There are many stories in my life to share but for now, I am sharing one of the most interesting story of my life. It was about 9 years back, in 2013. We had an important community meet up in Peshawar which is almost 1600 km from Karachi. In the month of November, we have couple of public holidays on account of “Ashora” 9th and 10th of Muharram (Islamic Month). So, my family and other family friends/relatives also planned to go there to attend the event.
I didn’t get enough holidays from work so, I was on a tight schedule. I planned my trip in last minute and went there. It was all good but after the event was over, I have to take bus or train on the same night to reach back home by Sunday night. I was not alone in this, my cousin cum childhood friend Mr. Mohsin was with me as he is also having the same issue, to join office on Monday.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get any bus ticket. We ran to the railway station and there was the last train of the day which was ready to leave after 15 minutes. We didn’t have much time to think so, we just bought the available tickets and rushed to find the seats. Guess what? It was the last bogie/coach of the train, in very bad condition, seats were broken and fish market smell was all over it. We do not have any other option so, we just settled there, kept our bags under the seat. We both have travelled a lot in the trains and bus but this type of seats and train was our first experience or you can say last as well LOL.
We talked about it and gave each other courage that it won’t be so bad, we are together and will enjoy the journey. The train started to roll, we were calm and quiet. Let me tell you, Karachi and Peshawar, means two ends of Pakistan. By bus, it takes 24 hours and by train it takes 30-36 hours, depending on the train which mostly gets delay. After an hour or so, it starts freezing in there. Windows were broken too, unable to close. Direct cold winds were smashing our faces. In such long routes, Berth is preferable where a person can sleep and lie down but this coach had only seats which means we have to cover sit all the way to Karachi. Cold breeze was unbearable even we were wearing jackets and shawl but it was too cold out there. After few stations, our coach was full of people. Everyone was sleeping on the floor and we both were sitting on those hard seats, very uncomfortable. I cannot describe how we managed to stay alive that night. Both of us were laughing and making fun of each other but inside we were crying lol. After 7-8 hours, we reached Lahore where we went down to have some cup of tea.
The funniest part was when we grabbed the cup of tea, our hands were shivering/trembling/ out of control that the tea was coming out of the cup. It was hilarious moment, I still remember the discussion we were having at that time, let’s get our bags and take a bus from here, we cannot carry forward in this situation. This is getting worst blah blah blah. Then we said what worst can happen, let us have that experience as well. My cousin was going to get married in six months so, I said this would be our last trip together so make it memorable. He laughed and said, yes this would be unforgettable.
When we came back to our seats, some other people were sitting there. We were already in very aggressive mood so we just start screaming that these are our seats and we have paid for these useless uncomfortable seats. Other people also start saying that yes, these boys have paid for such seats so, don’t make them more angry. I think that we were the only one in that coach who paid and have the tickets LOL. Those guys immediately left our seats. We didn’t sleep whole night, I just had couple of naps for minutes though. We started getting use to those cold winds.
Finally, the night was over and we saw the sunshine after 4-5 hours. This was the second phase of our journey. Now, we entered other province where it was very hot. We were sweating due to hot weather. It was so hot out there that we removed our cloths as much as we can to get some relaxation. Me and my cousin turned into some ghosts, dirt was all over us. We didn’t use washroom as it was not suitable. We had no sleep. Just imagine our faces
Finally we reached Karachi after 35 hours of unforgettable and remarkable journey. On the last station, we promised each other, never take emergency exit, and always wait for the right time. Haste makes waste and that is true, but this trip gives a lot of experience and lesson to both of us. It was funny as we both laugh whenever we talk about it. Hope, never get to see or experience such trip again in my life. Cheers!!!
All above pictures other than where source mentioned are taken through my cell phone Moto E4.