Varanasi, Harder Times and Australians

When we last joined our hero, he was travelling up from Kolkata to the holy city of Varanasi...

India is treating me a little roughly. Which is unfair, because I really want to enjoy this country...especailly after having such a good time in Kolkata! still its got much better, but I can't help feeling a little homesick after trying to get to varanasi...

First of all, 14 hours on an Indian train is rubbish. Well...I guess that was pretty obvious. I got pretty sick in the north of being stared at like a godamn zoo animal. No atchully, I'd like to be treated like a zoo animal, zoo animals get smiled at, zoo animals get respect. White people get the look of 'what the hell are you doing here, you unholy abomination'. the place was cramped and we were the only ones on the train that didn't get sheets. It was a sleeper carriage, thank god.

Still can't argue with the price, cheap as chips, and we also disovered from a student on the last 2 hours of our trip that it was the worst train on the whole varanasi line. So, hopefully the others won't be so bad.

We get there, and the student is good enough to show us the tourist office, and thats where the trouble started. You see, valued reader, Varanasi is part of the nasty commision scheme in India. You see, if a tuk tuk takes us to a hotel, they get a hefty 'finders fee' called a commision. However the 3 oldest places to stay in Varanasi don't do this, because they're well priced (you know your in a good place when your breakfast costs more than your room!) and respectful, not 2 bit scam artists. So what do the drivers do? they tell you these places have burned down or flodded, they destroy the signs to these places but the most common thing to happen is that hotels simply change they're names to almost be exactly the same as the decent hotels but with extra additions to the name. so instead of the yogi lodge its 'the new yogi guesthouse' or 'the real yogi inn'. Problem is, different name, same big prices.

Anyway, outside the tourist office As per usual, someones offering us a taxi/tuk tuk, the usual respectful 'no' treatment was what we gave him. He followed us still, in some vain attempt to charm us, into the telephone office where we we're gonna call our hotel to come get us. We call them, they're on our way.

We now realise CAPTAIN CON ARTIST went to his mate round the corner a few minutes later and RELAYED EVERYTHING WE SAID ON THE PHONE to him and wrote 'Langan' on a piece of paper and came round to get us into his tuk tuk.

Guy comes in we say 'aren't you supposed to be wearing a yogi lodge shirt?'

'yeah, thats my brother, hes at the tuk tuk!'

Get to the tuk tuk. No brother. 'We aren't getting in.'

After a brief discussion with the various tuk tuk drivers around us (including CAPTAIN CON ARTIST) the driver swore on his and our yogi guide's honour (a serious thing in India) that he worked for the lodge. We wanted to get to the lodge and at this point we didn't know any better. Its only as we start to realise everything he told us he could have just heard on the phone we really start to get worried.

Now, I may seem like a charming, cool headed backpacker type. I am. However, the muscle of the operation (Sam) is not so forgiving. Especially when it comes to scam artists. So when we get to 'the lodge' the tuk tuk duo are waiting to be paid and we drop the bomb shell.

'We're looking at the hotel before we pay you'. They look worried. But we get there, and they breath a sigh of relief, one more commission in pocket...until I come up with the idea, of checking the phone number for yogi lodge against the hotels card. Ah. 'The old yogi lodge'.

Sam is seeing red. I've never been so proud of my brother. He knows we're getting scammed and he gives the tuk tuk guys a choice, take us to the temple near the yogi lodge and get paid, or take us back to the rail station free of charge. They chose the second option.















The tuk tuk driver looked annoyed (especially since he wa the one who tried the honour thing) but the guy that tried to scam us just seemed to break down, it was quite pathetic all apologetic and 'slow season' nonsense. We get back to the station, and get the real guy to take us to the yogi lodge.

I am, however pleased to say that after that unpleasant experience we managed to meet some great people in our hotel (which was 75p a night. deffinatley worth the hassel). The ozzies, Gin and her father Eric, Gin (short for virginia) had been travelling around India for the past 2 months, and was heading down to Kerala too, so we gained some travel buddies! both were really easy going and easy to talk too, and helped out a lot with organising our flights down.
We've decided to skip Rajahstan...me and Sam both need to be somewhere less rushed and hectic, and to be honest we've just lost interest in anything in the north. We need a beach!
Varanasi was a busy city but with the most gorgeous Ganges view I've ever seen. Sam said he could spend days by the riverside, I'd have to agree with him it was pretty spectacular.
We also met Beth, the hippy drum circler with plenty of Indian, and paticularly, Goan tales, which was very interesting.
Probably the most fascinating traveller we've met yet is a bloke called Dan though, who was the only other person staying in our Dorm! He'd driven, yes DRIVEN from London through europe, up into russia and all the old soviet countries like Kahzakstan and Uzhbekhistan, before going itno Iran Pakistan and India. He's been going for 11 months and is going to continue through India and Bali before heading back the way he came. He loves Pakistan and now I really want to travel there!
Travelling down to Varkala was OK, it was just the damned Taxi Drivers in Mumbai that made our lives hell, that and the hotel was awful.
Still, Now I'm down on the stunning beach in Varkala, I promise to upload some pics soon! Its so good to finnaly be down here in the south where everything is a lot more relaxed. The weather, however looks like it could be swinging to a bit more monsoony, though, so I'm trying to catch the breathtaking beach for as long as I can. We've found a hotel for 1.90 a night, (and yes, its not the most attractive room I've ever been in, but 95p each a night, I'm not complaining) so we're planning to get stuck here as long as the weather will allow. Delhi belly looms, however, and I must run quickly too my room. Farewell!