Riding Sleeper Class

When I first heard about riding on trains here, I heard there were overnight trains we could take and sleep on them.  I presumed it was termed "sleeper class."  It isn't!  Thankfully someone informed me of this before I bought my first overnight train ticket.

This month, the 2nd AC class we normally we ride in was out of tickets, so we rode sleeper class instead.  It is named "sleeper class" for a reason, right?  One would think it would be conducive to sleeping.  Well, not exactly...take a look...

This picture is taken about 10 minutes after the train started moving.  There obviously more people then there are seats!

 

This is under Julie's seat/bed.  This space is only supposed to be for one person, but as you can see, there are 5 people sitting/lounging there.

When it got to 10:00 pm or so, the people without seats (and tickets mind you) got off the train at their stops.  (Apparently if you are only going a short distance, you can just pile in without a ticket--even though it is illegal).  However, don't think that this doesn't sometimes cause problems.  We almost witnessed a fight on the train, but they contained themselves until we arrived at a small station.  They took it outside...but one of them came back with a fat lip.

So, I did get some sleep, despite no AC, mosquitoes, and having all my bags piled on my already too short bed.  I felt like I was really one of the people and getting the full, true experience of riding a train in South Asia!