I really don't like the waiting game with these trains. When we book the train tickets they are wait listed, meaning that the tickets have sold out but they release more when the chart is prepared 3-4 hours before departure of the train, although your chart position can change before the chart is prepared so I'm guessing people cancel their trips and that how we move up. This time our booking status was wait list number 2/3 and the day before we were confirmed/wait listed 1.
We got some munchies from the supermarket, supermarkets aren't the size of Tescos here in India, more like the corner shops at home size.
The computer shop we went to to print our tickets, the printer wasn't working so we had to go to computer shop up the road and print although there was someone on the computer, luckily he let me sign onto my email to print off our tickets.
Waiting for the taxi the family organised for us at the hotel, we sat and got bitten to death by Mosquitos, they burn coconut shells to give of a burning smell and loads of smoke which is their version of 'deet' well it didn't work for us! The dog really really doesn't like Scott every time we walk into the hotel grounds he barks at him and stands right up against his knees barking, it's quite scary to be honest!
The taxi was about 2 hours with traffic, £15 between us which is pretty good.
The taxi man, Kapul had woken up at 4am with his 7 month daughter, went to work taxiing airport pick ups and then a trip to Madgaon railway, got back took us to Madgaon railway straight away and then he goes back has an hour sleep and up at 1am to do an airport pick up. He literally works for 24 hours to earn such little money, they save it all for monsoon season. People do come to Goa in monsoon season but I think it's mainly indian people, to see some rain!
They work for so little here, but then the way of life is cheaper; although locals say it's increasingly getting expensive because of tourism levels.
Madgaon train station is so much smaller than Mumbai! There are motorbikes and big food bags stacked up at the platforms ready to be sent on trains, men sleeping on them, it's just so crazy! Waited for our platform to show, trust it to be platform 2 - the furthest away!
Over the fly over and over to the platform, we walked down to the bottom hoping that if we walked the furthest away that's where our carriage would stop, but with all the luck we have it was back up the other end! - typical.
Indian people are lovely, I was messing with Scott's bag and had my little rucksack on the floor, I could see if I hadn't forgotten it and an old man came up to me and was saying 'lady lady don't forget your bag, bag!' Aww bless!
Last time we got on the train our carriage number was confirmed but our berth wasn't. So we just sat in berth B.
A young Indian couple came in the berth and said our names, little freaked out they knew us but realised afterwards that our names had been printed on the charts this time with our berth numbers, I think because I was already confirmed before chart preparation.
We got chatting, the couple were from Kerala, but they live in Washington DC, and Seattle before that. They made us seem stupid, he is a computer engineer for a huge company in Albany, New York. His company flies him there and back Monday to Thursday and pits him up In accommodation. And she is a journalist in DC. Wow! I'm feel dumb. It's their first time back to Kerala to see their family in three years so they're excited!
They said that when they got married, here a wedding isn't that you invite people to the marriage, your parents who knows everyone
Because they've lived in the community 60years, invites everyone to come along even if the bride and groom don't really know ten that well. In the end they had 1300 people arrive at their wedding, and after the ceremony they had to stand and greet and kiss everyone. I think it would probably spoil the day, they said they zone out after a while and it gets a little annoying. I can imagine! I'd have a face like thunder after 20!

The berths are pretty much the same in these trains as there were in the other train, I was on top bunk this time, wasn't too bad! Didn't rock around much. I don't think so anyways, the travel tablets knocked me out for the count! They're so good.

***week two on the toilet subject - we both felt a little query at the beginning of the week but put it down to the taxi journey! After eaten at a restaurant we were a little uneasy on we have had a three day course of antibiotics for our stomachs, worked a treat! Feeling a lot better, not that the right of passage had come over us. I think it was just in our heads!