25.10.2018
Today we would be leaving the ship and continue our journey overland – still following the River Ganges. Leaving the ship to go on the land program in India is always somewhat exciting, because you never know what is going to happen.
When I did my first cruise on the River Ganges 3 years ago, the itinerary was still sailing along the mighty Ganges all the way to Patna and the disembarkation came all of a sudden. Back then they had already mentioned that the water was low in the river and we might not make it all the way to Patna. I had joked about it and said – As long as it is less than 100 km close to Patna, it will be fine ….
I should not have said it – less than 30 min later there went a ripple through the ship and we were stuck on a sandbank in the middle of the river just past the confluence with the River Koshi ….. The end of the story was that we were stuck there for good and had to organize an alternative. Considering we were in absolute touristic no men’s land ABN did very well and 2 days later we continued our cruise by bus. Imagine that – 5 days bus tour through the Indian hinterland instead of a cruise …. The guests took it remarkably well – we filled them up with free beer and Indian whisky all the time – lucky that back then in Bihar alcohol was still allowed! That was a grand adventure. Lucky our ABN mini busses were always travelling with us – with them we went on tour. For the first 260 km to the next suitable hotel in our direction of travel it took us no less than 12 hrs! The first 50 km of that was 3 hrs along village roads. The best thing was, back then we had a group that was adventurous and flexible and nobody was complaining, because they understood what travelling in India’s province means.
Now I am lucky that so far everything went rather smooth on this trip, the itinerary had officially been changed due to the possibility of low water on the mighty Ganges and we would disembark in Farakka before actually reaching the main river.
Breakfast was at 07:00 and departure was scheduled for 08:30 – we were going to be transferred to the Farakka Train Station and catch an express train to Kolkata at 09:35 this morning. Everybody had packed and all were chatting away at the breakfast table. I was still relaxed – I had the train tickets, the seats were all in one AC coach and not spread over the entire train. On the former itinerary we used to go by train from Patna to Varanasi and it was always a great adventure for the guests. So I was looking forward to this train ride, even though I knew the unreliability of the Indian railways.
When the GM Kunal had told me last year that we would do this change of itinerary and take a train to catch an airplane in Kolkata, I had been very skeptic! – Are you sure this train will be on time? – Yes, it is always on time! – It is a different story, if you just have to stay in the hotel on arrival, but we will have to catch an airplane from Kolkata to Patna and if that train is delayed, we would be royally fucked! – No, this train is always on time, trust me!
Well, this morning all was set and we had just finished breakfast. I walked past the ship manager Romeet’s office and just looked at him questioningly – he looked back at me funny and then waved me in … Good morning, Romeet, is everything OK? – Come in and sit! – You will be telling me the train is late!? – How do you know? – I see it in your face! – Well, the train has not yet left its original station New Jalpaiguri Junction …. – That means it is very very late! It takes like 4 hrs from there to Farakka! But we have to catch that plane this evening! – Yes, I know! – Is there another train? – Yes, but it will be hard to get enough tickets and then probably no AC tickets …. – And it might not be on time either! No! We have to go by bus! – But I have only the 2 mini busses and I need them for the new guests which will be arriving by train this afternoon! – So, what do you suggest? There is no other All-India-Tourist-Permit-Bus here, I know, because I am having a déjà vu from 3 years ago when we got stuck on the sandbank! – They are checking now, give me a few minutes! Maybe you take only one of our busses. You are only 10 people and it is a 14-seater, it will work! – But it is what … some 300 km and it will take like 8 hrs! This will be too crammed! – There are good roads to Kolkata, you will be fine! – I do not think so, it will be too crammed for this group! – What …. Wait! …. Kunal is calling! …… OK, you get the 2 mini busses and I find a different solution for the new guests! But you need to leave as soon as possible! – Yes, I know! Our flight is at 18:30 and we need to be there 2 hrs before with all those security procedures in Indian airports. – So, you go tell the guests to get read as soon as possible and I go tell the bus drivers to get the busses!
Off we went! – Ring the temple bell big time boys! – I caught most of the guests in the corridor in front of the restaurant and told them the train was cancelled and we need to get on the bus as soon as possible. Then I went to knock on the doors of the other guests to tell them. All were ready anyway, but of course needed a few minutes for the final touches.
