As predicted the driver from Jaipur to Agra pretty much wiped us out of cash. We thought we had enough to see us through the day as long as the restaurant we planned to go to took cards. We took a tuk tuk from the view point to the restaurant and were pleased to see ‘vegan friendly’ proudly emblazoned on the sign. We went in and took a seat. The menu was good and they recommended some good dishes. It was then we asked if they took cards – no cash only. 

Ah. We only had around 700 rupees (not enough for our dinner). It was ok we thought as there were cash points nearby. Mike set off in search of the nearest machine – that’s where it all started to go wrong. As soon as he’d left I thought, bad idea. I should have gone. I had this sinking feeling in my stomach that told me Mike was going to have a repeat of yesterday’s stressful incident. I was right.

He was gone a very long time, the food came, he didn’t. Even the lovely restaurant guys were worried about him and offered to go and collect him in the back of their motorbike. Even if the ‘find my friend’ feature had been working accurately (it wasn’t the spot showing where Mike was kept jumping around), I thought Mike would never get on the back of a motorbike at home let alone here!

While I waited I was joined at our table by Tom and Lilly two young Brits who were travelling around India. It turned out they’d not set out together, but had met on way and were now a group along with another young women (she wasn’t feeling well so was back at their hostel). It was great talking to them and comparing notes on our travels – Tom had also been to Chennai and we agreed ‘what a dump’. On her return to the UK Lilly was planning to convert a van and go travelling with a friend in Europe, i was so impressed and a bit jealous, I’d not been brave enough to do anything like that when I was her age. Chatting to them helped ease my anxieties about Mike being ‘lost in Agra’. I was telling them about him and where he’d gone, and how I knew he’d be in a terrible state when he (hopefully) returned.

I finally managed to WhatsApp message him, then call him. It had (as if feared) been a ‘wild goose chase’ trying to find a cashpoint that worked, and he’d been unsuccessful and was now lost in Agra’s narrow back streets. Thank goodness he managed to find his way back to a main road on his own. I had passed my phone to the restaurant guys who spoke excellent English to try and help him find his was, but even they conceded he was lost! 

When he finally arrived at the restaurant he was not a happy bunny, and still had no cash. I asked the restaurant guys how much our meal was (more than we had), I thought we’d be doing the washing up. Thanks to the kindness of Tom we didn’t need to. He gave us 500 rupees, and wouldn’t let me transfer some money to him. He just said to ‘pay it forward’ – what a sweetheart. They finished their meal and set off before Mike realised what he’d done. I said we might see them in the morning at the Taj as that’s where they planned to be to see the sunrise. Sure enough they were and I was able to repay Tom his 500 rupees – but I’ll definitely be taking a cue from Tom and will ‘pay it forward’ to someone else in need.