Chuggity Chug

The hills are mottled with fresh grass, the rains have made the countryside vibrant with lush greens, bright browns and demure yellows. For some reason the peaks of the hills remain barren, devoid of the green below, like someone rashly ran an oversized lawn-mower across them.

The mud is rich and fertile. We pass rivulets of clear water and buffaloes grazing in the multi-hued green landscape.

There are thatched huts and narrow tarred roads leading up to a level crossing where dark-skinned people wait patiently in lorrries and bicycles - the south has arrived.