We actually managed to get going at 08:00 – the 2 mini busses were ready. The drivers were somewhat taken by surprise – a 20 min ride to the train station followed by a quiet day until the pickup of the new guests at the train station in the afternoon had turned in no time into an 8 hrs race to the airport. The cooling boxes were filled with water bottles and the box with our lunch packets was loaded.
The guests split naturally 5 in one bus and 4 in the other, the luggage was loaded and counted and complete. On the train Candid, the Spa man, would have accompanied us – mainly just to bridge the language barrier and keep in touch with the company. But that plan changed as well and Arnap, the Assistant Manager, was sent with us. I delegated him to ride in the bus with our Swiss friend. I rode in the second bus.
The crew member who lent me his mobile SIM card for the duration of the cruise stood expectantly next to the bus and I had to beg him to let me the SIM until Kolkata. I needed to stay connected on this trip! I promised him, I would give the SIM card to Arnap when we arrived in Kolkata! I would not forget. I had already bugged Kunal last night via messenger that he would organize me a new SIM in Kolkata. This digital addiction is disgusting! But what the heck, we were going to Bihar, which is basically a state behind the moon. Kunal promised me to fix something, because he would have picked us up from Howrah Train Station …. Now he would come to the Airport.
So, it was a rather hasty departure and a quick wave – Good bye! Thank you! Dhanyabad! See you next time!
It was a rather crazy ride to Kolkata. Since we did not really know how long that ride would really take, the drivers drove as quick as possible. The advantage of those mini busses is that they are much quicker in and out of traffic. They might not be as comfortable as a big bus, but they are the best you can have in Indian traffic. The busses stuck together and drove on the limit. In my bus the guests were calm and – I think – enjoyed the ride. There was much to see along the road.
We did regular pee pee stops – after every 1.5 hrs or so – at gas stations. Public toilets are not so common in India and your best bet is always a gas station. While they do not have a fancy minimarket attached to the gas stations and the toilets are not what we would expect in Europe, they are toilets. Always the Asian squat type, but then again – they are probably better than the sit down ones. Would you sit down on a free public toilet anyway? No! So, stop complaining and get in there! Do not touch anything and use the tap to wash your hands outside! Be happy there is a toilet anyway! And no, that tap water is no drinking water for us!
At the gas stations we were always the attraction again. The thought arose that foreigners are the exception here – we are still in touristic no-men’s land. At most gas stations basically business stood still because the staff was gawking at us and most came by to take selfies with us. They would have a funny story to tell this evening when they get home to the family…. 2 busses of crazy white people stopped at work today and they did not even take gasoline, no, they just flocked into the toilet.
We encountered also a truck loaded with sheep. It was a mini truck and sheep were on the bottom floor. On the top floor the workers sat together with the baby sheep riding along to wherever. The workers though it was very funny that the tourists took photos of their truck and even held up the baby sheep for better view.
Our drivers basically rode straight through to Kolkata. They were happy for the pee pee breaks, because they could have a quick smoke and leg stretch.
Maybe the most different cultural takeaway from India — even more than Bollywood and cricket fanaticism — is the car horn. Indians honk like nobody else. One of the guests said – I don’t know why they beep so much! No matter what somebody is driving – a motorbike, an auto-rickshaw or an aging truck, the horn seems to be as important as the gas pedal, probably it is even more important than the brakes!
Horn OK Please is a phrase commonly painted on commercial vehicles like trucks, buses or even taxis. The purpose of the phrase is apparently to alert a driver of a vehicle approaching from behind to sound their horn in case they wish to overtake. They need to horn, because there is a complete disregard of side mirrors! It seems, that really nobody uses them. Traffic is sometimes so heavy and streets are sometimes so narrow, that mirrors simply take up too much space. Therefore on trucks or even cars they are just folded in. But it is not just the mirror problem. India runs on organized chaos and on the road you see that bedlam in action.
It is the quintessential Indian scene – unchanged for decades – whole families on one motorbike without helmets, kids in the front seat, over-loaded trucks, ox carts on the highway and in between old men on bicycles -“Honking gives every driver the belief that somehow they will mitigate the risk of a collision.” they say. Especially in villages and in the cities it is an endless honking symphony.
In the country side it is a different story – Some roads are in relatively good shape, but on some roads and hilly areas without much sign boards and narrow road bends, they don’t have any other warning signal. Therefore, this horn mechanism is as well a tool of communication for the drivers. They have to tell others it is ok you can proceed further, you can pass or – watch out, I am coming around this bend!
