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smittenbyuin Mumbai...
I somehow managed to get off that train!
I thought NY subway can get packed and crazy..until I stepped afoot the local Mumbai train. Mumbai local train (subway equivalent, just above ground) tracks are not as extensive as NYC's, but carry about the same number of passengers in a day...inside, above, and on the side.
N got me to take the local trains several times during our stay. The first time was on a Sunday and it was relatively quiet and empty. That was it. The next few times were not during the rush hours but they did get filled at times. Ladies get their own compartments and I tell you it's worse; they push, shove and trample over each other without a care if you are with a child or old or young. It was quite scary and maddening really. And what's weirder is that this madness occurs only at the moment of getting on and getting off the train. As we would prepare to get off, it seems like we were preparing for some battle! Once people are on the train, they are the best of friends and the most helpful. just wow. and then you can do your shopping for many knickknacks while you are riding the train, be it hair clips, snacks, earrings. Locals play on this so much and make it all so charming but I just couldn't get over the whole madness that ensues boarding and disembarking the trains. My apologies if I just don't understand.
There were moments that were fun and some moments that I absolutely abhorred the city. It also reminded me of how romanticized the city back in 2007; I wanted to get back online and take it all back! I think I was just glazed over then cause I was meeting N for the first time then! Riding the trains made me such an ugly side of people in the city. ughh....But the trains are a lifeline of the city and get so many people around.
The same train above people try to get on...
and in the region...
What I did enjoy very much were the long distance trains run by the Indian Railways.... Since we had so much time on hands, and the airline tickets were so expensive we took trains everywhere! And we took all kinds of trains, sleeper class, AC, non-AC. We got such a diverse views, the cities, towns, villages, farms, cement factories. We also got a lot of time together! We played cards, drew out family trees, did a lot of reading and sleeping!
AC three-tier (each section has six births with AC, they provide pillows and sheets and blankets, and don't forget window curtains!):
non AC three-tier (each section has six births without AC, it's bring your own pillows and sheets/blankets, and no window curtains):
Services offered:
We didn't need to get off the train to get the paper or food,
or tea/coffee
or to get your shoes polished...
and the views...
I somehow managed to get off that train!
I thought NY subway can get packed and crazy..until I stepped afoot the local Mumbai train. Mumbai local train (subway equivalent, just above ground) tracks are not as extensive as NYC's, but carry about the same number of passengers in a day...inside, above, and on the side.
N got me to take the local trains several times during our stay. The first time was on a Sunday and it was relatively quiet and empty. That was it. The next few times were not during the rush hours but they did get filled at times. Ladies get their own compartments and I tell you it's worse; they push, shove and trample over each other without a care if you are with a child or old or young. It was quite scary and maddening really. And what's weirder is that this madness occurs only at the moment of getting on and getting off the train. As we would prepare to get off, it seems like we were preparing for some battle! Once people are on the train, they are the best of friends and the most helpful. just wow. and then you can do your shopping for many knickknacks while you are riding the train, be it hair clips, snacks, earrings. Locals play on this so much and make it all so charming but I just couldn't get over the whole madness that ensues boarding and disembarking the trains. My apologies if I just don't understand.
There were moments that were fun and some moments that I absolutely abhorred the city. It also reminded me of how romanticized the city back in 2007; I wanted to get back online and take it all back! I think I was just glazed over then cause I was meeting N for the first time then! Riding the trains made me such an ugly side of people in the city. ughh....But the trains are a lifeline of the city and get so many people around.
The same train above people try to get on...
and in the region...
What I did enjoy very much were the long distance trains run by the Indian Railways.... Since we had so much time on hands, and the airline tickets were so expensive we took trains everywhere! And we took all kinds of trains, sleeper class, AC, non-AC. We got such a diverse views, the cities, towns, villages, farms, cement factories. We also got a lot of time together! We played cards, drew out family trees, did a lot of reading and sleeping!
AC three-tier (each section has six births with AC, they provide pillows and sheets and blankets, and don't forget window curtains!):
non AC three-tier (each section has six births without AC, it's bring your own pillows and sheets/blankets, and no window curtains):
Services offered:
We didn't need to get off the train to get the paper or food,
or tea/coffee
or to get your shoes polished...
and the views...
