i waited for the bus to take me to gaya. i waited ages. i
asked the driver of one ‘bus’ when the next bus would come. he wasn’t sure but
he told to get me a rickshaw. too expensive i told him, as all the rickshaws,
including the shared ones, from there were asking 100 rupees and up. he stopped
a shared rickshaw and negotiated the local price for me. great. i got to gaya
and there were a few trains throughout the day going to patna. all unreserved
so no worries about reserving a ticket.
from patna station, i asked for the way to the bus station,
and walked the 3 kms there. after a scour around, i found the ‘ticket office’ -
basically a table at a dhaba - for the buses going to raxaul. two bus
companies, two dhabas, two tables, same price, different times. i got a ticket
for the 10.30 bus as i didn’t want to get to raxaul too early in the morning
before the border was even open.
so i had the whole afternoon and evening to potter around
patna with my pack. great. but i found the park with the buddha pavilion,
alleged resting place of the ashes of buddha. the gardens were a nice place to
escape the bustle of patna. i found a south indian restaurant to eat some dosas
before going back to the bus station and hanging around the dhabas there
waiting for the bus.
it was a long 8 hour trip, the last section being bumpy as
hell as a new road was in the process of construction. so not much sleep, but
finally the bus got into raxaul bus ‘station’ at around 6 in the morning. the rickshaw touts were at me the moment i stepped out, but i tried to evade them. all i wanted was a toilet, and i got directed to a shithouse in the distance. basic, but functioning. everyone was looking at me like a zoo animal. the 'toilet attendant' lost no time to ask me for a fee. and then the cycle rickshaw wallah was joined by another one... but they both asked the same price - of course! - 50 rupees to take me to the border and beyond.
i got changed whilst deciding who to take, eventually picking the old man. it was a dusty, bumpy ride to the border and the first immigration post on the indian side. the officer there told me to sit down and wait whilst his colleague came. the second officer was all smiles and politeness. he duly entered my details in his big register book, and then quite casually asked me for a 100 rupee fee. i told him that i wasn't aware that there was a government fee for exiting the country, and i didn't see any sign or notice to that effect on the wall. yes, he said, it isn't a government fee. it is just a gift. a goodwill present, and i was free to give or not give as i saw fit. i was laughing inside... i had done my research and someone writing on their blog had warned of this scam. "well, in that case, i choose not to give this 'gift'", i told him. "anyway, as it is , i only have 50 rupees left and that is for the rickshaw wallah".
i got changed whilst deciding who to take, eventually picking the old man. it was a dusty, bumpy ride to the border and the first immigration post on the indian side. the officer there told me to sit down and wait whilst his colleague came. the second officer was all smiles and politeness. he duly entered my details in his big register book, and then quite casually asked me for a 100 rupee fee. i told him that i wasn't aware that there was a government fee for exiting the country, and i didn't see any sign or notice to that effect on the wall. yes, he said, it isn't a government fee. it is just a gift. a goodwill present, and i was free to give or not give as i saw fit. i was laughing inside... i had done my research and someone writing on their blog had warned of this scam. "well, in that case, i choose not to give this 'gift'", i told him. "anyway, as it is , i only have 50 rupees left and that is for the rickshaw wallah".
back in the rickshaw, the old man cycled on towards the
nepalese immigration post, after passing around the huge arch standing on the
actual border separating india from nepal. the nepalese immigration officer was
all smiles and politeness as he duly registered my details in his big register
book. and very happy to relieve me of the 100 dollars for the 3 month visa. a
nice little earner for the nepalese government... one of the most expensive
visas i ever had to pay for.
visa duly entered into passport and stamped, i was back in
the rickshaw as the old man drove me to a travel agent's place. i told him that
this is not the place i wanted to go, and he should drive on, but he was
adamant about not going further. i asked for the jeep service place and was
told that it was a long way to birganj, the nepalese town on this side of the
border. i was sure that he and the travel agent guy were lying, but what to do?
i gave the old man the 50 rupees and started to walk away.
within 500 metres, i found the jeep service place. unfortunately, i was just too late as they already had the ten people to fill a jeep going to kathmandu. the owner recommended me to go into town 5 kms away and ask at the other jeep places there. it meant negotiating with another rickshaw wallah – given the experience of the last one, i didn’t trust any of them. still, i had no choice and took the first cycle rickshaw going into town. as expected, it was a tough haggle, but i got the local price - i think!
