Why this train?

This night on this train? The Calcutta to Delhi train is one of the classic overnight Indian journeys. In India the train service is split into multiple classes. You have the scrum and battle of unreserved third, and frankly that class scares me. Then you have reserved third that is not much better, but at least you don’t need to fight for your seat, not that you would particularly want it when you get it. Then you have 3rd sleeper, which requires a career in Olympic gymnastics to use as each birth has beds stacked in triplicate up the wall. Next comes 2nd AC, which is where we aim for. It is like 3rd, but the beds are in the much more reasonable double bunks and you get a pillow. Or at least you should. It is a very late train tonight when we join at Agra, and the rest of the hundred person carriage is fast a sleep, something that I will not be able to join them in as, (a) the snorers have started in earnest and (b) I don’t have a pillow.

Trying to be as quiet as possible I search the small berth for the missing item. The white sheets are folded in place at the end of the bed, as is the rough and itchy looking blanket, but there is no sign of the pillow.

It was at this point that my Rohan Cloudbase Jacket came to my rescue. You see Rohan gear often comes with a built in “packpocket”. This nifty hidden section allows the entire Jacket to stuff into a small zippered pocket. It is great for packing into small nooks and crannies of ones rucksack saving on space when not in use. It also makes the jacket into a neat little pillow shape. A quick rummage though my rucksack and I have it.

You never know when a something designed for one use will be perfect for another. For some, being able to pack down ones jacket into a pocket would be an over-the-top feature and hardly essential. But for me, it is the little

features that add the most weight when the chips are down. This is what I was telling myself as I tried to sleep on the train, but as I said the snorers had started in earnest and the decibel rating of the man across from me, by far the worst, is like a clap of thunder. What to do? Unzipping the packpocket I extract one arm of the jacket and zip it back up enough to secure it, thus giving me what is essentially a soft headed mace. I concentrate for a moment on what I am going to do and then swing it out across the gap between our two beds. It clonks into his body and in the same motion I snap it back and slam down my head onto it. The man wakes and looks around in confusion and anger, but I am innocently asleep. Then he turns over, mumbles something in Hindi and goes back to sleep. Only this time without snoring.

Success! Yes sir, you can never tell when a small feature can be used for a triple purpose. I will promise to keep innovating if Rohan does!

Addendum:

It’s strange, but the journeys that stay with you, the ones that matter are often the ones that were a trial at the time. Indian transport is a vital part of any visit to India; at once so efficient that web booking is possible and yet so chaotic that you end up packed like sardines. My favourite memory is getting a last minute ticket to Shimla on the mountain toy train and having to be in the locals birth. Making so many new and close (in the on-your-lap sense) friends was a lot of fun. Sometimes it is the barriers, such as language, that bring us together as much as others, such as ticket class, keep up apart.

My advice: see every time you get on a train as a chance, an oportunity, to connect in ways that perhaps, if you had the choice, you wouldn’t select.

By Basho

Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, Northern India. Escaping to the cool of the mountains was essential after the 40 degree heat of the deserts of Rajasthan. Up here the bright sun is tempered with the breeze blowing off the snow covered mountains of Tibet, visible in the distance but over 80 miles away.

Trying to plan for the unexpected, when limited to 25kg of weight in your pack, can be daunting. Warm clothes usually take up lots of space and weigh you down. Wet weather clothes often won’t pack down tight and can stay wet for days after use. Not to mention breakages. When you are doing all sort of activities from brush-cutting in the Australian Outback, crossing the sering deserts of Jaisalmer on a camel, bungee jumping off the bridges of New Zealand or hiking through the jungles of the Thai/Burma border, you need clothes that can stand up to abuse and yet still be smart enough to wear in a top Singapore Restaurant.

