Gorakhpur to Varanasi
We awoke very early from a rough sleep, both very grumpy. The bed was very itchy & there was hundreds of mosquitos that had found their way into the room throughout the night. We both awoke separately to smother ourselves in deet. Thankfully it's not an area where you get malaria, from now on though its mosquito avoidance. Avoiding bright colors, perfume, not eating bananas, wearing long sleeve tops & long pants and of course applying deet like moisturizer. My skins going to love this!
It's already given me a few protesting pimples from all the sunscreen.
Our hotel manager wasn't too helpful with organising a bus or train from Ghorakhpur to Varanasi, neither was the internet. I'm very surprised how little information there is for travel between Lumbini to Varanasi. It must be easier and a more common direction of travel to go the other way. It wasn't long before the internet shit itself, it's so frustrating!
Our hotel manager did tell us about a bus station terminal for the locals called Kacherri with bus's going to Varanasi.
He pulls over next to a park and says we are close to our accommodation but the road next to the park is closed to traffic. Unfortunately because of the internet quality we dont have Google maps fully loaded on our phones & can't accurately see the distance. We agree to meet Mr Khan back at the same spot tomorrow for him to show us around.
We start walking with our packs on and realise Mr Khan has been confused by the distance and location of our hostel or he has scammed us. We still have another 6km's in 38 degree heat! We take a rickshaw who takes us half the distance before not being able to continue, we then walk a kilometer or so before getting into another tuk tuk which takes us another kilometre. After this tuk tuk we walk down a few wrong streets & eventually find some familiar things around us. It's such a relief to find & check in to the hostel.
We awoke very early from a rough sleep, both very grumpy. The bed was very itchy & there was hundreds of mosquitos that had found their way into the room throughout the night. We both awoke separately to smother ourselves in deet. Thankfully it's not an area where you get malaria, from now on though its mosquito avoidance. Avoiding bright colors, perfume, not eating bananas, wearing long sleeve tops & long pants and of course applying deet like moisturizer. My skins going to love this!
It's already given me a few protesting pimples from all the sunscreen.
Our hotel manager wasn't too helpful with organising a bus or train from Ghorakhpur to Varanasi, neither was the internet. I'm very surprised how little information there is for travel between Lumbini to Varanasi. It must be easier and a more common direction of travel to go the other way. It wasn't long before the internet shit itself, it's so frustrating!
Our hotel manager did tell us about a bus station terminal for the locals called Kacherri with bus's going to Varanasi.
At check out the hotel manager adds an extra amount onto the room price for "tax" making it our most expensive room yet. I'm going to leave a negative but honest review about our experience at this hotel. After checking out we started walking towards the main road with our packs on trying to hail a tuk tuk to take us to the bus station.
While walking an Indian man pulled up next to us on his motorbike and started talking to us, asking where we are going etc. He seemed genuinely polite and interested. We double checked we were going the right way to get a tuk tuk and he confirmed this before riding off. Once we got to the main road & crossed it, we stood trying to hail a tuk tuk, the Indian man appeared again and helped us. He then told the tuk tuk driver to take us to the bus station and drop us right next to the air con deluxe bus for Varanasi. He also negotiated a price so we wouldn't get ripped off, 50 INR. Before leaving he warned us about Varanasi, to be safe & to watch out for theifs.
The first nice Indian man we've met in India!
The Tuk Tuk ride went for about 20 minutes & was.... interesting. So many cars, tuk tuk's, rickshaws, bicycles, motorbikes, horse drawn carriages & cows competing for space on the road. We drove past lots of shanty town complexes, stores, rubbish heaps, fires, people bathing & even a funeral. India is a blur of people, color, smells & sounds, most of which are horns.
We got to the bus's and our tuk tuk driver pulled up right next to the deluxe bus to Varanasi, we tipped him an extra 50 INR for his troubles.
The bus ride to Varanasi is between 4 & 6 hours, we really appreciate the comfortable seats, personal space, air con & suspension that is on the deluxe bus. It should be a much nicer journey than the one we took the previous day.
We find seats close enough to watch our bags and settle in for the ride. The bus ticket was only 290 INR each, a fact that makes the fresh memory of the rip off taxi yesterday even more bitter.
Just before 12 our bus stopped for a toilet break. A few people got on the bus selling food and drinks. A dirty little boy also got on the bus to beg for money as did an older lady. The little boy was very persistent and even held onto Tom's arm. We just shook our heads & tried not to give them attention. Based on everything we've read, it's highly recommended not to give money to beggars. In India the people have access to free food & even free education. A lot of the kids are sold or kept out of school to beg which is more lucrative than getting an education. Giving money to kids doesn't help them as it's often passed along to parents or the people who essentially pimp the kids out. Its a hard life in some of these countries & I can't stop myself feeling sorry for the kids & silently hating the people who abuse them. The journey goes by uneventfully, my back is starting to ache from the bumpy road & we've run out of water. The bus continues to stop & start letting people off & on, just after 1pm the bus is nearly completely full & the air con is struggling. My back & bum, against the leather seat are covered in sweat that soaks into my clothes & can't dry. We find out later, the temperature peaked at 44 degrees celsius.
