Catching an overnight train

You wait at the train station sitting on your pack and fanning yourself with anything you have, its hot, REALLY hot and your surrounded by the entire spectrum of Indian life. There are people laying everywhere asleep on the ground. Some are homeless people and childen and some have been waiting so long for delayed trains they have fallen asleep. Theres at least one guy that you think is probably dead, but after an hour or so you see him twitch and feel some relief. There are families huddled together and business men proudly displaying their briefcases as if to say 'i am above these lowlives, I have a job that requires a briefcase". There are men walking around with enormous trays of apples and/or cucumbers balanced on their heads. (I'm talking a good 10kg's here) and every 10 seconds an anouncement comes over the PA in Hindi and then garbled Hinglish and you know no one can understand either. There are stray dogs and pidgeons wondering around and policemen (transit cops?) with big wooden sticks and rifles looking menacing in every corner. Street children pester you constantly for money and you're stuck with them because your trains going to be at least another 2 hours. Eventually you give the kids your bottle of water and bag of chips and you watch them sit down in a circle together as the oldest girl (around age 8) distributes them democratically. The youngest one (around age 2) gets to play with the chip bag afterwards like a tresured toy. You set off for a walk around the platform and stretch your legs. On the way you see a crippled man walking on all fours in a strange limping way and his legs are completely wasted. You see a mother crouched by the plaform edge in her sari, washing her naked baby boy in a bottle of water. Your artfully dodge the purtid glob of bright red bettle leaf that an old man spits in your direction. You're taking it all in until a drop of sweat drips into your right eye and you cant see anything for the next 10 minutes. You find a group of people huddled underneith a working fan and decide its worth it to get up close and personal and so you join them in fan worship the only unilateral religion in India. Inevitably a conversation starts,
"Madam wheruu frrrrom?"
I'm from Australia
"how many India?"
I,ve been here for 3 weeks but will stay for 2 months total
"two months not very plenty"
I know but I've only got so much money and travel is quite expensive
"You student?"
"No I'm not a student. I'm a circus performer. What is your job?"
"huh?"
"what do you do for work?"
"huh?"
what is your occupation?"
"ohh I am student. Business management. Study English 2 years. I practice with you"

By this time a good 20 people are staring at you in amazement. 2 people are translating your highly in depth conversation to the crowd and another is fighting over what you just said with his grandmother who casually smacks him arcross the back of the head to make her point.

An announcement comes over the PA that suggests that your train will be arriving shortly, but on a totally different platform, so you pheft on your pack again, sling your handbag over your shoulder and attach your day pack to your chest, wave goodbye to your new found friend who is asking you o visit his family's store next time your in town and waddle like a turtle up what seems like an enormous staircase.

Finally your train arrives and you see with dismay your carriage was at the front of the train and you are in the middle of the platform. You waddle at jogging speed with your extra 20kgs of luggage strapped to your body towards your carriage, hoping that your thongs dont give way on the slippery and uneven surface. You heft yourself into your carriage and are immediately rewarded with the cool slap of airconditioning running at full. You made it! Your on the train!

Its a 'first class' sleeper cabin which means there are three bunks one ontop of eachother and you are required to remain in yours for the next 13 hours. You slide your pack under the seat and secure it to the wall of the train using a metal chain and a padlock. This is so, if you fall asleep, its still there when you wake up. You fart about trying to make up your bed which is about 2 foot wide by 5 foot long and heft yourself up into your bunk. Your bed is reasonable and teh sheets are cleanish, you've rationed your water out so as to avoid using the toilets as much as possible in the next 13 hours. You've worked out that the best way to stop people staring at you the giant freakish kind-of indianish creature, for the whole trip is to rig up your scarf like a privacy screen from the top bunk and you settle in with your packet of chips, chocolate cream biscuits and and book and try not to think about the cockroaches as the train rocks your gently to sleep.