Our little lunch box we had on the way. There was no lunch included in the program from now on. But for the train ride ABN had prepared a lunch snack for us because there was no other possibility to eat on the way. Those lunch packets came in handy and we had our sandwiches on the go.
Traffic was good all the way and once we came closer to the big city we also reached the big highway where it was rolling somewhat faster. Traffic was thick, though.
The closer to the airport we got the more relaxed I got. Trust me, in India you never know what might happen and I already had Plan C and D and E …. In my head, in case something went wrong. But it did not and around 16:00 we reached the airport.
Kunal had jumped in one of the busses on the way and lead us through the city to the departure terminal. While the guests got their luggage, he took my mobile phone and put the new SIM in and activated it quickly. I had already taken out the other one, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Arnap to give to the crew member who lent it to me.
We waved Kunal Good Bye, who apologized again for the inconvenience of the bus ride – even though it was not his fault that this train had still not left New Jalpaiguri Junction until now. He told me quietly that our flight is also delayed by at least 1 h …. Never mind, we are here! Everything will be fine now!
Kunal could not accompany us inside because in India you can only go inside the airport building if you have a ticket and a passport. The agency had sent me the e-tickets for the group and as usually the names were randomly spread over 3 different tickets. I had to line up the guests in the order of the sequence on the tickets. I stood next to the security guy and pointed to the names while the guests defiled by showing their passports.
Once inside the first thing was me watching all the suitcases and everybody else running to the toilet – those are here as spotlessly clean as you can expect from every proper airport.
Next thing we had to find the right baggage security check. In India it is common procedure that before proceeding to check in, all check-in baggage gets x-rayed and security sealed. They put something like a security-cable-tie so the zippers cannot be opened anymore. Only once this is done, you can go for check-in.
There was a long line up at the IndiGo row, but I went to check at the customer care counter is there was a designated group check in counter. They pointed me to a specific counter and I just went and waited there. My turn was next and when I told the lady we were 10 guests in total, she said it is fine. So all my guests could jump the queue and we checked in together.
On domestic flights within India there is only 15 kg luggage allowance, but the company usually books an excess of 5 kg per guests. The lady behind the counter took the tickets and all the passports and then she said to load up all the baggage on the belt together to check the total. Apparently, there had been a mistake and the 5 kg excess were only booked on one of the 3 tickets I had and there was only one person on that one. Oh, well …. I know this from before – sometimes there is a mistake in the booking and so I was not too worried. I would pay the excess and the agency would reimburse me. The man at the scale was very generous and we ended up having only 9 kg excess amongst the group. Also the lady at the counter was generous – she said first it is Rs 450 per kg excess, but if the tickets had been booked before some day in June, then it would be only Rs 300. I of course said yes, the tickets were booked before June – I am sure she could see it in her system, though, but I was still sure the majority of the tickets were from before June. Well, anyway, she charged me only 9 kg @ Rs 300 each, so we got off cheap. She put all the bags under my name – a lot of responsibility! 10 suitcases all for me! She also told me quietly that our flight was 1 hr delayed …. I still kept it to myself for now …
We passed security easy and then found our gate and sure enough it showed 1 hr delay already. Most guests parked themselves at the gate. We had to wait not 1.5 hr now, but 2.5 hrs…..
I went for a walk and found the only bar at the other end of the long transit hall. 2 days in Bihar ahead of us meant 2 days no alcohol – Bihar is a dry state since 2016! Time for a G & T and some peace and quiet for me! I had to give up the straw soon, though, because it was a paper straw – very environmentally friendly, I suppose, but after a few minutes it was all soft, stuck together and not usable anymore ….
When I got back to the gate the delay had already changed to 1.5 hrs. All guests were still sitting there waiting, none had gone to have something to eat. The gate got changed 2 more times before we finally took off at 20:00 with indeed 1.5 hrs delay. I had already messaged the agency and the guide who would pick us up in Patna, notified them of the delay and asked to make sure there would still be dinner when we arrive at the hotel probably around 22:00.
