Varanasi – apparently one of the oldest continually habited
cities in the world. It is amazing and I, personally, loved it, despite the few
hiccups I had along the way.
On my first day in Varanasi I realised I was running short
of cash so I headed to the hotel to check in and got ready. I managed to make
it through the maze of back allies in the old part of town to find the main road in Varanasi to try and
find a cash point. Bearing in mind I had spoken to my bank the day before and
they assured me my card would work (I think you know where this is heading).
So I headed out and the first cash point was out of order,
the second and third cash points were out of order, I had 110 rupees left to my
name and I NEEDED cash! So I carried on walking up the main road to what I hoped
was a working cash point as I cannot deny I was a little concerned about my
cash situation. I carried on walking up the road when a cycle rickshaw hit the
back of my leg, ran over my foot and broke my sandal, rather than saying sorry
he cheerfully said he could take me to a shoe shop – he was very close to
having a broken shoe shoved up his nose at that point but I had to carry on as
at that point I could not even afford shoes so I carried on walking up the road
with no shoes. One thing I will say about Varanasi is that the roads are
actually pretty rubbish and very sharp! I was left hobbling up the road with
one odd coloured toe and blood trickling down the side of my foot but I walked
up and found an actual working cash point… and my card did not work. I didn’t
even have enough credit to call the bank as I had called them the day before.
So I was looking a little bit lost when a journalist spotted me and told me to
hop on his bike and he would take me to another cash point and give me a lift
back. I considered it for a whole second and hopped on. Taking a moment to
consider this I have done really well in not getting on the back of motor
cycles in India, actually I had only been on 1 before that with a helmet so me
going on the back of a stranger’s bike without one was, well, pretty fucking
stupid! Anyway I managed to survive it and he dropped me outside his office,
told me where the cash point was and that I could have a chai and wait for him
and he would take me back to the ghat I was staying near.
I went to the next cash point and… it was broken! The nice
engineers allowed me to sit down and then offered me their shoes to go and find
a working cash point and then I rang my sister in a babbling ‘I have no cash or
shoes’ kind of state. I then decided to try an actual bank and the nice
engineers did some bartering with a rickshaw driver and put me into a rickshaw.
So I arrived at the bank looking a little worse for wear, no shoes etc. and I
was told I couldn’t get money out unless I had a bank card with that particular
bank, I then decided to go back to the hotel to try and sort it from there and
put my spare of shoes on (thank god I am anal sometimes!) when the rickshaw
driver decided he had a rubbish day too and was trying to charge me well over 3
times the actual price. It was at the time I decided to be a complete and utter
girl and I cried! Oh yes I sat down and cried like the massive wimp I am. So I
was rescued again. I think women crying scares men a little bit, so I hopped on
the next motorbike… I know, I know. It’s alright though as he had a helmet (I
have never understood the logic of just the driver having a helmet). This nice
gentleman took me to ANOTHER cash point which actually did work but my card definitely
didn’t. The nice man took me back to the hotel and I spoke to my sister (thanks
Darling you are a life saver) I also spoke to my bank and I actually said to
the rather terrified Jamie…’if my card doesn’t work I will fly back to the UK,
rip your arm off and beat you over the head with the soggy end.’ Thinking about
it I surprised my card did actually work after that. It was then I realised I
had not eaten for 24 hours which could have also made me a wee bit cranky.
Luckily the good news in this story was that I still managed
to find some amazing people who were very sweet in rescuing a damsel in
distress so thank you so much to you all.
I eventually managed to get some cash and the rest of
Varanasi was amazing, truly brilliant. I was very lucky in meeting some more
brilliant people and laughed until my sides hurt. I enjoyed getting lost in the
small allies of the old city, exploring and finding the happiest Priest I have ever met (I got
to sign my second autograph!), seeing the Durga-puja festival, going to the
burning ghats (but that is another tale in itself), watching the sun rise over
the ganga, Saranath temple and sitting watching the deities float past down the
river. All in all it was not terribly relaxing but good fun all the same.
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