22nd April - Varanesi Chill Day

I had a long breakfast and ate far too much. When will I learn that just because you can eat as much as you want from a buffet, it does not mean that you have too!

It was a shame that we could not get another night at the Ramada as we had stayed there on a special offer and for a very reasonable price. I have been on major budget but decided to have a holiday from traveling and stay somewhere lovely for a couple of days. We had to move to another hotel after check out time. We had booked it last night on the internet but it might have been cheaper just to turn up and barter. However, bartering constantly can be exhausting and neither of us were in the mood to waste hours checking out different hotels and trying to get the best price. The new room was OK in comparison to other places I have stayed but very expensive for the quality. It was a very "Indian" hotel rather than an international place.

After we had checked in I went off with Babu (our Rickshaw driver) to do a little bit of shopping for some booze and also to see if I could find anywhere that sold inner tubes. The booze is very expensive due to tax increases in this state and again it took time to shop around and barter. I am fed up with this side of India now. I had no success with inner tubes. These thing often take far longer than they should in India.

I ended up chatting for hours with Johnie and then had a swim in the small, very cold, slightly dirty pool. We went out for diner at the Pizza Hut just up the road. I was surprised by the fact that is was a very lovely meal. Very funny that I do not normally eat in these sorts of places when in the UK. It was nice to have a break from Indian food and eat a proper salad and some meat without curry! :-)

In India these places are considered really expensive and they are the places were upper middle class Indians eat. In the UK they are considered cheap places to eat.

Reasonably early night as need to be up early tomorrow morning. Lovely to have a chilled day but still need to catch up on sleep. I keep on planning to have a long catch up nap but then end up talking rubbish with Johnnie.

21st April - Varanesi Explore

Up at 4.30 to get ready to meet Badu the Rickshaw driver and head to the Ghats for sunrise. It took about 30mins to cross Varanasi to the Ghats. Rickshaws can't get all the way to the rivers edge and so Babu parked and we then walked for 5 minutes to get to the river. I really was not sure what to expect. It is difficult to describe.... (especially when languages are not your forte).

The water line of the river is quite low at this time of year and there are about hundred or more steps down to the waters edge from the town itself. The first thing we saw was a group of lads playing a game of Cricket and behind them about 10m a burning funeral pier. It was very incongruous.

There are buildings all the way along one side of the river (the city side) and on the other side a sand bank and then fields (although we could not see that far as it was very hazy).

We did the normal tourist thing and took a boat ride up and down the river and watched the sunrise. We paid 500RS. According to the guide book it should have only been 150RS each for the boat ride but according to the touts this is only for 1 hour and the ride that they gave us was 2 hours and also it is more expensive in the quiet season. It is rubbish but it was early in the morning and neither of us could be bothered bartering.

The man rowing the boat tried to act as our guide and each time we passed a ghat he would tell us its name - rather superfluous as the name was also written on the walls of the buildings.

One of the best things to see was the sunken temple on the side of the water.

There are many boats that come and try and sell rubbish. We needed milk so tried to buy some from them.... but they were only selling tat.

We got Babu to drive us back to the Hotel and Johnnie went off to get his FRO at midday. I went for a massage for 1 hour or so. Loved listening to ipod and chilling. I had a nap in the afternoon and then a swim in the pool but I could not swim for long as I had to hurry to met Babu at 5 to go and see the ghats at sunset and the ceremony.

The evening boat ride was only 300RS as we were more in the mood for bartering. The different rowing man said exactly the same as this morning - which involved telling us the name of each Ghat - which was visible from the boat to read anyway. We just nattered. There were loads of crazy Hindus in the other boats (not just tourists).

It was lovely to watch the sunset but the ceremony was actually very boring and we left mid way through. Did not get back to the hotel until about 8ish and it was 9 before we had showered and decided which restaurant in the Hotel to dine in. We went with Chinese.

We had a lovely meal and I enjoyed putting on some proper clothes and getting all dressed up and everything!

We had originally planned just to spend today in Varanasi and then head to Kathmandu tomorrow but we decided that we were still both very tired from sight seeing and not getting enough sleep so we decided to have a chilled day tomorrow and arrange a car for the next day to go to Kathmandu.

20th April - Varanasi

The train was supposed to be the express train and the time table said that the train should arrive at 8.30. Unfortunately it did not arrive until 10.30. I really had wanted to get some sleep on the journey but I did not feel comfortable enough about the security of my belongings to sleep. I also could not use the time to catch up on my blog as I did not want to get my laptop out on the train in front of everyone. I have heard so much too many bad stories from other travelers about this train ride to ignore their advice. The atmosphere on this train was really different from the journey that I took from Jalgaon to Palanpur. By the time that we arrived in Varanasi the train was actually every quiet and there were only 3 men just sitting staring at me. I did feel rather uncomfortable and I was very glad to step off the train.

