Getting to my next “Hotel” – 5 Nov 2024

I wasn’t planning to write another post so soon, since today, 5 November 2024 was supposed to be a very straightforward affair

The straightforward affair was to:

Get an Uber auto rickshaw ride to my next hotel which is near Varanasi Junction Railway Station.
Stay the night in the hotel.
Take the 620am train from Varanasi to Gaya.

But alas, this straightforward affair was not to be.

There are 2 stories to be told here:

Getting to the “Hotel”
The “Hotel”

Getting to the “Hotel”

(Note that the “hotel” is in inverted commas, explained in the later part of this post under “The “Hotel””)

I walked to the main road near my guest house and used Uber to try to book an auto rickshaw.

I tried for at least 20mins, but no response.

So, I decided to try Ola instead for an auto rickshaw. I did get an auto rickshaw to come. In the Ola app, it is stated that you need to discuss the final price with the driver first. So, I wanted to discuss the final price with the driver, but the driver wanted to start the journey immediately.

Uber and Ola has a PIN system, where the passenger is given a PIN. And the driver has to know the PIN before the trip can start.

So, before giving the PIN to the Ola driver, I insisted on discussing the price. In the end, he relented and quoted 200 Rupees. The suggested price in Ola was 89-94 Rupees. So, I declined and cancelled the Ola trip. I didn’t mind paying more at that time, maybe 120 Rupees, since I don’t want to spoil the market. (By the way, his auto rickshaw number was different from the auto rickshaw number in the Ola app. So, I think this is how he gets away with overcharging customers without any penalty.)

After that, I tried getting a ride from Uber and Ola. In the midst of all this, I was just standing on the main road with many auto rickshaw drivers and rickshaw drivers asking me where I wanted to go. I ignored them all while trying to get an Uber or Ola.

After another 20mins to trying, that is about 40mins of trying in total, it was still to no avail.

I decided to ask for prices from the drivers who were trying to get my business. Most quoted 300 or 400 Rupees. When I heard the prices, I just walked away.

I don’t mind paying more, but I think it has to be reasonable, considering that the local price is about 100Rupees.

I then decided to just walk the 2.6km to my next “hotel”. (Note that the “hotel” is in inverted commas, explained in the later part of this post under “The “Hotel””)

Along the way, other drivers attempted to pick me up but they also quoted 300 or 400 Rupees. The lowest was 200 Rupees. I was thinking of accepting 150 Rupees.

At a junction with many auto rickshaw drivers and rickshaw drivers, an auto rickshaw driver again quoted me 300 Rupees. I said no and started to leave when this rickshaw driver said, “150 Rupees”, to which, I said ok.

Along the 30-40mins tiring cycling ride for the rickshaw driver, I was planning to give the driver 200 Rupees for carrying such a heavy man.

Towards the end of the ride, he suddenly turned around and told me that he has only 1 hand. His left hand was missing from below the elbow. Was this to get some extra cash?

Either way, in the end, I gave him 200 Rupees for his hard work.

The “Hotel”

At 830am this morning, the hotel that I booked, “Satsang Lodge”, which is near Varanasi Junction Railway Station, messaged me on Booking.com saying that their hotel can only accept Indian citizens.

If I am not an Indian citizen, I should consider their alternative hotel.

The alternative hotel was far from the railway station.

Thus, I cancelled the booking, but for this booking, there is a cancellation fee.

Note that for this booking, there was no credit card details required. And so, in essence, no monies would be lost. However, I was thinking if Booking.com would penalise me in terms of my benefits when booking under Booking.com next time. I do get quite good discounts when I book under Booking.com.

A cancellation request was made for “Satsang Lodge” and a waiver of the cancellation fee was sought. But there was no response.

I then called Booking.com customer service and explained the situation. The customer service staff then tried to call “Satsang Lodge” but there was no answer. To compensate me, the Booking.com staff explained that an alternative accommodation would be found for me. And if there are additional charges based on my booking with “Satsang Lodge”, the additional chargers would be borne by Booking.com. This sounds reasonable, so, I accepted it.

(The alternative accommodation was to be found after half an hour, with an email sent to me. At the time of writing this post, more than 4 hours has passed.)

Since, I still needed to stay near the railway station, I headed to “Satsang Lodge” to discuss about the waiver of cancellation fees directly.

Upon reaching “Satsang Lodge”, the person who messaged me assured me that the cancellation fee would be waived. While in the meantime, he was also saying that because there is no credit card details or payment, no monies would be lost through this booking, even if nothing was done. So, I suspect that he might not bother to do anything in the end. No worries for me since I had also explained to Booking.com directly.

After this, I went to look for nearby hotels to stay the night.

Due to the fact that not all hotels can accommodate foreigners, some of the locals directed me to “Goldy Guest House”. When I asked the local, how much is a room at Goldy Guest House, I was told it was 500Rupees. So, I agreed to follow this local to the guest house and check it out.

I suspect that the local was seeking to get a commission or referral for bringing me to their guest house.

At Goldy Guest house, I was shown to a room by the staff, but was told it was 800Rupees for the room.

I explained that I was told it was only 500 Rupees, so, to be fair, I would only accept the room for 600Rupees. The staff offered 750 Rupees instead. After pushing for 600Rupees, the staff reluctantly called the manager instead to discuss with me.

The manager also offered the room for 800 Rupees. But lowered to 750 Rupees, stating that that is the going rate for that room.

I offered to get the room for 700Rupees, citing that I might look for rooms under Booking.com instead.

The manager then told me that on Booking.com, their rate would still be 750Rupees.

Instead, I saw their room rate was at 675Rupees for the room. So, I booked it on the spot and settled everything with the manager. I am now staying the night at Goldy Guest House.

Why must things be more exciting in India?