The flight was uneventful. Patna Airport is rather small and our luggage arrived quickly. Our guide Mukund was waiting for us and we walked to the bus. The transfer to the Grand Empire Hotel was short. The hotel was big enough, not a 5-Western-Star affaire, but still absolutely acceptable for a one night stay. Check in was a little complicated. I do know the drill – I collect the passports before we arrived and did a group check in. The hotel staff was a little overwhelmed with checking in a group of foreigners. Patna is still in the touristic province – that is what I usually tell the guests – and it seemed they had not checked in foreigners too often. I made short work of it and had them all checked in under my name. It had been a very long day and all of the guests were already short tempered and hungry.
I sent them all to their rooms and told them dinner was waiting in the restaurant. My room was rather big, but obviously had not been vacuumed …. Well, I could not care less, but knew already what the guests would say …
The restaurant was still open and the staff waiting for us. The food was good, very authentic Indian. Of course it had not been cooked for sensitive Western stomachs …. The only one that really complained – and of course only did it to the other guests and not to me – was the Swiss express train. Everybody else was happy to have arrived, eat quickly and go to sleep soon. They mostly ignored her. Most everybody ate what was OK for them, there was enough selection and I also ordered white curd to smooth the spiciness of the curries. Some guests told me that there were not enough towels or water bottles in their rooms, so after dinner I went down to reception and had housekeeping fix those problems immediately.
While I was waiting at reception the staff checked in some Indian business man. And they actually gave him my room number – Wait! What? Excuse me, but 403 is my room! – No, it is not! – Yes, it sure is! Here is my key card! – Oh, yes ….. Hmmm …. OK, we give the gentlemen 419! – No, you do not! This is also a room of my group! – Are you sure? – Yes, I am sure! Please check you registration list! – Oh, yes …. – Yes! You better make sure that you copy the registration list into your computer files, because the last thing I need is my guests complaining that some stranger walked into their room in the middle of the night ….
The free WIFI of the hotel was not working either. Even my new SIM data was desperately slow on the data. Welcome to Bihar! Anyway, it was late and everybody went to sleep. Tomorrow morning would be an early start again.
26.10.2018
I did sleep well and most everybody else did so too, except maybe our Swiss friend. It had been very noisy at night, because the hotel was in the center of town, next to a main road and maybe a disco … Breakfast was ordered for 07:00 and it was again very authentic Indian. They did serve the best fresh watermelon juice. Of course, most of the guests did not even try it because of fear of Delhi Belly. Again I say, this is mostly in the head, but well. I did go to order butter and jam for the guests, because some complained the savory curries and idli rice cakes with sambar were not after their liking. Our Swiss friends sat there like a sulking kid not eating or even touching anything. Again, she got mostly ignored by everybody else.
Departure was scheduled for 08:00. Lucky me, I was down at reception by 07:30. They gave me a bill to sign for the room. I never had to sign room bills before on such a trip and I found out they wanted to give a bill like that to every guest to sign. Oh no! On a group tour they should never have to sign the bill in a hotel unless it is their own bar bill! I made the staff understand – with the help of our guide Mukund – that I would sign for everybody. Unfortunately, our Swiss friend had already signed hers ….
Our bus waited outside and every guest brought their luggage out with the help of the porters. While it was being loaded by our bus driver, some of the guests took a few minutes for a quick walk. They were shocked by the contrast of the rather fine hotel and a city slum right outside next to the hotel entrance. And maybe everybody from the group should all have looked and chatted with the friendly people there. Maybe then they would have understood on what high levels they actually complain …
Once we had loaded all the luggage and everybody was on the bus I nevertheless had to hold another speech. Obviously some of the guests had still not arrived in India and needed to be reminded. We had left our luxury enclave on the ship and were now travelling in the Indian province. Yes, that it was you booked! But as said before and also written in your program – Travelling in India and especially in the Indian province is not an everyday vacation, but requires a certain amount of flexibility and understanding of the Indian mentality and circumstances. If Indian tourists come to the European province, they do not expect to get an Indian breakfast either, so why do we expect that while travelling in India? We came to India to experience India! Adjusting to the circumstances and being flexible is necessary to enjoy this journey. India is one of the most engaging, colorful, chaotic, spiritual and life-affirming country in the world. It is an assault on the senses – all of them, nearly all of the time. There is much that is shocking – the poverty, the noise and dirt, the overladen vehicles playing dodge on the road. All this is part of the experience. However, you have to open up to it and not measure with or expect Western standards. I wish you a wonderful journey!
Once I said it, all guests were thoughtful – I hoped – and surprisingly enough even the Swiss express train was rather quiet for the rest of the days we travelled.
