Wow, that was long

It really was a long train ride. We left at 5:30 AM on Saturday and arrived in Siligure (NJP actually) at 11:45 PM on Sunday. Brutal. The trains in India are slightly less comfortable than those of Thailand, which are pretty good. Of course, a lot depends on which bunk you get. The best bunks are those whose numbers are integer multiples of 8. Those are the upper aisle bunks. Tamding had such a bunk. The worst are those defined by the equation: bunk number = (8n) -1, where n is an integer from 1 to 8. These are the lower aisle bunks. Not only does everyone walking the aisle bump into you (every 45 seconds), but those who wake up early will move to your bunk so they can look out the window. If your are still sleeping, they will sit on your legs. As expected, I had such a bunk.

The ride was pretty boring, the scenery was pretty much nothing but rice fields. It was harvest season, so at least there was some activity. Except in southern West Bengal State, where the crops had been destroyed by the monsoons this year. The damage was devastating. I did get to see the Ganga river, which is the western (and smaller) branch of the Ganges river. It was significantly larger than the Mississippi and Mekong rivers, so it was the biggest river I have seen.

I have to leave so we can get a train ticket back to Siliguri. I'll have more in a few hours.