The first nice Indian man we've met in India!
The Tuk Tuk ride went for about 20 minutes & was.... interesting. So many cars, tuk tuk's, rickshaws, bicycles, motorbikes, horse drawn carriages & cows competing for space on the road. We drove past lots of shanty town complexes, stores, rubbish heaps, fires, people bathing & even a funeral. India is a blur of people, color, smells & sounds, most of which are horns.
We got to the bus's and our tuk tuk driver pulled up right next to the deluxe bus to Varanasi, we tipped him an extra 50 INR for his troubles.
The bus ride to Varanasi is between 4 & 6 hours, we really appreciate the comfortable seats, personal space, air con & suspension that is on the deluxe bus. It should be a much nicer journey than the one we took the previous day.
We find seats close enough to watch our bags and settle in for the ride. The bus ticket was only 290 INR each, a fact that makes the fresh memory of the rip off taxi yesterday even more bitter.
Just before 12 our bus stopped for a toilet break. A few people got on the bus selling food and drinks. A dirty little boy also got on the bus to beg for money as did an older lady. The little boy was very persistent and even held onto Tom's arm. We just shook our heads & tried not to give them attention. Based on everything we've read, it's highly recommended not to give money to beggars. In India the people have access to free food & even free education. A lot of the kids are sold or kept out of school to beg which is more lucrative than getting an education. Giving money to kids doesn't help them as it's often passed along to parents or the people who essentially pimp the kids out. Its a hard life in some of these countries & I can't stop myself feeling sorry for the kids & silently hating the people who abuse them. The journey goes by uneventfully, my back is starting to ache from the bumpy road & we've run out of water. The bus continues to stop & start letting people off & on, just after 1pm the bus is nearly completely full & the air con is struggling. My back & bum, against the leather seat are covered in sweat that soaks into my clothes & can't dry. We find out later, the temperature peaked at 44 degrees celsius.
We arrived at Varanasi at 4pm, I'm not sure if we arrived at a bus stop or just a section of road before a horrendous traffic jam.
We hopped out & were straight away approached by tuk tuk drivers. We went with one who had good English, a gentle smile on his face and asked us what we wanted to pay. His name was Mr Khan & he had been to Melbourne before on a holiday. He had a collection of 4 diaries from various years in his console that previous visitors to Varanasi had written in, thanking him for his guide experience. He seems really genuine & nice.
He pulls over next to a park and says we are close to our accommodation but the road next to the park is closed to traffic. Unfortunately because of the internet quality we dont have Google maps fully loaded on our phones & can't accurately see the distance. We agree to meet Mr Khan back at the same spot tomorrow for him to show us around.
We start walking with our packs on and realise Mr Khan has been confused by the distance and location of our hostel or he has scammed us. We still have another 6km's in 38 degree heat! We take a rickshaw who takes us half the distance before not being able to continue, we then walk a kilometer or so before getting into another tuk tuk which takes us another kilometre. After this tuk tuk we walk down a few wrong streets & eventually find some familiar things around us. It's such a relief to find & check in to the hostel.
Definitely one of the worst 24 hours I have had while travelling, walking felt almost impossible with my pack, exhaustion, dehydration and hunger, the heat and the fear we were lost. I had someone crash in to me on their bike, luckily my bag absorbed most of the impact and I wasn't hurt, 10 minutes later a cow decided to charge me and I had to push its horn away and smack it.
We're in double bed dorms here for the next 3 nights. By far the best dorm set up we've stayed in, it's very spacious & private with the air con actually blowing cold air!! One other bunk is occupied with another aussie couple who are in the room when we arrive.
Food is our next priority! We realised about 2pm on the bus that we are fast approaching 24 hours between meals, by the time we sat down it was 28 hours! We grab a table at a nice restaurant on the same street as our hostel. Tom orders a thali set & I'm sold on a palak paneer. We are joined for dinner by another aussie backpacker who is from Sydney. I thought we would eat so much more than we did, Indian food is so rich & filling though. After dinner we head back to the hostel for a shower & glorious bed !
Food is our next priority! We realised about 2pm on the bus that we are fast approaching 24 hours between meals, by the time we sat down it was 28 hours! We grab a table at a nice restaurant on the same street as our hostel. Tom orders a thali set & I'm sold on a palak paneer. We are joined for dinner by another aussie backpacker who is from Sydney. I thought we would eat so much more than we did, Indian food is so rich & filling though. After dinner we head back to the hostel for a shower & glorious bed !
- Alli
No comments:
Post a Comment