Pitstop in Patna

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Okay, I left off with my evening train to Patna. Well, this evening train became the late night train. It was three hours late! So much for the myth that the Indiana trains run more or less on time. As for the train ride itself, I got a lower berth and was very comfortable but somehow I managed to fracture my tooth eating some cookies and my suitcase handle came off. So I arrived somewhat limping in Patna shortly before 1 AM. And, of course, I had no hotel reservations!

According to the tour book there were several new hotels all together so if one is full, no problem, just try another. The problem I had was all were full. There was a medical convention in town! So the rickshaw boy and I made the rounds, waking up the hotel crews - sound familiar? Any way, we went to about 7 or 8 hotels - only one had a room and it was a dump! Nevertheless, after we tried several more, I decided to cut my loses and go to the dump. This hotel (Welcome Palace) was one of my all-time worst! The room was supposed to be air conditioned but it wasn’t. In addition, I had to change the linen myself. What’s more the policies and staff were peculiar. For instance it was very overpriced (about $15) but it was just for 12 hours! To make a long story short, I did get a couple hours sleep after I put on mosquito repellent! I decided if I couldn’t get someplace better yesterday, I would take the bus to Kolkata (Calcutta) as I wouldn’t spend another night at this dump.

Fortunately, the light of the next day led me to a much much better hotel (Hotel Vijayshree Deluxe). This place was great! The room was large, the A/C worked perfectly, it had a large color TV with two English movie channels and the linen were actually crisp! To make the point even more apparent, this room was only $11. The best I can figure is perhaps the Welcome Palace gave some money to the rickshaw boy. The Hotel Vijayshree Deluxe had rooms the first night but the rickshaw boy said the other hotels assured him they didn't! My conclusion is there always seem to be a scam here if you look hard enough.

As for my suitcase handle, I found it was quite fixable. My suitcase may be beat up but it was one of TravelPro’s premier lines. All I needed to do is to unzip the liner, retrieve the locknut, and put it back on the bolt through the frame. So with a screwdriver, provided to me by the manager at the Hotel Vijayshree Deluxe, the handle was fixed in no time. After that was fixed, I decided to see a dentist about my tooth.

The dentist, Dr. R.K. Singh, examined my tooth and told me that it was badly fractured tooth and would need a crown. I suggested I wait until I return home but he claimed that the tooth could very easily fracture again anytime with worst results - maybe painful. In addition, he pointed just how cheap crowns are in India compared to the USA. He told me I could have the exact same kind of crown that I have on my other two teeth for only $50! I not exactly sure of all his qualifications, but he is gold medalist dentist and has many affiliations. After a short debate with myself, I decided to get the crown. So yesterday while most of you were enjoying turkey on Thanksgiving, I was at the dentist’s getting fixed for a crown.

Yesterday, I also did a bit of sightseeing. I saw the Gandhi Museum which has a very nice photo history of the great man. Unfortunately, the English signs are way too scarce to be very informative. After that, I climbed the Golghar. The Golghar is a very large bulbous structure built during the famine of 1786 to store grain. But, it was never used for any purpose - except as a sight for fantastic views of the city and the river. It has similar circular stairs that are rather steep.

Today, I slept in late to made up for the lack of sleep the prior night. After I got up, I had breakfast and checked out of the hotel. I took my suitcase to check it at the railroad station luggage room. Then, I went to the Patna Museum and saw its rather eccentric collection of rarities and oddities. I saw a stuffed goat with 3 ears and 8 legs as well as the world’s longest fossilized tree. It is 16 meters long and 200 million years old!

And yes, I got my crown this afternoon as promised. Even after adjustments, my bite seems a little weird but I remember thinking the same thing with my other crowns. It all takes time to adjust. Thus, I think it is fine but I got the dentist’s email address just in case. So, unless something unforeseen happens, my dentist experience has been most favorable.

This night may be rather late as I plan to take the overnight train to Kolkata. It is the same train that was three hours late when I came here. It is scheduled to leave here at 10 PM. So, it may be early in the morning before I can actually get on the train. However once on board, I should be set as I can’t miss my stop. It ends in Kolkata!

Now, I just have to wait for the train...

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