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…

On the road - Pushkar to Udaipur - 6-7.11.2016

We just left Pushkar. We're leaving with the car which a friend, Didi, bought and we are heading south. Traveling with a private car is a very different experience from traveling by train or bus, that is what I can tell you after five minutes of being in this car. 

First, you are the master of the way. You can decide when to stop, where and for how long. We are not traveling by night, so we have a few hours of traveling every day (of course we're not waking up at 6 am). I like traveling during the day, because I can see the views India has to offer us. India's driving culture is completely different from what we know in Israel, and you need to feel comfortable enough with it to drive. Fortunately, Didi is this kind of driver. Renana wants to add, that driving the public transportation is very alienated from the street, big busses where you sit above the street or trains that hardly pass through town; a private car is part of the street. We just passed a long street in Ajmer that is full of cars, everyone honking and talking to each other, and we are a part of that. Didi has to push to get forward, needs to know when to honk.

Something which I do miss from driving by local bus is the people. I know I'm repeating myself, but Indians are very curious about tourists and when you walk the street or go up on a local bus, everyone starts to talk with you, asks questions, takes a selfie. It can be very exhausting but also very interesting. Everyone wants to know where I am from, what I do, and to see pictures of my family and Renana (if she's not with me). Most of the times they hardly speak English, and all they can ask is "which country?". But we try to understand each other, and we get to see the differences and, in my eyes even better, the similarities.

Didi is the driver, he bought the car in Parvati and traveled from there to Pushkar. He's a friend from where I live in Israel. Now we are going to Goa, and thinking of doing it slowly, maybe stop in interesting places on the way. (Ideas anyone?) Today we will sleep in Udaipur, stay there for a day or two and continue forward. Udaipur should be beautiful and I hope my hopes are not set too high. It's called The city of lakes, or the white city. 

Last week was the Diwali in India. I celebrated the first day in Jaisalmer and left to Jodhpur on the next day. I actually came there without much patience, because Renana and I were going to meet again in Pushkar on Thursday, so I mostly had that in my mind.  Jodphur was ok (for me), but that was mostly because I didn't prepare enough. Jodhpur is called the blue city and there is a part of the city which is blue, mostly the old city. I didn't know exactly where it was and I booked a hotel on the wrong side of town, thinking (by mistake) that all hotels were in the blue city. My hotel wasn't in the blue city, and I just thought that the small number of houses that were in blue were the reason for this name. 

Just a day before I left to Pushkar someone asked if I saw the blue city and then I realised my mistake. So I had a two days in Jodhpur as a tourist, went to Mehrangarh Fort and The Jaswant Thada mausoleum and to Umaid Bhavan Palace, and of course the blue city. What I really liked to do in Jodhpur was climbing up to the fort, and from there climb a bit more. There's a temple on the mountain peak, with a great view of the desert and the sunset. I went there every evening to see the sunset and think.

We arrived to Pushkar just a few days before the camel festival. It's a huge festival to which many camel owners come with their herds, to show and of course to sell. It's a big celebration, with four ferris wheels (I just learned this word :P). It also means that Pushkar is full of people and the guesthouses prices rise. Rise to a point that many Israelis including us are leaving. Pushkar is one of the tourist places in India that are full of Israelis, and even though I'm looking for quiet places I felt the need to visit it. It's one of the holy cities for Hindus and a site for pilgrimage. 

There's a big difference between how I feel that holy places should look and how the Hindus feel about it. You can see this contrast in Pushkar. The main site in Pushkar is its lake, with many pilgrims walking around the lake barefoot, bathing and having different Puja ceremonies. At the same time, the lake is very dirty and you see many cows, dogs and pigeons walk (or fly) around, doing their business everywhere and nobody cares. A few meters from the lake you find Pushkar's huge market. I grew up learning that holiness comes with cleanness and India surprised me in that aspect.

We slept in Pushkar for four days, one day to rest, and three days of shopping. I didn't see much of the city other than the market and the lake. The lake is very beautiful at first glance, and from far , because its shores are all built into big white steps that go into the lake. But as I mentioned, once you start walking on its shores you start seeing all the dirt and cow poo everywhere. 

Savitri Temple is recommended. It's situated on the hill top above Pushkar and you can walk all the way to the top or take the cable car. We took the cable car, it was 90 rupees both ways and very nice. The cable car stops for about 30 seconds while in air to let you enjoy the view, we weren't prepared so it was a bit alarming, but afterwards I saw the signs telling us about it and we relaxed and really enjoyed it. 

On the last two days we got to make many good friends in Pushkar, in a restaurant called The Koala. Great food, great deserts, magical lassi ;). I suggest Thali Pinukim – Pinukim is a Hebrew word meaning treats – and the portion is served in a thali dish with each part of the dish filled with ice cream or chocolate syrup and as chapatti you get very fluffy pancakes. You have to taste to know. We really enjoyed sitting there and came back more than one time. 

Will continue updating from the road. See you on the next post.