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Bike-Ride To Australia Saturday 24th-December 2011 Bagnan to Calcutta. 29 miles. As predicted, it was a short ride into Calcutta this morning, and I was in a hotel by 1 pm. It’s rather posh and is costing me a lot of money! But me being me, I couldn’t be bothered to search around! And as somebody once said to me, “better to pay a bit more and know you and your bike are safe.”
I need to get a visa for Bangladesh. After a quick shower, I went in search of the Bangladeshi high commission. It was one of the visa’s that I hadn’t obtained before leaving home. I wasn’t actually hopeful of it being open today, being a Saturday. But even if it wasn’t open, I’d know where it was. And as I thought, the high commission was closed.
I’d walked to the high commission and couldn’t help but notice the amount of Indians wearing Santa Clause hats! There’s definitely a Christmas feeling about the place, which isn’t too surprising, considering there’s a large Christian community here. And it was the home of Mother Teresa, who is possible India’s most famous Christian.
After my walk to the Bangladeshi commission, I returned to the hotel, where I spent the afternoon checking emails and updating the website. And I was very good, by not having a drink until 5 o’clock! I’m not too sure this hotel is right for me. It’s not my kind of place at all! I’m feeling like a fish out of water! But I’m here now and doubt very much I’ll move. I’m not so sure being away for Christmas is such a good idea either! I’m feeling a bit down now and somewhat lonely! Too much time to think is never a good thing!
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Bike-Ride To Australia Friday 23rd-December 2011 Baharagora to Bagnan. 92 miles. This morning, I wasn’t in a good mood, not after being charged 1000 rupees last night! If they had charged me 500 rupees, that would have been too much! And it was playing on my mind, annoying me!
When I went to leave the hotel, the owner or the man who had charged me the extortionate rate for my room and another man was there to see me off. The man who I hadn’t seen before shook my hand, as does everybody in India! Then Mr Ripoff went to shake my hand. I completely blanked him and left!
My mood didn’t get any better! The road was still a nightmare, and so were the trucks! They never gave me any room, and I’m sure they were deliberately trying to drive as close to me as possible! After I started shouting and swearing at them! I decided it was probably best to take a break. I was getting too wound up. It wasn’t good for me!
As I sat at the roadside café talking to some of the locals, my bad mood started to lift! And I began to forget about the tosser who had ripped me off last night! It was definitely the right move to have a break when I did. Even the roads started to improve shortly after!
I should be in Calcutta tomorrow. I’ve only got about 30 miles to cycle, so hopefully, I’ll have found a nice hotel for Christmas by lunchtime. Although I am a bit worried as the doctor I went out for dinner with the other evening said that there are a lot of Christians in Calcutta who will be celebrating Christmas with their families. I just hope the hotels won’t be all full! Or it will be no room at the inn for Garry!
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Bike-Ride To Australia Thursday 22nd-December 2011 Kenonjhar to Baharagora. 95 miles. There was a definite chill this morning. And I was grateful for an extra layer, although I didn’t need it for long. The press stopped me again today. They had seen my newspaper interview and just wanted to say hello and shake my hand! You can tell they’re from the press. It says so on their bike! The number plates have press written on them. It was something I noticed when I got stopped before. I don’t know if anybody can buy them though, or you have to prove who you are! I also managed to fall off my bike! I’m not too sure how it happened, but neither the bike nor I were damaged.
I was hoping to finish a bit earlier today, but the town I was expecting to stop at didn’t have any accommodation or none that I could see! Apparently, there was a lodge 10km down the road, so I made my way there, only to find out it was full! But I was told there was another one, another 10km further on! It was starting to get dark now, so I turned my lights on. Only to find out that my front light wasn’t working. No problem, I thought I’d put my head torch on. That was about as good as a candle! The batteries were flat. I carry spare one’s, but they were buried deep in one of my panniers! And I wasn’t going to stop now and try to find them!
Not only was it dark now, but the road had deteriorated into a dusty track, and I was now cycling between two lorries! Which turned out for the best! I used the lorries lights as mine, and because the traffic wasn’t moving very fast, I could stay between them. I later found out the reason for the slow traffic. We were approaching the Subarnarekha river and a narrow, rickety bridge! It was with all this stop-start that I fell off!
I eventually made it to the so-called hotel. It was a building site! There was no water and no electricity, and to top it all, they wanted 1000 rupees! That’s more than twice as much as I’ve paid in any place so far! Unfortunately, it was late, I was tired, the road was busy, and I didn’t know if there was anything else up the road! Reluctantly I paid the 1000 rupees, but made it clear that I wasn’t happy and knew they were ripping me off! That’s the first time I’ve felt ripped off and taken advantage of in India, but I won’t let one person spoil my view of the rest of the Indian people.
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