French YouTuber Victor Blaho rode the train for 46 hours in India to gain a deeper cultural immersion in the country. Tests of patience were what he received in return. His train ride, from Mumbai to Varanasi, Agra, and Delhi, was on Indian Railways' various classes, but rather than being served the beauty of the scenery, he was served madness and filth.

Behind the Coaches: Filth, Rodents, and Congestion

Victor's film, which soon went viral online, was about the disgusting level of hygiene on specific trains. He captured rats scurrying along the platform, cockroaches along the side of his seat, and bin liner bag after bin liner bag of refuse in the carriages. Blaho was appalled by the sickening proportions at the prevalence of the smell and de facto absence of sleeping in such an environment. "It's dirty, it smells," he told the camera right away.

Noisy Compartments and Sleepless Nights

His discomfort wasn’t limited to hygiene. Throughout the journey, Victor faced unrelenting noise from passengers talking loudly, walking up and down the aisles, and engaging in casual banter well into the night. The lack of peace and privacy contributed to mounting stress. “Between the mice, the bugs, and the people, I’m not sleeping here tonight,” he confessed in the video titled “DO NOT Attempt a 46H Train Journey in India – It BROKE ME!”

Culture Shock and Unwanted Attention

In addition to the physical distress, Victor also experienced cultural adjustment issues.

They would inappropriately keep him waiting for attention, requesting him to make picture and video calls to his girl/boyfriends and friends. Another fellow traveler took it to the extent of requesting him to call up his girl in Delhi and Mumbai, which actually irritated Victor. Although such individuals may have appeared friendly to locals, to one foreign traveler like Victor, they were too much too soon.

"I Want to Go Home”

The price paid by Victor's emotions for the rest of the trip was apparent. Victor himself admitted his breaking point, filming himself on camera saying, "I want to go home now… I need peace, I need quiet, I need a clean bed." His honest explanation of emotional depletion with people wherever he went, and most were sympathetic with him as much as they valued him for speaking truth to power.

Travelers were cautioned by Victor in the second Instagram post by putting warning against taking India's lowest budget trains whenever possible. "46 hours on India's worst train classes. my overall feelings? Desperation & borderline insanity," he posted. He cautioned fellow travelers with the alternative of booking top-class compartments as an easier safer mode of transport.

The Broader Debate: India's Train Sanitation in the Spotlight

Victor Blaho's video once again brought news of cleanliness and Indian Railways passenger comfort. While most of the Indian trains, especially the upper-class trains, are very clean, there are usually mammoth differences between the classes themselves. The video had been analyzed and criticized, and the locals had been made aware of it but others did not believe it was exactly depicting the whole system.

Between Adventure and Awareness

Victor's night had not concluded on such a note so agreeable to his sensibilities but had cast stark light on world concern over some issues which have always been Indian Railways' curse—cleanliness, over-crowding, and sensitivity. There is something of the kind and élan to be had in India which cannot be had otherwise anywhere, but here too is the reminder that infrastructure and guest acclimatization are equally essential in providing pertinent experiences traveling.