“Hello Sir, welcome to Varanasi!” The moment you arrive in the train station of Varanasi, it is immediately clear you have arrived in a tourist city. The hawkers are waiting for you on the platform, and even speak reasonable English. But this is nothing compared to what awaits you when you walk along the city’s famed ghats (stairs leading to the Ganges river): almost without exception, the locals that start chatting with you, do so for one purpose and one purpose only: getting some bills out of your wallet. That being said, the ghats are beautiful, the old town is a great place to get lost, the lassi’s are mouthwatering (my favourite shop: Green Lassi in Assi Ghat) and the street food phenomenal (wandering the food stalls of the Lanka district, right in front of Banaras Hindu University, is my guilty pleasure).
One tip: given the proximity of fresh water (the Ganges), do not be surprised if you have quite a bit of bloodthirsty mosquitos in your bedroom - your (impregnated) mosquito net will prove its use here!
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Allahabad is the venue of the Kumb Mela, a huge gathering of Hindus every 12 years, at the confluence of three of Hinduisms sacred rivers. It also boasts some impressive tombs. Western tourist accommodation is rare and bare bones, but definitely a step up from what I found in Faizabad and Lucknow. I was meanwhile getting used to the people being supernice (one fruit vendor kept buying me chai and feeding me - delicious - guavas). A good stop on my way to Varanasi!
Recently I got to experience some rainy days in Yunnan. I am not the kind that likes to stay inside when travelling, especially if staying inside means sitting in a cold small bedroom in the Red Lands... Luckily, with the appropriate raingear, rainy days do not have to ruin your travels.
I chose for a poncho rather than a normal rainjacket because many of the countries I wanted to visit, were rather warm. So I wanted to have raingear that is as loose as possible, to have some ventilation. Also useful if you are doing physical activity (like trekking) while wearing the raingear. Think about whether you want a poncho that covers your backpack too. I would suggest to buy one that does, even if your backpack comes with a raincover. There is nothing as horrible as having your backpack contents soaked! I was trekking in Nepal, and it rained quite often (at the start of the trek). I cannot imagine what it would have been like if my spare clothes etc. would have gotten wet - since it was pretty cold at altitude, it would have taken days for things to dry… Also consider the color of your poncho: personally, I would opt for a poncho in a bright color. More often than not, you will want to get noticed when walking in the rain (as in many countries, you may be walking on the road, not on a sidewalk). For a complete overview of the travel gear I am using or recommend, see my travel gear section. Do you have tips of your own on travel raingear? Send me a message via the contact form on this website! “Fully book, sir”, or a head shaking no, was the reply in tens and tens of hotels, when I enquired about a room. I had arrived at 4pm, but meanwhile it was 6am and dark, and still I had not managed to find a suitable cheap guesthouse. After I ran from one cheap guesthouse, in which I had found bedbugs after a very brief inspection of the room, I settled for a hotel which offered the type of very basic accommodation I had become accustomed to, but for double the normal price. I was growing somewhat disappointed in my India trip. Luckily, the next day, Lucknow showed its best side: phenomenal old buildings, great food, hospitable (free Biryani lunch!) and photogenic people.
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