Trains and unexpected travelling surprises 🇮🇳

It is all relative, according to what you have already experienced. Each experience shapes you and builds your immunity and acceptance to many more to come. The key is to maintain your stability in the moment when new ones arise.

Upon finishing our Yoga Teacher Training Course in Rishikesh, we planned our trip down south to visit Hampi, India. We took our time carefully planning our trip, determining which would be the most cost effective way – catching a train. It ended up being a bit more complicated than that.

Tuk Tuk – Bus – Metro – Tuk Tuk – Train – Tuk Tuk – Train – Tuk Tuk

We said our good byes to our YTT family and hopped in our first means of transportation. We arrived at the bus station in Rishikesh to catch the bus that was heading directly to Delhi. This would be the first leg of the 48 hour trip. It was a very comfortable trip compared to our other bus trips, without any surprises, just our ears were slowly growing deaf thanks to the extremely loud horn that the driver seemed to LOVE to honk…

At the train station in Dehli, trains were coming and going as we were getting a good idea of how the train system works in India. Passengers throwing suitcases, bags, children, etc. through windows of incoming trains to ensure a spot. Foreshadowing what awaited us…

When the train arrived, we found our cabin and squeezed in with our enormous bags. First impressions are a little tricky. Small section with two bunk beds of three beds. It seems that there are only men in this area, plus Masé, and right across the aisle are two more beds, not much privacy going on. This is our home for about the next 30 hours. After a month of eating properly prepared food, Masé found herself struggling with the stomach almost immediately after boarding the train. The trip resulted in many many visits to the “not so highly hygienic” and smelly bathroom, what a ride…

These moments are an opportunity to practice being in soul conscious. I am not this body, this body is an instrument and it goes through different stages. I, the soul inside, am unshakable and I maintain my strength as the body settles its accounts. I give myself extra love.

We passed through the countryside of central India with fields scattered of palm trees. The pollution unfortunately covered the clear skies and resulted in dense smog above the trees. The train service was great with all prepared foods, snacks, and drinks. Little did we know that this was an absolute luxury compared to the next train that awaited us. Like we said, it is all relative.

We reached our stop Guntakal Junction at 1:00 am. We already had our tickets purchased for the following 5:40 am train to Hospet. However, after a loooong and not so stable journey we decided to look for a place to spend the night. We were not expecting it was going to be so… let’s say... interesting.

The fun starts here…

Let’s go search for a Tuk Tuk! When carrying our bags, it takes more time and effort to move from place to place. Normally the drivers nearly attack you when you leave the train station, but at 1:00 am most of them were sleeping in their Tuk Tuks. We went to the first one that was awake and asked to take us into town to look for a hotel. We haggled with them to lower the price, yet they were firm with their more expensive “nightly rate”. We walked away, since they were clearly trying to take advantage, in the direction of town.

Let’s find another driver! We did, offered a price, he agreed, and then we hopped right in.

The moment we stepped into this Tuk Tuk, it was as if the other Tuk Tuk drivers formed a gang against this lonely and kind driver. Slowly but surely one, two, three Tuk Tuks and five other men made their way over to our Tuk Tuk. This gang literally surrounded our Tuk Tuk. Our driver had nowhere to go. We sat in the back with our bags, tightly squeezed with one bag on top and the other below, cheering the driver to please go! He was too intimated by the recently formed gang and said “not possible”. The other driver (from the gang) would take us into town for the same price.

At this point, we were both SO lost and confused as to what on earth was going on, we just said okay let’s get on with it then. We took off to check out the hotels. We went throughout town for about 20 minutes, checking out five hotels, and not a single place had a room – ALL BOOKED.

You could say we were a bit out of luck. What to do next? We had to go right back to where we came from before all of the gang action – Guntakal Junction Train Station. We ended paying more of course since our driver was kind enough to take us around. He was not happy to take us back and when we gave him the only bill, which was partly torn, he was screaming at as we walked back to the station. In this case, it is better not to understand what they are saying.

