I thought that I would pay up for my last train ride in India. It was hot and long from Delhi to Calcutta, more than 1500 km across India, so I thought why not. The Indian railway system is truly a marvel. It goes almost everywhere in the country, carrying every caste, every group, in a huge variety of different classes, in remarkable efficiency. Often it is on time too! The safety record does leave something to be desired. India has more railway accidents than the rest of the world combines. This is not suprising given the scope of the network, the length of track, and the millions using it every day. Amazingly a quick and comfortable way of getting around. I would be riding the famous Rajdhani Express. Delhi was somewhere I couldn't wait to get out of. Bloody hot and quite melicious the second time around. No break from the incessant hassling. Perhaps my nerves have been tested too much now.

Unfortunately often the unexpected happens in India. In fact it usually does. I didn't actually get a sleeping berth in my 3AC train and was expected to share a birth with a massive Indian guy from Mumbai. Generally the train was great. I was meeting higher caste Indians with interesting stories and questions, other than "good name" ones. Snuggling up to this guy at night wasn't very comforting. First off, the berths are tiny, maybe 3.5feet across, and 6 feet long. Indian men can be, well how do you say, touchy..? As it isn't acceptable to show affection with women in public, you often, very often, see men holding hands in public. They aren't gay, it is just something they do. I saw soldiers in Kathmandu holding hands. So this guy kept going for a firm grasp of my leg during the night, I sure in a completely 'plutonic' type of way. Definitely didn't help the sleep, especially as I had to kick him away repeatedly.