Counting kilometres

Am safely in New Delhi, showered and refreshed. Sat on the rooftop of my hotel a little while ago, eating a fruit salad, sipping chaya, watching the sun go down and thinking isn't the world wonderful...Anyhow, I'll be hear for two days, meeting up with a cousin who's arriving tomorrow to catch up on gossip (about other cousins). In the meantime, highlights from the train journey from Trivandrum which took over 53 hours and covered more than 3000 kilometres:

Day 1, 11.45 am (15 minutes after the train started on its long journey): Hooray, I'm off! As I look out of the window, I can see the vegetation and settlements flash past and smell the earthen aroma and feel the heat and the wind. I realise that for me this will always be the magic of travelling in India.

5pm, same day: The Keralan landscape is lush and green; palms and paddy fields and moist shrubs all indicating fertility.

Day 2, 9.30am: It's amazing how much a cup of chaya can uplift your spirits. We're in Andra Pradesh now. Early this morning we were still in Tamil Nadu. The countryside, although not as forested as Kerala, had paddy fields bordered with the characterisic Tamil Nadu palms. In contrast, Andra Pradesh is a bit deserty, trees and shrubs noticeably more sparse.

One of my fellow passengers is the nosey, garrulous type. His very first questions to me were: Are you married; do you own a company; etc, etc. But he explained he'd been observing me and, because I hadn't spoken, wanted to assure me that I was alright with him and the rest of the passengers sharing the compartment. So, although the interrogation was tiresome, he was really a kind fellow just trying to make me feel at home.

I can't believe how easy it's been adapting to travelling alone. I recommend it to everyone, very liberating indeed.

5pm, same day: And then an ennuch dropped by. He pinched a the cheeks of a young male passenger and, when he refused to hand any coins, lifted the sari to reveal a very hairy leg. Sadly, we didn't see the jewels. Muha would have enjoyed that!

Day 3, 10.30am: I had a chat with a nosy guy and he mentioned I might have a problem in Ladakh because of the heavy military presence there and the numerous checkpoints. My name, he pointed out, might be suspect. He's right of course and I really need to think things out...

We're now in Uttur Pradesh and the lnadscape is no longer tropical. In fact, it reminds me of the English countryside, even the constant rain and the grey sky.