Exploring the World One Train Station at a Time

There are 369 train stations in London and the reason that I am sharing this fact is because this fact is the basis of the article I am writing. 

When I was in England, life was pretty busy during my University days. Studying and working at the same time was something new for me and it took well more than half a year to get used to it. I did travel here and there, visiting Ireland and Scotland for a couple of days. Going to other cities such as Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool (for obvious reasons) to explore the country a bit but obviously time wasn’t on my side. By the time my Master’s degree was completed I just had 3 months left to explore the country. Thankfully, I went from Middlesbrough to London and stayed with my Aunt for this duration and made it my aim to explore London. The city I find the most exciting and the city that for me, is the best city in the world. So how do I do that? I asked myself. I wasn’t too interested in the famous buildings and landmarks. Even then I had already visited them, the museums too. The solution I came up with was, to just get in a train and stop at the train station with the most unique name. First time I tried that, the East Ham train station was my destination. I used to get off the train, walk on foot from one station to the next and the next. Within three months, I must have walked 100s of kilometers and as my checklist shows me, explored areas around 128 train stations. 

There are 175 train stations in Sydney and the reason I am sharing this fact is because these train stations taught me how to explore a city. 

Sunday is the only free day I have. Every Sunday, since the past few months I perform the same ritual here in Sydney as well. Get on a train, leave at a train station and then explore the area around it. The thing about Sydney is that it is a big city and the train stations are pretty far away from each other so I cannot walk from one station to the other all the time but give myself enough time to explore the particular area. 

The interesting thing about train stations is that they have a whole new, different world around them. Every station that I explore has people living from different countries, foods from particular areas, artwork and even feeling that you are in a different country. Sydney is multi-cultural too, since it is vast and the population here is scattered people from different nationalities have created a community for themselves in particular areas. Same as the Southall in London where you see desi people, shops, foods and even names written in Urdu and Hindi language. It is the same here; Lakemba will give you a feel that you have moved to Bangladesh. Auburn will give you a feel that you have entered Pakistan. Punchbowl will take you to Lebanon. Hornsby will be as if you have flown to East Asia and Ashfield will have Nepalease people and Yagoona will be full of Vietnamese. 

Waking up on a Sunday morning, downloading a few podcasts on the app. Getting ready and leaving for the train station, getting on the train and looking at the map to decide which station to visit today is my idea of Nirvana. 

Some people find it extremely boring. When I tell people about it, most of them look at me in disbelief, some totally ignore it, others say well you can do better things. But for me, as a person who loves to explore and observe this is just so exciting. People living their lives as if they are in their own country, a community where you are away from your homeland but still at home. It is like going on a world tour. I am able to try new food from a new country, I meet people and try to talk to them as much as I can, observe how people greet and talk to each other. The way they deal with me, everyone will be different.  It teaches you a lot. It has taught me a lot. It expands your horizon, opens your mind and helps you understand other religions and cultures. It just makes you a better person, or at least it changes you.

As I am typing this on my phone I am going from Chatswood to Marrickville, I have just ticked off the 100th Train station in Sydney. The thing that makes me satisfied is that I have explored 100 different worlds at 100 different train stations. The thing that keeps me happy is that there are still 75 more.