We left Lucknow today, but before leaving in the afternoon, we visited the British Residency and the Bara Imambara.
Our coach picked us up and we were taken through the busy streets of Lucknow to our first stop, the British Residency complex.
British Residency.
The British Residency in Lucknow was only a short drive from our hotel. Once we got off the coach and Digamber had got our tickets for us all to go in, we entered the complex. Digamber told us some of the history of the Residency. The history of the place made me think of my Aunty Molly, who had lived in India with her husband Ernie for some time and sometimes told me about India and the people. I don't think she would have enjoyed the visit here, but I loved it and found the history of the place and the time of the uprising very interesting.
We were given 40 minutes to look around, but I could easily have spent all day walking around and enjoying the peaceful and tranquil surroundings at the British Residency. I was, I thought, rudely told off by another tourist for walking on the grass at one building. That is, until I turned around and saw a "keep off the grass" sign that had been on my blind side until I turned around. I made my way back to the entrance and rejoined my tour group.
British Residency Photos.
These photos were all taken on my short look around the British Residency complex in Lucknow.
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After leaving the British Residency, we boarded our coach and were taken through Lucknow to the Bara Imambara.
Bara Imambara.
When we arrived, we were dropped off outside the Bara Imambara complex and then followed our guide inside, where we waited while he got our tickets to enter. I was very disappointed to see that the fee for tourists to enter was 10 times higher than the fee for locals. Indian tourists were included in this hike-up; it wasn't just for foreign tourists, but I felt simply giving locals a free pass would have been a better option and showing their local pass wouldn't have made tourists feel so ripped off. At the very least, they could have avoided advertising the vast difference in charges outside the ticket office.
First of all, we walked through the grounds to the Shahi Baoli Stepwell. Compared to the Abhaneri Stepwell, it was pretty small but impressive. Some of the tour group walked down the steps deeper into the stepwell, but I walked around it and into more of the surrounding building used for sleeping and storage. We left the stepwell and then walked to the Main Hall. We had to leave our footwear outside, but went inside to look around the impressive building. It was mainly used to store floats for the ceremonies now.
After leaving the main building, we walked back to the entrance and passed by the Asfi Mosque on the grounds of the complex. I sat on the steps up to the mosque, enjoying the warmth of the sun, until the rest of the group arrived and we left the complex to make our way back to the coach. We walked a short distance after leaving the Imamabara complex and underneath the Rumi Gate to where our coach was waiting, and we boarded the coach for our long drive to Varanasi.
Bara Imambara Photos.
My photos from my visit to Bara Imambara, Lucknow.
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Journey to Varanasi.
Our journey to Varanasi was a long one, and our driver changed route several times to try to avoid the hundreds of thousands of people heading to Varanasi this week for the Aarti rituals being held there. This year was a special one, which would only be repeated every 144 years, which is why it was so busy. The only place we stopped was a filthy truck stop on the road. I used the toilet, but I hate to think how bad the ladies' toilet was. I didn't buy anything from the food stalls, and most of the people on the coach just bought packets of crisps and snacks.
When we got back on the coach, the driver changed route again, but it soon became apparent we wouldn't make it to Varanasi in time to see the Aarti ceremony on the River Ganges this evening. As we got closer to Varanasi, the police closed the roads to traffic, and we were turned around. Our driver tried a different route to get us into Varanasi, but the road through the airport had height restrictions set up. The low barrier was too low for the coach to get under, and he had to abandon his attempt to get us to Varanasi. He turned the coach round and parked up on the side of the road. He then called the coach company, which sent three small minibuses to transfer us through Varanasi to our hotel. We had to wait around an hour, and it was dark by the time the minibuses managed to get to us. Everyone was getting tired as we were finally transferred to Varanasi and our hotel.
Journey to Varanasi Photos.
These photos were all taken on my journey from Lucknow to Varanasi.
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Radisson Hotel Varanasi.
The hotel for tonight was the Radisson Hotel Varanasi. I remember as we approached the hotel, it appeared to be on a building site, but it was next to it. We had to cross the building site in the minibuses but were soon at the hotel. I remember nothing more about the hotel and evening, but suspect I went straight to bed as we had a very early morning planned to take us to the River Ganges for our sunrise boat trip.