Thoughts on Sleeping in a Train Station

If you read the last update, you know I couldn’t find a hotel room in Yogyakarta on New Years when I arrived. Everything worked out and by that I mean I spent the night sleeping on a train station bench. This may not have been the most “fun” but it was definitely the most memorable New Years I’ve had.

I wrote a long update on the 28 hour trip, I’ll publish that when I have time to add some photos because if not, those photos / vids are irrelevant and it was quite an interesting trip. Most interesting yet of this trip, dare I say.

Sleeping in a train station is sketchy but not that sketchy. You just have to pick a good place, secure your bags to your person and pass out, hoping for the best. It’s definitely a “last resort” if you can’t find a hotel but considering they have security guards and check for tickets to get through the front gates… It’s not a bad option. I think it beats the street any day. I found a “comfortable place” in front of the central line, directly in front of a 24 hour restaurant near the “middle of the action”. I figured it would always have a few people around aka “eye balls” that a thief wouldn’t’ want around should they consider trying to pick my pockets. I slept on my side, wallet between myself and the bench. Slept solid for ~5.5 hours.

What did make it a bit weird was that this was the first day on the island of Java. Everywhere else I’ve been has been riddled with tourists. This was the first time I was really “traveling” and by that I mean making my own way through a country I had never been before, totally off the “tourist track”. It’s easy to be in a foreign country but feel like you’re home if you stick close to the well paved tourist routes. It’s when you venture off the beaten path of what most consider to be “off the beaten path” by yourself that things really get different. Then throw in some problems and voila.

Check out around here is ~1pm and it is 8am now. I’m going to look around for hotels and scan some on the internet before I leave here. Considering New Years has not passed in North America…

HAPPY NEW YEARS,

P.S: When I have time, I’ll make a guide on how to do it. Considering I have now slept in 2 stations, 1 during the day and 1 at night… I think I’m qualified to give a few pointers should one be stuck in this situation. Slept ~sorta during the day as I got to the station at 7:15am after an all nighter (sic) and the train left at 3pm.