Missouri man ends up in hospital after 15-hour train journey in India: ‘Never again’

An American travel vlogger has revealed that he ended up in the hospital with a severe respiratory infection after a 15-hour train journey in India. Nick Maddock, from Missouri, has spent eight years travelling around the world and documenting his travels on social media. As a seasoned globetrotter, he is used to the many inconveniences that come with living in strange places - but even Maddock was not prepared for a train journey in India.

Train journey in India

In videos shared on Instagram, the US man revealed that he was hospitalised with a severe respiratory infection following a 15-hour journey on Indian sleeper class.

In one video, he was seen wearing an oxygen mask. “I’m actually not sure if it was the 15 hours train or the one week of breathing in dead bodies in Varanasi, but either way these lungs are toast,” Maddock captioned the video.

In the comments section, he revealed that two people had actually recommended he take the train.

In another video, he showed the filthy toilet on the sleeper class coach of the train. He did not specify the date of his journey or the route he took, but reiterated that he spent 15 hours on the train. “Never again,” the American vowed.

“He doesn’t know it yet but 72 hours from now he will be in the hospital for a severe respiratory infection,” read the text overlay on his video.

(Also read: French tourist in India left traumatised by 46-hour train journey: ‘I want to go home’)

Social media reacts

Many people sympathised with Maddock in the comments section, but he also faced backlash from a section of the internet.

Some people accused him of showing India in a poor light for ‘likes’, while others said he should have researched better as no Indian would recommend that a foreigner take a train in the country.

“Only the privileged white people can afford a flight to the other side of the world and just want to dive into the ‘poorest’ areas to discredit an entire country and get LIKES,” an Instagram user said.

“The majority of the tourists go to the poorest and worst areas of all countries in Asia and then proclaim that the entire country is like that,” another said.

A third claimed that even Indians don’t travel in sleeper class. “Somehow he also found doctors who could diagnose that the respiratory issues were due to a train journey .. hope they narrowed it down to seat and train number also,” a user wrote.