The overland bus ride from Patna to Bodhgaya was very eventful, I would say. It is only approx 118 km we had to cover, but 118 km in India are not the same as 118 km in Europe …. The road was a very rural road.
First we had to leave the city of Patna, though. Patna is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar and is the second-largest city in eastern India after Kolkata. It has an estimated city population of 1.7 mio. One of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world, Patna was founded in 490 BC by the king of Magadha and served as the seat of power, political and cultural centre of Indian subcontinent during the Maurya and Gupta empires. With the fall of the Gupta Empire, Patna lost its glory. It was revived again in the 17th century by the British as a centre of international trade.
The modern city of Patna is situated on the southern bank of river Ganges. The city also straddles the rivers Sone, Gandak and Punpun and is approx 35 km in length and 18 km wide. Patna City is also a sacred city for Sikhs as the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, was born here.
There was a lot of traffic in the city and also on the way to Bodhgaya. The main road south was still not a highway, but a country road. It passed many villages and rural areas. There were a lot of overloaded busses travelling towards Patna. Bihar is apparently the only state were riding on the roof top of a bus is still allowed. And the passengers pay the same – if they sit inside or on the roof.
Travelling on our big bus – a 24-seater with a working AC and a microphone – was comfortable, but compared to the maneuverable mini busses we had in West Bengal the trip was somewhat slower in the heavy traffic. Nevertheless, our bus driver was top notch.
We passed mainly agricultural areas – many rice fields. Bihar is the fourth-largest producer of vegetables and the eighth-largest producer of fruits in India, making agriculture one of the strongest sectors of the state. About 80 % of the state’s population is employed in agriculture, which is higher as compared to India’s average. Good soil and favorable climatic conditions such as good rainfall favor agriculture, however the state’s southern parts face droughts almost every year affecting production of crops.
There were a lot of water buffalos around. It seemed there were very few cows here, more water buffalos.
In the villages we passed there were markets. Due to agriculture being so important here, there were many tractors around as well.
Bihar is an Indian state considered to be a part of Eastern as well as Northern India. It is the third-largest state by population. The Bihar plain is split by the River Ganges which flows from west to east. Only 11 % of the population of Bihar lives in urban areas, which is the lowest in India and additionally, almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, giving Bihar the highest proportion of young people of any Indian state.
Bihar is one of the states with the highest poverty rate – people living below the poverty line – in India. The Indian average is approx 22% with the state of Goa having only 5 %. The poverty rate in Bihar lies at 34%. If you look at the literacy rate it is even worse. Bihar is with 64% the Indian state with the lowest literacy rate in the country. The Indian average is 74%, while the state of Kerala has a literacy rate of 94%.
In ancient and classical India, the area that is now Bihar was considered a centre of power, learning, and culture. From Magadha arose India’s first empire, the Maurya empire, as well as one of the world’s most widely adhered-to religions, Buddhism. However, since the late 1970s, Bihar has lagged far behind other Indian states in terms of social and economic development.
The culture and heritage of Bihar can be observed at the large number of ancient monuments spread throughout the state. Bihar is visited by many tourists from around the world, with about 24 mio tourists visiting the state each year. Those however concentrate mainly on the ancient Buddhist universities of Nalanda and Vikramashila as well as Bodhgaya , the place of Buddhas enlightenment.
On our way to Bodhgaya we of course had to do a couple of pee pee stops – very important! At one of the stops I went across the road to a snack stall and bought a few bags of Moong Dhal – actually for me. But when I got back to the bus I offered it to one guest and then everybody wanted some. So I had to go back to the stall to buy more bags ….
We also did a stop at a market in Gaya to buy bananas and fruits, before arriving at the hotel in Bodhgaya. It took us 5 hrs for the 118 km from Patna.
The Mahabodhi Resort Hotel & Convention Center was a bit in the middle of nowhere approx 7 km out of town amongst fields. At least the guests could not say it was too noisy …. The hotel seemed brand new and there was a convention going on – the 44th Annual Conference of Indian Psychiatric Society Eastern Zonal Branch CEZIPS 2018. There was a lot going on in the garden of the hotel.
Check-in was quick – here they were definitely used to large groups and foreigners. The rooms were spacious and the view over the fields very nice. Free WIFI worked in the lobby perfectly and everybody was happy.
We had an hour break before we would spend the afternoon visiting the temples of Bodhgaya.
