🇮🇳 Weekly Log: Chaos, Honesty, and Cheap Lodging (Nov 18 – 24)
Summary: Navigated chaotic major cities (Delhi, Varanasi, Agra) focusing on low-cost survival. Experienced some friction, but also unexpected kindness. Battled aggressive vendors, and struggled with basic comforts.
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Nov 18 (Delhi: Arrival & Friction)
Realized small wallet gone! Must have dropped when buying snacks. Girl in seat ahead said someone found the wallet, ask driver - confirmed the wallet was left behind and would be delivered on the next bus. Napped ok in the seat. Small wallet was returned at 3:10 AM-a good impression of Indian people so far.
Napped well the rest of the way. Reached Delhi ISBT at 6:20 AM near the ruins garden. Walked around the misty gardens. Took the metro from Kashmere Gate to New Delhi Station (21RS). Walked to Paharganj; streets smell like urine.
Found Hotel Swastik Place, a decent single room for 800RS cash. Organized the room, which had so much useless crap. Bought a ticket on MakeMyTrip again to Varanasi (separate sleeper cabin for 1580RS, for tomorrow at 7:45 PM); site tried to charge in CAD but always chose local currency. Realized too late the train is much cheaper and more convenient but offers less privacy.
Grabbed chicken thali in an alley near the station (120RS), a bit slow but solid.
Cleaned up and tried to nap, but heavy pounding from construction. Moved room to the first floor and napped hard for over two hours.
Grabbed another chicken thali in the alley (160RS). Walked through Paharganj towards Connaught Place. Was offered a sex massage on main st for 2500INR. A tout tried to walk with me and led me to a shop, sell chess sets for 10k INR. Escaped. Grabbed a pomegranate juice (100RS), which was good. Another guy in Connaught Place led me around, saying he wanted to practice English. Got shoes repaired on the inner circle (200RS) for the right shoes; they needed sewing again. Walked to Indian Loom, but didn't go in, then went into an official-looking tourism place that offered a train and hotel package to four cities for 42k INR-unbelievable. Eventually escaped. Walked back to the hotel. Dropped a ripped Gap jacket downstairs for repair (100RS). Chilled a bit in the room, watched the guy fix the jacket-not as clean as in Nepal; probably time to replace shoes and jacket.
At 7:15 PM, headed back to the small alley for dinner, the same spot as breakfast, for chicken thali (150RS, 3 pieces). Walked around Paharganj, chaotic af. Bought a cheap snack (two bags of chips and nuts) for only 50RS.
Nov 19 (Delhi: Training & Bus Chaos)
Dog barking, but slept okay. Rose 8:30. Made instant coffee with hot water downstairs. The guy said 9:00 AM checkout since I checked in at 8:00 AM yesterday. Packed in under 20 minutes.
Checked out of Swastik at 9:10 AM. Grabbed breakfast (same alley, 120RS thali). Walked to the India Gate and monuments; it felt rigid and high-security. Took the metro from Udyog Bhawan to Green Park (32RS).
Walked around west of the station, found Tim Hortons, McDonald's, and Starbucks-all requiring an Indian phone number for Wi-Fi. Walked to the Hauz Khas area, found a welcome point with Wi-Fi and power (no bathroom), ordered chicken fried rice (199RS). Worked on Ghost Chronicles.
Walked through Deer Park and the Rose Garden. Did a light pull/push workout: pull-ups 2x10, chin-ups 1x9 then failed. Paired dips 11, 13, 14-definitely lost upper body strength. Walked back to Green Park metro (43RS) to Kashmere Gate. The subway was packed like sardines, with barely room to stand. Changed to the Violet line at Central Secretariat, slightly less packed. Reached Kashmere Gate at 6:30 PM; no Tiwari Brothers booth or platform information. The screen only showed buses 20 minutes ahead.
Grabbed Burger King again (103RS regular). Went back to the station, still no information. Asked the help desk; they didn't know, and said to stand by the KFC Gate #1-unbelievable. Mentally prepare to buy another ticket, but asked the help desk to call the company; they said someone was being sent to meet me. Waited at the help desk for about 15 minutes. A guy eventually came over to lead me to the bus parking lot 600m away-there was no way I would have found that place.
Waited on the bus, which was more relaxed. The bus couldn't leave because of a bus backup. Eventually got out over 90 minutes late.
