Christmas Eve and begin of journey to Nepal

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Prologue

Scheduled, routine daily life and associated boredom has taken a toll on me. Office work, studies, work out for the whole of the year without a single day off made me feel that I am now a robot. Longing to explore, going beyond the protocols and rules of city life makes me a rebel who is trying to escape from the prison of this city life. I hardly moved out of the city boundaries and felt nostalgic about South East Asia. In the middle of the work from the corner of the corner of my office desk peeps the photo of me having a great time in Thailand. It lures me, seduces me and takes me to South East Asia for a moment and brings me smile as momentarily makes me forget the pain and stress I am in here. I am still unable to take any vacation as for Euro-Russia trip I didn't have much savings or holidays in my kitty. It was a patient game I have to play before I unleash myself.

None the less the Christmas around the corner, and everyone at the office were busy planning vacation for holidays. After talking to my managers and colleagues I realized that 10 leaves not availed will not get carry forward to next year and those days will go waste and only 12 leaves will get carry forward to next year. If I were going on Euro-Russia adventure next year for next year this leaves cannot be availed next year for it. So with no other option, I decided to go to Nepal and spend the new year there.

Nepal being close to India and from my city always have fascinated me, but somehow I never managed to get in Nepal. I wished to do a trek in Nepal and traverse as far as Lhasa but with India's bitter relations with China over Tibet issue along with vulnerable political situation of Nepal it has always proved an hindrance and willingness to go there. There are frequent threats of Mao rebels in Nepal condemning and blaming India for depriving Nepal of its rights and share of prosperity. It is also saddening to find the newly formed government in Nepal is more eager in pleasing Chinese government than Indian inspite of having same culture as Indians including religion, food habits, support for Free Tibet, Dalai Lama. There were more frequent political shutdowns of cities leaving not just normal life but also tourists stranded.

One fine evening I booked a train from Kolkata to Raxaul (Nepal-India border at Indian state of Bihar) on Christmas day.

Day 1 Christmas day and night in train

I planned to sell some Christmas Cakes on Christmas Eve at cake shop run by close relatives. But as I strolled by New Market that evening and through the glittering shops selling Christmas lights, gifts, trees, Santas and I passed by the cake shop to realize it was really hard thing to do and with virtually whole of Calcutta pouring in to buy Christmas cake. Spend some time at Park Street with friend and went to attend midnight mass at St Paul's Cathedral close to my Gold's Gym. Christmas Day at Calcutta was nothing special and I woke up late as usual and just gathered by backpack and day pack and headed to train station in a yellow taxi. Finally the moment arrived as I parted the dull city as the train smoothly left the station. I climbed up my sleeping birth and headed for my awaited sleep.

My sleep was interrupted in the late evening by a verbal quarrel between a Bengali family and Bihari group. It seems one of the babies of Bihari family peed on the luggages kept under the lower berth. The food served in the night train was horrible and I could not eat it. It seems like the quality of food served in trains in India has gone down drastically. There was another friendly couple who sat next to me and for
some unknown reason their couple of years old daughter was afraid of me and kept looking at me with suspicion from time to time. The journey otherwise was boring and just a sleeping train as there were not many interesting people to interact with.

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