Leaving Bengaluru, I caught the final stages of Australia vs New Zealand in the airport. Hoping some miraculous result would give us something to play for in the next day’s game of India vs England. Sadly there were no miracles and we were heading out of the competition but at least I get to see the favourites in front of the home crowd.
Landing at 11pm, getting an uber was thankfully a simple process as I was in need of a rest to feel fresh for the big match the following day. Sadly that’s where the simplicity ended. Chatting with the driver in broken English, he asked to call the hotel and ask for directions due to a diversion on the roads. This already seemed odd as I was following on google maps and there didn’t seem to be an issue. On finishing the call I was surprised to hear him tell me I couldn’t stay at the hotel. Surely this is some sort of scam.
No Dogs, No English
I wasn’t in the mood for this so insisted he took me there and we’d deal with on arrival. The apparent reason for not being able to stay was due to me being English. In 58 countries visited, I’d never heard such nonsense. But not for the first time, India proved it works by its own rules. On arrival, two young lads just stared blankly and agreed with the driver.
Thankfully there was a hotel around the corner which had space. Triple the price and covered in mosquitoes but it was a bed for the night. Roaming the streets of Lucknow at close to midnight searching for a place to stay didn’t really tickle my fancy. In summary, never use Booking.com in Lucknow, they don’t communicate with owners and if you are allowed to stay they will charge you way over the agreed price.
Let’s try again
Morning came and despite trying to negotiate a fairer rate I failed miserably. I left out of principle to be ripped off by another less clean hotel but at least closer to the stadium for the day’s main event….England vs India at the Ekana Cricket stadium. The 50,000 seater arena was about to host the biggest fixture in its 7 year history. England had failed epically in this tournament and subsequently had nothing but pride to play for. The hosts on the other hand had won every game and were looking to continue this form and regain the World Cup for the first time since 2011.
Helpful locals
I set off to the stadium and almost immediately was offered a ride on the back of someone’s bike.
‘Sure why not, how much mate?’
‘Nothing, its free, jump on!’
It’d be rude not to. The man took me back under the motorway due to a police blockade and then had to drop me off to complete his errands, leaving me no closer than I previously was to my destination. But, he’d seemingly done his good deed for the day.
As is typical of India, only a few steps further down the road the same offer was presented to me. This time we were off and riding. Via a series of diversions we finally got to the stadium and again, he insisted that no money would change hands, not even the generous 50 Rupees (50p) I offered. He’d done his bit for the world that day and the knowledge that the good karma would return to him was more than enough. One of the true beauties of the Indian people.
The crowds had gathered on this stifling day as I waited to meet Andy to collect the ticket I had arranged to pick up. Every vehicle, no matter what, was greeted with a rush of screaming fans in the hope that they may get a glimpse of Virat Kohli and co. The catering team have probably never felt so popular.
Bargain
Andy arrived and I handed over my £17, unbelievable value for such a spectacle. It was a sell out and tickets were being offered outside for over £100.
I made my way into the stadium alone as my new pals were sat elsewhere. I did manage to spot another couple of white faces up towards the top of the stand and headed over. Strength in numbers was required here. Not sure 3 would be enough though. We were there well before kick off and intensity was increasing. The noise outside was gradually filtering inside and by the time the players stepped out for the national anthems the atmosphere was electric.
England bravely put their in-form opponents in to bat. Breaking up the opening partnership for 26 was a positive start, but up next was the one and only Virat Kohli. The darling of the nation, his face on billboards and adverts up and down the country. His name written across the backs of literally millions of sky blue shirts, many of whom were right here cheering him on. All hoping he could equal the record of 49 One day International centuries held by THE greatest Indian Cricketer of all time, Sachin Tendulkar.
Impressive noise
Indians support in a fairly unique way, it’s not chanting, it’s not cheering, not singing, it is just a constant high pitched noise complimented by a few thousand vuvuzelas. Let’s just say it’s one hell of a racket. But my God what an environment to watch and play sport, incredible. After all that build up, there was only one way this was going to end. ZERO. A bit fat duck for the hero of the nation. Briefly, but oh so very briefly, the ground fell silent but for the odd echoing of a lonely English cheer.