Nov 20 (Varanasi: Arrival & Tourist Pressure)
Stopped for food at 12:20 AM at a fancy vegetarian place-buses always stop at veg places. 350RS for thali; no international cards; no time to brush teeth.
Slept okay on the bus. Reached Varanasi Red Bus corner stop at 11:30 AM. Avoided auto-rickshaws, walked to KFC. Streets somehow more chaotic than Delhi. Ordered a combo (208RS) for a small reset.
Walked out amid chaos-the most traffic I've seen. Took an auto-rickshaw toward the river (50RS), but jumped off before it reached the destination since it was stuck. Found the guesthouse area, all old and dark. Checked into Banaras Rest House Hostel with decent lockers (700RS private); they said I could pay with a card later. An old building in the old city.
Shower, passed out for almost two hours.
At 5:30 PM, walked along the Ganges ghat, already dark. Saw a fire ceremony. A guy pressured me for a massage for five minutes; gave him 100RS, but he wanted 200INR. Grabbed a local veg thali (120RS) with no meat near the temples. Walked to the cremations; a guy wanted a donation for the family, gave 100RS. Other locals got aggressive, wanting 5k–20k INR-unbelievable. Walked through the Kashi Vishwanath big temple; some areas were apparently locals only.
Chilled a bit in the room, booked Sunrise Lodge for tomorrow for only 425INR private.
Walked south to Assi Ghat, found chicken at a small place (curry with rotis, 200RS). Walked back, watched a bonfire by the river.
Worked a bit on the site, slept late (12:30 AM).
Nov 21 (Varanasi: Survival Mode)
Slept okay despite the small room having no windows or sound insulation. Rose 8:30. Made coffee with cold water downstairs.
At 10:20 AM, walked north on the main street back to the ghat area, ate at the same spot (120R North Indian thali), a bit chaotic. Walked back along the river. Hit 1 free handstand on the terrace with a straddle, but it was a bit rushed. Checked out of Banaras 11:30 AM, was told to go next door to pay with a card.
Walked with a guy to the next alley, paid 700RS on card (tap doesn't work here). Walked along the river to Sunrise Lodge; easier check-in, paid 425RS on card right away. Got a weird, separate room that was narrow and low-ceilinged, looked very old, with a direct view of the Ganges, but no Wi-Fi in the room. Wi-Fi worked okay in common areas.
Chilled on the top floor, pretty basic, worked on Ghost Chronicles until the power cut.
Walked along the Ganges to Assi Ghat, tried the chicken spot again (monster burger 150RS, not real chicken; chicken fried rice 160RS, meh). Walked back, failed to find a hostel. Found an ashram with owner Ajay, a decent room with no bathroom for 700INR; he wanted me to stay longer. A guy from NYC staying there said he lives in India, starting a textile business, but knows zero Hindi.
Walked back to the guesthouse; Wi-Fi slow af-the cheapest room in the city. Worked a few hours on the site despite slow Wi-Fi.
8:00 PM: Walked out for food, busy street again. Got a small marble pipe (100RS), not as good as in Nepal. Was pulled into the same aggressive thali place again (150RS veg set thali); felt pressure to tip (30RS). Walked past the cremation past the train bridge to the hands statues.
Booked a bus to Agra for tomorrow (576RS Raj Kalpana 6:15 PM) at another bus stop.
Nov 22 (Varanasi to Agra: Transit)
Room comfort was okay, slept okay. Rose 8:40. Ordered black tea (70RS) and made coffee. Checked out of Sunrise 10:00 AM, paid the 150RS tab no card cuz 'taxes'. OK for price but had mosquitos, smoke from fires, the washroom was too far, and the Wi-Fi was poor.
Left Sunrise 10:20 AM. Walked back to the ghat to exchange the pipe for a smaller wood pipe, not ideal material. Walked back to the busy street, tried a new spot next to the regular aggressive place (120RS veg thali), but felt overcharged by 20RS (faranged).
Walked northwest toward the Raju Kalpana bus pickup spot. Benia Bagh was a nice, quiet park (10RS entry). Found nice high bars for a light push/pull workout: pull-ups 3x10 (easier). One-arm push-ups on low parallel bars 1x10, 12, 15. Brushed teeth using the park sprinkler. Regular dips 3x15. Dead hang 60 seconds (6/10).
