Do you chat freely and make friends in long distance journeys?

no one i know would ever believe it of me but i'm shy by nature. in my travels, it's very seldom that i don't get to talk with a fellow passenger. unless the person doesn't talk or understand english or my mother tongue. but even then, i've experienced that language is not entirely a big barrier to spark up a conversation. during a flight, someone offered me a pen when he thought i didn't have one to use in my disembarkation card. and i wasn't even sitting next to him. although his friend was. and he only knows a few words in english... then he started a conversation by asking first his companions to translate for me. a short regular conversation turned out to be at least 15-20 minutes because of all the translation going around and a couple more people joining in the discussion... all four of them with little english to spare and i only know a handful of words in their native language. that was way amusing at the time. :) i guess, talking to people during travels makes the passing of time more enjoyable and all those waiting... more bearable. in some cases i initiate the talking, but i believe, it's only a fifth of the number of times other people were the ones who talked to me first. and yes, there were times phone numbers were exchanged or even business cards too. sometimes i bring a short novel to read, just in case i would like my own company... but i'm seldom left alone for long unless i'm looking very serious working on my laptop or otherwise taking a short nap. but how friendly can i really be? -lol- i didn't know how much until in a 10-hour boat ride (overnight), i met a taiwanese mom i shared a cabin with. we got into talking when she suddenly felt faint and was rushed to the clinic for about an hour. and she entrusted me with her 6-month old baby girl. (if the position was ever reversed, i wouldn't entrust my baby with a stranger i've just met.) i've made a few friends along the way, some progressed to the professional level, but none into a long term relationship. seasonal friends at the most, where we would exchange an occasional call or email every now and then. i believe that some people come into our life for a reason, some we meet in the strangest of places. some would stay for a moment, a day, a season or a lifetime... and some would just pass us by. but even so, it's what we do in that moment, in that day... that would matter. :)

Hullo C.V.R when I started my disussion on travel this was the topic that first came to mind.Then I changed my mind and posted the one for which you gave your response sometime back. I do not initiate conversation though normally I am quite talkative.But this is a bit selective.And during train journeys I prefer to read and gaze out of the window if there is some greenery around.When people are forthcoming with their anecdotes and sometimes the discussions do become interesting then I too participate in a mild manner, but not throughout the journey.I would definitely prefer to read.Such friendships blossoming into something deeper seems to be the right theme for films.Though of course there would be exceptions-for eg;;, once one of my aunts fixed up a marriage for her niece by chatting with a co [ local Chennai bus ]passenger.I had left a comment for your response to my rat discussion.I do not know if you were aware of it.

That's something I'll have to try on my next long haul.. thanks for the idea!