Vista dome train journey

 Travelling on Indian railways was an annual affair for me during my school days. And that became more frequent during college days before the onset of cheap airfares and proliferation of airports all across India. After relocating to Malaysia, flights became a norm and train journeys were becoming a nostalgic past to cherish.

So this year's India vacation was dedicated to train journeys. Apart from Vande Bharat Express, high speed train and the latest fanfare of Indian Railways, we were going to take half a dozen trains this month. One amongst them is a tourist attraction called "Vista dome" coach.

Vista dome coach is an Executive chair car with lot of fancy features added to uplift the travel experience. To start with, the chairs can rotate 180 degrees. So you can sit facing the way the train is going, or turn around completely to sit face to face with fellow travellers. Even better is that you can turn half way and sit facing the extra large glass windows and admire the beauty of Incredible India. Hence, such train coaches are available on train routes that go through magnificent landscapes. 

Our Vista dome experience was on Karwar express from Yeshwantpur to Sakleshpur. The rest of the coaches on this train were normal and the train passes through single lane route with lots of stops almost like a passenger train stopping at random stations and giving way to other trains, even for goods train to cross. 

Another highlight of the Vista dome coach is glass roof. A google image search will show you beautiful images, but it was a disappointment for us as our train coach had translucent glass roof and you wouldn't see the sky through it.

Yet another captivating facet is the large glass window at the back of the train. We were the last coach and the glass window gives you the view of the train tracks same as what the guard would have on a normal train. A perfect place for photos, videos and instagram reels overlooking the scenery that whizzes by.

If you are on the Karwar express Vista dome coach, don't forget to enjoy the samosas. They were finger licking delicious, authentic north Indian samosas.

Our destination in Sakleshpur was a resort inside a sprawling 100 acre coffee plantation named Rosetta by Ferns. Read about the stay at Rosetta here. The resort is located half way between Sakleshpur and Hassan. Around 10 am we reached Hassan. But we were not in a hurry as our checkin time was in the afternoon. So we chose to spend an hour more in Vista dome and get down at Sakleshpur station instead. That was indeed a better choice as the views became better after Hassan.

Next time you plan a train journey in India, make sure you include a Vista dome experience in it. Be it in the vast plains, mountains, along the coast or deep jungles, Vista dome would truly be memorable.

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