Goodbye India

Having haggled down to an acceptable price before the journey, the rickshaw driver that took us to the train station for the night train out of Varanasi played the “I have no change” trick. The change involved was only 10 rupees, but this, along with all the other hassle we had, meant we left the city with a bad taste in our mouths.

Don't be afraid to visit there just because my account however. The city itself has a nice relaxed atmosphere and is beautiful in parts, and our experiences were as much down to bad luck as anything else. It was just a shame that, in our three weeks in India, the only place where we really felt targeted as Westerners was our last stop.

Our final journey in India was also one of the most comfortable, switching to a hired car at the last train stop, Gorakhpur, to bring us to the edge of this country and the gateway to our next, Nepal.



Out of all the countries on our itinerary, India was the one I held the most apprehension for. Looking back now, I can't even remember why this was the case. India surprised me. I really enjoyed it, the food, the rickshaw journeys, the scenery, the history...it all adds up to a superb three weeks. Three weeks! We experienced and saw so much, it felt like so much longer. Not a bad start at all.