Memorable Train Experiences

Pompeii, Italy
Was in Naples trying to make sense of the train schedule to Pompeii. Asked someone if that was the right train to take and the answer was yes. We boarded and got off at the Pompeii station alright, and walked through the town to the tourist centre for a Pompeii map. Was enlightened that the entrance to the ruins is a long 1km walk! Found out in map that the Circumvesuviana station of Pompeii Scavi is only situated about 100 metres away from entrance. Needless to say, we took our return train there. (how are we to know scavi means ruins??)


Pompeii Scavi, also known as Villa dei Misteri station

Hong Kong, China
Making full use of the limited free time we have on a trip to HK, we took the MTR to shopping heaven, Causeway Bay. Their highly efficient train system is naturally equipped with ‘user-friendly’ ticketing machines. Alas, in our rush to maximize our shopping time, we failed to figure out how to key in more than one ticket/passenger. Ended up going through the process thrice (there were 3 of us), and a handful of coins each as change.


Single journey but multiple tickets??

Madrid, Spain
Inside a crowded Metro standing all the way to destination. Not a problem as it was only a few stops away. Got off the train and rummaged bag for ticket. Realized wallet is gone, with all my cash and credit cards. Thus, contributed to the statistic of their infamous pickpocket rate.

A metro or subway station in Madrid

Prague, Czech Republic
Tram rides sound easy enough. Being able to enjoy the scenic journey, we were quite sure that we would be able to know the stop. Alas, we were probably too mesmerized with the spectacular views (and the dog in the tram) and realized too late that we have missed the town area as the view turns suburb-looking. Ended up at the end of rail with a hilltop where town folks were playing kites.

The owner turned over with a killer look as fierce as her dog!


hmm.. no more scenic view? er, where to now?

Rome, Italy
At Roma Termini waiting for train to Fiumicino International Airport. Over the loudspeaker, an announcement was being made repeatedly. Needless to say, in Italian, with no translation. Chaos started with people around me rushing away from platform. Turned out that the trains decided to go on strike that day. Imagine me missing my flight, stranded at the station as I had no idea what was happening, if not for the friend who pulled me along to board a shuttle bus instead.

Prague to Kutna Hora, Czech Republic
Occupied a whole compartment to ourselves, with no one in sight, we both were happily cam-whoring with shots of us lying down on the seats posing ourselves silly. It is true that photos are the best kept memories.

Kutna Hora to Prague, Czech Republic
Had a dinner date that we were rushing back to Prague for. Instead of a direct train, we took one that we would have to interchange (by mistake, ok? yes, we took the wrong train, satisfied?), thus waited for such a long time till it was quite late. Gracious host didn’t mind and waited to serve us a yummy home-cooked meal.


We did end up offering to wash the dishes..

Caserta, Italy
Climbed into a train, took a seat near entrance and were observing incoming passengers. Two girls got in shortly. In Chinese, one was speaking to the other, “Let’s go in further, there’s some cute guys at the back!!”. Travel companion beside me couldn’t help but started giggling. The 2 girls looked at us and moved on quickly! We are always guilty of assuming we have a secret language of our own when in foreign land. The world is actually more universal than we thought.

There are many more taking the wrong train incidents throughout the years but really, good or bad, it was all worth it in the end just to be able to hop on to one while travelling. And may there be a lot more memorable train experiences to come.