Blogs from West Bengal, India, Asia - page 73

The train didn't arrive in Siliguri until about 12:30PM. Since the RG contained no map of the place, I picked a hotel randomly then got a cycle rickshaw to it. The Hotel Chancellor is in a busy part of town, looks grim from the outside, but is clean on the inside. It's bucket hot water only, which wasn't mentioned in the RG listing, but I've done it before and will no doubt do it again. On the hotel's recommendation, I went to a Chinese restaurant nearby called Tai Wah, and had the best meat dish I've had yet in India - though it was Chinese so maybe it doesn't count. After, I tried to track down a decent disposable razor with lubrastrip, but that technology seems to be restricted purely to non-disposables, so I was forced ... read more

Hello everyone! I'm writing to you from a modern mall that looks like it is straight out of America. I'm sitting in an ultra-modern internet cafe with instantaneous internet access...yay! We just ate at McDonald's...McChicken sandwhich, fries and a diet soda. That's pretty funny since I never eat that stuff at home, but it was good for a change...gives the stomach and intestines a break for a change. Oh, of course Mickey D's doesn't serve hamburgers here...can't eat the sacred cows, but there are lots of chicken options and everything else is the same...inlcuding Ronald McDonald. American capitalism at its finest! We're having Meditterean (sp?) food tonight...yum. We're in Banglore today and tomorrow. This is the technology capital of India and looks nothing like the rest of India that I've seen. So far, I've seen big ... read more

I think it's only right that before I continue I mention my journey from Kathmandu to darjeeling which was... interesting. It took nearly two days and the whole journey passed some spectacular scenery (no pics sadly) of canyons with rivers, vast open flood plains and tea plantations in the early morning mist. It's not uncommon to see the odd vehicle that has gone off the road in these places but not long after starting the journey I had already seen a bus and a lorry that had collided head on with each other and another lorry that was on its side and narrowly missed going off the edge of a bridge! Later in the evening we passed what I could swear was rows of dead bodies under sheets which I can only guess was from another ... read more

Namaste/Nomoskar! Where to start with this entry? It has been an overwhelming last few days, and I am not sure where to start. Probably best to begin from when I last left you! After a reasonable dinner (but crappy service from the hotel resteraunt staff!), I had a wonderful sleep in my hotel (my room is an inner one, not facing the street), and woke late, around 9am. I had breakfast in resteraunt, as the buffet was complimentary. It was ok, but only the orange juice was very good. I sat with two charming older ladies, one british and one mexican american. From the hotel I headed out to BBD Bagh, a famous Kokata square. I was confused, as I was expecting a large open area, and instead found the "square" to be a simple area ... read more

Namaste! Hi from Kolkata (Calcutta)! I arrived here yesterday from Hyderabad after a 37 hour train journey. The bus from Goa to Hyderabad was not as bad as the one from Jaisalmer to Hyderabad, but not as good as the one from Pune to Goa. At any rate, I didn't sleep well and I was cold the whole trip. Indians sure know how to air condition! I tried to warm up with some hot chocolate at one of my stops, but it was pretty disgusting milk, which had been boiled and then had a scoop of gritty chocolate powder dumped in... Arriving around 8am in Hyderabad, I quickly got lost (I think I got off too early) and walked around a very slummy neighbourhood for longer than I would have liked. So I grabbed a rickshaw ... read more