Three in a boat, poverty and dogs. Completion
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Thanks to the almost complete calm, we managed to cross the bay and climb onto the rocks covering it from the south. The lifeguard didn't care about us, we didn't see him this time. I wanted to scream with happiness! We felt like conquerors of the world, standing upright on a hefty rock. Magellan with Columbus! Vadik dived a little under the rock and even discovered some life. The water was clear - firstly, the stones, and secondly, the calm. Before that, I tried to dive in Agonda, but I saw absolutely nothing - muddy! Then we finally understood how oysters grow. True, these were very tiny specimens, but now at least we will know what it looks like. I just don’t know when we will need this knowledge.
When we returned, it turned out that we were hanging out in the water for about an hour. Verka has already begun to get bored. It was noon, and we decided to move back.
It was very warm, and before climbing the hillock, we had to dip three more times. It was just unbearably warm in the savannah! But we still brushed aside the tuk-tuker that stuck to us. Or rather, I waved it off, while Verka made a feeble attempt to object. I nipped it in the bud. We have already used up a supply of "extra" rupees on a boat ride. And, probably, in vain! By the time we reached the village, I began to flatten and sausage again.
Going into the cafe, I twisted my nose - the paint still smelled. We wanted to leave and look for another place, but the waiter offered us to sit right above the river in the likeness of a dostarkhan. There seemed to be no stink, and a light breeze was blowing. My heart was pounding, my whole body was tingling with needles, and I was afraid to drive off at any moment. Having washed under the tap with conditionally cold water, I felt a little lighter. Yes, what's wrong with me? Those two at least henna!
I did not feel like eating at all, although, apart from seeds, I still did not eat anything today. And it's already two hours. I ordered masala tea (with milk and spices) and tomato soup.
I said that with the saved two hundred rupees, I'd rather buy myself some kind of rag. The waiter, already accustomed to us, asked if we were a family? We laughed and said yes! We are a Swedish family!
It's time for shopping. I did not plan to buy anything, except for coconut oil and Himalayan dietary supplements, supposedly very effective. But, when I saw what bright hefty sheets they had, I decided that they were absolutely necessary for me to hide in the summer in the country. I hate to shop, but I suddenly liked the process of trading! True, before leaving, I studied this topic thoroughly and was a little savvy. Everything looked exactly as the experts in this case wrote. With theatrical eye rolls on both sides, and exclamations of "Yu killin mi! " True, I never managed to bring down the price three times. I bought two sheets of about 2x2 - one with Buddha, one with Shiva for 550 rupees each. Verka bought a pair of pareos for 300 rupees. In another shop, I bought funny self-made harem pants for 300. The nasty salesman gave in badly, praising his product: “Look, what a design! ” Aha, damn it! Couture!
And then Verka dragged me into a seemingly expensive shop. There was an air conditioner and a salesman with a thoroughbred face that looked like either Kapoor or Bachchan. He had factory-made T-shirts and tunics for 200-300 rupees. I raked in a few pieces, but I didn’t have enough money for everything! Oh, I should have eaten less! No, shopping is evil! Opium for the people!
Having finished buying rags, we stocked up on rum. All that was left was to buy fruit. Having sent Vadik with junk to the hotel, Verka and I went to a vegetable shop. We stint and go to ourselves, we don’t touch anyone. Ahead is a herd of cows. Seeing our packages, everyone, as if on cue, turned their faces and rushed towards us. I had to flee. So feed them after that with cucumbers!
The day before, our guide Alexander received a message on viber that our transfer to the airport, as we expected, would be at 00 o'clock. Started packing luggage. Vadik and I bought three plastic bottles of 0.75 rum and one small 0.18 souvenir bottle.
