Public Transport and Rain

It's often an interesting experience to travel on public transport. It's a particularly interesting experience, when you combine public transport, peak hour traffic, and rain.


It turns into a bizarre yet beautiful event.

As you step off the tram in the misty, foggy impending darkness of the evening, you are met by a barrage of damp, cold, impatient commuters, willing you to quickly get off the tram and out into the cold, just so they can be comforted by the stale warmth of the carriages.

Stepping onto the wet concrete, you are suddenly in the midst of a frenzy: travellers climbing on and off the tram, both doing their best to keep their exposure to the increasing rain at a minimum. You hurry towards the pedestrian crossing, moving around the stand still columns of people; like hamsters moving around an obstacle course.


As you enter the throng of people moving steadily across the road like a herd of elephants, you realise you must keep up the pace, for fear of being trampled. You side-step those who seem less destination-oriented, as you pass by slow walkers, and fast walkers pass you, narrowly cutting your path and crossing you in all sorts of directions. The wind picks up ever so slightly, pushing the rain down at a slant; you can feel it now, the droplets cold and big on your hair. You brush your hair out of your face, only to receive further mementos from the sky.

Stepping out onto the sidewalk, having almost reached the secluded shelter, you must foucs in order to get to where you want. Here people are not only rushing towards you to cross the road from which you came, but the herd behind pick up their ascent, snapping at your heels, willing you to move faster.

A bit of a skip, jump, and a narrowly missed collision with a wet umbrella, and now you are making your way up the escalators. Inconsiderate souls stand lamely in the middle of nowhere; as you walk up the right side of the moving steps, you deliberately click your heels louder as you approach them, silently forcing them to move to the left and allow you to pass. After idly taking a few steps forward, the numb-ers eventually move aside.

You rush past and begin your walk/run to your train platform. All commuters have chosen the left sheltered side to walk by, however the openness of the wind and rain coming at you from the right does not leave you missing out; a gust of wind brings sprinklings of rain pushing heavily in your direction. You shiver and wrap your coat around you more tightly, and secure that scarf ever so more. Another sudden gust of wind brings further showers of rain towards you, however you are fortunate that others are blocking your exposure to the elements, and they take the brunt of the winter force.


You swipe your ticket through the machine, and almost crash with another traveller on their way in the opposite direction, as you both run to your respective platforms. Reaching the top of the stairs, you look down towards the platform, filled with anxious and waiting commuters. And you see your train.

Departing.

Beautiful.