Part 4 - Mukesh

Or as he first told us "it's like moon kiss, get it, moon and kiss - mukesh" LOL. For our duration in Varanasi we had our own local tour guide - totally unplanned and unexpected, but made our time there far better then we could have imagined and saw things we would have missed without him. After checking into our hotel we headed out to grab lunch and this young Indian boy came up to us and started to chat with Arnold. I didn't think much about it and thought that Arnold would get rid of him right away, but surprisingly he kept talking to him (Arnold hates small talk with the locals because normally they are just trying to sell you something).
For whatever reason, Arnold asked him where a good place to eat was and the kid stuck around - we invited him to eat with us, but he declined and just had a pop instead.  After lunch was finished I definitely thought he would be on his way, but he stuck around and I think at that point it became clear that he wasn't going anywhere unless we told him to leave.

We spent our whole time with him while we in Varanasi - he was a good kid and very protective of us as well (he almost got into a fight with another Indian guy because he touched Arnold's arm and asked him if he wanted drugs) LOL. He told us he was 18 and going to school, but we have our doubts. He looked young and when we asked him about school, he said it was a holiday for them?? I think that's what the local boys do there for work - they approach tourist's that have just arrived and take them around to all of the sights.
Varanasi is mostly a walking city, so it works out well, plus as mentioned above, it is a network of alley's so there is no way you could possibly find your way around without a local. When he was with us, we wouldn't get hassled like we did when it was just Arnold and I. A win win situation all around. The best though was when he would tell me what to order when we were at a restaurant - never had a bad meal once. It was the best having a local around taking us to all the good places to eat and drink chai.

He had a really funny way of talking and had a couple amazing quotes that I don't think we will ever forget. "No honey, no Money" "No Wife, No Life" - hahah so remember those quotes boys. Plus "first impression, is a lasting impression" - not original, but he used it on me while trying to sell me a scarf. And lastly, "Don't worry, it's safe for your instrument" meaning it was safe for my stomach. We are going to miss our little Mukesh haha

Love Melissa and Arnold