April 7: Departing Aurangabad...Train to Mumbai

Sometimes enjoyable moments just pop-up when you least expect them.

My plans for departing Aurangabad were as follows:

1.      Return from the tour at 3 PM and work on my Blog during the heat of the day.

2.      Return to the hotel for a swim, shower and change into clean traveling clothes.

3.      Eat dinner.

4.      Wait until 9 PM before heading for the train station.

Although its sounds simple, I needed to have my travel clothing and accessories separate from my backpack...all of which had to be set-up before I left for my tour at 7 AM. The hotel was very accommodating in storing my back-pack while I toured the Caves of Ellora and allowed me to use the pool and shower facilities to clean-up even though I had checked out early that morning. Planning is everything.

While I was waiting in the hotel lobby, one of the staff came over and we had an enjoyable one hour conversation. Sumit Kumar Sharma is a 21 year-old Indian gentleman who was born in  a town near Varanasi but moved to Aurangabad to get a job at the VITS hotel. He talked about his dream of moving to the USA or Canada. He is looking for a job in hotel management or on a cruise ship and he told me how he has learned to speak English, Japanese and Korean to better serve the Hotel's clients. We discussed some of his additional skills of working with electronic equipment and the need to stress his many capabilities in his resume. You can see the future of India in individuals like Sumit who have the desire and drive to pursue their dreams. If you can assist him in pursing his dreams....send an email to sumitkmr509@gmail.com. I promised him I would mention him in my BLOG and post his handsome picture....Sumit...promise kept

Sumit Kumar Sharma

It is fun traveling in India because you don't what might happen next. I got to the train station in plenty of time and knew which sleeper car I was in and the berth number...everything looked great. The train pulls in on-time...all 20 passenger cars...some coach, some 2nd class, some 1st, sleeper cars with 6 bunks to a compartment and some first class sleepers with 4 beds ( like 2 bunk beds in a room) to a compartment --- I had a reservation for the latter. I thought I had got on the right car but I didn't...here I am lugging my 40 pound backpack and small carrying pack as I attempt to navigate from train car to train car looking for my bed. I finally find a conductor who takes me through 2 additional cars before I find my sleeper compartment....I'm huffing and puffing which negated the benefit of the shower I had taken earlier at the hotel. My bedroom is occupied by 3 people who are sleeping....I stow my big backpack quietly, make my bed in semi-darkness, lay out my sleeping gear (you do have to be prepared and pack properly)....brush my teeth....take my meds...and like superman navigate my supple 73 year-old body up into the top bunk in the dark...thank goodness I didn't have to take a whizzzz in the middle of the night.

I met my fellow roommates before we arrived in Mumbai and had a great discussion about the Sikh religion...there is so much to see and learn about in this world!!!