Pathankot Blues

Friday, February 26, 2010

After a long day in Delhi yesterday, I boarded a train last night to Pathankot. Things began well after I arrived on time at 7am, but for this reason I lowered my guard enough to be essentially cheated out of a few hundred rupees by a rickshaw driver who offered to take me to a cheap hotel, only to say halfway that there were no cheap hotels and he will take me to another hotel, a "good, very good hotel with room you like". I was allowed to look at the room, but I forgot to check the bathroom (which was covered in dirty water and excretion) before I stupidly handed over 500 rupees.

Counting my losses, I left my bag in the room and went out to have a look around the town. There is a massive military presence here (the town is on the border with Pakistan) and Airforce jets are constantly flying overhead. Half of the shops are military shops, all of them right next to each other, and all of them selling exactly the same boots, sleeping bags, and camo gear. As I was walking back to the hotel I somehow got hit in the face by something sticking out from a rickshaw, which gave me the worst bleeding nose I've ever had (and I have had bad ones, believe me). This allowed me to experience first-hand the Indian medical system. People were very willing to help, to the extent that they treated me as if I was dying and tried to bandage my head. There are not many people in Pathankot who understand pure English without Hindi words to fill the gaps, and this meant that no one could understand me as I said it was just a bleeding nose and that all I needed was some paper. They forced me to go to the doctor, the doctor wouldn't let me leave (despite the bleeding having naturally stopped) because to treat me was his duty, and I ended up being prescribed four different kinds of pills to stop my once-bleeding nose.

This all took about an hour, and after leaving the pharmacy and being asked by the people who helped me to pay a hefty tip, I realised that I was completely disorientated and had forgotten where my hotel was. I couldn't remember the name either, so I'm not at my best today. But I have a feeling I'm rambling, thoughtful contemplation is almost impossible here. Anyway, I arrive in Palampur tomorrow and I think that will be a much nicer place than this dusty border town filled with soldiers and cycle wallahs. As with anything though, things always seem better in retrospect and I think that will be especially true in cases like this, as soon I regain my sense of humour.