Travel India by train

We chug along through fields of wheat and a few small villages, before we start ascending into the mountains, not much faster than the cycles that we can see on the road below that has accompanied us for most of the way. The other unfailing company we've had are the large marijuana plants on either side of the track, growing wild and crazy, and they're almost close enough for us to reach out and pluck some leaves. Lou, the French tourist who's the only other non-local on the train, is totally delighted, and spends the entire five-hour journey hanging out of the door. "I could never do this in France", he says. "The trains there are very efficient. But here, it is an adventure."