I.whizz.mum.off.on.a.tour.with.a.guide.on.the.first.day........bit.of.sensory.overload!

We.wander.round.different.quarters.and.back.streets.taking.in.all.the.many.sights.and.sounds.on.offer.......Mum.is.overwhelmed.I.think!

A.bit.of.shopping.and.food(think.air.con,shopping.mall!).in.the.evening.brings.her.back.to.normality!

I.have.a.personal.adventure.on.Tuesday.having.to.go.into.town.on.my.own.to.sort.out.the.train.tickets.for.next.week.

First.of.all,whenever.someone.says."yes.this.is.college.street"or."its.that.way".the.likelyhood.is.that.its.the.complete.opposite!Trying.to.get.anywhere.in.Calcutta,as.we.spend.the.week.finding.out,is.hard.work!

After.getting.sent.to.various.different.counters.in.2.different.buildings.I.finally.manage.to.leave.with.tickets.in.hand.

And.all.of.this.in.the.pouring.rain!

We.visit.the.Indian.Museum(which.hasnt.been.dusted.since.time.began....),Flury's.tea.shop(which.has.the.most.confusing.rota.of.menu's.available.at.different.times)and.Mother.Theresa's.Mission.House.(one.of.the.interesting.walks...."yes,just.around.the.corner".only.to.find.out.that.it.was.closed.for.the.public!).

A.bit.of.beauty.therapy.respite.on.Saturday.before.we.head.out.for.the.night.

Take.mum.to.Shisha.so.she.can.try.out.the.hookah(she.wouldnt.believe.us.that.it.wasnt.drugs!)and.then.on.to.a.club.called.Dublin.where.we.partied.the.night.away......bhangra.stylee!

Sunday.was.a.much.more.manageable.sightseeing.day.to.Victoria.Memorial.

Think.Taj.Mahal.on.a.MUCH.smaller.scale!

The.evening.was.spent.recovering.from.my.first(and.last!)experience.of.munching.on.a.chillie.by.mistake!

A.few.of.the.team.headed.out.to.the.country.to.spend.the.day.at.a.family.friend's.ancestral.house.

So.after.the(very)squashed.2.hour.journey.we.arrive.......

What.they.had.failed.to.mention.was.that.the.house.was.in.a.somewhat.state.of.disrepair!

I.think.we.were.expecting.a.nice.stately.pile.to.relax.in.for.the.day.not.cobwebs.and.crumbling.walls!

After.an.hour.or.so.we.had.got.used.to.the.place.and.the.idea.that.this.was.our.'home'.for.the.day.and.we.started.enjoying.it.more.

We.had.our.food.prepared.and.cooked.by.some.local.villagers.in.the.outside.kitchen,drank.fresh.coconut.water.and.took.loads.of.photos.of.the.kids.....who.are.such.posers!

Despite.the.shock.to.begin.with.it.turned.out.to.be.an.interesting.day.

On.Sunday.I.finally.buy.a.salwar.kameez.that.I.like(think.MC.Hammer.pants.and.you're.there!)and.my.mum.arrives!

Due.to.National.Day.and.other.celebrations.over.the.weekend.the.airport.is.closed.for.security!This.meant.having.to.send.mum.back.into.the.building.to.try.and.arrange.the.taxi!

And.of.course.we.were.hassled.by.the.other.taxi.touts.which.made.for.a.good.first,REAL.experience.of.India!

The.drive.home.was.somewhat.hairy.as.everywhere.we.looked.we.saw.nothing.but.hundreds.and.hundreds.of.muslims.wandering.the.streets.and.letting.of.firecrackers.

We.had.to.change.direction.a.few.times.and.it.felt.like.we'd.never.get.home!

Although.I.was.used.to.being.constantly.stared.at.here.....3.white.girls.in.a.taxi.at.night.was.not.where.I.wanted.to.be!

So.lots.has.happened.since.my.last(and.only!)blog.so.here.goes...its.a.long.one!

The.past.two.weeks.have.generally.revolved.around.work,shopping.and.eating!

I.made.good.progress.with.work.in.the.first.week.despite.the.extremely.uncomfortable.chairs....a.bit.like.sitting.in.an.executioners.chair.i.imagine!