Finally some pride
We ended up restricting India to 229. An enjoyable innings where England actually had a chance of causing an upset and as a minimum gave us an opportunity for some banter with the local fans. During the interval we searched in vain for refreshments to replenish the energy levels. Self-service water and the spicy bit out of a Bombay Mix was about all the authorities could muster for us. Not ideal given these games run for several hours in intense heat.
Oh well, England were about to knock the ball to all parts of the ground and complete a famous victory, surely.
Positive start
The openers got off to another positive start much like they had against Sri Lanka, hitting 30 before David Malan fell. Next up Joe Root, the former captain was seriously struggling for form and boy did the crowd know how to up the ante. As Jasprit Bumrah, one of the best and most in form bowlers in the world, steamed in towards Joe Root, I honestly thought I’d never heard a noise as intense in my life. But as the ball beat Root’s bat and crashed against his pads the noise increased….the finger went up and all pandemonium broke loose.
I mean, we enjoy cricket in England and it can get pretty lively after a few beers. But this was something else. The noise was deafening. I have literally no idea how the England players could keep any sort of composure in this environment, particularly given the form they were in.
Shortly after, Mohammed Shami began to rip through the rest of the team and the familiar picture was unfolding. As the wickets tumbled and my hunger grew, the admiration for the atmosphere was slowly turning to irritation and the desire for a beer and even the briefest moment of calm was increasing rapidly.
A good reason to return
We stuck it out until the end and said our goodbye’s, shook hands and took photos with the fans around us who had revelled in being in such close proximity to some England fans as we failed miserably. One of whom even baulked at the suggestion this was maybe the best atmosphere I’ve ever witnessed. ‘Are you serious?? You need to come to an IPL game, and you need to come to Mumbai’. Another bucket list item that I’ll hopefully achieve one day. An incredible experience but our race was run and it was time to get out of there.
A quick stomp home, shower and out to try and find the boys for a beer. Annoyingly they’d found a place near the stadium so I ended up heading back.
“Where are you going?” asked another man staying at the hotel as I walked past his car. He offered to give me a lift and wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Just gonna pop here first though”. Half an hour later due to traffic and road closures I was no closer to my destination. I thanked him for his efforts but sometimes it’s just quicker and easier to do your own thing. It was almost closing time and there was a beer with my name on it a kilometre away so I got a little jog on.
Long overdue Beer
It was nice to regale the stories of the day with a few other disconsolate Englishmen in the most traditional way over a few pints. The club next door was open late to extend the night so a few of us duly obliged. Just like some hotels, they appeared not to accept international cards and with no cash a stand-off ensued given we’d already started drinking our beers. One lad I was with was more than ready to take his chances against the 8 staff gathered around us but that’s never been my bag so we did our best to calm him down. Eventually after a few raised tensions the dispute was settled and we made a swift exit.
Not for the first time on the trip, a Taxi driver had enquired if I was a player, usually I’m honest but feeling a little playful and sarcastic I answered, “Yeah… Joe Root”. I instantly felt guilty as his face lit up and he called someone straight away to share his news. A rushed search on google images preceded a few double takes before the joy drained from his face as quickly as it arrived.
Arriving home late I was more than ready for a rest after a hectic couple of days. But to my delight, the gate was locked and nobody answered the bell or the phone number I’d been given. Great. I considered my options as I hung around for 5-10 minutes wondering what the best solution was. My mind was eventually made up by a group of stray dogs gathering at the end of the street and I hopped over the gate faster than you could say ‘Rabies’. Unfortunately I also had to wake up the poor doorman but I was soon back inside and tucked up in bed.
The best of Lucknow
The next day I would have happily laid in the room until my 5pm bus out of Lucknow but I was promptly removed at check out. I met up for coffee with a lady through the Couchsurfing app in a beautiful café run by a charity where all the staff were victims of acid attacks and all proceeds went to help them and other victims.
Suitably refreshed we headed off in a Tuktuk to the stunning Bara Imambara, a beautiful Muslim place of worship. We followed this up with an impromptu street food tour of Old Lucknow. And what a joy, flavours and styles of food I’d never tasted in my life in the most authentic of environments, a fantastic experience. Just shows I should get my arse up out of bed more often. An enjoyable afternoon that saved my opinion of this city.
