The monsoon had apparently been quite tame this year UNTIL we decided to pitch up! Varanasi was showery for the first couple of days, then literally underwater after a 48 hour deluge. The lovely area of Shiwala and beyond by this morning was waist height in dirty flood water cascading through the town and this was the morning we had to get to the airport. Luckily a group of locals came to our rescue with a rickshaw and shear manpower - they literally pushed and dragged us and our luggage through the gushing waters which got deeper and deeper with each lane we were pushed through. We must have looked a sight, the locals thought it was hilarious. I wish I could have videoed it but I was hanging on for dear life- juggling luggage, shoes and umbrella (where did that emerge from?) whilst John prevented me from slipping into the water.
Having just seen the news, it appears the rain we encountered in Varanasi was just the beginning of extreme flooding, throughout Utar Pradesh. The monsoon was in full force.
All I had was my phone to capture some of the atmosphere as we made our journey to the airport. The roads was so flooded, the taxi driver decided it was safer to drive the wrong way up a duel carriageway into the oncoming traffic. He beeped his horn continuously just to be on the safe side. It was then the sharp left turn across the traffic that was slightly more alarming. We couldn’t open the taxi windows in case the water came in. But we made it, the driver was brilliant- I hope his car has dried out.
