Trains And Train Stations
I like travelling by train, especially when I’m in foreign countries. You get to learn a thing or two about the country, its people, how things work. Train stations are better than bus stops. People at train stations seem more settled in for the trip; while people at bus stops are more on edge, restless, thinking about the next leg of their trip. Needless to say, airports are the worst. Duh!
Train stations give me more time to look at people and maybe take photos of them. And that’s one of my favourite things of travelling by train. If I have pre-booked seats, I look around the platform and check out who else is in the same carriage, don’t you? Playing a little spy, or is it detective? I look at people on the opposite platforms, see what they are up to, where they are going. I’ve got time, why not?
I love travelling by trains in Taiwan and Japan, admittedly, two countries I’ve been to the most. The Japanese occupation of Taiwan between the late 1800 and the end of World War II gave the two countries many similarities. Trains are clean; they run on time; travellers are quiet, and most importantly, in both countries, train station lunch boxes are good, better than average restaurants in other countries I’ve been to.
Ahh, too much rambling. Here’s some photos of trains and train stations.
Japanese trains are known to be punctual. A few years ago, when a train in Japan pulled away from the station mere seconds ahead of schedule, the management of the train company made an apology on TV. Isn’t it a nice thing? I saw a twitter thread last year of a guy whose train from London to Glasgow got cancelled mid-trip. All passengers were kicked off the train at an unknown station…. Cool!
Arashiyama is a beautiful town.
The photo reminds me of Ezra Pound’s In a Station of the Metro: The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.
Kyoto has to be one of my favourite cities. In 2015 during our first trip to Japan, my wife and I met our friend Rick who happened to be doing a photo assignment in the city. We went to a random sushi restaurant and had a wonderful lunch. Later, my wife and I looked up the restaurant and it was over 400 years old. It doesn’t happen everywhere.
LA was built around cars. All other means of transportation are, well, bad. On our trip to LA, we stayed at the Beverly Hilton for a few nights. One day we decided to go to Santa Monica. There happened to be a bus stop just outside the hotel. My wife and I waited for twenty minutes, and there were other people at the same stop. A guy walked by and told us the bus stop was suspended, there was a temporary stop two blocks away. I know it’s Beverly Hills, and rich people don’t take buses. But I still believe there could’ve been a sign there. Maybe I’m asking too much
That’s about it. There might be a sequel to this. So settle in.
Anywhere where people are resting, waiting or hanging out is good. I have a long shot of a couple of people collapsing on a bench by a huge wall at the MOMA
in NYC. It's one of my favorites. Love these for the clearness and detail.
Thanks.