Monday, June 23, 2008

Experience on the train to Warsaw



First the train was one hour delayed. And it started pouring.

Most conductors don't speak English. So the first cart I got on the conductor took my interail ticket and I thought he would just check it and give back. But he was to keep it so I asked. Then he impatiently said three time "ticket tomorrow, ticket tomorrow, ticket tomorrow!" So I didn't know what to do so went into my cabin. The cabin was quite crowded with four people already inside and all of them were speaking Polish. So I asked the young ones if they spoke english and thankfully they did. They were very nice to me and helped me out a lot. Although the first thing they asked was very crucial. So they asked me where I was going then I told them Warsaw. They exchanged looks and asked "Are you sure you are on the right train?" So I freaked out. "Or I mean the right wagon?" shhhh, I was a bit more relieved. "What do you mean? aren't all the wagons going to the same places?" "No, they split up to three parts when it crosses the border." Then I realized that all of them were going to Krakow and I was the only one going to Warsaw. So they suggested me to go to the conductor and asked. So it turned out that I had to move to some other cabin. and I thanked them for being so helpful and kind and learned how to say thank you in Polish. Actually I realized not long after that what Borat says right before he goes off to some place is exactly that. Chinkui or however you spell it. anyhow, So I went back and forth trying to find the right cart. I asked so many conductors and no one spoke English. I even went on one that was so second world warish with Russian letters written all over it. and I was pretty sure the conductor was either speaking Russian or Ukrainian to me. Then I realized that one was going to split to go to Kiev. But finally I settled down in one of the nice cabins with this mother and daughter. The daughter studied in Brighton, England so her english was perfect. We chatted a bit then finally it was too difficult cuz the beds were too tight together that I couldn't hold the same posture for longer so all of us went to bed.

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