I love bridges, I am always photographing them when I get a chance. They make good subjects as their lines draw the eye into the distance and give a three dimensional feel to the photograph.
The first time we went to India we were lucky enough to go on a rail trip from Kerala to Goa, via the Konkan Railway. As anyone who has made this journey will tell you, it is an experience not to be missed. We had booked our trip through a travel agent in the UK and the train journey was included. Our seats/berths (as it was an overnight journey) were second class air conditioned, which were incredibly comfortable and really lovely.
Our carriage comprised of six seats, and the beds folded down in the evening after dinner. We were sharing our carriage with a lovely Indian family who showed us the ropes and helped us order our dinner when the waiter came round. The waiters take the orders for the whole train, and then phone ahead to the next station where the meals are prepared and then loaded onto the train ready to be served when we get to that station.
Every half an hour or so a ‘Chai Wallah‘ would come through the carriages selling tea or coffee (milk and sugar already added) so there was never a shortage of drinks, but my husband did go exploring with the dad from our carriage in search of a sugar free black coffee, and was brought to the kitchen carriages of the train where the chefs were cooking huge saucepans of curry rice & dhal, and lots of other delights.
Although the railway has been designed for high-speed traffic of 100 miles per hour, the fastest train on the route, the Trivandrum Rajdhani Express, at present runs at a maximum speed of 68 miles per hour, and our train rarely exceeded 40 mph. There were regular non scheduled stops for cows, people and traffic on the line.
At one point we crossed a really long bridge, of which I later took a photograph;
The Zuari Bridge or Konkan Railway Bridge is a railway bridge between North Goa and South Goa
This is the Zuari Bridge which carries the Konkan Railway over the tidal part of the Zuari River, south of Carambolim. The bridge was completed in three years and is nearly a mile long! (1,319 metres)
Chris Tarrant also enjoyed a trip on this railway, and had a very similar experience to us. You can have a look at his trip on Channel 5’s Extreme Railways
To find out more about this weeks Travel Theme, hop over to ‘Where’s My Backpack?
This week’s Travel Theme is Bridges
My other entry, about a bridge closer to home, is here
Day One 
Oh lucky you, Kerrela is top of my want to go to destinations at the moment, and I just keep meeting people who have been 🙂 However I hadn’t heard of this railway trip, which sounds amazing, and I have now added it to growing list of things to do when/if we get there 🙂
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We have been to Kerala twice, it it truly wonderful, the train journey was one tiny part of an amazing 14 days of magic
Definitely go!!
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Oh you make me want to go and book it right now 🙂
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Now is the time to go! The monsoon is over, and it will be getting hot by April
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I’m back, I’m back. I was on the Konkan Railway to Mangalore. Gosh it was amazing.
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You must be starving and exhausted, I forgot to talk about dinner and bedtime! It was the most wonderful sleep… I could hear ‘morning town ride’ in my head as I fell asleep
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That’s an impressive bridge.
I like bridges. I think, because I grew up near one: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Oj5MPmqZo0U/TbRCaV7B5_I/AAAAAAAAAFI/_23XIpHZp1o/s1600/runcorn.jpg
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That’s a beautiful bridge 🙂
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Loved this post. You’re so right about bridges. They are fascinating; I love the way they draw you in. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you 🙂 I was so thrilled when this topic came up, although I have so many photos…. so little time!
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Fascinating post and a fascinating subject. We live less than a mile from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel http://www.cbbt.com/. Which is the longest bridge/tunnel complex in the world (nearly 18 miles.) I never tire of seeing the sparkling lights of the bridge on evenings when we walk the beach.
That bridge in India looks daunting. India also has some of the more impressive dams in the world. Never been there but like to read about it. You make it sound inviting.
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We have been there 3 times, and can’t wait to go back. India is not for everyone, but we absolutely adore it! The only reason we don’t go every year is the long flight. The shortest ever has been 10 1/2 hours, and then the jet-lag. When we go to Egypt there is only a 2 hour time difference which is in our favour coming home, so we hardly notice it. Next time we go to India we will try to go for longer…. there is so much to see!
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