Walked through busy alleys to IP Sigra Mall. Found a top-floor cafe with Wi-Fi and power, got a chicken burger (180RS). Left around 3:20 PM. Walked through suburbs to the highway to the Raj Kalpana pickup spot under an overpass. Ate at a local spot (veg thali for 130RS) with lots of refills, the only customer; got Wi-Fi and used power for the laptop while waiting for the bus.
The bus arrived 5:50 PM; jumped on at 6:00 PM. The seat didn't recline back, so I used the sleeper cabin before the guy arrived-the cabin was too short, not as comfy as Tiwari Bros.
9:10 PM: Stopped for food on the highway near Koiripur train station, 200RS veg thali; the woman didn't want me to pay saying im her 'guest', but I insisted.
Nov 23 (Agra: Hostel & Friction)
Napped okay on the bus. Reached a big outer junction near Kuberpur train station 5:40 AM. A local said he was going the same way and helped me get to the Taj Mahal. Walked together down ramp to the highway, caught a shared auto-rickshaw to Ambedkar Park (40RS, cheap). Took the metro train from Agra Fort station to Taj Gate East (20RS).
Walked to Cozy Nest Hostel; the kid sleeping let me in. Chilled in the common space, finished DNs propagation, and updated homepages. Napped hard in the common room through the traffic noise until 12:00 PM. Checked in downstairs (regular key locker), paid 320RS on card (said 50RS extra for the locker, still a good deal).
Walked around for food, found a hostel with better lockers for 300INR. Walked back to the metro area. At a cafe, the girl charged me 259RS on card for a 150RS chicken burger (not great, frozen patty); complained the sign said 150RS. Waited around 10 minutes for staff to chat, eventually got back 83RS cash-unbelievable. Took the metro from Taj East to Taj Mahal station. Walked to the Taj gates, grabbed local spot chicken biryani 170RS.
Hostel cleaned up, napped hard again until 5:30 PM. Worked a bit on the computer on the third-floor restaurant, open walls, noisy af from traffic.
7:00 PM: Grabbed food next door, saucy chicken with roti 170RS. Walked back to the Taj Mahal area and Shajahan Garden park area; it was empty and I probably wasn't supposed to be there. Ate again at Join Me Cafe (chicken chowmein 150RS with mango lassi 80RS). Walked back; a university kid asked to walk with me to practice English. Walked back to the hostel with Mursil (21yo, doing BBA, wants to do MBA in Chicago) who wanted to show me around on his motorcycle ("told him I'm not gay").
Chilled a bit on the top floor until 12:30 AM.
Nov 24 (Agra: Chaos & Financial Work)
Dorm bed cramped af with zero shelf space; a fat guy snoring loud af; couldn't sleep for a while. Kicked him a few times and broke his curtain. Eventually, the snoring stopped. Rose 9:30. No shelves, so sweater and day bag were dusty af from dirt at the top of the locker. Made coffee on the top-floor cafe (empty). The washroom had no water or toilet paper, so I busted the faucet out of frustration-oops. Checked out of Cozy Nest at 10:30 AM, a total dive: bunks were crap af, shoddy washroom, no shelf, and flimsy lockers, but the kid working seemed nice. Typical booking.com inflated review 9/10 unbelievable
Walked to Bedweiser hostel; the guy working was kind of slow. Paid the owner 315RS cash (no card, despite what he said yesterday) and he tried to charge 350INR-expected friction. Wi-Fi cut out.
Walked to the main pedestrian avenue toward the Taj again. Tried a big spot (veg thali 179RS); the guy tried to charge 220R, citing a 10% tax. Paid 200RS-constant friction expected in tourist zones.
Chilled a bit in the hostel common space (nice sofa with coffee tables), Wi-Fi intermittent. Handstand on the terrace, got 2/4 pretty solid, held 30 seconds easy. Noticed no clear blue skies in India so far. Walked back toward the Taj area, found a new hostel (300RS, poor lockers, and no desks).
Walked to the Taj viewing area, got a selfie. Tried a spot next to the monument (150RS dal rice), a total rip-off. Walked to the Yamuna river; stinks bad. Walked back through the park to the Agra Fort metro, 20RS back to Taj East metro. Tried a McDonald's combo (159RS chicken burger with chicken fritter, fried soda), not great, Burger King has better meat. Picked up small coffees (25 packs) for 50RS, cheaper than Nepal.
Chilled in the common space, more relaxed.
Ate at a chicken spot near the old hostel (170RS, solid. Comp work. Walked out to the old Taj wall.