As advised earlier in the trip, the place to go to relax was Rishikesh. Known for being the city the Beatles spent much of their time in India. Over the years it had gained prominence for its spirituality and Yoga retreats, every other building offering the chance to become a yoga teacher. A pleasant environment full of westerners looking for some form of self-improvement, and me, just looking for a break from the bloody noise.
Near death experience
My first evening was nearly the death of me, spooked by a barking dog, a cow had proceeded to sprint down the hill in my direction. Thank God there was an alleyway I could jump down and it was over within seconds. When seeing stats of people killed by cows I’d always struggled to imagine how, but I was one set of headphones away from being trampled to death and becoming another statistic, in the ‘peaceful’ city.
Morning bought the more tranquil activity of white water rafting down the Ganges. Some stunning views and a refreshing experience to jump into the Holy River, a blessing of sorts. A beautiful way to spend a day, one of the many delights of the town.
Another was the nightly ritual at Parmath. I’m not a religious person but this environment is about as close as I can imagine to feeling connected to anything spiritual. A serenely relaxed vibe, people laying burning flowers in the Ganges to float into the distance while remembering those they have lost. A sight that encouraged me to do the same. A rare opportunity in life to stop and forget everything that is happening in your day to day life to appreciate those you’ve lost and remember those special memories.
Healing vibes
Spiritual chanting, absorbing music and once the beautiful sunset had passed, the captivating Arti ceremony was a joy to behold. If this hadn’t sent the mind to a different place then the trainee monks acting as stewards for crowd control was the final element needed. If you are remotely spiritual in any way and ever had the desire to connect or feel at one with loved ones that have been and gone then this is somewhere I would genuinely recommend.
Back to reality, on the way home I met some dudes who were just chilling and we got talking. Rishikesh is a dry town with no bars but these fellas knew one shop so we loaded up and went back to theirs. As always, chats with people of different cultures bring interesting and intriguing stories. And this fella told of his family jewellery business and his many trips to Africa. We called the night early but it wasn’t the last I’d hear from him.
I headed out bright and early and had the irony of not being able to find the secret waterfall, but as is often the way, met a lovely English fella touring the Himalayas on a Royal Enfield. One which I boarded for a bit but opted out of the steep hill back down from the impressively secret waterfall. I chose wisely as he struggled to keep control and fell into the bush, no damage done but I didn’t fancy my ankles being under that weight of that bike as it came down, my instincts were right this time.
Golden opportunity?
As I packed up ready for my morning flight to Delhi I got a call from my new diamond dealing friend.
“Hi Martin, how do you like the idea of coming to a post office with me in Mumbai. I give you some diamonds to send back home to yourself, you collect them in a couple of weeks in Manchester from the post office and my colleague will be there to meet you. On collection they will give you £6k for your trouble as we will save thousands in import taxes”.
Too good to be true? Almost always but…. I couldn’t see a flaw in the plan. I asked some friends what they thought, one of whom immediately sent me a YouTube video of a man, ironically from Manchester, who spent 10 years in an Indian jail for some similar – but crucially different – dodgy deal. The main vision in my mind was the look of shame and disappointment on my Dad’s face if it all went wrong. Against all my urges for free money and adventure I turned down the lucrative offer.
Yellow skies?
Rishikesh was, after all, a welcome break from the intensity of the metro cities but wow, Delhi brought me right back down to earth. As the plane came in to land my first thought was;
‘Why the fuck is everything yellow’?
As soon as I heard the first pings of the phones from the returning signal I googled ‘Delhi air pollution’. And there it was, 2 hours earlier the BBC had warned of severe levels of air pollution.
I later found out that a day in Delhi was the equivalent of smoking 30 Benson & Hedges. Apparently the 4th most polluted city in the world, like nothing I’d ever witnessed before. The Taxi driver kindly thought that I may struggle with the lack of air conditioning on such a hot and humid day. His solution? Before I entered he went to the trouble of winding down all the windows to ensure a full face full of ‘fresh’ air. I could only chuckle at the irony.
I don’t think I’m uncovering ground-breaking information here but my God, Delhi was intense. My friend who sold me the England vs India ticket had also recommended checking out Akshardham. I’d never heard of it before but was keen to use my time wisely. Phones and cameras were confiscated on arrival which was annoying but equally refreshing.
