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Published: November 16th 2010
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Lucknow
One of many impressive buildings I took a break from Varanasi after realising a week there would be too long, and headed for Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh and site of the 1857 Lucknow Siege. The Siege was one of the major parts of the 1857 Indian Rebellion.
The six month siege of the Residency was caused by the British East India Tea Company annexing the state of Oudh and kicking out the leocal Muslim leadership. This and less than considerate actions towards Muslim and Hindu religion led to the outbreak of rebellion. The siege was eventually broken by Sir Colin Campbell. A consequence of the rebellion, as well as the atrocoties committed by the British in it's aftermath, was the dissolution of the British East India Companywas dissolved and India governed directly by the Crown.
Lucknow turned out to be one of the most random experience I've ever had. One problem is that the maps all appear to be incorrect, there are next to no street signs (even by Indian standards), and although no one will admit it, no one seems to know where anything is.
I left the station and was immediately stopped by the Tourist Police who took my
name and address. I mistook the police officer for one of the many touts I've been approached by, as he wasn't in standard uniform, and tried to ignore him. Luckily he wasn't offended and after making me fill out my details, gave me a map of Lucknow. I almost made it to the car park before being apprehended by a rickshaw driver. He wasn't as forceful as some and actually was ok, so I walked with him to the pre paid booth while every driver in sight blatantly tried to steal me from him, and paid 65 Rs for him to take me to the Elora Hotel. I'd decided that as I was only staying for two days I'd relax in a nice mid range hotel as suggested by the Rough Guide.
We eventually got to the hotel and the driver decided he wanted another 10 Rs as he'd had to go a slightly longer way due to a road closure. After a month of being over charged, I said the fare was at the pre-pay set rate and I wasn't paying any more. At this point he tried to tell me why I should pay more but his
The Residency
Scene of the 1857 Lucknow Siege English failed him, and I marched inside the hotel. After signing in I noticed the rickshaw driver was still waiting for me outside the hotel, and explained the situation to the hotel manager and asked if they could get rid of the driver. The manager called the driver in and asked him in Hindi what the problem was . Again the driver said he wanted 10Rs more as the journey had been longer than expected. The hotel manager politely suggested I pay the driver. After weighing up the principle involved against being the "rich" western tourist who has just booked into a ten pounds a night hotel and was now arguing over fifteen pence, I paid the driver, who to be fair was genuinely grateful.
My Rough Guide says the Elora Hotel is "popular .... with a multi-cuisine restaurant". It isn't. There didn't seem to be many people about, and I had to ask the manager to have the restaurant unlocked, even though it should have been open all day. Somone opened the restaurant for me, which was multi-cuisine as long as you like your food Indian and I ordered a vegetable thali, which miraculously appeared in about five
minutes flat. I should have seen what was coming, but convinced myself I was being paranoid and ate it. To say it was horrible is being polite. They then brought me a desert I didn't order, which I didn't eat - explaining that I hadn't asked for it.
I woke up the next day feeling mildly queasy, but it wasn't until I went walking in the sun to look for The Residency that I felt really weak. I had asked the hotel manager for directions but he sent me the wrong way. After having walked for over an hour and asked about five different people for directions (which often contradicted the last set I'd been given) I narrowly missed projectile vomiting on a homeless man asleep on the pavement. After avoiding one of the most potentially embarrassing moments of my life I called it a day and went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the day in bed, broken only by regular trips to the bathroom. I have a vague recollection of someone knocking on my door and trying the handle when I didn't answer, and reception phoning my room twice at daft hours of the
very early morning.
I checked out of the hotel in the morning and went to the Hotel Deep Avadh, which was near the railway station ready for me to watch the 7:30am train the next day. The Rough Guide describes it as having "two restaurants and a bar". It was one restaurant, which again they had to unlock for me. And no bar. The day the book goes in the bin draws nearer!
Having previously failed to find The Residency on foot, I got an auto-rickshaw this time. The driver loved me, pointing out every landmark we passed, and offered to wait for me and take me shopping later, which I politely declined. It later became obvious he was so friendly because I was putting his kids through college, the amount he charged me!
The one thing that really made Lucknow worthwhile was the Residency. The scenery, gardens, and buildings were really picturesque and beautiful. You could walk all the way through the labyrinths to the rooftop and peer over the top of various Immabaras, mosques, and the famous clock tower for miles around. As I exited I was stopped again by the tourism police and politely
made to give my name and address, fill in a comments book, and was given another map. Even though I told the police I already had one. Again I accidentally blanked them. The problem is that if you are near a river, shop, or tourist spot and someone shouts "hello" in your direction - you learn to ignore them and carry on walking - as it's 100% always someone trying to sell you something.
Being in no mood to be messed about, I managed to get an auto-rickshaw back for a hard won half of what I'd paid to get there. Mind you, the driver got his revenge by dropping me off at the wrong end of the long street, after of course getting lost first like everybody else!
Lucknow had it's final revenge on me by the train turning up three and a half hours late the next day. I having waited for two hours I went to check the board at the front of the station and was accosted by a taxi driver who said "you!, come here" and lurched towards me. He got short shrift!
I went back to the platform and sat on
the floor to read my book and wait for the train. Three students took pity on me and pointed out that the station was dirty and I didn't have to sit on the floor when there was a waiting room. I said I preferred the floor, but got chatting to them. Trains and platforms are a good place to let your guard down when it comes to striking up conversations with locals. Basically, there is nothing in sight for you to be sold, so you know there is no invite to a shop or boat just around the corner, and with so many police about no one's going to try and sell you drugs.
The students asked if they could have their photos taken with me, which felt a bit strange, but I said yes. A lot of travelers object to this, but I don't mind, especially since tourists take photos of anything and everything themselves.
So goodbye to Lucknow, the most random place on earth, and back to Varanasi for Diwali.
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Peter Hinton
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Hi, I've subscribed to your travel blog. I'm planning a trip to india in August next year, so I'm very interested in your journey. Cheers, Peter