Saturday 8th December
My plan was to move on to Ahmedabad from Udaipur, and from there to Mumbai before finally arriving in Goa where I would be based for the following few weeks over the Christmas period. I was about to leave the state of Rajasthan on another long bus journey, but when I asked at the travel desk in the hotel, they told me that all private buses were in use to take people to a political rally in Dehli. It was either another rickety government bus or a sleeper train to Ahmedabad, and I decided to go on the latter as it meant I could skip out an overnight stay in Ahmedabad and be at the train station for my next train, the 07.10 to Mumbai.
As my train to Ahmedabad was not due to leave until 19.45, I took the opporunity to email and update the journal that had been neglected (at least the online version) for almost two weeks. Internet usage in India is still developing, with the result that connections range from good to terrible, with broadband being only available sporadically. What can often be even more frustrating is the quality of the PCs in the internet cafes, with some keyboards feeling like they are cleaned with treacle, with the effect that you do more bashing than typing. It can be a royal pain the arse. Sometimes you just don't come across internet cafes, or I am too busy enjoying myself - or stuck on public transport - to get the chance to update the journal. So, there are many reasons why the journal may fall behind, none of which include a lack of desire to keep it updated.
When I eventually got on the train, I climbed into my very highly perched and cramped sleeper bunk, the carriage full of families and fellow travellers on their way to Ahmedabad. This was the first overnight sleeper I had been on and it was fairly uncomfortable, not least because of the cold draft of the night air coming in the window and ventilators. In addition to this, I found myself irritated by the usual tea-slurping, throat-clearing, farting, shouting and yawning - all done at maximum volume, of course - that I had become familiar with on these journeys. The farting is the worst of all, it's completely shameless. Perhaps I am too sensitive to these things. Sometimes I think the phrase 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em' is one that I should heed more. Yeah, maybe that's what I'll do.....then they'll be sorry, all this spicy food has really started to have an affect on me. Maybe it's time to unleash the dragon.
