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Hell On Earth
Our journey to the Indian border was a long, frustrating but amusing 8 hour bus ride to Sonauli. Tourist buses don't travel this route for some reason so taking the local bus was our only option. The day of the trip we arrived at our rickety old colourful local bus and went to get in our seats, the bus guy pointed out someone was already in them so either we go and move them or sit at the front next to the driver again. We wimped out and sat at the front. There wasn't a cabin this time, just a seat along the window next to the driver, we though it looked alright, but we should of known better after our last experience that this was not a great idea. When all the seats where full of organised travellers who had pre booked their seats and it looked like we were ready to roll, thats when the locals arrived, cramming in in every inch of space availaible we thought the last bus was bad this one was on a whole other level. This time there ended up being 10 people including us and the driver squashed in the front, it was ridiculous, now I know how sardines feel. It was actually comical, we couldn't believe what we were seeing, no space but still another family would cram in at each stop, people literally climbing over you to get off at their stop. We kept looking at the back row were we should of been sat, how lovely it would be to travel, without an old, sweaty, Nepali woman practically on my lap. It did make time pass a bit faster watching the people on the bus, watching Ryan getting more and more frustrated and watching the woman next to me somehow manage to stay asleep, as her head kept swaying back and forth, back and forth, banging into the window over and over. The closer we got to India the more decorated trucks we passed with huge speakers blasting out loud Indian music, filled with Indian men covered in multicoloured paint powder and dancing singing in the streets,it must have something to do with the festival. this made us more excited for India. Finally we crossed the border, but we still had another 3 hour bus ride to Gorakpur to look forward to.
Tired and relieved to stretch our legs, ready for a shower and a good meal, we had arrived in what I can only desciribe as hell on earth. I've never experienced such a filthy, disguisting place in my life. We searched fo the least grim gusethouse we could find, which I can only describle as crawling. We dumped our bags and crossed the road to the big train station opposite, to try and book ourselves onto the next train to Varanassi. As we entered the grounds of the station we were hit with the stench of s***, stepping around the rows of people laying on the ground, trying to cover my face to defend it from the smell and from being hit with insects as we quickly crossed through the plague of flies and locusts that swarmed, without exagerration there were thousands, they where hitting us left right and centre, it was vile. Inside was much the same, piles of human s*** on the floor, it smeared up the wall, people lying on the floor, we saw a rat pop it's head up between the cracks in the floor and then went back down again, even he didn't want to come in! Trying to get infomation about the train was so frustrating, and finally we were told to return at 4am to see if there were seats availiable, marvelous!. We were starving and had arranged to meet another couple we had met on the bus, Stuart and Cintia for tea at a place called Bobbi's, the food was good, and so was the company but I was still trying to wrap my brain around where I was, and as Ryan and I headed back to our hovel, down the smelly dark roads, past the strange animals and even stranger people, it was all too much for me and I burst into tears. The thought of living in these conditions for another four to six weeks was unbearable and if I was a celebrity I'd of been screaming 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here'.
Time to get a grip, surely not everywhere in India will be this bad, it couldn't be or else no one would ever come here, it must just be here, so we grinned and beared it for one night, Ryan got up at 4am to check in at the train station only to be told there were no seats left, why couldn't they of told us that in the first place? So up early and off to another bus station to make our get away.
- comments
Georgina Nelson Ummm sounds....nice
shiv and ady ah bless you think i would of been the same! things can only get better! enjoy sri lanka! xx
anna-maria nelson oh my god! you poor things, glad you are out of there, sounds horrific! how the other half lives!!!xxx
Maggie OOOOoo glad that is behind you !!! Just enjoy Sri lanka! LOL M&G
Big Sis Makes you count your blessings. Those poor b*****s are stuck there! Glad you're out of it tho xx