TL4L

[The Good] [The Bad] [The Ugly] 

The endless hours reading books, drinking tea, watching the world go by. That feeling of always being in motion, that you're going somewhere. Forced leisure time - playing cards, just hanging out with your companion, hashing out outlandish ideas and serious topics and all things in between. Seeing a bright and beautiful slash of landscape quickly dance before your eyes before you are whisked into a tunnel as black as night, never quite knowing if such a vista was real. Sitting up well into the early hours, looking out for city lights, listening to metal to combat the cacaphonic chorus of apneic snores.  It's the people watching. Making small talk with the locals, relying more heavily on gestures and tone than actual words, because as the resident Westerner you are now their esteemed English teacher. Food is in plentiful supply, although the challenge lies in deciphering which local delicacies are fit for Caucasian consumption! The rails are rough, the stops infuriatingly drawn out, and it can be hard to find peace and quiet when everybody is spitting and shaving. If the stink of cigarette becomes too much, check out the restrooms, they'll be sure to take your mind off things. Yes, you are certainly in the thick of the very version of humanity and the culture that you came to see. What look like modest bunks, are instead ringside tickets to the domestic travel circus!

All these reasons and more are why I love this mode of long distance transport. It's true. Sleeper trains run raucous, rusty, beautiful tracks through many of my fondest travel memories.