Rule #2: Trains are on time or late...but never early

Our friend, Al said, "Bands either start on time, or they begin late...but they never start early. As we have learned about trains in India. After a day of coal-walking festival and many goodbyes, we took a bus to a small village, Chengalpattu, where we stood on the train platform for the sleeper train to Cape Cormorin (Kanyakumari)... We were early, we asked many people for the right platform, the right train, and even our correct car number. We hopped (literally) onto the train at 6 + p.m. (a tad before our 6:25 scheduled train) only to find a family in our seats & berths. Double booking? Nope. We had hopped the wrong train! Still going south, so our panic faded when everyone in the train car tried to advise us about what to do...to get off at the next stop, to talk to the station master, to make sure we got on the next train (the correct one) which was due to arrive in 10, 20 or 30 minutes, depending on who was advising. It worked! Within the hour we were on the correct train, with top berths as planned (thanks, Bryan!) ... where the photos we took of each other lying outstretched next to the ceiling (where Maggi's hair caught in the fan) reminded Susan of us lying in coffins. {it's a joke!} We slept like babies, until 6 am when we arrived in Kanyakumari to a sunny ocean(s)-front town...there are 3 seas here, and they really are different colors. Got an ocean(s) front room with a balcony for $7 or $8 dollars. All is well. Hope you all are. From here, we will re-enter Kerala, and visit some beach towns (Kovalam Beach, Varkala, Kollom, etc.) before flying out of Trivandrum Monday to catch our flight home from Mumbai. Watch for more photos. We filled another card up.