Thankfully, we spent the time and effort to research our choices. I knew that we would need clothes that were going to be welcome anywhere, with subtle branding that hinted only at the unspoken quality in the build and materials. After almost a year of constant travel only the Rohan clothes show little or no sign of wear and tear. My Rohan “Cross Border” trousers look as good today as they did on day one. Which is a lot more than I can say for my others from a competitor; those have needed stitching more than three times. Other great buys include the “Cloud Base” Rohan jacket that not only dries extremely quickly, but is ultra light and packs down into itself. I was able to take it into the Jaisalmer desert just in case; a freak storm hit the sands that night and I was the only dry camper. Also, when not in use, it doubled as a brilliant pillow cushion. By far my favourite item is my “Travel Linen” shirt which is very soft and as tough as nails. I wore it trekking in the Thai jungles and yet it was also smart enough to wear in a top Mumbai restaurant without raising an eyebrow.

Our Rohan clothes have performed unwaveringly, they have been washed in everything from New Zealand’s industrial machines to the hand-wash Dhobi Ghats of Mumbai and yet retain their original colours and shapes. Francesca points out that we have sent many items back to England over the months, but we both still have all our Rohan clothes. Also, that her choices retain a feminine look for the evening and yet are every bit as tough as the men’s items. Being able to throw off the “backpacker” label is vital to fitting in with the locals everywhere from the high-class wine tastings of Australia to the street vendors of Laos.

Today in Shimla, we are both eying up those snow covered Himalayan peaks in the distance and planning our next trek. I know we will be going to Rohan for our kit no matter where the next adventure takes us.

Basho

Shown here is:

1. Rohan Cloud-base jacket
2. Rohan T Plus
3. Rohan Ultra-T
4. Rohan Travel linen shirt LS
5. Rohan Expedition 2 shirt LS
6. Rohan Expedition shirt SS
7. Rohan Souk shirt SS
8. Rohan Micro grid stow-away fleece
9. Rohan Goa shorts
10. Rohan Cross boarder trousers
11. Rohan 3x cool trunks
12. Rohan Travel socks
13. Rohan Bhutan walking shoes
14. Rohan Shoe bag
15. Helly-Hansen T LS
16. 5.11 tactical T SS
17. 2x Bridgedale ultra light trekking socks
18. Craghoppers Bear Grills combats
19. Peter storm baseball cap with neck protector
20. Flight socks
21. Teva sandals
22. Lifesystems traveller first aid
23. Trekmates typhoon poncho
24. Lifesystems box net mosquito net
25. Maxpedition proteus case: 2x niteize s-biner / paracord / mending kit / duct tape / mending glue / sticky back Velcro
26. Rab silk sleeping bag liner
27. Berghaus belt pouch
28. Pacsafe waist wallet
29. Pacsafe Exomesh
30. Exped drybag CS
31. Lifeventure med quick drying towel
32. Purehydration filtered water bottle
33. 4x TSA Ultra padlocks
34. Sennheiser headphones
35. Swiss travel products multi charger
36. Maglite AA
37. Cold steel sharkie marker pen
38. Cable based bike lock
39. Moleskine 18 month diary
40. Moleskine receipt wallet
41. Paperblanks mini sketch book
42. Alan Watts become what you are book
43. Alan Watts ‘Cloud Hidden’ book
44. Oregon Scientific ATC 2000 action camera
45. 4x Scandisk Ultra 2 SD cards 2GB
46. Sony PSP
47. 2GB thumb drive
48. Leatherman Juice XE6
49. Apple iphone and iphone armour
50. HP ipack communicator phone
51. Canon HG10 camcorder
52. iphone charger
53. Natwest online banking card reader
54. 40% DEET anti-mosquito spray
55. Mosiguard anti-mosquito spray and cream
56. MASTA traveller diarrhoea pack
57. 2x silica gel packs
58. Arc’teryx Bora
59. Naneu Pro laptop/camera bag
60. Exsus travel leather document wallet
61. Stuff sac
62. 2x Eagle Creek packet cubes
63. 2x Eagle Creek packet half cubes
64. Eagle Creek sack
65. Eagle Creek Wallaby wash bag

Close ups:

This all fits in just two bags!  The 65 litre Bora and the Naneu Pro camera bag.

I hope I can actually lift it all!

Regards,

Basho