When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Last weekend I was travelling to Kerala by train (my usual weekend run) and chanced upon
this western tourist, who was also headed to God's Own Country on vacation. It was like 9AM
on Saturday and since the train would be reaching my station soon, I was getting ready to detrain, when I saw her.

She was sleeping on the side upper berth. I guess her destination must be Trivandrum (the capital of Kerala and the final destination for the train) because the Kovalam beach there is

quite a hit with tourists and comes only a close second to the beaches at Goa, which is the ultimate tourist hotspot.

Trivandrum (the anglicised version of the actual name Thiruvananthapuram) is also in close proximity to various Ayurvedic health resorts, again located close to the beaches or near the backwaters and which is another reason for its attraction to tourists.

Anyway, coming back to the tourist, what struck me was the way she was sleeping. Instead of leaving her baggage under the seats, she had them alongside her on the berth and was sleeping with her feet on them. Not a convenient way to sleep, as I know from experience.

But then, when you are travelling in India, it helps to be careful with your belongings. Or you could wake up in the morning, only to be dismayed to see your baggage missing. Ofcourse,

these kind of thefts in trains are rare down South, but they cannot be ruled out entirely also.

Looks like she had done her homework well, before embarking on the experience called India. Ofcourse, with quite some help from the Lonely Planet guide and Google.