Noisy Nights and Quiet Temples in Bareilly

so here i am in bareilly, a city i knew almost nothing about until i landed here with my backpack and a half-charged phone. the first thing that hit me? the weather. i just checked and it's 16.68°C with 60% humidity right now, hope you like that kind of thing. it's that weird in-between where you're not sure if you need a jacket or just roll with the sweat.

i ended up staying near the cantonment area because someone at the train station said it was "quiet but central." turns out it's quiet until 6am when the army trucks start rolling. not complaining, just a fact. the streets here have this old-world chaos mixed with modern hustle-rickshaws dodging scooters, chai stalls on every corner, and the smell of something frying at all hours.

one night i followed a drunk local's advice and went to the *chunne miyan's laddoo shop near coil market. apparently it's been around since before independence. i didn't fact-check that, but the laddoos were legit. someone told me that if you don't try the badam milk there, you haven't really been to bareilly. so i did. it was sweet enough to make my dentist nervous.

another day i wandered into the Alakha Nath Temple because i heard the bells there are louder than your morning alarm. they weren't kidding. the place was peaceful in that crowded, noisy way temples often are here. i sat for a while, pretending to meditate while actually people-watching. there was a guy selling tiny plastic toys outside, and i bought a spinning top just because.

if you get bored, lucknow and nainital are just a short drive away. i didn't go, but i heard nainital's lakes are worth the trip if you're into that kind of postcard scenery.

food-wise, i kept it street-level. shri krishna bhel puri house was a winner-pani puri so spicy it made my eyes water in a good way. for dinner, tunday kababi's bareilly branch did not disappoint. the galouti kebabs melted like butter. i also tried a place called sagar ratna because someone said it had the best south indian food in town. it was fine. not life-changing, but fine.

getting around is easy if you don't mind haggling with auto drivers. i used olacabs* once and it was surprisingly smooth. otherwise, just walk. you'll see more that way anyway.

i didn't plan to stay long, but bareilly had this way of making me slow down. maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the people, maybe it was just the lack of a decent coffee shop. whatever it was, it worked.