Oh, but it gets even better.

We went to the ticket counter and asked if there was any availability for the 3:00 am train that was arriving in an hour. They gave us two “general” tickets, we weren’t quite sure what these meant, but hey – we had tickets, so we were good to go, right?

We waited for the train at Platform 4 with the rest of the travelers. Being 2:00 o’clock in the morning, there seemed to be a large crowd awaiting the next train. You start wondering…

When the massive train pulled up to the station, all hell broke loose. Remember when we mentioned about the foreshadowing with people throwing things through the windows? Yeah, here’s what was being foreshadowed. Even before the train came to a full stop people were running to the open doors and trying to shove their way through. Both of us, being the rookies that we are, didn’t know where to begin. We completely froze! Mase found one cab, second to the last, with what seemed to be a “decent” amount of room! We both happily boarded the car! That happiness didn’t last long as the passengers began yelling and screaming at us. Through all the loud noises, we heard one lady yell in English –

“LADIES ONLY!”

Adios Mitch.

Mase, being already stuck in a corner full of bags and ladies pushing, stayed put as Mitch went back out to the madness in search of an open spot. He found a kind of calm section with the door open, he squeezed his way in and appeared to be all set. That too didn’t last long. Within five minutes, a train worker came and kicked those without seats out of the car. And back to the chaos outside Mitch went!

When Mitch reached the door of the all ladies car to tell Mas hée had been kicked out, Masé was already pretty settled and trapped in the corner, from which it would have been almost impossible to come out of. Right when Mitch got the words out of his mouth – “They kicked me out again!” – the train started to move. In an act of pure desperation and without thinking, Mitch jumped into the all ladies car. Masé and the rest of the ladies looked at Mitch like a deer in head lights. In that half second moment of everyone thinking – “what are we going to do with this guy?” – Mitch smiled, winked, put his index finger to his closed mouth, and put his hood on in a weak attempt to conceal his gender. It worked, the ladies who had spotted him giggled and said “Shhhh!”

Masé and Mitch were reunited again, for now!

Next stop was Ballari and the following was our destination – Hospet. What a ride of random pushing, screaming, staring, yelling, giggling, and all sorts of noises, movements or looks. We managed to gather enough information to assume that a lot of the ladies on the train were getting of at Ballari. Once the train pulled up to Ballari, Mitch grabbed his bags and stepped out of the car. A guard from the train came up and immediately said “LADIES ONLY!” Mitch nodded his head and realized that his trick wouldn’t work this time around. He walked up and down along the train in search of a crack for him to jump in. He found his spot, it was just enough for him to get his feet inside the train despite backpacks on his chest and his back. There was plenty of yelling and screaming in his direction, none of which he could understand as he tried to push as far into the train as possible. Everyone waited patiently for the train to depart as people were grabbing on to anything they could hold on to.

The whistle blew and we headed off into the darkness.

The train between Guntakal Junction and Hospet took about 2.5 hours, but was more physically and mentally demanding than the previous 30 hours we spent on the train. We arrived safely in Hospet, grabbed a Tuk Tuk and found a room not far from the station and immediately passed out at 6:00 am.

In these moments you giggle due to a comfort feeling, and you thank for being so fortunate to have a place to rest.

All said and done, these are the stories we will remember forever. These are the memories that are created throughout the adventure that will make our journey an unforgettable one. These are the moments where you get to see a lot of the reality of this country, and not the fancy comfort that is made just for tourists. In these situations you get to put your spiritual knowledge into practice. When the body is not doing well, when everything seems to be confusing and scary, when there is chaos, noise and despair… it is the time when you bring your attention to the center of your forehead. Remember who you truly are, breathe in peace and breathe out silence. Observe the transitory scenes as they unfold in front of you teaching you something new. Whether it is a new method or a new approach to seeing things, there is always a learning outcome out of every single experience.

Change your perspective to find benefit in each and every moment.

Namaste and lots of love to you all,

M&M