The 18.15 from Colombo

The bloke at the ticket kiosk said the train would be "a bit busy". He was clearly well-versed in the art of British understatement - a vestige of the days of empire, perhaps.

"A bit busy" meant hanging out of the door with three Sri Lankan gentlemen.

It was great fun. I would certainly rather be hanging out of the door with these friendly folks, being blasted with the hot tropical night, than squashed inside. I remember thinking though, as trains swooshed by in the other direction, if those trains were this busy too, we would smash into the other hangers'-on at a combined speed of 100mph. That would not be pretty.

Thankfully those trains were comparatively quiet, so we were spared such horrors.

In truth, this is a perfectly good way to travel. It's not like we're on the Japanese bullet train clawing at the paint in a 200mph gale. These trains clank along at a nice steady 50mph cruise.

The two-hour journey cost me less than £1. My fellow passengers were smiling and laughing. Not something you could ever say about train travel in the UK.

Note: this post was originally published 26th October 2016.

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