Tandem

Well, Sam has arrived and we're off. He's brought good luck to my journey already! I've tried several times over the years to get a first class sleeper berth on an overnight train from Chennai to Madurai or on the return leg only to find all of the berths booked! I've even had to travel without air conditioning in 2nd class, no AC because of time constraints. It wasn't ideal but manageable.

We booked our tickets at the tourist reservation counter at Chennai Central Rail station. When we arrived on Tuesday night, we found someone in Sam's berth! Admittedly, I was a little stressed out, but I couldn't imagine that a rail system that had been around since 1858 would have made a mistake!

Turns out, our wonderful clerk at the tourist reservation counter upgraded us to first class! 2nd class AC would have been great! 1st class AC was outstanding! 

Thank you railway clerk and thank you Duranto Express!

We're in Madurai and I'm happy to be visiting my good friend Dr. Ravichandran and meeting his two children for the first time!