Earlier on we'd watch the passenger trains come in and try to find the carriage that we'd be travelling on......and we spotted one, it was totally different from the rest, newish even and with bright lights shining from within. Great, we said....that's us sorted then. As our train pulled in there was some confusion as the carriages werent in the order stated on the message board. So we frantically run up and down trying to find the A! carriage that we're meant to be on.......we jumped on board only to be told to get out and head to the carriage ahead...then the train started moving off........you can imagine the panic, we threw the bags on and jumped aboard. Grant didnt notice the pile of rubbish we climbed over to get into the aisle. it was dark with barely enough room to pull the case through. this was a 3 tier a/c carriage. that means there's 6 bunks , 3 either side and 2 opposite in an open compartment separated by curtains. Faces looked out from behind these curtains as we noisily passed by. Eventually we found the conductor and showed him our tickets.....where was our luxury 2AC compartment as promised by the jolly Mr. Rasjani and as stated on the ticket by The Indian Railway Company? "Where's the carriage?" I asked. "Your carriage has not been put on, this is due to holidays" said the conductor. Oh, so where to now then......he then told us to get in bunks 47 and 48 and b*****ed off..... we tried to find the bunks and you'd never believe it, but people had already taken these....off we go again...this happened a few times until he woke some people up, shouted at them and they cleared off. "There", he shouted, "There is your place.....only Sleeper 3 tier AC left".

Now we hadnt exactly been expecting the plush Eurostar to have magically pulled up but we were hoping for a welcoming smile, a light snack and possibly a couple of beers...that's what everyone had told us. Instead we were thrown into a jail on wheels and ordered into our bunks as everyone was sleeping, they werent, they were all staring at us. What could we do? Nothing, this is what the Festival of Good over Evil had bestown upon us. It was dark, dingy and there were a concoction of foul smells permeating the carriages, the AC was blowing warm air. There was no way out but to climb into those small caged beds. How the hell did we end up on this? and the best part was, we only had another 16 hours to go. I could have cried and probably did. I told Grant to take the top bunk which was about 7 foot from the floor and at least he'd have some space and he was by the fan. thankfully he was so worn out he crashed almost straight away..........................there was no such peace for me.