After hanging out in Delhi for a few days, it was time for me to begin my travels to Rajasthan, India's largest state just east of the capital city. I was to travel to the city of Jodhpur by train, covering 600 km in ten hours, leaving at 10:30 and arriving the next morning. According to the Lonely Planet for India, 'Train travel is one of the joys of India. The network is extensive, prices are reasonable, and the experience of travelling on an Indian train is a reason to travel all by itself.' I was looking forward to this first part of my solo journey, not only because trains were definitely fit my budget (overnight trains means I don't have to pay for a place to sleep), but I always thought that trains were kind of a romantic way to travel.

My train left from an older station north of the city, and the scene that lay before me is something that will stay with me for awhile. The entranceways, floors and halls of the station were lined with sleeping bodies. Children, the elderly, the disabled, entire families, all were gathered under one roof. It was a miserable, dark and dusty place to be. Even though the station was crowded beyond belief, it was eerily silent. No hum of conversation, no laughter, not even the haggling beggars. Picking my way through the motionless crowd was like walking through a graveyard.

After reaching the sole platform, I found my sleeper class car and bade farewell to my sister. There were no doors to the trains, just an open entry way, the lights were off and most of the people in my compartment were already sound asleep, covered head to toe in thick blankets. I climbed to my spartan top bunk and read some of my Rohinton Mistry novel before drifting asleep to the sounds of the train.

A couple hours later, I woke up with a start- it was cold. Really cold. Shivering, I looked around enviously at my neighbours and their blankets, but I had picked as lightly as possible and was wearing most of my clothes. I thought that I had done most of my travel homework by consulting blogs and the Lonely Planet. They mentioned bringing a blanket to cover the benches or to substitute as a pillow for long journeys. I had brought an inflatable pillow, thinking 'haha, I'm so smart!' However, I had failed to take into account that temperatures in Rajasthan dip to 5C this time of year, and that there are no doors or fully closed windows on the trains. Curled up in the fetal position to stay warm, I wondered what I was going to do for the next six freezing hours on the train.

For some reason, I kept thinking about bedbugs, and how glad I was that at least the barren benches pretty much eliminated the chances of harbouring any nasty bugs. I had a pretty nasty experience with bedbugs while living in Toronto for co-op, and the only way of getting rid of them is by putting all your belongings in the drying machine for 45 min, or leaving them in tightly closed garbage bags to bake in the hot summer sun for several hours.

Garbage bags....that was it! I rummaged through my knapsack and found two huge Glad trashbags that I had stashed at the bottom. I quickly opened one, stuffing my legs and numbed feet into one, then tearing a hole through the other with just enough room to push my head through. The effect was almost immediate- my upper body and legs were enveloped in a synthetic, plasticky warmth from by body temperature captured by the bags. Now if only the open ends would stay shut. The solution was almost too easy. I grabbed quick-tie closures and tied them shut, sealing in the warmth.

In the morning I was pleased to discover that I had safely arrived in Jodhpur without any signs of frostbite. My pillow had completely deflated. I will be writing a letter of thanks to the good people at Glad upon my return.

I was rewarded by these views of Jodhpur 'The Blue City' from Meheranghar Fort that morning.