Back to the real India
- My next destination was Majuli Island , but I decided to stop off in Jorhat..
- 1. I needed to rest after the intense hospitality of the last few days
- 2. I had a killer sore throat
- 3. I needed to catch up with some internet work.
- Ahad warned me about Jorhat ... It's not really I nice place to be. It was a case of back to the real India ..the dirt, dust and hassle.
- Generally I think Jorhat is one of those places, where all the hassles of immigration, terrorism, police over-reaction and other city stresses have left the population in a permanent bad mood.
- Someone trying to help put me on a rickshaw to the wrong place. When I did find a place it was the other end of the bustling 2 Km road that the city runs along.
|
Hasslle #1 Sore- throat|
- right from getting off the train on Tuesday I felt I had the flu and by Wednesday I had a killer sore throat exaserbated by the dry season dust. I almost completely lost my voice, but combination flu tablets kept me going. In Sibsagar my voice was octaves lower. So that's why I decided to rest in Jorhat one day. It seemed my sinuses were completely blocked by Tuesday they cleared a little as I released very thick porridge like phlegm.. Ugh | | |
|
Mon - Hasslle #5 Charged for sitting down by nutter momo shop owner
- yep he charged me double for my food, cos I sat a long time, the reason I sat a long time was cos he kept bringing his friends to talk to me.
- It's a bizarre thing so I don't want to make a disproptionate deal of it after the 50 kind things that happened this week, but it did happen although the guy must have mental or alcohol problems or something - - I ordered Momo and tea price 35 Rp and sat down to read my newspaper. The owner introduced me to his neighbor the doctor who sat on my table all the other tables were empty. After talking to the doctor I tried to finish my newspaper, but he kept coming in with a succession of friends to introduce to me. Eventually I finished and gave him 105Rp with a big smile on his face he said I'm charging you 30Rp extra cos you sat a long time. "Ha ha very funny now give me the change", No ..no appeal to reason like explaining it's not normal to make up a price after instead of mentioning before, that 30Rp is an outrageously high charge, that all the other tables were empty would persuade him.. but I tried for 10 minutes on the principle of giving him enough hassle to put him off trying it on again in future .. Then I told him he was wrong and left. I wasn't going to waste any more time or energy for 30Rp (the price of 6 cups of tea in his restaurant)
- Ghandi would have probably punched the guy, but I guess anything I could do would hurt him or his innocent family "2 wrongs, don't make a right" Jorhat Momo man's photo
| Mon - Hasslle #6 Crappy Internet Cafes|
- No internet cafe had decent virus protection so I ended up with the regsvr virus on my stick. see usb virus tips
- actually when I asked a cop for directions to the Majuli Bus he took me the 2 blocks on his scooter. So some Jorhat people are kind.
| | | |