It took a while to get my bike from the parcel service at the platform but I am getting used to the system now and so at least I knew what to ask for etc this time. I did feel dog tired but I chose that rather than go through the hassle of getting all of my things and my bike on to an auto-rickshaw I would just cycle to the hotel - about 5km. It was reasonably easy to find and I got there about 11. I decided to stay in the area where all the tourist hotels are on the outskirts of town. This area is cleaner and quieter than on the ghats - although more expensive. Although I have been used to staying right in the thick of it in Indian cities, I did not really fancy this for Varanasi. I did not like the idea of having a view of burning funeral piers from my bedroom window nor breathing in the smoke from the fires. I had read that the streets leading to the ghats are also very narrow and unclean. I wanted to visit and see what it is like but I did not fancy staying there this time.

My room was not ready straight away and so I waited for about 30 mins and locked up my bike somewhere safe. I met Johnnie about 12.30.

The hotel is really lovely and it was a good place to go to have a really good bath/shower and wash away the dirt and smell of Indian Sleeper Class trains and dog tiredness. I soaked for about 1 hour....

Johnie had not had an easy journey either and so after freshening up we met and opened a bottle of wine and just relaxed for a few hours. I have not really been drinking for the last few months and so it was really lovely to have a cold white wine.

Unfortunately, I had a leak in my room from the ceiling which soaked many of my clothes. The hotel staff came to fix the problem and then provided a free laundry service for all the clothes that got wet (and a few more :-)). It was great. It felt like it had been ages since both my clothes and I had been really clean!

I had a short nap and then met Johnie to go for a wander round the area and explore. There is a large modern shopping center right next to the hotel. We went to McDonalds for coffee and then had a wander round the Shopping Centre. Although there are lots of shops the center was extremely quiet. Maybe most Indians just can't afford the products (about the same prices as the West) and so the center is there manly for tourists?

Johnnie chatted with Babu a Rickshaw driver outside the center and arranged a ride for a tomorrow morning to the river and old Varanesi. The best time of day to see the Ghats is for sunrise. Arrrggg. 5am start again..... I do need to get more sleep.....

19th April - Chill day around Agra and train to Varanesi

Woke up early again but still need to catch up on sleep. Had breakfast at the restaurant attached to the hotel and organised my photos so I could give a copy to Alan but then went back for a siesta.

My panniers have fallen to pieces. It is very frustrating as they are supposed to be really good. They are Altura Fuse 42L panniers. I choose them because they are lighter than many other makes and I was really concerned about excess baggage charges when I was purchasing equipment for this trip. Having looked at how Alan's Ortlieb water-proof panniers have held together over time I now think that this was the wrong decision.

I spent some time glueing the seams together with super glue but I could not get the seams together as well as the machines that built them can and so there are still several gaps and so my panniers are no longer water proof. Arrrgggg.

I think that I will buy some new Orilebs at some point in the future and send back my panniers to the UK and ask for a refund or a replacement before they are over 1 year old.




Alan was really not feeling well again. This is the 5th time during his stay in India over the last 3 months that he has been ill. I think this picture illustrates very well how he was feeling. Bless.....




I left Alan to sleep and went off to use the internet and upload photos. As usual I ran out of time to update my blog completely.....

Back to the hotel to pack my things. I then popped to where I was staying the previous few nights to take a photo (I try to take a photo of every place I sleep) but the idiots at the hotel said no - even though there was no one in the room.

I said goodbye to Alan. It has been great biking with him for the last few weeks :-)




I left for the station to get there for 7pm, 2 and a half hours before the train leaves. When I arrive they told me that I was too late and the parcel office was closed so I could not get my bike on the train. I said that I doing as I was told when I bought the ticket "just turn up 2 hours before the departure to check on your bike". I ended up going back and forth from one office to another at different ended of the station (about 10 mins walk with all of my stuff) for about 2 hours before I eventually got it sorted. One office would tell me to go to the other office to sort it out and then I would be sent back. One of the guys was screaming instructions at me when it was obvious that I was trying to do my best to get the right paper work and pack up my bike in the right way. NOT a fun experience. I was hot and uncomfortable and the station was dirty, smelly and very busy.

I got a porter to help with my luggage but he kept on wondering off and I was worried about my bags all the time. Eventually I jumped through all of the loops and left my bike at the parcel office with 30 mins to spare. I tried to get a refund on my ticket from yesterday. It was a 2nd class train and I did not get a seat (I was left on the waiting list). Therefore, I could not have taken the train and so thought I would be able to get a refund..... apparently not. You have to do it in 12 hours of the train leaving. ARRRGG Indian's and their paper work. It can be so difficult to get anything done here.

