Has anyone taken a night train following a major event in an Asian country? I have. If you think trains are crowded during peak hours in New York, you must experience riding trains in Asian countries. Then you may ask what is common between a crowded train in Asia and a can of sardine.
The idea to see the festival was planted in our minds by George, who was our bartender at the hotel. He stated that the Kandy parade was a once in lifetime experience, two days before we were to head back to Oslo. After hearing what we were about to miss, we made plans to hit the road next morning to see the parade before we retired to our rooms that night. Roger, my sister's fiancé opted to stay behind, as he was somewhat under the weather, but my girlfriend Edna and my sister Laura joined me for the journey.
The parade was fabulous, the weather was fair and the food was great. However, our only problem was getting back to Colombo to collect our belongings and making it to the airport following night as we had a night flight to London and a connecting flight to Oslo from there. I became worried when I couldn't secure first or second-class reserved seats on the night train that was to depart at 1.00 am, but the girls agreed to try the coach with the local passengers, even though that somewhat scared me having heard about pick pocketing and other crimes on crowded trains. Unfortunately I did not have other options, but to ride the train with two beautiful girls, therefore soon after the parade, we rushed to the train station with thousands of other people who had the same thought.
Our short walk to the train station started with bunch of small groups rushing in that direction later became like a many small streams joining a one big river. Then we were carried by a wave of people and I wasn't sure if my feet ever touched the ground till we got to the train platform.
As we stood there waiting for the train, I expected a long train with many compartments to carry the masses that waited for it, but to my utter surprise, a train with three compartments approached the station. As it slowly approached the station, many started to hop-on to claim seats for themselves; their friends and family. Suddenly when the train came to a stop, We were pushed and shoved right inside a compartment and we floated as the flood of crowed made us finally land at the end of the compartment, nowhere else to go. I found Edna facing right and holding to a headrest of seat, I was with my back against the back of the compartment and Laura was in left front of me, partially leaning against my body while the rest of her body was on a tall oriental girl. I remembered seeing her with few others at the train station, dressed in a short red color dress. Even though her beauty drew my eyes few times, I thought she had bit more makeup on for my taste, but I know I would not chase her out of my bed. I was pleased to have good-looking girls putting their weights on me over a rough local man.
The girl was taller for an oriental girl. Even though she didn't have much on her chest, she looked fairly good-looking. Once she became crammed into the back of the train, she yelled in a foreign tongue, which I assumed was one of the eastern European languages to get the attention of others who were in her party, but they were helplessly crammed as well in the train compartment designed for about 50 people to stand, but now packed with nearly five hundred, if not more. She turned her head towards me and said something in her language that I didn't understand and then smiled. I returned a friendly smile as the train pulled off the station.
Then it became evident that this train had more than one problem. Cabin lights started dim, shutoff and then came back on, as the train started to make its way down the mountainous path. Irritated by the cabin lights or wanting to rest, several guys went on to cover lights near them with whatever that they had at their disposal and others soon followed, making the entire compartment dark. The light that emitted through the materials was not enough to brighten the cabin, but no one complained or was too tired to try. Then the singing began from a party at the front, while others tried to find comfort in whatever the position that they were in and catch a catnap.
Few minutes later at the next train station, we had more passengers getting on, but I didn't notice anyone getting off the train. The train continued its journey in its hurky-jerky motion again, while we tried to find comfort attached someone else's body from each direction.
My attempts to readjust my position was prevented the women who sat by me with a tall wicker baskets on their lap, and therefore I had to endure the pain of bouncing bodies with the oriental cutie who stood next to me. The only other comfort that I had left was still being able to put weight on one leg or standing on my heels and toes as all of the other passengers.
