IN THE TRAIN

While travelling the 390 kilometers from Dammam in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia heading to its center and capital Riyadh via train, it was supposed an ordinary trip that should left nothing when traveling is over.  But what happened, in that three and a half hours travel, I had this experience that thought me.  I have learned the lesson of train.  The train is a mode of transportation consisting of a series of connected wagons that runs along the rail track to transport the passengers or cargo.  It passes through the country sides away from megacity and traffic.  Usually it is a long distance travel that requires readiness at least physically.  Train has its own exclusive road which is the railway, making it as fast moving and runs uninterrupted up to its destinations.  I chose the night trip to fit my schedule both with my work and passport appointment.  As my usual practice in any of my travel, I came early to the station to avoid rush and last minute hassles.  The station is clean and well-ordered, I seated for about a couple of two hours waiting the call for the departure.  The hot black coffee was perfect for cold weather in winter January.  Although I am used to wait without digital gadgets to entertain myself but the Wi-Fi to access my social media account helped me to kill the empty hours and too soon I heard the call for the passengers bound to Riyadh.

On board, I prepared myself for the long hour travel and I heard that distinctive horn signaling the start of the travel.  While the train started moving from slow to fast, I feel comfortable with its smooth run although there are some noises maybe from small pieces of small stones that hit the bottom of the wagon when the high speed train passes.  And I found myself while sitting in the convenience of spacious and soft chair, I have observed the other passengers who are heading on their own destinations.  The wagon is not crowded by the way, and I see the families whose young children are playing.  Travelling with family is truly very sentimental that becomes memories to look back when the children have grown.  There are female friends traveling in group.  Travelling with friends is always fun.  I remember when I used to join in out of town trip with my formers colleagues and travelling then was full of funny conversations.  Back to the train, I hear the tiny laughter from submissive children, life is so precious and innocent, children are so real, no malice, grudge, doubt and no evil.  While silently sitting and hearing those mild noise from the sound of engine, rolling bearings on the rails and those small gravels that hit in the wagon when blown, I thought that our own life is passing in this world uncertain of what’s going on outside.  Beyond our control is the undeniable disorder that happening around.

There were two stopovers to unload and upload the passengers.  Each stopover allowed me to meet new faces and scenario.  There is refined and silent, pleased to meet, confident, loner and dependent, sophisticated and communicative.  With the sceneries I see inside and outside the wagon, I look at them in a screen like watching cinema.  In that different thoughts about the scenarios that play on my mind, I have noticed I didn’t feel bored at all.  Until in a few minutes we have arrived in our final destinations.  Our life could be long but we can make things that will make us colorful, worth and learned so we do not get bored.  Our travel in life is like train.  It is long, sometimes tiring but it is always heading to our destination.  In our journey we will meet different people with different stories and each one will bring us different lessons.  We may not like our communicative neighbor but we can always find ways not to hear them.  And when it seems inevitable, sometimes letting it be will instill us the temper, cooperation and calmed under disturbed.  Public transportation is melting pot of different kinds of people, learn to be patient, to adapt different type of personalities, to consider differences, to respect and even to be independent. We are sharing the same world, let us respect the place where we are, let us respect each other’s characters whatever difference we have like our respect while inside the public transportation train.  Altogether, people that can get along well will arrive at their destination.