Stunning buildings
Akshardham is a Hindu Temple built as recently as 2005. I’ve seen a lot of religious places of worship over the years but I’d be hard pushed to think of one more spectacular than this. The attention to detail is incredible, the ornamental carvings were so beautifully crafted. Inside and outside it is a truly stunning building. The evening lightshow telling one of the many stories of the Hindu religion was projected onto another building in front of hundreds of watchers on. Another wonderful experience in the country that just keeps on giving.
Seeking refuge from the chaos
I was staying in the heart of New Delhi so thought I’d pop out amongst the chaos and find a beer or two. It was mainly market stores with the odd bar advertised above them so I chose a random one and up I went. Even on opening the sound proof door I felt myself turning around but already eye contact had been made so I said to myself I’d stay for one.
Dark room with dim lighting, lively music and a few ladies in Saari’s dancing on the stage. Not the most comfortable feeling. I ordered a beer and some peanuts and when I saw boiled eggs on the menu I couldn’t resist so chucked a couple of them in for good luck. In the end the place was pretty relaxed, if not a bit odd. I chose to keep my eyes on the TV screens showing cricket for fear of any awkwardness or misunderstandings. Thankfully the bill came and went with no spurious additions and I made a swift exit.
In the morning a slightly crazy idea of a bike tour through the manic streets of Delhi was on the cards, the route took us through some real eye opening markets and back streets, incredible sights and valuable information about the history of Delhi. Some people living unbelievably tough lives. Going about their daily business and not for a second bothering us, refreshing and intense in equal measure.
Hometime
I spent my final day filling my new knock off rucksack with as many souvenirs as I could possibly fit in, before a couple of beers and off to the airport. Delhi-Ahmedabad-Doha-Heathrow-Manchester, 30+ hours, 45 hours since waking up and a stupidly stressful flight cancellation. 3 weeks of intense travel, adventure, chaos and sensory overload and 3 days of pure pollution. Within 10 minutes of getting through my front door it all finally hit me. I puked up, went to bed, shit myself that night and didn’t leave the house for 4 days. I gave it my best shot but India beat me in the end!
Without doubt the most intense trip I have ever been on. In a land the size of India, travelling every 3 days is way too much. What to say about a this country, so difficult to put into words. I barely scratched the surface, I went there with next to no knowledge of the place and returned home with only an appreciation for how much there is that I know nothing about.
It would take months if not years to get to see this nation and fully experience it. Such depth and diversity in every way, language, religion, culture, the list is endless. There were so many occasions I saw things I’d never seen anywhere before in my life, I can’t even imagine how much more there is to see here.
Pro’s and cons
There’s no doubt India has its difficulties as a country itself and as a place to visit. Scary levels of waste and an overwhelming feeling that it isn’t going to change any time soon. Crazy roads which are both captivating and terrifying at the same time. Officially the 4th worst in the world and it’s instantly clear why.
Personal space is simply not a concept here, mainly because there isn’t much choice. The most highly populated country in the world and continuing to grow. Sadly I missed out on the dramatic rush hour trains but I’ll leave that for another time with my energy levels revitalised. At times India felt more like a challenge than a holiday but that’s what life is all about, every adventure isn’t meant to be simple.
Inspirational people
The only way to finish is on the Indian people, without doubt the highlight of this trip. So much humility and kindness, their warm hearted and selfless attitude gives you such positive vibes and helps you to take a look at yourself and look at how you can be a better person.
On countless occasions the people showed generosity to a stranger and it is always clear to see it comes from the heart. The love and connection they have with family and their religion is a beautiful thing to observe. There is a widespread belief in karma, that good deeds will be rewarded at some point in the future or even in their next life rather than a need for instant gratification, something truly inspiring and refreshing to see.
Considering the level of poverty, chaos and intensity in this country it was remarkable to say the only time I was scared or nervous in three weeks was when the stray dogs stared me down from the end of the road. Overall an exhilarating adventure.
What a trip!! 10 flights, 9 accommodations, 8 maids a milking , 7 cities, 6 grand turned down, 5 languages, 4 matches, 3 countries, 2 little bags, one life, go and live it.