On the road again

On the road again

Nature is just beautiful. Also in Monsoon West Bengal. Monsoon is not that rainy as I thought. Sure it rains, also fields are overflowded, but that’s part of the season cycle in this area. But plants are so happy during this season. So happy. And nature shows its beauty in the rainy season. I anyway love it very much.
For the rain protection I have a rain jacket which I mostly use as a poncho around my upper body and to cover my backpack. Or for the rains, very often or mostly, not longer then 30 minutes, using a shelter.

Finding accommodations is almost impossible during Corona times at a private place. It has to be in the very most cases a hotel. But some cheaper hotels are closed. And at some places all the hotels are closed or not available for foreigners. Very often it needs the help of the police.

What it means:
For example the first day after my ‚rest‘:
After walking the day, travelling back from the countryside, from Ambari, back to Siliguri by electro rickshaw, 10km, take a hotel there, travelling next morning back to Ambari, to continue the walk.
Because of lack of hotels I have to walk next day 31km, to reach the next town.

This happened at the 13.8. (From facebook article) arriving in Maynaguri
Around 15h
I had a wonderful walk today. Today I thought of arriving early in one town to rest early. But…. a lodge could not host me (because foreigner) because of Corona restrictions. Ther rules are different in all places it seems.
All the way, sometimes also with lots of complications, I could stay in Bihar and West Bengal in Hotels and lodges. (I was only once allowed to stay in a private place) Now I am sitting at the police station of Maynaguri waiting for a solution.
My experience says, that takes time.
Police is mostly coming to a solution after the night arrives. ?

Anyway. Hugs to you all.
Thomas

17.20 pm
Still at the police station. But help on the way. Mainak, a young men with the lodge, which refused me, because no allowance from the police, came with a journalist to help me, to convince the police. Now he looks with another friend, RoHan for Bananas and water at the market. Already 17.40pm now

18.47pm Already 15 min at the local hospital to get a temperature checkup. Maybe a certificate about my temperature. (This has every hotel done everywhere else. Took some seconds)

19.11 pm temperature check (India has not enough test kids. Only if people have heavy symptoms, then they make a real test)
19.30 got the medical report. Back with RoHan and Mainak to the police station to see the police officer.
(Even the medical report says that I don’t have temperature, it says, I should stay 15 days in quarantine if I stay in town….. but I am allowed tomorrow to go to the next city…. ?!?

19.43
I just saw that my new telephone has a crack in the glass. I don’t know from what. It did not fell down at all. (The whole Corona situation is so tense, that it even manifest in my belongings)

20h
Police approval we got
20.12 In the room – ‚hotel check in‘ needs to be done later…. finally. Thanks to my helpers.

……
After all of this Mainak comes at 9.30pm to my room and now he has a problem. He actually ask me, if I could leave at 4am, the next morning or the day after. After some search, I found out, he has a problem with his neighbor’s. They are jealous because of his ability to manifest such a beautiful lodge and they like to make trouble to him. And in Corona times they could be worried that he is hosting a foreigner (carrier and bringer of Corona to the country…..the media must have spread some misinformation)

So this has variations every day. The police is always helpful. Sometimes I just can book a hotel without police. Here and there the hotel is for free because…. the police rented the whole hotel for quarantine or the place government owned at all…..

And there is another difficulty by searching on goole map. Often it says, somewhere is a over-night-stay hotel, but in fact arriving there, ….. nothing…
The reason: Since Uttar Pradesh all the restaurants or Dhaba’s are called also ‚hotel‘. Coming more and more towards east, every restaurant is also a ‚hotel‘. And they registered them self as ‚hotel‘. But Google maps shows both as a over-night-stay hotel…..

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