They didn’t take it anymore, so as not to become impudent, and it’s hard to drag. Verka bought two bottles. They wrapped her backpack and our suitcase in cling film, taken by a thrifty friend, and our bag was not completely packed, leaving this matter for later. We said goodbye to the sea and, at my insistence, went to bed at 21.00. I wanted to set the alarm for half past eleven, but Verka did not listen and set it for eleven. And if in the previous nights we slept perfectly (not counting the fact that the restless household in the face of a friend who had big problems with sleep sometimes woke me up with her rustling), today, unfortunately, none of us slept. It was stuffy despite the fan being on. Mosquitoes came from somewhere and bit Vadka. He began to snort. Then Verka went to freshen up, and we heard her squeal. When she came out, I asked her what happened? Though I guessed what it was. She said that the impudent cockroach decided to climb up her leg! Brrr! And the evening has ceased to be languid. The workers who were building something near the hotel decided to work hard until late today.
To top it off, it started to rain at half past ten! That, apparently, was the cause of my ailments! After lying around for another half an hour, they got up. Vadik continued packing things, and I went to the bathroom to put myself in relative order. What I saw in the mirror plunged me first into horror, and then into hysterical laughter. God, who is this? You can't be so beautiful in the world! Bright red semicircles flaunted under the eyes. These are white marks from the glasses in the few minutes that I lay face up on the beach, managed to soak up a little sun. Before I could do anything, the light went out! Just in time! This happened periodically before, but during the day we didn’t need light, and at night we didn’t need it either. The tablet had time to charge, and okay! Light a candle and a flashlight. Somehow wrapped the bag with foil. And the rain never stops! How do we get things to the car? We ourselves will get wet to the skin and we will wet things. However, they were still wet. Swimwear and towels never completely dried out on a rope stretched by us between two palm trees, and the rest of the things lying in the house were also soaked with moisture.
Then this problem faded into the background, and I began to think, but will he come at all? Liveniak decent! Suddenly, some kind of mudflow will come down or a landslide? Yes, you never know! Alexander, at our first and only meeting, said that it was normal for the car to be late for half an hour. Now, if he doesn't come in half an hour, you need to call him. I went out to the veranda. The yard was illuminated by the headlights of an approaching car. I thought that it was already behind us and began to yell to gather as soon as possible. But it turned out to be newly arrived guests, who walked through the yard in the rain, rattling their suitcases. At about fifteen minutes to twelve, the rain stopped and only dripped from the trees. I went to the gate and began to contemplate the extinct street. All the shops were boarded up and it was completely dark. Two men passed, talking in English. One of them said that tomorrow there would probably be a lot of mosquitoes. Wow! I already understand English!
About five minutes past one, a Toyota drove up, and the driver asked if my name was Vera? Let there be Faith. Having run into the house, they began to pull out numerous clumps. The night porter boy helped to carry the largest bag, for which I made him happy with the last ten rupees. Finally, having walked with a flashlight through the dark room, looking under the pillows and under the bed, we left our hut not without regret. The carrier pointed to his watch, like, he was almost not late. I said that he was "good fight", and we rushed along the wet serpentine road. He said something about the Lalit Hotel, and I thought that we would still be picking up someone from there. Strange, why then did he take us first? Lalit is further from the airport. But I would be interested in talking with the guests of the Indian super five. For some time we really drove south, and then I lost my bearings. We drove into some settlement, quite large, and I was surprised to recognize Margao. I checked with the driver - indeed, I guessed it. So we went the other way, not the one that came to the hotel. We met a couple of cows even in the night city! What about Lalit? The driver was either joking or I misunderstood him.
I heard a squeak in my hair. I touched them and with disgust stumbled upon something large, shivering tossing it away from me. Having got out of the car at the airport, I again felt some stirring. Running her hand through her hair, she shook out the inhabitant of our bathroom, who quickly darted under the car, to the ground. My God! How did he get there? Are they found in the car? Or did you decide to smuggle from the hotel to Ukraine? Stupid! Come on! Cockroaches are for money!
But there is no money! Vodila extended his hand to me in farewell, which I shook, saying “Bohat bhanyavat! Namaste! Maybe he wanted me to put something in there? I put my warmth, everything I had. We were attacked with wheelbarrows, mumbling something about baggage control. I waved them off and took a wheelbarrow from a pile nearby. Having built a kind of Everest on it, we stood in line with everyone else. When it was our turn, the suitcase, backpack and bag that we had intended to check in were sealed. Oops! And I still wanted to weigh everything and, if necessary, repack. Tickets were also checked here. There was some kind of hitch. The checking girl said that we are not here, here they check the luggage of the flight to Sharjah. Damn, what's the difference? Check it out!
