Hello everyone! Welcome to another edition of Rochelle’s party of Friday Fictioneers. Sorry to have missed last week’s challenge as I was traveling. The travel bug seems to have really caught me – i can’t even think of stories that aren’t travel bound π
This week’s story is a true incident revived by the photo kindly provided by David Stewart. Thank you Rochelle, thank you David. If you want to join the fun click here

Travel Tales
Words 100
Yes!
Triumphant, I sank into my seat, easy-peasy. My first solo train travel from Delhi to Mumbai.
As our train chugged out, I broke into a sweat.
What if I had boarded the train going to Kolkata instead of Mumbai?
I couldnβt very well stick out my head to check the train number.
Should I ask my fellow passenger?
How embarrassing!
The pantry guy arrived to ask my dinner preference. With studied nonchalance I asked, βWhat is the next station?β
βKota.β
Was that on the Mumbai or Kolkata side?
βRatlam.β
If only I had studied geography.
βVadodra, Surat, Mumbai Central.β
***
Thank you for visiting, hope you have a great weekend.
For anyone interested, Chapter 12 of Some Sugar & Spice is up.
I remember feeling this same way boarding a train in Italy. I would be completely lost in India. Tracey
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First of anything is pretty scary – one can’t blame anybody else! π Thanks for reading and commenting Tracey.
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Phew
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Thank you for completing the story! π
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if she appears lost, i’m lost too for not knowing about india’s geography. π
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π Thanks for reading!
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Like Tracey, I had the same feeling in Italy. Glad you ended up on the right one!
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Yes indeed! Thank you Dale π
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I got on the wrong train at my local station the other day! How I managed on Indian trains I really don’t know, but somehow I always did!
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There’s always a first time! Glad it was on familiar territory. I think we tend to be extra cautious at unknown places. Thanks Keith for visiting π
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This would be SO stressful for me!I think they are brave.
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It was the first time and I was youngπ
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That’s a pretty important thing to figure out, especially considering how big India is. In Korea there are some cities whose names sound almost the same and I’ve known people to want to go to one and end up on the other side of the country. Glad it worked out in this case.
-David
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A friend of mine had that experience recently in Korea! I was lucky as it was easy to get confused in those days, especially as the Kolkata train was on the opposite platform with a 15-minute difference in departure times. Heard several stories of mix ups. Thank you for reading and commenting π
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Dear Dahlia,
I could feel you tension in this piece. I’m not too great in the American geography department myself. I enjoyed your story. It just shows how alike we all are. π
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Indeed more similarities than differences! If only we could focus on that. Thank you Rochelle for your lovely comment π
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β€οΈπΉπΊππ»
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Sounds exciting even if she started off unsure.
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Yes of course! Thank you Violet for reading and commenting π
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