When I got on to the train it was jam packed. I went to my seat to find someone else already in there. Unfortunately none of the Indians spoke English and they were really not very friendly at all. Someone went to find a lad that spoke English and he checked my ticket and told the others that it was a confirmed ticket and for the right seat. I got evil looks from all of the people around me. I just put all my bags in my seat and squashed up. It was very uncomfortable. I could not get out my laptop and work on my diary or blog because I did not feel that my things were safe. I ended up partly sharing my bunk with another Indian lady. There were then 2 other ladies sharing a bunk and 2 men on the floor between the bunks. The toilets were grotty and I did not want to leave my things. However, I still had a little bit of diarrhea and so it was not the most pleasant journey.

The lights went off about 9 and people got ready for bed. I did not really feel like I could go to sleep as I have heard about a large amount of theft from foreigners and also assaults on women on this train journey.

I wished that I had manage to get off the waiting list for the train ride yesterday instead. It was 2nd class and would have been much nicer. However, my previous sleeper class journey to meet Alan had been absolutely fine....



Not my picture.... but yes that is what they are like!!!

18th April - Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal - tick!


Up at 5ish to go and see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal. Alan was not feeling well with a bad stomach and so did not join me and Johnnie. The hotel where we were staying has a great view of the Taj from the gardens. We went there first thing to take some photos and then wandered the 5 minute walk to the entrance. It turned out that today is World Heritage Day (or something like that) and entry into all World Heritage Sites today is free! Yippeee. The Taj is the most expensive entry for all of the sites in India. Most places are 100RS or 250RS for foreigners. The Taj should have been 750RS. Johnnie has PIO for India as his Grandma was born here and so should have been able to get in paying Indian rates i.e. 20RS. He was extremely disappointed that it was free entry today and he could not go "Ner Ner Ner Ner Ner". I found it very funny that he was so annoyed :-)

We were wandering round and past security by about 6. The light was great at this time of day. Obviously loads of other people were also aware that this would be the case as it was heaving with white people. I have not seen so many Americans in one place for years.... People were arriving in coach loads.

It is a very beautiful building - even with all of the people. We had fun taking loads of photos. I am getting slightly bored of photo taking now and I was very happy for Johnnie to take loads.

We were laughing at the irony of taking photos at an angle with hands up in the air making it look like were were pushing over the Taj. Everyone was doing the normal photo of fingers in the air looking like they were grabbing the top of the building were as we were doing the shot that everyone does at Pisa. We were laughing to ourselves when an America woman sitting next to us asked us to explain..... She said "You are doing what everyone does at the leaning tower of Pisa rather than what people do at the Taj. Why are you doing this? Why is it funny?" to which Johnnie had to explain the English humor of irony. She replied that she still did not get it.... :-) She then asked where we are from. Johnnie replied that I was from Holyoaks (sorry only English people will get this) and he was from a few hundred miles South of there, a place called Toffdom (I regularly call him a "toff"). It really is cruel to play with Americans...... but soooooo funny.

I know I have been biking round India in sports clothes but I always cover my legs and shoulders when going into towns and wandering round. I was amazed at the level of inappropriate clothing worn but tourists. A see through dress about 1 inch below the crotch really is not appropriate clothing in India...... There were loads of white people wearing Indian clothes. I thought this was cool but they looked very funny when they then had to wear shoe covers to wander round the inside of the building.....

I was quite tired as I had not had much sleep and so we went for breakfast and large coffees at Coffee day (about 1 minutes walk from the entrance to the Taj). Considering how busy the Taj was, Coffee Day was very quiet. We then went back for a nap for an hour or so before we had to check out. Alan was still feeling rubbish and so me and Johnie went off on our own in Johnnie's car (I love having a driver....) to find a place that sold western food. We found a McDonald's and thought as neither of us ever eat there when in the UK it would be funny to do so in India. They do not serve beef burgers as it is a Hindu country and Hindus do not eat beef. They also had a slightly different menu to the UK. Paneer burger and Spicy Chicken burgers. McDonald's but Indian style.... Sorry for eating in McDolnalds Mum - please forgive me ;-)

Johnie left in his taxi and headed back to Delhi. Was interesting to find out how much it is to hire a taxi and a driver - 7.5RS for every km. So for 2 days and about 500km it was £55 plus over night expenses and food for the driver - so about £65! Amazing.

I met up with Alan again in the afternoon and had another short nap. He was still feeling rubbish but we went to see the Taj again in the evening to see it at sunset. Unfortunately we had left it too late and he did not get to see the inside but there was plenty of time for silly photos and to watch the sunset. Beautiful.

In the evening I sat and organised my photos and chatted with some people in the restaurant of the cafe. It was air-conditioned! What a change from normal.....

I did have a good AC class train ticket booked for this evening but I did not come off the waiting list and so I now have to get the train tomorrow instead. Unfortunate as the ticket I have for tomorrow is sleeper class and will be no where near as comfortable or safe!