There.was.a.loooong.power.cut.as.I.was.reading.in.bed....scary!

And.the.following.night.a.giant.cockroach(and.I.mean.THE.DADDY!)decided.to.wander.across.my.bathroom.floor.whilst.I.was.in.the.middle.of.peeing!

We.had.a.well.deserved.massage.at.the.end.of.the.week.and.found.a.Jain.restaurant.that.will.keep.us.in.vegetarian.food.till.we.are.about.50!!

Jainism.for.those.that.dont.know(like.me.before.reading.my.'bible'!)is.a.religion.where.they.are.extremely.strict.vegetarians.and.sweep.the.path.in.front.as.they.walk.so.as.not.to.kill.any.living.creature...Of.course.there.is.more.to.the.religion.than.that.but.there.you.go!

Our.first.weekend.was.basically.one.big.photography.shoot!

Saturday.Alex.and.I.took.ourselves.up.town.and.just.wandered.down.a.road.dipping.up.side.alleys.

Well,as.soon.as.the.camera.comes.out.they.went.mad.for.it!Naomi.Campbell.watch.out!The.children.loved.posing.and.smiled.lots.of.cheesy.smiles.and.then.went.and.grabbed.their.brothers.and.sisters.and.cousins.and.neighbours.....you.get.my.drift!And.they.loved.seeing.the.results....ah,the.joys.of.digital.cameras!

As.we.walked.away.from.them.they.just.followed!!Its.like.being.a.celebrity.or.the.Pied.Piper.of.Hamlin!!

In.the.evening.we.were.invited.round.one.of.the.team's.house.for.some.traditional.Indian.cooking....yum!And.then.on.to.a.very.untraditional.(Western)lounge.bar!

It.was.quite.a.contrast.from.the.usual.India.you.see.on.the.streets.with.conservative.dress.code.as.everyone.in.the.club.were.in.western.clothes....some.quite.revealing!What.you.can.get.away.with.behind.closed.doors.............!

Oh.and.I.forgot.to.mention.it.was.a.hookah.bar(not.that.sort.you.dirty.lot!)and.so.we.smoked.some.jasmine.hookah!

On.the.Sunday.we.were.lucky.enough.to.get.taken.round.a.market.and.the.back.alleys.by.a.top.Indian.photojournalist.as.his.son.works.for.Alex!Its.all.about.WHO.you.know!

Of.course.it.was.all.the.hussle.and.bussle.you'd.expect.in.India.and.more.

We.were.told.it.was.a.fish.and.flower.market.and.thought."What.an.odd.mixture.of.things.to.sell.on.a.market"!!!Until.we.got.there.and.the.fish.were.goldfish!

Walking.around.the.alleys.we.turned.into.celebrities.once.again!!!

A.nice.traditional.meal.of.beans.on.toast.to.round.off.the.evening!

Unfortunately.the.earlier.aforementioned.beast.either.had.an.ugly.brother.or.had.made.its.way.to.the.kitchen.to.leer.at.me.as.i.rinsed.my.cup.up.nearly.causing.me.to.drop.it.

But.I.have.a.pet.gecko(who.I.named.Gita)in.my.room.so.I.can.rest.easy.knowing.she.is.watching.over.me.and.eating.the.mozzies!

The.second.week.seemed.to.go.well.work.wise...I.had.done.3.weeks.work.in.two.and.could.now.relax.and.spend.my.time.with.mum.when.she.arrives.

A.huge.(and.I.mean.HUGE!)thunderstorm.during.one.night.rendered.me.a.quivering.blob.of.jelly.and.I.had.to.go.jump.in.bed.with.my.cousin......what.a.wuss!

Friday 1st August- After the obligatory 'running around' getting things done, Mum and I set off for London on the train to see Kylie, and for me to catch my flight.  Well, when I say 'set off' the train chugged one stop and sat there for 15 mins!  We eventually made it to Luton Airport Parkway where we were told we had to change trains.  Of course, by the time we'd lugged our stuff over the bridge the train was pulling away.  Great.  So putting us an hour behind meant no time to eat properly before the gig (shoving a samon and cucumber sarnie down our throats whilst  queueing to get in does not count!).  Needless to say Kylie was bloody camptastic and finished with 'I should be so lucky'!  What more could we ask for!

