Holy Allahabad

My next aim was Allahabad. It took me something like 5 hours to reach Allahabad by bus. In Allahabad they host each twelve years the Kumbh Mela – a religious mass event with more than 100 million people. They all come to take a bath at the confluence of Yamuna, Ganga and the mystic Saraswati. All six years a smaller Mela takes place, and then there are around 70 million pilgrims in Allahabad. And every year in January, there is the "normal" annual Mela.
Well, now you should think, that Allahabad a very holy place, at least around the river…

Sangam, Allahabad

Sangam, Allahabad

The first day in Allahabad was one of those not to get out of bed at all. Everything started in the railway station. Here I wanted to inquire for trains to Varanasi. The responsible counter was not taken, at least not by a person. Instead of a person a gigantic mouse (rat?) sat in the middle on the table. So, basically, I peered in and the beast looked out. After a few minutes the responsible lady came in, swept the mouse off the table and said only "No train to Varanasi". Of course, this was pure nonsense; there are 10 or more trains every day to Varanasi. Again just someone, who does not want to do his job.  Especially not with tourists asking stupid questions. Unfortunately, Allahabad is not on the tourist track, so signs are only posted in Hindi.
But, at least, there are always people to help you out. Anyway, it turned out a lot better for me to take the bus instead of the train.
During this whole action I found out, that my mobile phone does not work anymore. In India, it is not allowed for foreigners to buy an Indian simcard. Why it is like this – no idea…. However, in case, the phone company finds out, that a foreigner has a sim, they just cut you off. Great, so I had to buy a new simcard. As Indians seem to love paperwork, this easily takes 2.5 hours.. At least, I was in the right shop with nice employees and a boss who really worked on my case. Also later on, I went back to this shop once in a while for a cup of coffee.
But the day of the days was not finished yet. Around noon, I went to Sangam. This is the holy place with the confluence of two real rivers Ganga and Yamuna and the mystic river Saraswati. Somehow, I expected something spiritual and pleasant. Well, you should not have too high expectations in India. First of all, Sangam area was under construction, maybe preparing for the small Mela in January. Everything was full of dust. Then there were many small shops – and the vendors were extremely tiresome. Then, there was a whole bunch of beggars following me on each step I did, pulled on my sweater or trousers. This can really drive even the friendliest tourist crazy.

Sangam, Allahabad

Okay, so I decided to get away from all that by taking a boat ride to the confluence of both rivers. It is a big mistake to believe that this was an escape out of the madness. At the confluence, there are these priests waiting for clients to organize a puja on their boats. Then they ask for an awful lot of money (which they did not get for sure).
Close to Sangam there is a subterranean temple. Well – the temple was great, with a lot of divinities in it, unfortunately, also at every statue some priests, asking for huge donations.
Well, the only way to escape all this was leaving the whole area. On the way back to the street, a motorcyclist came very close from the right, so I had to move fast to the left. Well, this action, the big water buffalo to my left did not like at all. He lashed out his horn and hit my left arm – the result: a 10-centimetre-long blue spot which hurts like hell.
What a day. Remains only going to bed and not going out anymore.
Well, but also Allahabad has some good sides. The next day was much better. First, I visited the house of the family Nehru. They are building now a very nice and good museum (which is a scarce in India). They had some photos and personal objects of Nehru family, e.g., the first electric toaster of the family.

Allahabad

The Allahabad museum is even bigger. Here there is everything from pottery from pre-Christian times to sculptures from the most different epochs up to stuffed animals, miniature paintings and modern paintings.
At the other end of the town, there are some nice Mogul tombs. There are 4 of them, all looking different, set in a nice shady park. Well, Allahabad has its nice sides as well. So, the day before was just one of those really bad days you face once a while. When you have the feeling that you could kill every single Indian right on the spot.
One more word about my hotel in Allahabad – an extremely old tatty building with electric wires, which explained why all the frequent power cuts in town. In former times, these were the camel stables. During colonial times, there was a rich Indian aristocrat, who refused to stay in a fancy English hotel. So, he decided to build one for Indians.
And obviously, there were not many changes done on this building in the last 200 years or so….