Travelling in one of the world’s most highly rated train journeys is always a welcome break and that too when it comes sponsored from the other side.

I had always dreamnt of travelling in

Palace on Wheels (read POW) and the famous Glacier Express in Swiss Alps. Well the oppurtunity to travel in POW came first and was quiet unexpected. As an incentive programme my company booked me for 4 nights in the train along with my colleague. Before the onset of the journey i decided to read as much as i can regarding the train ant its itinerary (course of travel). Every new internet page was an eye opener for the train as everyday i was coming to know about the different facets of the train.

Any ways the D day and throughtout the last night i was dreaming about the train, feeling about its aura, texture, ambience, food etc. Delhi cantt is as crowded as always, and i gently forgive the municla corporation for the rucus outside the train station as i was on a high and why not that was the experience of life time which i was going to witness. There were arrangements for traditional welcome at the arrival lounge and honestly somewhere we felt that this train is only for foreign nationals, owing to the way things were moving around us. Again as gentle as Budhha, we let them takeover our emotions and we were waiting to get our boarding cards- yes boarding cards i mean it, they are like flight pass, remarkable!!!!.

We were given Kota coach, no i am not from minority so that one feels i was on kota, in actual Kota is a place in Rajasthan, As a matter of fact all the coaches of POW are named after one or the other city of Rajasthan. Broad moustache attendents welcomed us at the gates and i was getting excited as i was about to enter a totally different world. The interiors are really beautiful, but in some places they have become a eye sour for the passengers. Anyways i sat in the sofa next to the gate and my baggage was placed in my cabin, everything now was taken care by the staff RELIGIOUSLY. The drinks, the cashewnuts, the nuts all tasted exotic and was looking like that i was experiencing them for the first time in my life.

Beds are small, but one can manage after a nights sleep, after a quick shower we decided to explore the train in its every nook and corner. The bar was already set, drinks are really expensive, but since we do not drink, therefore we thought that these are our savings-- an idea comes only from genius. we were given time for dinner at 2045 hrs, we were already there by 2000 hrs, see india is changing people have started reaching places before time- good job. Food was really great, the way it was cooked, prepared, served and informed to us one by one. POW has an speciality in tandoor, therefore it is highly recommended for the saviours of tandoori food.

After the dinner it is the time of the day when you can sit in the lounge having black coffee in your mind (served as well) and opening your chatter box with your fellow passengers. It is but obvious that the fellow passengers travelling in the train must have done something in their life, that’s why they have made it to POW. Sometimes i used to wonder if fraction of these passengers are held back in our country for say 10 years, imagine the vast pool of experts will be there in our country (can happen only in communist countries)

Anyways, days were employed in the sightseeings and exploring the rich cultural heritage of Rajasthan and nights passed in admiring the beauty of this moving heritage. It was very hard to say goodbye to this marvel of India Railways.

But time and POW stops for nobody and so are we.
It gently slipped from the platform, chugging off to another destination to give glimpse of another world in the same world. (maybe einstein gets a clue for another theory from this statement)

Frequently travelled class on this train:

First class AC