Saturday 2nd August- After getting 2 hours sleep (change 'sleep' for 'worried dozing') I taxi it to Heathrow for 4am. Yes, you read it right.  An easy hour flight to Frankfurt and then 10 hours sitting between a loud annoying Spaniard who insisted on leaning on me to 'talk' to her friends in front, and a rather smelly Indian who had a lack of control over his elbow.  Joy.  Thank goodness for my lack of previous sleep meaning I slept quite a bit!  Leaving the plane felt like walking into a sauna.....with clothes on!  Luckily my cousin, Lugs, was there to pull me through the horde of guys badgering us with ''taxi....yeees?''!  I had encountered hounding like this in Bali so quite happily answered ''no thank you'' 50 million times!  You have to adopt a hard skin for this country I've been told.....Mum take note!  The taxi ride was amusing, notably for having to drive around a herd of cows who had decided to settle in the road for the evening!

Sunday 3rd August- After a brief rising in the night to switch the air con OFF (no, I hadn't climatised that quickly!) I managed to sleep until 11am!  A quick shower before walking into town to grab a curry for brekkie!  Ok, so it was midday but surely the first thing you eat can be counted as breakfast right??!  Next on the agenda was a full body massage- yum yum!  Oh hang on, I forgot about nearly getting mown down (several times) by trams, cars, bikes, rickshaws....you name it, trying to cross the road, and our rickshaw ride home, which involved jumping into one with a couple in already!  Yes, squashed!  An interesting visit to the supermarket involved us putting lots of things into the trolley, realising most of it was out of date and returning it to the shelves, then finding out the date was the manufactured date and having to go collect it all again!  Supermarket Sweep anyone!!!?  Ordering curry for delivery was the next laugh-out-loud (yes people, thats what lol means) installment with the guy asking us if we wanted 'home delhi belly'. No ta love, got any rice though?  Thankfully it was delish and after some training (after all, I'm here to work!) and a bit of work I have an early one ready for the loooong, booooring day ahead!

Monday 4th August- After about 2 hours break from my slumber I get up at 7am, have a (cold) shower and start work.  I soon realise what a long and arduous task this is!  Repetitive and boring (sorry cuz!) - and it was only 9am! How would I cope for the next 7 hours, let alone 3 weeks?!!! Answers on a postcard please!

Ik zal het laatste bericht uit India kort houden.

We zijn met de trein van uit Varanasi naar Silliguri gereisd. Het was de bedoeling dat de reis 15 uur zou duren. Maar in India zijn ze niet zo snel. In totaal hebben we er 29 uur over gedaan. na een dag rust zijn we naar Madarihat vertrokken waar we een jeep safari in een oud Suzuki busje hebben gedaan. Wat wel meer dan de moeite waart was. we hebben een paar water Buffalo's gezien en 1 wilde olifant en ook nog wat kleine dieren zo als wilde kippen, apen, herten enz. de volgende ochtend hebben we een tocht door de jungle gemaakt boven op een olifant. We zaten met 4 mensen op een olifant en we waren met 2 olifanten. Onder weg hebben we wat wilde dieren gezien waar onder 1 Aziatische neushoorn. De hele tocht was zeer de moeite waart.

De rest van de dag hebben we in de bus/jeep (een echte dit keer) gezeten op weg naar Nepal.  Na een vreselijke bus rit door de bergen zijn we nu dan in Kathmandu (Nepal). Onder weg bij een weg restaurant heb ik wat ik dacht hele lekkere koekjes gekocht. Maar dat viel even tegen het was samen geperste melk ik een vorm van een koekje. De smaak viel bij de eerste nog wel mee maar na 2 niet meer.

This is a really great value place to stay in central Calcutta. Room a bit run down and bed not the most comfortable. Bathroom pretty grim but all was pretty clean. Only 350 INR (about 6 euro) for single room with attached bathroom. Very quiet. I highly recommend it.

Calcutta (3 nights)

My last day in India.  It's sad and not sad all at the same time.  I liked and disliked this country, but in all honesty, I never felt drawn into this place the way I was with many of the other countries I've visited in Asia such as China, Thailand, or Cambodia.

It's time to leave, and with the heat and the monsoon on its way, there's no reason to stay even if I wanted to. 

