An empty train compartment

An empty train compartment on a long train journey is probably the best thing that can happen to you. Especially if you don't have a book to keep you company and all you have to spend those 32 long hours is a laptop and a mobile which plays good music. Both of these, however, have limited power backup.



The Good:

• You have uninterrupted access to the power socket, 2 of them in fact, to charge your cellphone and laptop
• You need not put your backpack at one end of the seat and crouch on your berth (or what's left of it) while sleeping
• You can use bedding sheets and pillows of the adjacent berths to keep you cozy
• You can sleep at lower, middle or upper berths or even rotate among them according to your whims
• You can also hop, skip and jump between window and aisle seats at your wish
• You can sleep without having to wake up to allow your fellow passengers to sit
• You don't need to plug in earphones to avoid disturbing others
• You are not disturbed by your fellow passenger howling on the phone or playing the lamest music out loud
• There are no nagging aunts prodding you about your life history
• There are no ambitious parents comparing you to their sons and daughters or bragging about them without pause
• There is no overtly adventurous or extremely restless child to trouble you

The Bad:

• Just that if you get bored, there's no one to talk to.
• You miss out on interesting train-time gossip

The Ugly:

• It never happens to you! Yea, you never get to travel alone in an empty compartment for the length of your journey, at least with Indian Railways.