Five People Who I Met on Christmas
Matt
Fifty Two:
Fifty Two is a man of mystery. In our compartment of six only five of the six beds were taken with seat 52 remaining empty. We were fearful to occupy his bed as the last thing we needed was a conflict at 3am if he jumped on at some unknown station along our route. And thus as we drifted off to sleep on Christmas Eve the bottom bunk left unoccupied despite the superior sleep one receives on the lowest bed. But as you may have guessed Fifty Two never turned up at all which provided our group with more luggage space and a nicer bed for Josh Hamilton to retire to when Delhi Belly brought him down.
The Candyman:
Now here in India the men selling food and drink on the trains have a bit of a reputation. Their infamous raspy cries of "Chai!" and "Egg Biriyani!" are known by Indians across the country and are a common joke between us and the Magicians but The Candyman was different. He was a quiet man who was slow with his change and he nearly sneaked past us as he shuffled along each carriage but we spotted him. There was a moment of pure silence as we saw the brown gold he was carrying in his plastic basket. Kit Kats. Within the space of 2 seconds he had hundreds orders from all directions demanding his product. I was lucky enough to fight through the crowd and secure one bar of the chocolate and oh boy was it worth my 40 rupees. It instantly brightened my mood and some say it led to me winning the next four rounds of scum since I was on such a high.
The Kiwi and The Southerner:
I met both these men in quick succession prior to dinner on Christmas Day and there friendliness really hit me. While waiting outside the front of out hotel for slower members of our tour group to be ready a man with broad shoulders, dark skin and a cleanly shaven face also exited the hotel with his family. Noticing the small group of foreign teenagers waiting patiently outside he was intrigued by us and detached from his wife and child to engage in a small conversation with us. I would then learn that they had traveled to Mumbai from Kerala for their child's Christmas holidays and that the man had previously lived in Mumbai 8 years ago. We then focussed on our groups travels before leaving one another to go to our respective dinners. In the space of one minute I felt like I was this mans friend and thus my spirit was lifted. 50 metres down the road we stumbled across another man but this time it was a Cantaburian who lived in Mumbai. Though he was a little unfriendly, his accent and knowledge of home was pleasing to my ears as I was a little homesick on this day.
The DJ:
Our Christmas dinner was held at a small restaurant called Pergula just down the road from our hotel. The food was brilliant and the staff were efficient and friendly but the real highlight of thr night was the live DJ. He hid in the corner at the back at the restaurant almost unnoticeable as one entered but you couldn't miss his music. For the space of 1.5 hours he played banging remixes of Calvin Harris, Galantis and Justin Timberlake just to name a few and every boy was caught either dancing or bopping their heads as they waited for food. The vibe was electric and upbeat though if he could please find a better Runaway remix that would be appreciated.
But of course one couldn't write his blog without mentioning the Magicians whose friendliness in making us feel welcome in Mumbai was much appreciated and bonds were definitely formed over the next few days. And finally I must thank the boys and the staff for an awesome Christmas. Your company over the last month has been incredible and we have formed many life long bonds and memories on this trip together. Christmas is all about spending time with family and I was proud to spend my 2017 Christmas with a new family.
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