WHAT I'LL MISS:

- watching the crowds of people on the street navigating through the cars, autorickshaws, cycle rickshaws, motorbikes, bicycles, cows and herd of goats

- masala chai available just about everywhere you turn

- yummy dosas from the south

- fresh butter nan

- the beautiful saris that turn every place into a mash-up of vibrant colours

- the hospitalty of locals treating me like family

- Holi festival

- Mama Nisha's cooking

- super cheap shopping for jewellery and scarves

- tea in Darjeeling

- the tranquility of the Andaman islands

- camel trekking in Jaisalmer

- the unpredictablility of every day

- Varanasi

WHAT I WON'T MISS:

- trying to walk through the crowds of people on the street navigating through the cars, autorickshaws, cycle rickshaws, motorbikes, bicycles, cows and herd of goats

- the constant smell of urine, garbage and cow dung

- the purse snatching groper turned stalker of Delhi

- any incident involving being groped

- being chased around by locals wanting a photo of me after refusing their request

- garbage everywhere

- the lack of toilet paper

- long bus rides sitting on broken seats driving on bumpy, windy roads

- the sounds of car horns blarring followed by more car horns blarring answered by more honking of car horns

- Chennai

- did I mention the garbage?

We landed in Calcutta and had to gather our bags and pass through customs. It took forever for the bags to come out (we should have carried them on like we have been doing all along!), then we went the wrong way, then there were huge lines, then we didn’t have the proper security tag and had to go back… We were a little panicky that we would be spending the night in Calcutta!

But we finally made it through to our gate only to find the plane was late coming in! We had time to spare. Figures.

Oct. 29 - Nov. 02, 07

Could I say this is my second time in India? :) Maybe not. We left here four weeks ago, even our first plan was to stay here for 4 weeks. Why did we change the plan? ...  How did India treat us last time?

I was thinking about the answer. We're panic at first but we're more relax now. Why?

I remember the first time we stepped in Calcutta, India. It was our first city of our first trip together. On that day, Ale and I don't know each other more than someone who chatted and planned about this trip to go together for two months. We're only travelled together just only on the computer before September 29, 2007. Then we stepped to the country we never been and we chose the cities, Calcutta and Varanasi, where people said "please keep them for the last".  Thought we're wrong, so we moved to Nepal to take a break. But after came back, everything in India was the same. People were the same, the cars were still horn, crowded street, many beggars, same food, same smiled, a lot of taxi were waiting for us at the airport but why we felt different?  

We became a person who used to hear the horn, we can smile when the taxi asked more money because of their cheating meters, we used to walked among crowded places without losting concentration, we're ok to see a lot of people came to us quickly and said "picture picture" or "money money" ...... and we smiled ***

Maybe India didn't make us panic but we're panic by ourselves. Maybe Nepal didn't help us be more calm but we understood our lifestyles more. To travel with someone you've never known is not easy even you are an easy-going person. We complained India but I think the reason was me and my companion who didn't have a chance to learn how to travel together before we started. Everything we saw, it's fresh. Every moment we were, it's in real time. Can't edit like a movie, can't press backward or forward button like a cd player. So all we could do was just let it be.

But lucky we passed.

****

This trip was the first longest trip (45 days) that i've made since I graduated. (it took about 15 years to make it? wow!)  Last year I quit the job to travel and great that i've had a good start. India has a good part (as I mention in my India blog) and there has more parts that i've never been. This trip was just my first trip, and India is big so just a few cities can't explain how india is, I have to see more :)

Thank you for everyone I've met, thank you for every places in India and Nepal. And many thanks to my companion, Ale (www.travbuddy.com/aleksflower). 

['kolkat̪a], formerly Calcutta (help·info), is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in eastern India on the east bank of the River Hooghly. The city has a population of almost 4.5 million, with an extended metropolitan population of over fourteen million, making it the third-largest urban agglomeration and the fourth-largest city in India.

Kolkata served as the capital of India during the British Raj until 1911. Once the centre of modern education, science, culture and politics in India, Kolkata witnessed economic stagnation in the years following India's independence in 1947. However, since the year 2000, economic rejuvenation has led to a spurt in the city's growth. Like the other metropolitan cities of India, Kolkata continues to struggle with urbanisation problems like poverty, pollution and traffic congestion.