as soon as i get off, a bus-ticket tout comes up to me. i tell him that i don't need a bus, i'm looking for a jeep to kathmandu. no jeeps, he tells me. just bus. well, you would say that, wouldn't you, i'm thinking. he persists in his lie, and i just wander away. i ask around and find a place, but it would be a long wait. another place, and when i hear the price, i walk out in disgust. bleary eyed and hungry, and lied to and feeling tetchy, i'm in no mood for more bullshit. but as i'm standing there, the guy comes outside and asks why i stormed out. it's too expensive, i tell him. i tell him the price that the first jeep place near the border had quoted me. and then i realise that whilst they were quoting me the price in indian rupees, this guy was quoting me the price in nepalese rupees. a quick calculation later and i am all smiles... in fact, he is even cheaper. i am back inside the office and buying a ticket. and fortunately, i am number 10 for the first jeep in half an hour. another lucky turn for me.
within 500 metres, i found the jeep service place. unfortunately, i was just too late as they already had the ten people to fill a jeep going to kathmandu. the owner recommended me to go into town 5 kms away and ask at the other jeep places there. it meant negotiating with another rickshaw wallah – given the experience of the last one, i didn’t trust any of them. still, i had no choice and took the first cycle rickshaw going into town. as expected, it was a tough haggle, but i got the local price - i think!
as soon as i get off, a bus-ticket tout comes up to me. i tell him that i don't need a bus, i'm looking for a jeep to kathmandu. no jeeps, he tells me. just bus. well, you would say that, wouldn't you, i'm thinking. he persists in his lie, and i just wander away. i ask around and find a place, but it would be a long wait. another place, and when i hear the price, i walk out in disgust. bleary eyed and hungry, and lied to and feeling tetchy, i'm in no mood for more bullshit. but as i'm standing there, the guy comes outside and asks why i stormed out. it's too expensive, i tell him. i tell him the price that the first jeep place near the border had quoted me. and then i realise that whilst they were quoting me the price in indian rupees, this guy was quoting me the price in nepalese rupees. a quick calculation later and i am all smiles... in fact, he is even cheaper. i am back inside the office and buying a ticket. and fortunately, i am number 10 for the first jeep in half an hour. another lucky turn for me.
the jeep was cramped , 4 in the back row, 3 in the middle,
and 2 up front with the driver, with one more to come. fortunately, i got a window seat in the back row, and was a bit
anxious that the driver hadn’t tied down my rucksack. however, we were stopping
to pick up another passenger and their gear, and he would tie everything down
then. so i’m a little bit reassured.
it was a scenic ride through the mountains to kathmandu with a few scary moments overtaking and facing oncoming traffic around blind bends. but finally we could see the valley in which kathmandu was cradled, but it was too cloudy to see the distant snow-capped mountains. the jeep dropped everyone off on the outskirts of town near the ring road.
i asked a likely looking guy about how to get to thamel and the heart of the backpacker ghetto in kathmandu. two local buses successfully negotiated and i wander through the small lanes of thamel. with the pack on my back and a ‘which hotel to choose’ look on my face, i was fair game for the hotel touts. i knew i had to avoid them like the plague or risk paying extra for any hotel room that they led me to. finally i found a place that didn’t seem too bad, and even had free wifi. haggling only dented 50 rupees in the tariff, but it had started to rain and i was pretty tired after the long sleepless trip from bodhgaya.
it was a scenic ride through the mountains to kathmandu with a few scary moments overtaking and facing oncoming traffic around blind bends. but finally we could see the valley in which kathmandu was cradled, but it was too cloudy to see the distant snow-capped mountains. the jeep dropped everyone off on the outskirts of town near the ring road.
i asked a likely looking guy about how to get to thamel and the heart of the backpacker ghetto in kathmandu. two local buses successfully negotiated and i wander through the small lanes of thamel. with the pack on my back and a ‘which hotel to choose’ look on my face, i was fair game for the hotel touts. i knew i had to avoid them like the plague or risk paying extra for any hotel room that they led me to. finally i found a place that didn’t seem too bad, and even had free wifi. haggling only dented 50 rupees in the tariff, but it had started to rain and i was pretty tired after the long sleepless trip from bodhgaya.
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