So I finally get to Patna and my feet are able to walk upon a steady ground again. I'm hot but happy and on the move yet again. It's just come to my attention the hours which have been spent/dedicated in order for me to get to my final destination of Bodgaya. Start in Puducherry. Spend 5 hours on a train to Chennai Twiddle thumbs for 30 hours at Chennai train station Spend 45 hours on a train to Patna Waste another 3 hours walking around in the dripping hot sun to realise that apparently Read more [...]

Throughout my train travels there has always been someone (if not many) who just creepily watches you sleeping. The beauty about the great Indians which surround me is that they don't! I'm sure originally they found it an interesting situation to be surrounded by people of black and white skin, but after that they were just as happy to make conversation with us as they were the others. It was nice to be treated the same. As if the colour of my skin didn't make me a bizarre species which needed Read more [...]

Okay, well that phonetic attempt to write the Hindi translation of 'We are friends'. The Indian's I met are the nicest I have met so far. Constituting mainly of three guys and a stunning girl. They are all studying at university together and so maybe because of that and having female company themselves, they were able to respect me more compared to others. But we are all chatting and I have a great Hindi lesson. I'm now able to say that I need a bottle of water, ask for someone's name, tell others Read more [...]

Being stuck on a train for so long was bound to be a boring journey dragged out by every second. I assumed that having fun on a train would be impossible. To me it was inevitable that no matter how hard I tried to make it otherwise, this was going to be a horrible travelling experience. This is where I was wrong. After feeling the need to feel more refreshed, I whacked on a white face mask and even got three others involved in the fresh fun. The best bit about it was that neither one of Read more [...]

After having had an interesting sleep, I woke up feeling great other than a bit sweaty and grimy. I had further made friends with all my neighbours from every direction. So much so that I actually (stupidly) left all my luggage including passport and what ever little change of money I have completely unattended on my berth, to walk 4 carriages away from it. Trust these guy and gals 100%? I'm not sure I would say I did. Maybe 98.6%. Though I believed in giving them all the benefit of the doubt until Read more [...]

Since Coimbatore, I have wondered a few things but delayed actually thinking about them until now. Why wait till now? Well I wasn't going to waste time of fun to think. That would be ludicrous. Waiting for when you have little to no option other than to think on a 2 day train journey seemed more of a logical idea. First thing which seems to ponder my mind, the more I introduce myself to others, is why I find it so easy to just bounce from place to place without any plan, any company or without Read more [...]

So I've managed to get my bottom on a beautiful sleeper. A top one too. I may have had to use a beautiful English smile and a please to switch with the man. But he didn't seem to be too bothered as he did the classic Indian head shake in my direction along with a returned smile. Upon staring at the ceiling of the carriage as I write this, it has come to my attention that the people who I am currently with, I will probably be with for the next 2 days straight. I have found myself surrounded Read more [...]

So of all the places to be stuck, it turns out that Chennai isn't one of them. But determined that I can get a train tomorrow afternoon I am. Whether I actually end up getting one or even getting a seat is a totally different question though. Given that I should only be in Chennai for 30 hours (providing I manage to get out of here) I decided that I didn't need to get accommodation. Especially if I wanted to see as much of this city as possible to then hop on a train. So my idiotic Read more [...]

Imagine a situation that you have an unreserved seat and will therefore have to be squished next to 4 other Indian men in one row (minimum). Imagine that there are people also sat on the seats infront of you, on the luggage racks and standing down the aisle (14 in total). Now imagine that the man next to you is getting a little too close for comfort. What does one do with all these stares and body contact? Simple. Follow these steps: 1) Ensure that you have with you a pot of Nutella, Read more [...]

So the start of my South to North expedition and I wake up 51 minutes after my alarm 'apparently' went off. Last night I couldn't sleep which was particularly annoying as I knew it was to be the last decent sleep for a while. I think it was that thought being constantly on my mind which didn't help me. 1:23am and I'm still checking the time. It couldn't have been long before I fell asleep... Into deep sleep. So, 4:51am and I'm running around like a headless chicken. I pick things up just Read more [...]