The sleeper train to Chennai

We had an excellent time at Club Mahindra, Kodagu Valley, Coorg.  The accommodation was first class, the food excellent and there were plenty of activities for the Team members.  Most of the ladies had massages and then promptly fell asleep!  In all we spent about a day and a half at the Center. After lunch on the third day we set off on the three hour drive to Mysore, stopping after one hour to visit The Golden Temple at Namdroling.  This is the focal point of a large displaced Tibetan community.  It was fascinating to see hundreds of monks teaching young boys and youths also from Tibet.  We finally arrived at Mysore just as it was getting dark.  After a quick visit to the Palace (closed) we went to a nearby hotel for an even quicker meal as we had to be at the railway station to catch the 8 pm overnight train to Chennai.

In fairness, we all had some degree of trepidation about this journey.  The train from Chennai had been during the day and we had had comfortable seats.  We were now to spend 11 hrs travelling through the night in the sleeper carriage and we did not know what to expect.  I should add at this point that Indian trains run on a larger gauge track than in the UK, so there is more width to a carriage.  This had allowed for 6 berths (4 & 2) to be positioned with a corridor running between them. The set up was that there were curtains, which enabled each of the sections to be isolated.  However, any thought that we could be together was soon shattered, as we found that our berths were in different sections. Because the train was full and many of the berths were already taken by the time of our arrival, it was not possible to negotiate swops.  I guess there are many accounts, that the Team will recount on our return, of the this journey and many ‘interesting’ photos, suffice to say, that I slept amongst a fascinating group of Indian men and women and snoring is the same the world over, as are smelly feet!

We arrived in Chennai spot on time and were met by our hosts and taken for breakfast and then a freshen up, before attending the mid day meeting of the Rotary Club of Madras.  This is the oldest Rotary Club in Chennai and the fourth oldest in India.  There were about 100 members present.  We did not have to give a formal presentation, but the Leaders introduced both teams and banners were exchanged. With the conclusion of the meeting at about 3.30 pm we were introduced to our new hosts and left to go their homes.