Stuck Between Carriages...

Our train journey from Gaya to Varanasi was never going to be the most pleasant- 3.15am is not any kind of time to be functioning, let alone figuring out trains. Little did we know what kind of journey it would turn out to be...
   Let me put our situation into context. There were no platform announcements at Gaya Junction, so we were running around like headless chickens every time we saw a train come in. By the time our train decided to roll in, 20 minutes late, we (well I) could barely see straight. Now, these trains are loooong- and they give you about 5 minutes to find your carriage. We looked desperately for third class AC. I thought it was left, Pat thought it was right. For some reason, we decided to follow my sense of direction. ALWAYS AN ERROR! Reaching the end of the train and realising it must be at the other end, we quickly ran the other way. We were nearly there- suddenly, the train starts to slowly chug out of the station. Panicking, we quickly jump onto the moving train into 'Sleeper' class, thinking we could maybe get into 3AC that way. No such luck.
   So, until the next stop an hour away, we were stuck between carriages next to the toilets. Not a happy place to be at 4am, or indeed any time, with people stepping over you and your backpack to brush their teeth. As soon as the train stopped, we rushed out into the dark, and ran like loonies towards 3AC. This would have been perfect, except the doors only opened from the inside! GENIUS! Nobody was getting out at this place in the middle of nowhere, so as the train began to chug along again, we ran to get back onto the 'Sleeper' carriage. On the upside, we got chatting to a very nice Nepalese tobacco vendor, who told us about Neapli's vs. Indian's wages- and accepted that we were pretty much screwed.
   Stopping at desolate after desolate stop, in the end we admitted defeat and tried to find a bed in the carriage. Eventually an Indian leaving the train took pity on us lingering in the corridors, and said we could share his seat.
    With one hour's sleep at the max under our belts, we were pretty exhausted when we arrived into Varanasi- and definitely not in the mood to be hassled by rickshaw drivers. More on that, and the surprisingly relaxed few days that followed in Varanasi, to follow...