Rishikesh Train Station, India

[Manfred M]

Rishikesh is another holy city on the Ganges River, in India. It is packed with Ashrams and yoga schools and came to fame in the West as the place the Beetles went to and where they composed the White Album. We arrived there on the overnight sleeper train (the leftmost one in the image). I took this early morning shot from a bridge used to get across the tracks.

[Shadowman]

Nice countryside and perspective.

[bnnrcn]

Are you back home Manfred ? Your uploaded images look neater now, I think you have better conditions to edit your images. I'm sure when you finish editing all of them , they will make a very good travelling documentary

[Manfred M]

Are you back home Manfred ? Your uploaded images look neater now, I think you have better conditions to edit your images. I'm sure when you finish editing all of them , they will make a very good travelling documentary

Yes, we got home last week, so rather than trying to look at the images on a tiny laptop screen with so-so colour, I am back to my proper photoediting tools and my Wacom tablet.

[bnnrcn]

I'm glad that you and your wife are back home in good health Manfred I would like to see all images of your journey , where will you upload them, to the blog you mentioned before or to your own web page?

Yes, we got home last week, so rather than trying to look at the images on a tiny laptop screen with so-so colour, I am back to my proper photoediting tools and my Wacom tablet.

[Manfred M]

I'm glad that you and your wife are back home in good health Manfred I would like to see all images of your journey , where will you upload them, to the blog you mentioned before or to your own web page?

As we process them they will be going up on my Behance and Flickr sites. I've put a few up on Facebook as well. This will be a process that takes some time as we have many thousands of images to review and rate before we do any serious uploading.

Here are the first ones (I think I have posted all of these on CiC).

http://manfredm.prosite.com/224412/5...gallery/bhutan

[HaseebM]

Very well taken Manfred. It is beautiful and for once I am glad to see hardly a crowd on the platforms.

[Manfred M]

Very well taken Manfred. It is beautiful and for once I am glad to see hardly a crowd on the platforms.

Perhaps because it was so early in the morning. We had just arrived on the overnight sleeper train.

[Shadowman]

Perhaps because it was so early in the morning. We had just arrived on the overnight sleeper train.

Were the sleeper cars comfortable? I've seen video where they are nothing more than wooden bunkbeds. I rode on a train through India but it was a short five hour trip so only had coach seats.

[Manfred M]

Were the sleeper cars comfortable? I've seen video where they are nothing more than wooden bunkbeds. I rode on a train through India but it was a short five hour trip so only had coach seats.

We were in AC3 class, so pretty basic accommodation with 8 bunks in a group and no closed compartment. Next time we'll go for a compartment in AC1.

[Brownbear]

Hi Manfred,

Just to say it is always truly a pleasure to view your images. Always interesting and beautifully photographed.

[Manfred M]

Were the sleeper cars comfortable? I've seen video where they are nothing more than wooden bunkbeds. I rode on a train through India but it was a short five hour trip so only had coach seats.

John - I just found a snap of the inside of an AC3 sleeper compartment. Not a great shot, but you certainly get a view of the conditions inside the sleeping car. What is missing are the chai sellers, armed guards and others who are wandering about the corridor whilst one is trying to get some sleep.

AC3 sleeper by The Grumpy Diver, on Flickr

[HaseebM]

Were the sleeper cars comfortable? I've seen video where they are nothing more than wooden bunkbeds. I rode on a train through India but it was a short five hour trip so only had coach seats.

John, the wooden bunkbeds are long gone. Nowadays almost all trains are airconditioned. When I travel sometimes overnight, we take AC 2 Tier which has only 4 bunks. If you travel by Shatabdi or even Rajdhani express, then you will enjoy the bunkbeds. If you travel on 'Palace on wheels' it will be an adventurous journey.

[Shadowman]

John - I just found a snap of the inside of an AC3 sleeper compartment. Not a great shot, but you certainly get a view of the conditions inside the sleeping car. What is missing are the chai sellers, armed guards and others who are wandering about the corridor whilst one is trying to get some sleep.

AC3 sleeper by The Grumpy Diver, on Flickr

Manfred,

Thanks for finding, brings back memories of at least the cramped conditions, luckily I didn't have to do an overnighter on my excursion.

[Manfred M]

John, the wooden bunkbeds are long gone. Nowadays almost all trains are airconditioned. When I travel sometimes overnight, we take AC 2 Tier which has only 4 bunks. If you travel by Shatabdi or even Rajdhani express, then you will enjoy the bunkbeds. If you travel on 'Palace on wheels' it will be an adventurous journey.

The Shabati was a very pleasant surprise. We had assumed that we would not be fed on the train, so picked up snacks and food prior to boarding. There was no need to; a litre of water showed up almost as soon as we had departed and snacks and food (including a full dinner) and dessert were served, nicely spaced throughout our long train rides.

We were told that this level of service had been introduced on select trains fairly recently.

[Shadowman]

John, the wooden bunkbeds are long gone. Nowadays almost all trains are airconditioned. When I travel sometimes overnight, we take AC 2 Tier which has only 4 bunks. If you travel by Shatabdi or even Rajdhani express, then you will enjoy the bunkbeds. If you travel on 'Palace on wheels' it will be an adventurous journey.

Haseeb,

I believe I was on the Majoba-Khajuraho line, no more than a five hour trip so didn't get the opportunity to try sleeping on the bunks.