Patna, Bihar 12th December 2016

I got a taxi to my next Ganges stop at Patna. It cost 6,000 rupees (€84) which wiped me out of all my local money. I was probably ripped off but on the other hand it was 250 kms, door-to-door and 8 hours on the road through some amazingly strange and challenging villages and countryside.

We hit the Grand Trunk Road again about 10:00 after battling through the nasty back streets of Varanasi.

Passing through the checkpoint on the Uttar Pradesh/Bihar border the level of poverty took a significant step down. The countryside was more agricultural which fortunately made it a little more pleasant to look at. Much of the Bihar agriculture seemed to be the gathering and carrying around on heads of a kind grass or reed. I guess it was cow and buffalo feed but they also use it for making straw huts. Other activities were the gathering of sticks for fuel and lots of small-scale brickmaking. Good to see they have all the materials for three-little-pig houses before the big bad wolf comes. I saw some hand-threshing and winnowing of a grain crop but it must have not been the season for other crops.

A typical out-of-village scene was people wrapped up in shawls, sitting on the ground, near a straw hut and tending a smoky fire. Children are usually nearby whacking water buffaloes with sticks. In the villages, and we must  have passed through dozens, the street scene is more frenetic with miles of market stalls and workshops. The air across the whole region was smoky from countless fires. Take away anything running on petrol and the whole scene had a biblical look.

I arrived in Patna in the dark during what I hope was rush hour. Offline maps on a smart phone are so useful. I doubt my driver will ever find his way home. In the hotel, I had to fill in a form saying that I understood possession and consumption of alcohol in the State of Bihar is a punishable offence. It will be good for their tourist industry I expect.

M