Waitlist just wait

It's quite a feat to get tickets on Indian trains. You can buy them online, but you have to be quick! Most open one month before, and there's a whole system of wait list tickets, where you have to wait for people to cancel and then you get closer up the list to get a ticket. So we end up in Kolkata train station waiting for the 10pm train wishing people weren't going to turn up, as we have one ticket out of four confirmed and were Waitlist 1,2 and 3! Eventually we were allowed on the train and it set off before we had a chance to catch up with the train inspector. Then some helpful passengers swapped round there seats and then we were all able to sleep, by sharing a couple of bunks, and then arrive refreshed at our destination.  All aboard the Darjeeling Mail. 

"Women mustn't sit at the back of the boat "

It's great to be staying at the four star floating hotel, as you can look out of you bedroom window onto the river and see the fishermen and working boats go by. Taking the local ferry across the river to see sunset was a reminder of how difficult it is still for women. When we got on the boat and started striding towards the back where there were seats, we were told that women mustn't sit at the back of the boat, downstairs near the engine, with no view, is perfectly the best place to keep us!!!