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Published: February 22nd 2014
Well it's here... My long awaited trip of a lifetime off to the land of the unexpected, the one country said to test even the most experienced traveller... India! It's a country I've wanted to travel to for a long time yet the timing has never been right... I knew to go, I needed more an a fleeting moment there, so 12 months ago I took a pay cut at work to purchase extra leave and booked 7 weeks in India... As most of you know, I'd planned to do it with a friend which fell through so after a brief panic of "I can't do this", I picked myself up and got on with the plans.. I've met some other travellers online and have plans to meet up so I won't be solo too long!
I started off my journey with a 6 hr uneventful bus ride to Melbourne, and made my way to the hostel I'd booked online... In a brain fart moment I didn't check trip advisor reviews and that was my downfall... Upon entering the seedy downstairs of All Nations Backpackers, I was greeted by drunk males, the stench of cigarettes and
noise... I was hastily checked in Then directed up the stairs to my 4 bed female only dorm.... Upon entering the room I saw the light was off and there was a glimmer of hope that I had the room to myself... That was soon shattered upon the flick of the switch to the messiest dirtiest room I'd ever seen! I was shattered... 2 bunk beds were the complete contents of the room along with the "shit" of two backpackers who looked like they'd lived there forever! WTF! Where is the pride?! I hopped up onto the top bunk, put a towel over the pillow and tried to get some sleep...
At 11.40pm the first of my "roomies" appeared... A lovely European lass dragging - suitcase... Lights on, banging and clanging and then she settled in next to me to spend the next hour on the phone speaking in a foreign language... How rude, if you are going to keep me awake at least speak English so I can listen I'm... Lol I finally drifted to sleep only to be rudely awoken when roomie 2 stumbled in the door at 1.30am... Same routine... Lights on, banging and
clanging, then an hour conversation in a foreign language.... And yep, you guess it, roomie 3 was kind enough to do the exact same routine at 3.30am! Rrght down to the foreign conversation! At 5.30am my alarm went off and I was quick to turn it off, stumble around quietly in the dark using my mobile for light and taking all my bags to the bathroom to get ready.... I went back I'm the room at 6.30 and quickly flicked on the switch to check I'd got everything... The roomies stirred and as I left, I secretly wished that I had left the light on! I'm way too nice! Lol
I headed to the airport on the skybus vowing to never stay in another hostel again... or at least that disgusting hovel! Once at the airport I checked in, passed through customs and decided to have some breakfast.. I ordered a glass of Chardonnay to wash it down, after that night, I needed it and didn't care that it was only 8am! After my wine and breakfast I headed to the plane and boarded a short time later... I ended up seated next to a lovely guy
called Antony. He was Indian and an Australian citizen having lived in Australia for the past 10 years... He was on his way to Kochi for his cousins wedding and so we spent most of the flight chatting.. If all the Indian men I encounter are as lovely ad him, I have nothing to worry about.
With a 6 hour stopover in KL, I headed to Starbucks for free wifi and a coffee... It was sweltering in there and after my coffee I downed an iced lemon tea and a water.. I was busting to go to the toilet but couldn't leave my bags unattended and also didn't want to lose my spot... I eventually found someone to watch my stuff.. And then the second time I needed a toilet break I asked a Malaysian man and his son for help.. He was lovely and introduced himself when I got back. He was a businessman who was the Manager of a large international company who lived in Penang. We got chatting about the amazing food in Penang and he ended up giving me his business card and said if I was ever in Penang he would take
me and show me where the best food was! Bring a complete foodie tragic, that's enough to put Penang on the travel list for the next trip!
After killing 3.5 hours in Starbucks I was starting to get hungry so I went to check in. It started to feel very real upon standing in the queue and being the only Westerner checking in for India... I was surrounded by beautiful Sari's and lots of Indian men... I found myself staring at everyone, then realized that probably wasn't a great idea considering that having eye contact with men in india can be seen as a "come on" and should be avoided... Once checked in, I headed to Old Town Coffee Shop for a Curry Mee and iced lemon tea... My curry Mee was luke warm at best and I may be paying for that later but I was too tired and hungry to care.... I felt quite sick after and retreated to the departure lounge to people watch.
I boarded my flight and was happy to see a couple of other westerners on the plane.. I was the only person seated in the
whole two rows of emergency seating and I was amused that I was "it" should we crash! Lol it was an uneventful flight and after a roast chicken dimmer I stretched out on the 3 seats and slept the flight away...
Upon arrival into Kolkata, you couldn't see much from the sky.... It appears to be a very "dark" city... And this was confirmed on the way to the guesthouse in the taxi.. Aft passport control I was amused by the scary/grumpy Indian man who kept yelling at people in Indian telling them to move to emptier queues... I'm guessing he wanted to go home too! I collected my bags, declared my protein powder (no problem) and headed to find money and a taxi ... At the exchange booth I was ripped off about 40 rupee which is just under $1 so I couldn't be assed questioning him... I then found the pre paid taxi stand and got a ticket.. 310rp to my guesthouse.. When I got outside I was amused to see the cute little yellow taxis all lined up... The trip to my guesthouse bought a whole bag of emotions... At first it
reminded me of Cambodia but it was dark and dingy and felt unsafe... There were lots of dogs prowling the street eating garbage on the side of the road, fighting and marking their territory... There was construction and filth everywhere and lots of men hanging around the streets. I started to feel unsafe even on the cab and was relieved to see my guesthouse... I had to eventually phone them so the taxi could find his way answer were circling the streets lost. When we got to the guesthouse he was insisting on a tip but I just said "thank you" turned my back and walked away... I felt bad but at the same time he just got paid... Why should I tip him?
I had to wake the staff at the guesthouse and was amused to be guided into a really old elevator to head upstairs, bit nerve wracking! I was given a more expensive room than what I had originally book but I couldnt be bothered arguing over $8 so took it! Within a minute of being in the room I had officially killed my first cockroach for the trip... I'm not going to freak out about it.... The room is clean and this is India!!! Lol
After a good sleep I woke up and went to have a shower, I let it run for awhile and find the water stone cold... In a moment of genius I decided to turn the cold water on and hot waterdoff only to discover I got it right.... The cold water tap was the hot water tap... Of course! After getting ready I went and met up with Tayla... We arranged to share a room the next few nights then headed off to find some breakfast... My breakfast is a Chai Tea, Vegetable momos and a nutella banana pancake!
Kolkata is so far like any other Asian city with a lot more dog poo on the sidewalk... But I'm here and I'm ok! Stay tuned for my next blog on Kolkata in the next few days! I'm here.... Let this adventure begin 😊 xx
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Donna and Neil
Donna and Neil
Ooooh India!
Have a fab time, Reet. We love India and are looking forward to your blogs...enjoy the food!