Spring is here, which means, the cherry blossoms trees, all around the country are blooming in pink. The fact that the sight lasts only a couple of weeks, later returning to green, makes it even more mesmerising to sit under one and watch the world go by. Its one of the few things that make me realise how far away I am from home, and how far away my life has come, for until an year ago I had never seen such a tree in my life.
Travelling on trains in India, makes for a wondrous journey filled with amazing sights of towns, villages and other dwelling places and a mesmerising view of hundreds of thousands of acres of farmlands, draped in a blanket of early morning fog, or fresh crops bathing in sunshine and morning due, or forests filled with freshest of waters, or just simple people trying to get by their lives.
The country is so big, that it sometimes takes upto 3 days to go from one corner of the country to another. Consequently the country also has one of the largest railway networks in the world employing over 1.5 million people to serve over 25 million passengers travelling on 15,000 trains – every single day.
Visiting India and taking a 5 day trip to the mountains while using only trains as means of transport, after staying abroad and being used to high speed trains and urban-ness for a long stretch of an year made me realise how amazing India is, and how even more amazing the Indian Railways is. Serving 7 billion passengers annually, despite the bad reservation system and incompetent management, running a network of that scale in a developing nation is no small feat by any means.
I decided, every time I visit India, I will explore the country, travelling to the remotest parts (that are safe) while using trains as my primary means of transport.
Here is a glimpse of my experience..
Train stations tickle all your senses with the amazing variety of smells from foods stalls and sweet stands, mixed with the bad ones from the ill-maintained tracks and places – while you are simultaneously doused in the clamouring sounds of hawkers and vendors; beggars and coolies; and bustling sounds of people just trying to reach their destinations in their own busy lives.
Here is a short video I shot while hanging off the doors, along with dozen others, of a moving train that is about to come to a halt at a station …
After not having travelled anywhere outside Amsterdam for over a month, I was restless. It was at 2 PM, on a lazy saturday, I decided that I had to do get out and do something. But given that it gets dark by 4.30 PM during winters, I was left with one choice of place – Zandvoort beach, which was only an hour away by public transportation and I had absolutely no complaints about it, for I can spend days just watching the waves.
I reached just in time to be able to capture some amazing beach-scapes, self portraits and few long exposures.
Marken is a tiny gorgeous island town, about 30 km from Amsterdam. The last time I visited that place, I along with few friends took public transportation, but didn’t reach the light house as it required walking for few kilometers and not everyone was up for it.
Having recently purchased a road bike, this time I decided to bike to it and back – a total of 60kms – alone.
Before I could reach the Lighthouse in Marken, which is well connected by dedicated cycling paths, I had to bike through lots of small towns, marshes, fields and lots of bridges over canals and the famous dykes of dutch-land.
Near the town of Fussen in Bravaria, Germany, in the district of Hohenschwangau, is an extremely beautiful castle called the Neuschwanstein castle, famously known as Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle for Disney is said to have gotten its inspiration from this structure.
The view of the Castle, from a vantage point, that can be reached by a trek into the Alps, is breathtaking. The castle, glimmering in sunshine, with the background landscape surreally draped in snow, just can’t be described in words.
The view of the Hohenschwangau Castle built by the King Ludwig II’s father, is also quite beautiful.
A short hike from the castle, at the foot of the alps, is the quite aptly named lake – Alpsee. Its serenity makes the entire place seem like it was a scene out of a dream.
None of this would have been possible, if I hadn’t ignored many of the warning signs along the route. Infact I made it a point to use them as waypoints to reach spots which usually others wouldn’t.
Spending time alone, peacefully lost, drowned in the most amazing of sights, in the mountains covered in snow, with no people around – was definitely one of the most amazing of experiences.
