What To Do When Stuck In A Day Long Train Journey

Since I have written a couple of posts about my unforgettable 25-hour train ride a few days ago, I have decided to share with you the things that kept me sane during the entire trip just in case you'll have to face the same situation in the future.

Ms. Piggy says Hi!

 

Presenting! Ankamil Yepuda's What To Do When Stuck in a Day Long Train Journey!

1. Bring a couple of books or three that can help you get your mind off of the fact that you are gonna be stuck in your train berth for more than a day. Reading is a great boredom buster and time killer especially once you get engrossed in what you are reading that you would lose track of time and before you know it, half of the day or even longer have already passed.

I'm so engrossed in the book right? Teehee!

 2. Load up your mp3 player with your favorite songs and take it with you so that it can cheer you up when boredom is slowly seeping in to your system and reading a book is not what you feel like doing. If you are going to bring a laptop, a tablet or any other gadget with you where you can watch videos, in our case, we opted not to, you can also download a movie or the latest episodes of your favorite series so you can watch them on board. The train had designated areas where people can charge their gadgets and we're lucky to have one in our berth. That's where we charged our mobile phones.

My one year old trusty mp3 player.

3. Strike a conversation with your co-passengers. Every man has an interesting story to tell. Who knows? The person beside you might have the most amazing story to tell you that you will never forget ever. In our case, we had a Polish couple who were like our grandparents telling us bedtime stories and even sharing with us their packed food. So sweet of them!

Lolo Jerzy, Lola Kristin and your truly.

4. Appreciate and enjoy the view outside your window. Well, during our train ride, the view outside our window was not always a sight to behold but those not so nice scenarios actually opened my eyes to how really lucky I am to be in my shoes.

Forgive Riju's mobile phone charger that's hanging like a tapeworm in the middle.

5. Another great way to kill time during a long journey is to eat and even share your food with your co-passengers. Our train is full of all kinds of food not to mention the food stuff that we brought with us so eating has also helped me get thru that long journey.

A food vendor from a train station is preparing the stuff that he is going to sell to his customers.

6. Get out and quickly take some nice pictures whenever the train halts at a station to unload passengers and load up new ones.

Peek-a-boo photo taken by Riju while the train is at a halt.

7. Taking short naps every now and then is also a great time killer. it also helps you recharge your energy tank.

Since we are in an AC compartment, it can get really cold inside and putting on a fleece blanket helps keep you warm.

8. And when boredom and vanity strike at the same time, you can always get your picture taken or take your own photo in different poses so that you can use the best ones later on your favorite social networking site!

Thank God! I have a photographer uhm, I mean, Riju with me to take my vanity solo shots! LOL

9. Play a game. Since I traveled with Riju, I was able to play with him a simple yet really fun guessing game that helped me get thru the first few hours of our train journey. Our game was such a hit that the kids sharing our compartment started blurting out their guesses on the side that I ended up playing with them when Riju got tired of it.

10. Call someone on the phone and give them a blow by blow details of what has happened and what is currently happening while your on board.

Yours truly talking to one of our friends who actually called us up and not the other way around. Hehehe!

11. Lastly, if you are traveling with someone, a long trip is a great way to bond with your travel buddy. Riju and I talked, laughed and played during the journey and I know that we both had fun. And if you are traveling alone, take it as an opportunity to get to know someone new, a co-passenger perhaps and who knows, you might even end up having that long journey as your most unforgettable train ride.

So yeah, these are basically the activities that kept me in tact during that truly memorable train journey with Riju last June. What about you, what do you usually do to keep yourself entertained whenever you are in a long journey? Share it over here and maybe one day, when I find myself in another long haul, I might just do what you have done during your trip.

Another vanity shot of yours truly. Can you see the train on the opposite side?

Hope you enjoyed this post!