I had to attend an event in Mumbai last December.  I booked Two-tier Air-conditioned train tickets 50 days in advance.  I didn’t go for flight tickets because even though they were just two times costlier than these train tickets, they were non-refundable and I would have lost the entire amount had I canceled them due to any reason (actually I had more chances for cancellation since my mother was not well).  Since I’m an entrepreneur now, I didn’t wish to waste money by booking flight tickets.

Unreserved compartment from Mumbai to Chennai

While my travel from Chennai to Mumbai was confirmed at the last minute, the return journey was not confirmed.  When I checked flight ticket fares, they shot up to 10 times that of the train ticket.  I had only two options: 1) book a flight ticket for an exorbitant amount and reach home in 2 hours or 2) travel for 24 hours by Train in an unreserved compartment.  I choose the second option since I didn’t wish to pay such an exorbitant amount (you will understand this when you become an entrepreneur after earning a very good salary in a regular job).

The moment I looked at the unreserved compartment, I was stunned.  It was jam packed.  I thought for a second, “Should I go by flight to avoid this mad crow?”.  I decided not to.  I thought to myself, “Now I’m an entrepreneur.  I should take any risk in my life. What is the worst thing that would happen by traveling in an unreserved compartment?  Whatever it is, let me enjoy that.”  This thought gave me a wonderful experience.

I was not even able to board the compartment.  Somehow I managed to board it and was standing for 3 hours till the train reached Pune.  Standing was not painful because the first half-an hour I was standing carrying my luggage.  When I got some place to offload them, I felt better standing alone.  After Pune, I got 16 sq.cm of space to sit.  It was very comfortable than standing.  Normally I won’t feel like sleeping till 1 am.  But that day, I was feeling sleepy at 10 pm.   After 10 hours of travel, I got a decent space to sit till I reached Chennai.

What initially looked impossible for me, became possible and my confidence level went very high after this journey.  Also, the people who were in that unreserved compartment were more humane than those who were in two-tier air conditioned compartment.

You should try to travel in such an unreserved compartment for 24 hours and experience what it is.  You will cherish it through-out your life like I do.