Blogs from Kolkata, West Bengal, India, Asia - page 5

Maintenant on dirai "Oh Kolkata!" mais le sentiment est le même. On aime bien cette ancienne capitale. C'est un mélange de grande métropole occidentale avec une très forte touche indienne. Et par endroits c'est un village indien! Il y a des grands boulevards, des statues, des splendides bâtisses coloniales, des superbes maisons en ruines. C'est assez propre et les rabatteurs sont énervants seulement dans les endroits très touristiques. Le nord de la ville est plus pauvre (nous n'avons pas encore visite le cartier universitaire et intellectuel qui se trouve aussi au nord), le centre est colonial et le sud est élégant et chic indien. Pas loin du centre c'est le "village" touristique des backpackers. C'est vraiment comme un village: petites ruelles ou la vie se déroule directement dans la rue, les femmes font la cuisine et ... read more

Phuket visit- 8th Dec to 12th Dec 2012 This year we have decided after final examination i.e month of December I and my husband along with my daughter would visit Bangkok n Phuket. 3 nights in Phuket n 2 nights in Bangkok. We left Kolkata on 8th Dec night by jet airways flight Kolkata-Bangkok-Phuket . On 9th Dec morning we reached Phuket. We have booked Sea Pearl Hotel (5 star) so we can reach hotel by hotel pick up van . Sea pearl hotel property is very good , no question of that . Now I am giving below the details about Phuket Phuket is the biggest island of Thailand, located in the Andaman Sea of Southern Thailand. The island is mostly mountainous with a mountain range in the west of the island from the north ... read more

For an adventurer such as myself, travel is everything. I have a deep love for the road in all its forms, but also one that sometimes holds some small trepidation and fear. For the life of an adventurer can be, at times, one of loneliness, an old companion that I know well. One of the costs of freedom, and one that rises and falls from day to day, but one that I pay gladly. Well, most of the time. But more on that later... Ka ka happens little buddy, ka ka happens... There is something about hanging out the side of a train that we just can't get in New Zealand anymore, with all our safety laws and bubble wrap. Its hard enough just trying to find a decent slide at a playground. Moving from place ... read more

Having cracked across India at a bit of a lick I find myself in the middle of Kolkata. As noisy and chaotic as all the other towns and cities I've passed through in India and lacking much in the way of 'Western Tourist amenaties" The scale of the city is monumental so its impact on eyes and ears is proportionally scaled up. Not really my style for R'n R so will be flying out to Thailand tomorrow. Bike boxed. Flight booked. Cannot wait for somewhere more peaceful and hopefully to be taken at a much more leisurely pace. People sleeping and washing in the streets. Litter everywhere. Shabby buildings. Appalling plumbing and wiring. How is this consistent with India being the worlds' 4th? biggest economy? I admit to sounding like a traveller more given to package ... read more

What I did in India when I wasnt volunteering - I made friends and explored the territory of Kolkata. Sept 19: As my plane neared Kolkata airport‘s runway, I felt thankful for the oppotunity to touch Indian ground. When we exited the plane I was smeared with a wave of hot, humid air. It looked like a very green land, but densely populated. Any area that wasnt touched by roads & concrete buildings was packed full of banana trees it seemed. I had to give a false address to get past immigration, and then took a taxi that charged me $20 for 45 minutes – 5x the true value of the ride, but busses were on strike. Great. I took a subway for the remainder of the ride to Rabindra Sadan Station, and it was a ... read more