Crossing the border into India was a strange feeling since there was no real border control, just a few guys sitting at a desk in uniform. They could have been selling hash and chess sets for all we knew. Well we managed to get in and caught a bus around 11am headed for Gorakphur. The previous evening we had purchases some sleeper train tickets from Gorakphur to Varanasi, so all we needed do was get to Gorakphur. Our bus was local and full when we boarded. Mariana sat with Susan and I sat next to an elderly chap in cloth. The journey was quite fun seeing all the locals getting on and off, arguing about money and making OAPs stand so that men and children could sit down. In India, there are no rules or courtesey, that doesn’t exist. The order of rights is as follows, men, boys, girls, old men then lastly women and goats. The cast system is not a pretty sight to see, and I know it was really annoying for Mariana to watch, womens rights and all that stuff….
Arriving in Gorakphur, was like getting to work on Monday morning, you knew you had to do it, but really didn’t want to be there. We had lunch at a little hut which was really good and about 60 pence for a large feed. Then we had about 8 hours to kill in a place that was really one very long dirt track road and a few hotels and restaurants. We found a café and had some tea for a few hours, and finally found an internet café which was such a welcome sight. Around 8pm we headed for the train station to collect our bags and sit around for our train. Our train, had one first class carriage at the front, the rest were second or third. It was a relief to get on the sleeper train since it seemed ok and we could finally relax. Our train left around 11.30pm headed from Varanasi.
It was hard to sleep on the train fro fear of being robbed, but we were assured that first class is safe and our bags were chained to our beds, armed guards at the door and motion sensors in the train corridor. We did sleep on and off all night, but managed to rest as best we could. Our train arrived in Varanasi around 7am and we were greeted by our hotel rep on the train who swiftly took us to a tuk tuk. 30 minutes later we arrived in old town, the place seemed very dusty and dirty for so early in the morning but thought nothing of it. Finally managed to check into our room at 12.30am after sitting on the terrace overlooking the Ganges taking in the morning atmosphere. Our hotel has a great location for the sights but not so sure on the surrounding areas as there are signs warning us not to go out after dark. In the afternoon we took a trip out to Sarangot, the first place Buddha preached to his followers. Really nice historical site with a deer park adjacent. We arrived back in town around 6pm and Susan went back to her hotel in a cheaper part of town. Since we had eaten both breakfast and lunch at our hotel we decided to venture out as far as the next hotel where we had dinner on the rooftop restaurant. The food was fantastic but I was not sure about the bottled water, something didn’t seem to taste right so left it after just one sip.
The following day we took an early morning boat trip along the ganges to watch people ‘bring out ya dead’ (sorry but it did seem like a scene from Monty Python). Really nice trip that ended with me stubbing my toe on a rock and bleeding everywhere, catching diseases and all sorts from the dirt on the ground. Lesson one, do not wear flip flops in Varanasi. Headed back to hotel and get cleaned up, had some breakfast and then went out Christmas shopping. Mariana was feeling a little ill (stomach) so decided to rest whilst I went out. Susan and I came back mid afternoon and Mariana was much better, we had a late lunch together before Susan took off to catch her train back to Delhi. In the evening we decided to stay in the hotel and relax, and this is when I started to feel sick in my stomach.
The following morning all was well, went to yoga at 8.30am, but managed to nearly pass out 30 minutes into the class since I hadn’t drunk any water. Had a rest and continued with the class and felt really good afterwards. However, in the afternoon I became very ill, first with Delhi Belly, then a fever and exhaustion. The night was no better, it was if I had attached myself to a large bungey cord int eh bathroom since I was in and out of there every 15 minutes for the entire evening. At one point I did actually collapse and pass out which kind of scared Mariana, but I mentioned that this use to happen to me all the time (Ask Ben about the flight to Cyprus).
In the morning we decided I needed to go to hospital as I wasn’t getting any better and there was a good chance I had Malaria. We went to apparently the best hospital in Varanasi which was as clean as a dog kennel. After about 10 minutes I was seen by Dr Facebook (this guy actually had the cheek to update his status online whilst diagnosing my condition). He put me down for about 20 tests together with a shed load of drugs and said that I needed to go downstairs to pay before this could happen. We picked up the medicine from the pharmacy and enquired about the cost of the tests. They wanted almost £200 for these blood, stool and urine tests so we waited until speaking with AXA for approval. We then left the hospital and went back to the hotel so I could continue being sick.
Christmas eve was no different and my stomach condition had progressed into dysentery. Went back to hospital, paid the cash, had the tests and picked up more drugs to stop the bleeding. Mariana had now also started to feel sick and was worried that she too had the same stomach bacteria. She also went to see Dr Facebook, but he gave here completely different drugs to me, seems like a complete cowboy. Mariana was so pissed off that she was spending her Christmas looking after me and not being home in Sweden with all the snow and nice food. Our Christmas dinner was a toasted cheese sandwich…..
Christmas day I felt much better and we decided to get out of the room since fresh (well not really fresh, just fumes and dust) air should do me good. We took a tuk tuk over to Cantonment area (5 star hotel suburb) and headed straight for Pizza Hut. I know it is sad, but at least we could eat at will and not worry about any infections. We ate as much as we could before returning to our room which now seemed so depressing, only one more night to go before we get out of this rotten filthy city and onto pastures new.
Boxing day was a bit of a rush, had to go to hospital in the morning to pick up results from tests then get back to check out. Mariana stayed at the hotel and sorted out the room, I returned around midday and we headed to the station. Our train wasn’t until 5pm, but I just want to get away from that area. We dropped our bags at the train station and headed back to pizza hut for a second feeding. The food was such a nice changed to our diet of rice, vegetable curry and fried lentils. We boarded our 3AC sleeper to Jaipur, settled down and tried to rest. However, the 3AC trains are quite cramped and I became claustrophobic and struggled breathing properly. This went on all night and caused a minor asthma attack. Couldn’t wait to get off the train in Jaipur.
Boxing day was a bit of a rush, had to go to hospital in the morning to pick up results from tests then get back to check out. Mariana stayed at the hotel and sorted out the room, I returned around midday and we headed to the station. Our train wasn’t until 5pm, but I just want to get away from that area. We dropped our bags at the train station and headed back to pizza hut for a second feeding. The food was such a nice changed to our diet of rice, vegetable curry and fried lentils. We boarded our 3AC sleeper to Jaipur, settled down and tried to rest. However, the 3AC trains are quite cramped and I became claustrophobic and struggled breathing properly. This went on all night and caused a minor asthma attack. Couldn’t wait to get off the train in Jaipur.
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