Written by Norman McLean

We left Visakhapatnam at 8:43am after some confusion as people got on and off the train with heavy bags simultaneously. Looking from the train we passed low scrubby shrubs and swampy ground for about 100km but it was drained well. Railway signs are in Telegu, Hindi and English. We crossed a large river approximately 2 km wide, and many towns such as Duvvada and Rajarmundry and thousands of acres of rice padi fields as far as the eye could see on both sides of the train. The fields were punctuated with tall palm trees which made it an enjoyable vista as we rolled past at about 50km per hour. There are 2 crops planted per year and harvested by hand. We saw buffalos pulling wagons.

The people on the train were very friendly and keen to talk to us. One mother proudly said, this is my daughter and I took a photo with her mother’s encouragement. We saw rice being harvested and ate a hearty lunch of curry on the train.

After 6 hours and 350km we arrived at Vijayawada and were transferred by bus to the comfortable Kay hotel. The day concluded with a visit to an Indian BBQ restaurant including an early happy birthday song for Helen performed by the waiters.

Please pray for our visit to a church tomorrow as we join in dedicating the church building and praying for students who have finished their Bible training.