Kolkata is noted for its revolutionary history, ranging from the Indian struggle for independence to the leftist and trade union movements.

I'd slept like a baby. Got up, fought my way through the three layers of chintzy curtains that blocked the route from my open door (remember that thing that Eric Morecambe used to do?) into the corridor. At the breakfast room (Hello again Felicity), the waiter ushered me to a table where I was apparently to join three middle aged Australian buddhist ladies, who were on their way to a place of pilgrimage, to haul themselves up and down a hill four times a day to pray. They were in good spirits, and very sweet.

I wimped out of exploring under my own steam, having witnessed Calcutta in full flow last night and walked for half an hour this morning. Beggars seem to like me a lot. It was very, very hard to ignore the lady carrying a baby who walked alongside me for 200 yards, saying "sister.... please" - even though I knew from several sources that the Sudder street beggars are controlled by a mafia gang. Further on, a man appeared to be ineffectually trying to rouse a dead dog by wiggling one of its front legs. There appeared to be rivulets of blood everywhere - but it was people by the water pumps washing off the red dye from their bodies and clothes. It was Holi yesterday. Consequently just about everyone I saw had  oddly rosy or purple skin and hair today

So the receptionist organised me a taxi (Rs80 - or one pound an hour) and I set off with a 'to see' list. Much good it did me. My driver had his own ideas of what I should see. Including, for some reason, the world's biggest banyan tree. Which maybe should have impressed me a lot more than it did. The jain temple he took me to was impressive though. All the more so because there was a wedding going on.

I did virtually force him to take me to the Park Street cemetery though. And it was fascinating. A wonderful tropical garden full of the graves and mausoleums of the many Brits of the Raj years who died here. The names, histories and words on the headstones were very moving and evocative. Far too many were very young.  Far, far too many were babies and tiny children - sometimes whole families of them.

Next was St John's church, where my guides (for Rs50) were three young brothers, 8,9 and 10 years old who fought verbal battles to be the first to reel off names, dates and histories of the famous people involved with the place. "Do you know who Warren Hastings was?" they quizzed. Thank goodness I did. They were quite astonishing kids.

We drove back to the hotel, passing the 'Casual Vagrants Home' and the 'Mind Healer' among other eccentricities. Then I had lunch, a rest and then a long walk involving more beggars and pestering stall holders and shop keepers. I began to feel a lot more acclimatised.

...smelly ones. It's a strange place - smart, glitzy, shimmering with all things gold. Yet everywhere there are people lying on the floor, sleeping on little beds of newspaper. All with their shoes off. I tried to have a rest in the quiet lounge. There was one recliner chair without a sleeping person on. But there was no chance I could use it. The pong from the bloke next door's socks, was overpowering.

There was plenty of time to get the smell thoroughly into my nostrils, what with a two hour delay and three changes of gate. As soon as we got to one, panic would grip the staff and they'd pack us off to another. Never mind. They fed us tuna sandwiches and samosas to keep us on side. It didn't work for some.

Kolkata international airport ...hmmm...if I stopped to imagine my little commuter town having an airport - not now but in the 1950s, I would imagine it to look like this. Not what I imagined at all for one of India's most populous cities. But it was fine. Got some money... headed confidently for the pre-pay taxi line, totally innocent of what awaited me. The journey from the airport to Sudder street took years off my life. Nearly ended it there and then. The taxi driver clearly thought that he was playing a computer game where the aim is to wreak as much death and destruction as possible. Pedestrians, cyclists, trucks and other taxis...I swear he actually deliberately steered towards them in a bid to get more points. It's not as if I'm unused to Asian traffic and driving styles, but this was something else.

The hotel was old raj era. I doubt anything's been touched since it's heyday in the 30s. I almost took a photograph of the wiring in my room. And the lovely (once) victorian bath stands on  bricks. It isn't the cleanest place, nor the safest possibly - but it would be hard to beat for quirkiness. The grande dame (Mrs Violet Smith) is obviously very proud of the guests she's had. The photograph gallery was somewhat dominated by Felicity Kendal, who beams down at you while you eat your breakfast.

