TS Contest | My unplanned journey.

Greetings my dear friends of Steemit and Traveling Steem

Last month I suddenly decided to visit my friend at Trissur in the Indian state of Kerala.

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It was quite unplanned. Last 22nd April I reached Howrah station in the afternoon. I carried my medicine cash and photo ID leaving behind my mobile phone. I wanted to surprise people on both ends. From the inquiry, I came to know about the available train on the same night from Shalimar station. I took a ticket for the sleeper Class. But it was not a confirmed ticket. I was the 200th passenger on the waiting list.

I went to the reservation counter in the evening and was told that my confirmed berth was 52 in the S2 coach. The train fare was ₹860 (60 Steem). I reached Shalimar station at 9:30 pm. The train was placed at platform no 3. I boarded the train and occupied my berth. The train left at the scheduled departure time. If you are interested in a detailed train journey you may visit my previous post 2200 Km Journey by an Indian Supper Fast Train

On the train, I had only the pantry food which was reasonably good and cheap. Tea was 0.733 Steem Breakfast was 3.67 Steem and meal was 11 Steem. The train was late by two hours late. Many passengers got down at stations like Chennai, Coimbatore, Tripur, Eroad, and Ernakulam before me. I arrived in Thrissur first time at about 2 PM.

For the last year, we have been in regular contact through WhatsApp after a gap of twenty-five years. I knew that he attended every day the Thrissur district court. I asked auto to take me to District court. I reached the court premises. I tried to find my friend at the Bar Association Hall. One gentleman didn't recognize my friend but he asked me to go to the New building. There I found Vincent on the first floor of Bar Association Hall.

Naturally, he was absolutely surprised as I reached without any information. He took me to the pantry and offered me cold and hot drinks and I had one Kerala-type french toast and a tea.

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I called up my family from Vincent's phone to inform my arrival after two days. They were scared and clueless about my destination. My wife insisted I return immediately. We visited Thalore church just opposite his house in the evening where his last few generations were baptized and Vincent's marriage took place. His wife now stays in UAE with her son.

I stayed at Vincent's two-storied residence with him. The next day morning we went to the Railway reservation counter but there was no train for Kolkata on the same day. So I tried for a berth in the AC coach on the next day's train. But this time also I don't get confirmed berth. I was the 44th passenger on the waiting list.

I had breakfast at the Bar Association canteen with Roti and Egg curry. I also had a good coffee. We spent some time in the hall. We had a very traditional Malayali cuisine with fish curry at another canteen run by a ladies' cooperative. It was a sumptuous meal.

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We reached home in the afternoon. I skipped dinner. I search for some cashew nuts for my daughter. I got one roasted without salt having a brown peal. It was 73 Steem per kg. I noticed the jackfruit cheaps were also sold at about 36 Steem per kg. This is deep-fried with coconut oil. It's not available in Eastern and other parts of India.

I don't have good sleep for the last four nights for various reasons. I heard the church Bell at 5:30 AM. We just sat in the lobby for the sunrise. We went out for a stroll as well as an early breakfast. On the way I saw a temple I visited the same temple from the back door which I visited yesterday also. We had masala dosa and coffee in the breakfast.

We had a plan to go to Peechi Dam. It is just 22km from Thrissur city. In the short journey, we crossed a forest as well as the Forest Research Institute. The journey was pleasant as it had hilly roads with many old cottages and churches. The dam was surrounded by many hills with a lake on one side. It was interesting to view the dam from a watch tower. There were very nice artificial gardens and children's parks. There is a bungalow at the dam for a night stay. There were boating facilities at the lake.

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We spent about an hour and returned home. I checked my PNR at about 1 PM. My berth was confirmed. What I realized is that the Railway gives top priority to Senior Citizens traveling alone in conforming berth reservations.

We went to the same restaurant for lunch but it was a vegetarian restaurant. So we had vegetarian thali with unlimited rice and vegetables at 5.5 Steem. There were many items including one fried red chilli and mango chatni.

We returned home and took a rest. In the afternoon I had a cup of coffee in the same restaurant and brought some soda for Vincent. We sat in the lobby discussing our family and future generations. My train was 9-13 PM. At 7-00 PM again the church Bell rang. Vincent said it was a good moment to start the journey. We just arrived at the point of dissociation so quickly after a short stay of three days together.

I arrived station quite early. I had my dinner at the bus stand. The train was late by two hours which was not recovered. There were many incidents in the two-day journey which may take another full publication.

Thank you for reaching my post.

I would like to invite three fellow Steemians to participate in the contest.

@edu-chemist
@miftahulrizky
@afzalqamar