THE RAJDHANI EXPRESS TO GOA

Ernakulam to Madgaon by the overnight Rajdhani Express. I like railway travel and don't do it in the USA, so I opted for an express sleeper to make the 12-hour journey north.

I underestimated the coziness of the sleeper compartments and was startled to see a family of three spread out all over what little there was of a space. One berth was conspicuously left alone however it was not mine, which was a lower berth (requested and reserved). When I declined to switch berths the air went cold and inhospitable and the father asked about my home origin.

All parties turned in almost immediately and in the morning when I awoke I discovered they were gone, going down at an earlier station, and the compartment was free for the remaining few hours. About as good as it gets on a train.