comment on theme?

From the beginning of the book, the author expresses the great joy he has in riding railroad trains. The strongest impression one gets from reading the book is the author's fascination with meeting people on the train. Paradoxically, the slow and broken down trains as in Southern India and Ceylon, and in South Vietnam, are the most fascinating trains to the author. He enjoys watching the scenery from the train, and already in France, after crossing the Channel, he is imagining the lives of people that he passes. The author gives close attention to the railroad stations at which he stops. Train stations in Bulgaria and Yugoslavia are made interesting by the people there and the food that is offered for sale. Other stations are imposing landmarks by themselves. This includes the large station on the Asian side of the Bosporus in Istanbul Tukey. The train stations in Bombay and Calcutta are imposing solid British Victorian period buildings, where whole villages live temporarily. The station in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia is built in the form of a huge mosque.