Arriving at Kolkata station was an experience. It was 6am - and the light as we travelled slowly into Kolkata was beautiful- and atmospheric. But as I got off the train - the usual mayhem. I averted my eyes from the people having a poo on the tracks, then tried to fend off the many porters who swarmed at me as I tried to walk along the platform. C'mon - my backpack was on my back - what did they expect from me?
Then, as I approached the taxi stand (the number of yellow cars parked there was tremendous - a sea of yellow) another swarm of drivers crowded around me. I really don't understand why they expected me to take advantage of their inflated fares when the pre pay stand was less that 50yds away. Kept on walking, eyes straight ahead... "no - pre pay...no - pre pay"

Dumped my stuff at The Fairlawn, and then set off for a walk. I'd managed to completely miss the Victoria Memorial last time, despite it being walkable from the hotel. Once I'd run the gauntlet of the Sudder Street beggars and taxi drivers, it was a lovely walk across the maidan to the memorial. Even at 8:30 in the morning there wer several informal cricket games going on...and elsewhere herds of goats.

The memorial was deserted, but for me and two saffron robed monks taking pictures of each other in front of Victoria's statue. On the basis that a monk was probably less likely to run off with my camera than most, I asked one of them to take a picture of me - since the total number of photos with me in over the last fortnight, stood at two. Smilingly, he did.

It was desperately hot by ten, and I really missed having a room to retreat to. The terrace of The Fairlawn was all  very well, but it a couple of fans didn't do much. So apart from a few strolls to take photos of street scenes, I didn't do an awful lot with the rest of the day.

 I spent a while finding  a taxi driver willing to take me to the airport for a sensible amount, only to find when we got there that he demanded twice the agreed amount. Par for the course with Kolkata taxi drivers, unfortunately. The fact that it's not a huge amount of money is immaterial really. It's just frustrating and annoying that they all seem prepared to lie and deceive - having assured you of their honesty at the outset. it wasn't an issue in either Darjeeling or Sikkim, thank goodness - but Kolkata's another story.

After a quick trip up to Pelling to view the Himalayas and visit a peaceful monastery, I went back down to Darjeeling for a few more nights.  Something about that place made it hard to leave.  Maybe it was the fact they had toast (Pelling had no bread, and due to bird flu, no chicken/eggs).  Or maybe it was the Himalayas that you knew were there (I actually saw a brief glimpse of them one icy morning from Tiger Hill).  Or maybe, just maybe it was all the exercise I was getting going up and down those hills.  The last day I could actually walk up the hill to my hotel without losing my breath!  But after arriving in Calcutta, it is clear what I really miss most: the peace and quiet!  Oh, how I long for it.  And the weather.  I grew accustomed to the 50 degrees and now it is 90 and humid.  I am beginning to melt.  

Yes, I’m back in the thick of things here in Calcutta after a long journey (our train was 11 hours late).  My week long break turned me sour on this place though.  I feel so anxious to leave India for some reason. I think I’ve just had enough for now.  I do love this country, but I want to be in a place where bathing and crapping in public is not the norm.  And no, I don’t want to see anyone blow their nose onto the street anymore.  Frankly a new cuisine would be nice as well. 

To change things up a bit, I thought I’d spend a few days volunteering at Mother Theresa’s Missionaries of Charity Homes, but due to my late train, I lost an entire day.  Then I found out the first day you must register and go through an orientation, which would leave me with but one day to volunteer, which just so happens is the day they don’t take volunteers.  I told myself this was for the best as I doubt spending my last day in India at a dying person’s bedside is the way to bid farewell to this country.  However, I have pangs of guilt surrounded by all those spending months here to do good work (or maybe it’s just my round two of stomach issues brought on by this fine India cuisine).  Either way, it is probably for the best.

Instead I’ve spent my time in Calcutta, well, preparing to leave really.  I did visit Mother’s Home and spent time gazing at her tomb.  Admittedly it was a nice and cool place to rest.  I bought a guidebook for my next stop and picked up a Spanish book to learn the language over the next 6 or 7 weeks (ha!).  Actually, I studied Spanish in college and hope to finally speak a language in a country I visit, so I plan to brush up a little in anticipation of hitting Colombia in May.

But first • SE Asia!  Bangkok, here I come.  New food, new language, new sights, smells, sounds…