http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , India , West Bengal en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:42:27 +0000 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:42:27 +0000 'Weihnachten im AdivasiDorf'Mein Wunsch ans Christkind war dass ich den 24.12.09 nicht in Kolkata oder wo auch immer alleine in einem Hotelzimmer verbringe. Oder Party mit Touristen wre auch nicht mglich gewesen.Aus mehrfachen historischen Grnden hatte ich ziemlich Bammel vor dem Tag.Der Wunsch hat sich erfllt und noch viel mehr. Hab gar nicht viel dafr unternommen und gepusht hab ich s http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-463007.html My motherrsquos walk down memory laneDetermined to find 11 Kyd Street my motherrsquos birth home we walked around Chowringhee amongst faded opulence. The cracked pavement and rubblestrewn roads became too much for my once sprightly mother and we availed ourselves of the rickshaw wallah who had been hovering behind us wondering why these white people were insisting on walking. My motherrs http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-462433.html Well I've had my Indian introduction. And luckily it was a slow easy one. The bus ride from Kathmandu to Kakaoibhitta at the border only took 15 hours despite the 3 hours it took us to leave the Kathmandu Valley. I was actually crossing the border painlessly as the only person in line by 8 am. An hour jeep ride brought us to Siligory and Sid's parents lovely garden house. Siligory isn't mu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-460592.html 30.DEC.09 'Shopping'Grundstzlich ist ja shoppen so gar nicht mein Ding. Weder Klamotten noch Lebensmittel noch sonst irgendwas. Schuhe auch nicht. Schaufensterbummel finde ich langweilig. In der Beziehung bin ich keine Frau. Ausnahmen Mediamarkt o.. und Trekkinglden. Das ist die Ausgansbasis.Naja nix desto Trotz muss es halt manchmal sein. Shoppen in Deutschland o.. ist Luxusshopping in je http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-460293.html We spent last weekend in Siliguri waiting for our departure time to Calcutta After a relatively better Jeep journey down from darjeeling not so squished or bumpy we arrived in the evening to the small town a place you wouldn't want to spend longer than 24hrs in and is used b most tourists as an overnight transit point. Our train wasn't until 8pm Sunday and so we spent the day in 'Science City' http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-453261.html Arriving in Kolkata at 6.30am after a reasonable nights sleep on the overnight train we had a pretty scary taxi ride to our prebooked hotel. We were to discover that the taxi drivers in Kolkata were the worst ones we had seen in the whole of India. Most of their cars were decrepit in fact the government had already ordered hundreds off the roads only a fortnight before it was only the better on http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-449130.html It was a long slow train trip from Varanasi to Siliguri the starting point for the trip up the mountain to Darjeeling from 11am to 7am the next morning We arrived feeling very tired and were immediately surrounded by touts all trying to pull us towards their jeep for the 5 hour trip to Darjeeling. I lost my cool and ended up shouting at them all to go away after 5 months in India it was onl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Darjeeling/blog-448206.html 101709 Day 3 in Kolkata India Get me out of hereOk ok ok.... I am trying to be calm and cosmic and all that jazz but honestly get me the hell out of this city.So we did it it cost us a bit of money 900 rupees 18 to book a sleeper train to the small town of Puri South of Kolkata along the coast.We spent the day in Kolkata by avoiding Kolkata... eating.... internet.... eating.... tra http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-447501.html 101609 2nd Full Day in Kolkata IndiaSo now that we have the black lung from pollution I can at least say I have managed to get used to the traffic here. Its like parting the sea but amazingly you really can cross the road and not die... they really will put on the brakes even if its only an inch away I think it has to do with their belief in Karma Another amazing adjustment is the lack of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-447497.html 101509 1st Full Day in Kolkata IndiaThe second we stepped out of our guesthouse we immediately ran into our four friends from the plane...I'm thinking fate or karma either way it worked out perfectly since Anna and I had no clue how backpacking or India in general worked. We made our way along crappy narrow roads complete with mass amounts of exhaust constantly being emitted by the mass o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-447493.html Ok I am finally doing this after being gone from Eugene since October 7th and being in India since October 14th... let be honest though did you expect anything different Me either I am in Darjeeling now but I am going to back peddle and recap a bit. I am working on a sticky key board with slow internet so bare with me.October 14th Kolkata IndiaAfter flying 13 hours from San Francisco to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-447492.html Today marks the sixth day I have been in India. If I were to gauge my comfort level I would say that I have been here much longer. To me that is the most bizarre part of everything so far this place doesn't feel as foreign to me as I thought it would I feel comfortable here. Six days and two cities really isn't a perfect gauge for the whole country but even amongst scams beggars pollution http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-446601.html A quick plane trip away brought us from the hustle and bustle heat and humidity of Delhi to the beautiful Makaibari tea plantation in the Darjeeling area. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Darjeeling/blog-445750.html CLOUDS http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Darjeeling/blog-445570.html HENRY ISLAND A MUST PLACE TO VISIT http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Sunderbans/blog-445567.html So almost all over being sick. Almost. Yesterday I went out for my prescribed by the doctor lunch of Plain rice and plain Dahl at the Lunar Hotel which has stunning views. Everywhere in Darjeeling has an amazing view. It was the first clear day so far. Beautiful. I saw some Westerners at the next table and I said hello. Their names were Rob and Hannah and they were from Bristol England. They http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Darjeeling/blog-445156.html So missed a couple weeks of Europe but thought I would skip ahead to the more interesting part and as I have time go back and write about my favorite places during the second half of Europe.Arrived two days ago in India spent a few hours in Delhi and then flew to Calcutta. Waldo and I are CSing and staying with a really nice guy who I think will let us stay with him all 8 days. It's a weird mix http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-443835.html Here goes the real attempt. I will be very annoyed if this doesn't work.Today is my first day in Darjeeling I arrived here yesterday with my two present travel buddies Sandy and Herbert. Herbert is from Germany and Sandy is from Portage La Prairie Canada but he lives in Australia. We were on the bus and in a jeep for nearly 10 hours yesterday. These buses make Greyhound look luxury. Seriously http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Darjeeling/blog-443710.html So I am testing my travel blog. Testing 12. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Darjeeling/blog-443706.html I needed an affirmation. I felt as though I were going through motions my heart and head displaced from Delhi and the subcontinent of India. I had become discouraged and despondent with this chaotic nation quick to dismiss it and even quicker to complain. The weather was not helping. A dry smoky heat that both soiled and dehydrated all who ventured into its reach. The heat had caused power outa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/West-Bengal/Kolkata/blog-442627.html