By train

By train

[ Sept.2006 ] I continue my story of our tour in India.

On the third day, we got up very early and took a train from the chaotic Delhi station to Amritsar in the north.

In the car, the row of seats were arranged like in Shinkansen in Japan, which means three seats on one side and two seats on the other across the corridor.

They served foods free of charge, so it must have been the first class.

I saw the ordinary cars without air conditioner and there were bars across their open windows as if it were a prison.

On the way, a man came into our car and started to polish the floor with some rags.

He had a lot of wrinkles, so he must have been fairly old.

In one point, he looked up at me and smirked.

I felt something servile in him and looked away.

When I experience different culture, after the initial excitement, I sometimes feel negative.

In that sort of mood, I cannot feel interesting about anything and easily get irritated.

After this temporary period, I ususally get myself back and enjoy the cultural shock.

I have a feeling that when we had this train journey, I was in that negative mode.