A wreck of a ride

No matter how cheap it is, don’t ever take a 13 hour train ride, anywhere. Given my recent experience travelling from Toronto to New York, I will definitely be taking the plane in the future. Although, I assumed the train ride would be smooth sailing, little did i know my journey would be plagued by disgusting bathrooms, unnecessary border stops, tasteless snacks and the occasional but obnoxious neighbour sitting close by. I won’t go in detail about the first scenario, but let’s just say, it wasn’t something Paris Hilton would dare step into (even her dogs would be denied entry).

Anyways, about 4 hours into the trip, we crossed the border into the U.S. Unfortunately, we needed to stop for an hour and half, so border control and the U.S. immigration officers could clear us. Of course, being very silly, I didn’t bring any food besides a nice granny smith apple. After checking my passport, the border control fella asked me if I was carrying any vegetables or fruits. Well, let’s just say (given my inability to lie) my apple got strip searched. Sadly, because it didn’t have that little sticker (stating where its grown) it was confiscated.

No wonder eating healthy is so difficult.

Anyways, with hunger pains striking my stomach i ventured into the train cafe in the next car. I picked up some salted almonds (yuck – there was no Maltesers) and tried not to think about the long haul ahead. But that became somewhat difficult when another passenger sitting across from me, started an extremely loud conversation on his blackberry. After learning about his job, the various people he is biased about and his incessant and repetitious replies, like “okay, let me tell you again....” i finally put on my ipod, hoping Britney Spears would drown out his obnoxious banter. It didn’t. But luckily he got off before New York.

With three hours to go and being extremely restless, i walked up and down the car looking for something to do. Half way up the car, I saw a lady giving her son a Disney movie to watch. Oh man! I was so jealous! I wanted to ask if she had any more movies, but i realized that would probably be weird. So i went back to reading Macleans, which proved to be very mind numbing.

Despite my complaining, the train eventually made it to New York, so I should be grateful. Unfortunately, I’m not. Being denied decent washrooms, my yummy apple, and peace and quiet, certainly makes me more grateful that airplanes offer a direct flight to the Big Apple.