Queuing in India

8am - Sitting in front of a closed ATM, only two locals with me, the line will get longer as the opening hour gets closer.

Closed ATM in Arambol

There's a money crisis in India, PM Mudy and his government decided to cancel the 1000 and 500 bills because of fraud and their use in the black market. These bills are the most used in the Indian economy, and people are rushing to the banks. The ATMs are only dispensing 2000 rupees (about 100 ₪ or 20$) per a day per person.

As I write, more and more people are coming; I guess we will need to stand in line soon, even though none of us knows if there's a reason for standing.

We, as tourists, also have a problem. We rely on the ATMs, going once a week to withdraw money. Now we need to go every day, and I didn't withdraw once since it began a week ago. I thought it would end by now, so I borrowed some money from a friend and now both of us are in trouble.

For you there at home, don't worry. First there's nothing to do. Secondly we have more options. We eat in restaurants that take credit cards, so we pay some commission, but at least we eat :-)

8.30am - We're about 7 people here. I'm not sure who came for the bank and who came for the ATM. And I'm not sure that the ATM will even open. I decided to wait today until I know something.

We arrived to Goa two days ago, Arambol Beach.

I didn't write for a long time. A combination of no WiFi, tiredness from the driving and the situation and writers block. Fortunately, I need to wait, and I have figured out that I can write on my phone.

I wish I could understand what the people around me are saying. They're probably saying that the ATMs won't be open today.

The way to goa was amazing, putting the current situation aside.  We stayed in Udaipur for two days. It's a very beautiful city and I saw only a fraction of it. We went to see the palace gardens. You can go inside and pay more, but the entrance to the garden is only 30 rupees. It's a very nice building, and behind it we found a “bay” for boats.

You can take one for a ride in the lake and see the city from a different perspective. I guess we missed the last one, because nobody offered us the ride, so I don't know the prices. We even saw a simple boat, and people loading it with fruits and vegetables. Renana decided to offer them our help and to get a ride in return. But they didn't understand our English and were shocked when we started raising the sacks of fruits and loading the boat.

With that failed, we just went for a walk along the water and watch the sunset.

Udaipur

From Udaipur we continued south towards Mumbai. We didn't plan to do it in one day, so we stopped by night at a roadside hotel. We decided not to rush it and wake up when we wake up the next day. So I used this opportunity to wake up early and went for a short run.

I was feeling a little low when we arrived to Mumbai. The cancellation of the bills started at the day we left from Udaipur and you could feel it in the air. The toll booths on the way were packed, and there were huge traffic jams on the way because of that. People were confused about it, some took our old bills, some didn't. We had to pay with credit card for gas, and had to bargain our way to buy lunch and pay for the hotel.

In the end everything is OK, but the way is very consuming.

We stopped in Mumbai mostly to make arrangements. We went to the bank to replace our bills.

I suddenly realized that the ATM is probably empty, otherwise it would be opened, so I guess we have a long time to wait.

Didi and I went to the RTO (regional transport office) to take care of his car registration. We got only information about where he needs to go next time and what he needs, but that’s something.

On Friday night we sat with a friend I met in Leh; he showed us a tiny bit of town. We went for dinner and afterwards to a members' club and visited his house in Mumbai.

Ok, I lost count. There are tons of people here, the bank is supposed to be open in half an hour but nobody knows what about the ATM. Hoping for the best. I hope I won't need to push to get to my place in line.

On the next day we went for a walk and saw that there are slums 5 minutes from where we walked with him. Again the contrasts in India don't fail to surprise me.

Didi had friends that were planning to leave India on Thursday, so we decided to try to get to Goa in one day.

9.30am - I just figured out the ATM is not going to open soon, only the bank. I walked to a different ATM, hopefully this one will be active soon.

The queue in front of the bank

It was a long ride; we traveled with breaks for around 13 hours, but we did it. We saw some marvelous views on the way, but I can't stop feeling like we missed too much by skipping to Goa, and that we should have found a place to stop on the way. Some nice village or another beach.

10am - A policeman started making some order out here, and I see some people walking inside the bank, hopefully it's a good sign.

But since we already here there is no reason to feel anything other than enjoying the sea. We found a nice guest house on the beach, and we have a few friends here, a few friends are coming soon. Many nice restaurants, hopefully many who take cards.

10.15am - The Brinx car just came, it's a small minivan and a guy with a gun walks out of it with the money. I wish I had taken a picture. Hopefully a good sign.

11.15am - An hour later and the ATM is still inactive. There were some activities, like a guy opening the gate and walking inside trying to withdraw money, but it didn't work for him. Just a few minutes ago the bank guard came and looked inside.

Every time there's some action everyone in line is standing up, with hope in their eyes, but we’re still out of knowledge.

At least I can go and have a small samosa to eat. I love samosa.

11.30am - The Brinx van wasn't here to give money, only to take the old bills for burning. Nobody knows when the money will be here.

12.30pm - Rumors everywhere. A guy just said he heard they are going to fill the ATM where I was in the morning by 4 o'clock. I don't know if it's true, or if it means that this ATM is not going to be filled today.

13.53 - Another Brinx van just got here. This time it's money for sure. They are now filling the ATM. Finally!

This is the Brinx car!

14.24 Yeah! I have some money…