After weighing our luggage and making sure that everything fits within the established norms, we began to wait for the check-in to begin. A girl came to us for help. She was looking for a front desk in Sharjah. According to her, she was completely alone, and did not know English at all. Her hands were decorated with henna patterns. We were delighted. In gives! I wouldn't risk it. Having taken the girl away, and noticing that our registration was about to begin, we were almost the first in line. One of the airport employees came up and handed out paper tags to everyone, which had to be attached to hand luggage. And she told us that we had to go through the luggage check in another place, those plastic ones that they attached to us were not good. I had to quit the queue and go through the check again. However, we made it. The tags were attached to everything, including the purse hanging around Verka's neck, and then they were checked several times. But we had plenty of water in our hand luggage, and no one was interested in it. The frame was passed twice, and both times Verka, for some reason, rang. She was additionally felt. Presumably, the pins rang in the teeth.
When we finally got to the plane, it turned out that our seats were not nearby. They wanted to, it was, after waiting until everyone was seated, to change places with someone, but it turned out that the plane was not loaded even by a third. This is happiness! Everyone lay down on three seats, and there were still empty rows. Sleep - I don't want to! But I couldn't. I felt cold. I took out my sweater and pulled it on. And it's wet and cold! In the dry air of the plane, he dried up, but while this happened, it was absolutely impossible to fall asleep. It began to get light. Caring flight attendants walked around the cabin and covered the portholes with curtains so that the sun did not interfere with sleep. According to Verka, who did not try to sleep, the crew was also sleeping in the back rows and then looked somewhat crumpled.
Dubai looked repulsive from the air. Stone jungle shrouded in smog. And what to do there?
Waiting to be released, I watched the Arab porter handle our luggage. He managed to lift hefty suitcases quite high and threw them on the cart with all his might. Healthy, infection!
The same dubar was at the airport! And why do these Arabs love the cold so much? By the way, on the way out of the house I was not so cold. After all, I was going in the summer and was already mentally preparing. And if then I was in a hurry to undress, now I have done the exact opposite and pulled a puff over the sweater. The expensive dutik did not interest me, and I opened the tablet. It turned out that he was still in airplane mode, which I set ten days ago. Semyon Semyonitch! That's why the map was so hard to open!
Vadik, who returned from the toilet, told me about the achievement of local toilet building - a bottle of deodorant is installed above the roll of toilet paper, with which you can sprinkle a piece of paper before wiping yourself! Oh how! I forgot to mention how much I liked the Zhulyansky toilet - there, on the seats, the sterile film automatically changes when the corresponding button is pressed. I have never seen anything like this, otherwise I would probably remember it.
On the next plane, we got seats in the very last row. The plane was full, so I had no hope of sleeping. I began to look out the window. Loaded luggage. One of the bags stood with the lock ajar and things sticking out of the hole.
After loading all the other things, the loader stuffed the open bag into a plastic bag and loaded it too.
A long line to the toilet formed in the aisle. The toilet on the nose was given to the full disposal of several business class passengers, while the rest of the people rushed to the tail. It was as if they had not gone to the toilet for a week. Some were seen queuing multiple times. Our entire further flight passed under the sucking sounds of a vacuum flush. We safely packed the headphones in our luggage, just like backgammon. There was absolutely nothing to do. Got the seeds. This time there were as many as 5 hryvnias in the pack!
To keep warm, they put their palms on the monitor, it was so warm! They showed the course of the aircraft. The dotted line ran through the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. Oh really? Below us was some fantastic creepy sight.
Not just runoff from a nearby town, not just a drying lake covered in red vegetation.
Looking at the monitor, we saw that the plane's trajectory was curved and now ran through the Crimea. Oh really? Even later it turned out that we were flying around the Crimea in a wide arc. I leaned towards the porthole. "My coast! Show yourself away! Edge, a thin line... ”He didn’t show up. Only the sea was visible in rare breaks in the overcast cloud. Eh! I really want to go to Yalta!
