Accidental Tourist

I T’S 4am. The long green, yellow and purple snake, the Shosholoza Meyl train, pulls into the Nelspruit station. We have spent the whole night alone at this station, waiting for this train. “Where are you going to?” I guess that is what the woman is saying in … I don’t even know what language it is. She has just suddenly appeared behind us. “Maputo.” She then continues saying something we do not understand but ends in English saying: “I’ll take care of you.”

How are we going to get rid of her? That is how I feel.

Suddenly she is in charge of us in every way. When the train doors open, she signals us in. Does she need to do that? Having waited for this train the whole night, don’t we know that when its doors open we have to board?

The first available seat is immediately after the entrance. She winks (isn’t she too old for that?) and gives us a “see you later” look.

As this train left Johannesburg last night, people are sleeping on the seats and along the aisle. This, though, does not deter the hawkers, who are continuing with their business as if there are no hindrances.

We sit, tickets in hand, not sure what we are supposed to do with them. We do half expect some inspector to demand to see them to confirm that we have paid for the ride.

But we are a bit nervous. Should we be required to tender our tickets, how will we know that we are dealing with a legitimate official and not a tsotsi?

My daughter and I are riding a train for the first time in our lives. From Komatipoort, we will cross the border into Mozambique, spend a few days there, and then cross to Swaziland. We have never been to any of these places before.

After Nelspruit, the train stops at

She winks and gives us a ‘see you later’ look