During my brief 5 night trip to Australia this past week, I visited two cities, Sydney and Canberra. To get between the two, I took the train. I considered using Avios to fly the short hop on Qantas, but the train was only $35 USD, and I couldn’t pass it up. I figured it would allow me to see some more of the Australian countryside.
At just after noon on Sunday I boarded the train at Sydney Central Station. The train was scheduled to arrive in Canberra at 4:23. I figured I’d work a couple hours and spend the rest of the time admiring Australia.
I was in booked in economy coach B in seat 65, which is labeled as a window seat and at the very front of the car. When I arrived, however, there was a gentleman already seated in 65. The aisle seat next to him was vacant, so I just took that. I was a bit bummed to not be seated directly at the window, but I didn’t really want to bicker about it. I could still see a good amount out the window.
My desires are derailed
At barely 5 minutes into the trip the guy next to me abruptly closed the curtains. He then proceeded to settle into his seat for a nap. Great. No view. This took me from a little bummed to mildly annoyed. How am I supposed to see a wild ‘roo if the curtains are closed?
Now, not only was the guy seated in my seat, but he was blocking the view entirely, a view I had hoped to enjoy. Being seated at the front of the car meant that window was the only way I got a decent view of the landscape. I thought about switching seats, but the conductor had specifically said we were on a full train.
Not even 15 minutes later the man sat up. The nap didn’t last long at all. Good. Or so I thought. To my indignation he spent the next few minutes looking out the window by PEERING BETWEEN THE CRACK IN THE CLOSED CURTAINS! Wonderful. He was looking out the window, and I couldn’t see a thing. And he was sitting in my designated seat no less!
As exasperating as this was for me, I still didn’t address it directly. Maybe I should have. An added element was that he didn’t seem to speak English, at least in the two brief verbal interactions I had with him. I decided to just focus on working from my laptop and try to forget about the whole situation.
For the remainder of the trip the curtains varied between completely closed, nearly closed with Mr. Window Hog’s head stuck between them, and partly open (about 18″ max). Several times I tried to make it obvious that I wanted to look out the window as well, but it was to no avail.
But not all is lost
The train was full leaving Sydney, but it slowly started to thin. Once there were a couple empty rows, I put my laptop away and moved back a few seats to get some window time. The annoyance faded. Australia was beautiful, and it was still a good day.
What would you have done in this situation?
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Gotta ask him to move as soon as you get there. He knew what he was doing…
They say hindsight is 20/20…
Funny — I was traveling from SYD -> Canberra -> MEL last week too! We would’ve made some room in our car :).
I actually think he kept the curtains closed out of consideration to you. He probably thought it would’ve been rude to let all that sunshine in when people enjoy taking a nap when traveling. That’s also why he only peeked through the window when he wanted to look outside. In order not to bother you!
Agree I would have requested he move, or asked the conductor to ask him to move as soon as possible. Its not being rude to get what you requested or paid for, that guy was obviously a jerk so screw him.
Always adress something like this politely and immediately. It’s the only way to not feel bad about it later.
And you just sat there and took it lying down? Are you a man or a timid ten year old?
If the experience of the journey meant that much to you, you should have opened your mouth. You can’t assume there’s any language barrier without first trying. And if the other guy gave you stick, you could have fetched the ticket conductor to kick this “gentleman” into line.
Tickets are assigned seat numbers for a reason. It is assumed one takes up one’s allocated seat (like on an aircraft).
In hindsight, I agree that I should have. At the moment I first boarded the train, it wasn’t something I anticipated having to deal with.
I also booked my ticket less than 48 hours before travel time, and was assigned the seat automatically. I didn’t even know it was a window seat until I boarded the train. Yes, it was *my* assigned seat, and I should have addressed the issue immediately. once we were underway, I felt that the reasonable opportunity was passed.
YOU should have showed him YOUR ticket or shown it to the conductor. YOUR passivity is what YOU deserved.
I’m assuming you’re a well-traveled person so I’m kind of surprised at how you handled this.
I’ve had countless people point out to me that I’m in their seat and I take no offense or anything from it. I just apologize for my mistake and move to my assigned seat. (Why are plane seating numbers/letters so often confusing?) So I’m not sure why you’d think it would be a big deal to just point out to the guy that he was in the wrong seat.
Even if he was assigned the window seat, when he closed the curtains, I would have asked if he’d mind switching seats since you were a visitor and really wanted to see the country. Since he obviously didn’t care about the views, I bet he would have agreed.
But either way, I really wish it was your window seat I tried to “ignorantly” claim on a recent spectacularly scenic train ride through the Italian Alps a couple years back. No such luck. The guy called my bluff and I had to move. At least I gave it a shot.