June 15 Day 120
We slept in a bit and didn't get going until 7:30. We had to head into trafficed streets to get an ATM and they were fully chaotic. We got our mission accomplished after dodging many honking vehicles and being offered at least 50 tuktuk rides. We took a rest in a tea shop and the woman from last night found us and talked to Meg but this time she went away fairly quickly. People next to us were surreptitiously taking our pictures and when I tried to turn the tables on them they gathered the family around and posed for my picture. There's no way you can beat them at their own game.
We went to the main ghat to sit in the shade and see what was happening. We were offered several massages from men who kept trying to shake my hand, I guess to show how strong their hands were. Someone had brought a camel to the sandbar across the river and was offering rides. We watched a drinks vendor set up with very iffy looking water and ice. A barber shaved the head of a man sitting close to us on the steps except for a little tuft at the back. A few boys tried to sneak us into their selfies and Meg gave them a middle finger for their efforts. Most people left us alone and it was a good break.
Back at the hotel we had breakfast and talked to our waiter. He owned a farm and talked about planting the rice once the monsoon came. He was a big Modi supporter and when Meg brought up the treatment of Muslims he first said that they didn't work well and why were they here if they had their own country? After talking a bit he changed his tune and said everyone was free in India and would only be punished if they were corrupt of a bad worker.
Back at the room we started to pack and get other stuff done. We had a peanut butter lunch in the room and went out one last time to pick up laundry. It was mid-afternoon and the main ghat area was almost deserted, with many people taking their siestas out in the open. We found the laundry and a vendor who had followed us around reminded us that we hadn't been to his store and we agreed but didn't go.
Back at the hotel we got set to go. The porters hauled our bags for a solid 15 minutes down crazy streets until we got to our taxi. The driver complained about how bad the traffic was but it only took 20 minutes to drive to the bus stop and our hotel told us to budget 90 minutes. We had a long wait before we could get on and Meg had to follow some cryptic directions to get to the far away washroom.
Our bus was a sleeper, so our compartment was a bottom one from the floor to about 3 feet up. We crawled in and slid the smoked plexiglass door shut behind us. It gave us a decent space on a relatively comfortable mattress. Minuses were that we shared a curtain with the people above us so there was a bit of to and froing there and the tv and lights didn't work. Overall it led to a pretty comfortable sleep, only we were never sure if we were stopping for a moment of if it was a full rest stop and leaving your compartment to ask was a bit of a pain.
We slept alright and the highway was for real, with a bus keeping up an actual pace rather than constantly slowing down and speeding us to get around tuktuks, tractors, cows, etc. We left late and had many pauses through the night and so were far behind schedule.
We slept in a bit and didn't get going until 7:30. We had to head into trafficed streets to get an ATM and they were fully chaotic. We got our mission accomplished after dodging many honking vehicles and being offered at least 50 tuktuk rides. We took a rest in a tea shop and the woman from last night found us and talked to Meg but this time she went away fairly quickly. People next to us were surreptitiously taking our pictures and when I tried to turn the tables on them they gathered the family around and posed for my picture. There's no way you can beat them at their own game.
We went to the main ghat to sit in the shade and see what was happening. We were offered several massages from men who kept trying to shake my hand, I guess to show how strong their hands were. Someone had brought a camel to the sandbar across the river and was offering rides. We watched a drinks vendor set up with very iffy looking water and ice. A barber shaved the head of a man sitting close to us on the steps except for a little tuft at the back. A few boys tried to sneak us into their selfies and Meg gave them a middle finger for their efforts. Most people left us alone and it was a good break.
Back at the hotel we had breakfast and talked to our waiter. He owned a farm and talked about planting the rice once the monsoon came. He was a big Modi supporter and when Meg brought up the treatment of Muslims he first said that they didn't work well and why were they here if they had their own country? After talking a bit he changed his tune and said everyone was free in India and would only be punished if they were corrupt of a bad worker.
Back at the room we started to pack and get other stuff done. We had a peanut butter lunch in the room and went out one last time to pick up laundry. It was mid-afternoon and the main ghat area was almost deserted, with many people taking their siestas out in the open. We found the laundry and a vendor who had followed us around reminded us that we hadn't been to his store and we agreed but didn't go.
Back at the hotel we got set to go. The porters hauled our bags for a solid 15 minutes down crazy streets until we got to our taxi. The driver complained about how bad the traffic was but it only took 20 minutes to drive to the bus stop and our hotel told us to budget 90 minutes. We had a long wait before we could get on and Meg had to follow some cryptic directions to get to the far away washroom.
Our bus was a sleeper, so our compartment was a bottom one from the floor to about 3 feet up. We crawled in and slid the smoked plexiglass door shut behind us. It gave us a decent space on a relatively comfortable mattress. Minuses were that we shared a curtain with the people above us so there was a bit of to and froing there and the tv and lights didn't work. Overall it led to a pretty comfortable sleep, only we were never sure if we were stopping for a moment of if it was a full rest stop and leaving your compartment to ask was a bit of a pain.
We slept alright and the highway was for real, with a bus keeping up an actual pace rather than constantly slowing down and speeding us to get around tuktuks, tractors, cows, etc. We left late and had many pauses through the night and so were far behind schedule.
 |
| The sleeperbus setup - a real innovation - a better sleep than on a train! |
No comments:
Post a Comment