Apologies for not being consistent enough in sharing blogs but I have really been caught up with a lot of work and have to travel a lot for it that I don't get to write even if I wanted to. 

As I mentioned in my previous blog, this is the Peak Month of all the months of the year for various reasons, and I am sure it is the same for all. This year specifically, is towards the next stage of my life and it requires a lot of preparation and time is also less.  More on that later. 

Now as part of this preparation, I had to go out of town for procuring a document and stayed at my cousin's there as it was very far from where I stayed and the journey to and fro would also be tiring depending on the mode of transport. I went there by bus which was supposed to be for five hours but it took seven hours to reach the town and an hour to reach my cousin's place. (I went by foot because of the pleasant breeze which barely happens in Kochi.) 

While planning the return my cousin asked whether I wanted to go by bus or by train and I was okay with either. He said that the train would be more convenient and comfortable than the bus while traveling back and it would take only three hours; also depending on the route it takes. Since it has been a really long since I traveled by train, I suggested booking a train ticket. But little did they know that when I said it's been long, they assumed it is 3-4 years long or max five. The moment my cousin and aunt heard it has been 15 years long, they were stunned. I was ten years old when I first traveled by train and that was with my family while we went on a vacation to Jaipur and Agra from Baroda where my other aunt lives there and the vacation was also part of visiting her family. After that, it has been never. It wasn't about being scared but never having a chance or making a chance. Even while coming home from Bangalore during vacation, I traveled by bus which was much more convenient as the stop was close to my home. 

This year was the first time in 15 years I entered a railway station; where the first three times was to drop my friend and the fourth time is today; when I traveled. I wasn't scared or worried at all about traveling alone on a train. If I can go by bus from Delhi to Manali all by myself, then the three-hour journey was like a walk in the park. My cousin however waited at the platform for me, finding my coach and compartment to be safe. It was a second sitting at a window side very much comfortable and not too congested. I had initially planned on taking a train from Kochi to Delhi during the solo trip but that might not have been too comfortable and it isn't two hours but two days. Maybe it would be after I get more exposure to train rides.

I should do it more often, much more convenient and comfortable than buses. Both are good though. Which one do you prefer?