travel journal: Kochi to Hyderabad

We left Kochi the morning of the 4th to head to Ernakulam (the larger city about 45 minutes east of Kochi), where the train station was located. After lunch at the delicious Dal Roti, we jumped in an auto and headed over to the station. After being redirected to the correct station (and another auto ride, oops!) we ended up in a strange train station town. We couldn't really put our finger on it, but Ernakulam by the norther train staion was, well.. creepy. It was kind of eerie the way people stared at us (and yes we are used to a getting looks, but not in the intensely unfriendly way of this part of town). We found a hotel room right by the train station (as our train was scheduled to leave at 4:10 AM) and settled in for the night. We decided to stay up and sleep on the train because we had to get to the train station early to confirm our seats which meant a 3AM check out. After a little difficulty checking out at the front desk (the nightshift front desk guy didn't have change so he said he'd have to charge us more for the room... whaaat? We ended up winning the stand off with him and he reluctantly went to get change) we headed to the train station and quickly found out our train was running 4 hours late. After a nap with about a hundred other people who were also stranded, our train rolled in around 8:40 AM. We crawled into our 2 tier bunk (meaning 4 people and bunks per compartment) and settled in for the 28 hour train ride. Fairly uneventful, mildly scenic, and good company, we arrived in Hyderabad, grabbed an auto and returned to my grandmother's house in Ramanthapur. This week: a visit from dad and Elliot's brother Will in Hyderabad! Can't wait! And then we head north...