But to get there often you have to tiptoe through the crowds who are simply sitting/lying/sleeping on the floor. Rats were running in the same way. Although rats are sacred, but the amount of dirt available to raise them were incredible. I was advised to get a ticket of AC class, which stands for Air conditioning and much cleaner hygiene standard. You will get your clean blanket and sheet when you get aboard, and the service is similar to what you get in a hotel room. On the same train, same journey, just the next cart, much more people were packed. Without the temperature control the second class cart is very cold at the night and get extremely hot in the day.
Walking through the carts, you will find a wider spectrum of life in the world than the cart you are in; so does the world, and that’s why travel means so much to us.
Varanasi Train Station, India
Two very cute brother and sister sat opposite to me were happily watching a cartoon in their elder sister computer. The boy was asked to finish his after-dinner yogurt while he was too busy enjoying the cartoon. During the dinner we talked and he had a lot of questions like where I were going, what’s my name, and he told me about his favorite cartoon. On the right was another boy. He also enjoyed the cartoon a lot and laughed so loud that even the boy on the left who was also watching the cartoon thought it was strange. In his hand was the chocolate biscuit that I was almost finishing, as he asked for food and money for his cleaning of the train floor with his little broom. No one in the train said anything at mid of this weirdly loud laughter. Everyone was looking at this scene except the boy on the floor. He left after an episode and continued his work to the next cabin.
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Kolkata, India
kwanho's 