I finally arrived in Varanasi, 1 hour 30 minutes late, but I arrived.
On this flight they weren’t handing out sandwiches like on the other flights, maybe because this one was Air India Express, even though me and my seatmates already had our trays ready to receive it. But I don’t know why, the flight attendant came over to me and said “Mister Romeu” and I said “YES” and she handed me some sandwiches the size of half a baguette and a bottle of water. My neighbours stood there staring, but they got nothing.
The mystery remains of why I was entitled to a sandwich, because I bought the cheapest tickets and didn’t ask for any extras. She must have wanted to give special treatment to the only foreigner on the plane.
On arrival I had to negotiate a shared taxi to the city, which was still 40 minutes away. Then I still had to walk about 500 metres through a maze of streets where even the GPS was lost to find the hostel.
On arrival, they gave me “Cell 203” for the next 3 nights, the hostel is neat and tidy and has a terrace facing the river Ganges and is right next to Dashashwamedh Ghat. I still went to the riverside to check out the atmosphere, where a group had gathered on the steps to listen to a singer.
Now I’m going to sleep, because at 5 am I have a boat ride to see the sunrise and the banks of the river Ganges.