In Zhuliany, after going through passport control, everyone crowded around the carousel. Our luggage didn't leave for a long time. When our handbag finally left, she had a view, like a wounded soldier. The film was bunched up in the middle, and was badly shabby. The handle didn't come out. I had to drag her by the whip. Before the trip, Vadik added new wheels to the suitcase, since he returned from the last trip, having lost a couple. This time the wheels were intact. But the combination lock was broken off with meat. True, the luggage was intact. Looks like it got knocked off when it fell. Having loaded the wheelbarrow, we were almost the last to leave the luggage compartment. A torn-up bag remained lonely on the tape. In front of us at passport control, an Arab was stopped, and I assumed that the bag belonged to him.
I walked in front with a bunch of luggage on a cart, Vadik and Verka walked a little behind. Seeing me, the customs officer made round eyes, but then his gaze shifted to my companions, who were walking light, and he only asked: “Are you together? ” So, we didn't have any problems.
Even at the hotel, we decided that we would take a taxi to the station. It’s close, it’s close, but it’s reluctant to load a bunch of bags into a minibus. Having found on the Internet the first available number that we were able to remember 797, we calmed down on this. And it's winter outside. Snowdrifts, damn it! I dialed 797 and listened to the muttering, hoping that I would receive a text message with all the information. Instead, the driver called and told us to get out, he would drive up in a minute. We went out, we wait, we freeze. The people from our flight are slowly dispersing. We don't have our car! Vadik said that he once called a Troika taxi, and he needed to dial three sevens. I dialed, but there was some kind of scam, not a taxi. When we, like suckers, were left alone, I decided to disturb a familiar Kiev woman and asked me to call a taxi for us. She called and said that I would receive a text message. It has come. It was written "black Ford, 44 hryvnia, 14.25". And the driver's phone. On the clock 14.35. How can he arrive at 14.25? I call the driver. He asks, what kind of clients are they? He doesn't know anything about them, but he'll be on his way soon. Okay, one of the two should drive up. Call. Did you order a taxi? Well, yes! Are you on ford? No, on Lanos. We did not order Lanos. I hang up the phone. Then, having changed my mind, I ask again, have you already arrived? Well, yes! Okay, we'll go with you. When we had already plunged, the very first car drove up, promising to arrive in a minute! We answered his call that his minute stretched for as much as twenty. They don't do that. At least he didn't say he was on his way. We would have waited for him in the building. What if we were late?
A talkative driver who was driving us, at our request, stopped at the Pot-bellied Hut. When I handed him a fifty kopeck, counting on change, he said that he needed 60! He has this amount written in SMS, and he can present it! And I have written another amount! But I did not make a fuss and gave another ten. Kiev taxi drivers! Fuck you!
Puzata hut is good for everyone. If only she were on the first floor! With difficulty, in two steps, dragging their belongings upstairs to the crowded hall, they took, as usual, borscht, mashed potatoes and lamb cutlets. How tired I am of Indian food! On the road, we ate nothing but bananas, tangerines and seeds, so we swept away everything in three seconds. Surprisingly, like two years ago, we paid 50 hryvnias for the same set! At least there is something stable in this state!
Still hungry, we bought a lot of food at Ecomarket and spent the evening very pleasantly in the compartment of the Kyiv-Mariupol train.
In conclusion, I would like to say that in addition to the voucher and visas, which cost us a little more than a thousand dollars for two, we spent one hundred dollars per person on food in India, plus 50 on a pile of junk. Well, the road-food in Ukraine. Verka, of course, well done! I did not expect from her! The norms of the TRP, one might say, passed! In spite of her extra weight, her sore legs and dropsy rubbed on them, she stubbornly stomped after us. Fighter! And there was some benefit from it, nevertheless. She slowed us down and didn’t let us get killed in the first couple of days, well, she guarded things. We taught her to do without coffee. The redness on my face disappeared on the plane, and the tan leveled off, however, as I write these lines, there is little left of it.
Now that's it!
