A taxi driver came to the airport on time, surprisingly. I was the one who was late. I wanted to exchange money and buy a sim card at the airport as my friend recommended.
But the exchange rate in the airport was terrible. I asked a staff how much it would be if I give 10000 Japanese yen and he said 5350 INR. 1 yen is 0.58 INR, it’s pretty bad…..So, I decided to withdraw money from an ATM at the airport but it didn’t work. I tried the other one, but it didn’t work either. An Indian man was using an ATM and he said that one was working. I tried but it didn’t work. The man helped me and his magic hand made the ATM work! I got 6000 INR!
My driver didn’t wanna wait any longer (he had waited for over 45 minutes) and he called and tole me to get out. He said he will get me a sim and the airport one is “not good”. I’m guessing he meant it was expensive.
And it was true. I got sim in Rishikesh way cheaper. Also, rate of exchange money in Rishikesh was so good. 10000jpy is 5700inr in town. So, yeah, don’t buy sim at the airport. Don’t exchange money in the airport. But under only two conditions. The first one is if you have a great taxi driver who you can trust and second is if you have a sim that you can use in India when you arrive in an airport.
Lesson 1 about India
- Don’t exchange money in the airport
- Don’t buy a sim card in the airport
- Have a taxi driver who you can trust (this is difficult tho)
- Get a sim that can use in India beforehand.
I slept almost all the way to the retreat. We had lunch at a restaurant on the way. My first meal in India. I told a server I can’t eat spicy and, of course, his spicy and my spicy is not the same but it was good.
He was a super nice guy and he said he likes Japan. He drives an old Toyota car. I’m pretty happy about my decision about taking a taxi. It took 6 hours to get Rishikesh from the Delhi airport.
When I arrived at the retreat, a staff took me to a phone shop to get a sim. It was smooth and a guy at the store made the sim work immediately. It was only 700 INR. I read blogs and it was 900 INR at the airport. I think I got a good deal. I was happy about that.
I asked the retreat staff that I wanted to buy shampoo and soup. He took me to an organic shop close by. I quickly bought shampoo that a friend recommended. And a random girl at the store showed me a soap in the store. It was great to buy organic stuff and I can use my credit card there!
