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India: Death on the Platform

An animal skull in the Ganges at Varanasi
You might expect to see mortal remains in the Ganges at Varanasi, but the train station is another matter

The City of the Dead wasn't going to let me go easily. I had booked myself on the overnight train to Gwalior, an eight-hour journey across the dusty plains of gently sweating northern India, but when I turned up at the station, my train was nowhere to be seen.

Bottles of Thums Up, Maaza, Limca and Mirinda
Thums Up, Maaza, Limca and Mirinda, the kings of Indian fizzy drinks

1 One of my biggest worries about returning home isn't the job market or the drudgery of the lifestyle; it's the expense of soft drinks. Due to the searing heat I have developed quite an attachment to Coke, Mirinda, Thums Up and the rest of the gang, and I sure am gonna miss 'em. Of course the weather in England isn't quite as thirst-inducing as in India, but I've got a taste for fizz and it's going to be hard to resist. I'd better get a SodaStream...