Yesterday was an extremely rainy day and I stayed in the hotel for much of it. I only walked to the train station briefly to find out on which days of the week the train to Fianarantsoa goes. It turned out that I was lucky, the next train would leave tomorrow, i.e. today.
Today I got up a bit later than planned and was at the crowded train station just in time to get a ticket to Fianarantsoa. My bike had to be stored in a fright car, which took up the last minutes before departure.
The train ride itself was awesome. Many of the villages en route have no road connection, the train is the only way to get in and out. People sell delicious food at the stations. In hindsight I wish I’d have gotten off somewhere and stayed there in the middle of nowhere and explored the countryside.
If I remember correctly, the trip took several hours longer than scheduled, around 12 hours in total – or was it even more? I found a cheap and simple hotel in Fiana, and even an Internet café.
