The best place on Earth - Kolkata

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The train services from Varanasi Junction train station to Howrah train station was delayed for 3 to 4 hours. I reached Varanasi Junction train station around 6PM. It's really freezing cold and I'm not really used to it! The arrival board states that the train will reach the station at 6.30PM. So I decided to kill time and get some chai and smoke a cigarette. Somehow, part of the area in the arrival hall was cordoned off specially for foreigners, and there were policemen around to guard them and watch an eye for any local citizens intruding the area.

It was already 7PM but there wasn't any sight of trains arriving. The weather was really bad; cold and foggy, so I'm guessing it makes it difficult for trains to have limited movement. I decided to just wait at the platform, drop my bag pack and read a book. Suddenly, someone approached me.

'Excuse me. Are you waiting for the train to Howrah?' Rob, from Papua New Guinea. He is the oldest backpacker I've ever known. He is 63 years old.

I was stoned for awhile. Maybe the fact that I was really tired of moving around all the time. It took me awhile to reply him.

Me: Yes. Is the train suppose to be here at 6.30PM right?
Rob: Yeah, well, I'm guessing there might be some delay. Ah well, it's India, isn't it?

We were bursting out in laughter and shared our India stories. Next thing we knew, a South Korean guy came in, introduced himself, and starts to join in the fun too. Few minutes later, we saw two ladies, approximately 5 metres away from us. They were bursting out in laughter. Extremely loud! Goodness. We found out that a drunk Indian guy was persistent on the 'Indian' looking lady who kept saying she is not Indian. The guy's mouth was stained in red; which I'm assuming would have been the paan that they chew and spit the liquid out.

Sepi & Alicia came from Canada. They were on a trip around the world (something like that), and making their way to Kolkata, before they leave India for Dhaka, Bangladesh. I'm guessing it's for school. How lucky. I wish I have that kind of opportunity whilst in school. But not anymore.

The train arrived at 930PM, which was about 3 hours later. Well, that wasn't so bad afterall, compared to a fellow traveller friend of mine, Thomas Roed, who told me he endured 29 hours of train delay. I'm guessing lady luck was on my side. We quickly hop into the train car, only to find out that we are the only passengers in the cabin. There was 6 of us, all foreigners.



1. Tobi (German)

2. Tobi's dad (German)

3. A lady-gee I forgot her name! (Greek)

4. Rob (Papua New Guinean)

5. Byung Chul-Kim (Korean)

6. Yours truly (Singaporean)



The experience was like riding a ghost train; it was really dark. For an hour, the train was moving 50m/hour! It's super slow. We were anticipating on reaching Kolkata the next morning, but I guess that wasn't the case. To make it worse, some time in the wee hours, while we were all asleep, Rob's passport and money got stolen. Someone slit open his backpack, underneath his berth (he was on the lowest berth anyway) even with the chains and padlocks on. I wanted to give him a hand, but I was too broke and feel sorry for him. Tobi and the others gave about few hundred to thousand rupees, so that he is able to make his way to Chennai and make do with a temporary passport in the Papua New Guinea consulate/embassy.



We reached Howrah Station at 5.30PM the next day. It was really a tough one because I came unprepared without any food or water and had to resort to buying the stuffs that are sold in the cabin. Thankfully I was fine. Tobi, his dad, Byung and I shared a prepaid taxi outside the station and told the driver to bring us to Sudder St. Upon reaching Sudder St, the cab was stopped by a 'police looking' guy, and was conversing to the cab driver in Bengali or Hindi. The cab driver was shouting and suddenly said something like 'Please Sir..*the rest are all in Bengali or Hindi*'



The official looked at us and spoke to us in Engilsh, said that the driver made a mistake by turning into the Sudder St lane when the 'No Entry' sign was really obvious. The official guy told us that the driver is poor, and the only way to help him is to make us chip in and pay for the fine. When asked, he said, "1000 Rupees." I mean, come on, this is like some stupid idiot who can clearly see the 'No Entry' sign clearly, under a lighted area. Tobi suggested to leave the cab because he told us that it is one of the scam tactics they frequently use on foreigners. I was surprised that the official didn't make any slightest attempt to chase us and make us pay the 'fine' (I'm assuming because we just looked straight and not turning back).



Tobi and his dad went to check into some hotel and we decided to meet again for dinner somewhere nearby. I exchanged numbers with Tobi, since we were using our Indian SIM cards. I then began looking for Hotel Maria and intended to stay in the dorm, as mentioned in the Lonely Planet. Byung got to know of my suggestion and decided to tag along. I told him that I'm very hippie when it comes to accomodation; as long as there's bed, a working shower/toilet and a place to put down my backpack, I am fully contented. He didn't seem to like the idea but it was already 7PM, dark and we felt like shit after a day of not showering and brushing our teeth. To our dismay, the receptionist in Hotel Maria quickly told us off that their dorm beds are full. We went on to the next one, which is Paragon Hotel and thankfully, there were couple of beds available.



The staff brought us to a shabby, grubby looking room. It was like a cell. There were wall peelings and the ceiling fan looked as if it is only waiting for the perfect time to land on some poor soul. It didn't really bother me that much, but from Byung's look, I can see he was a bit uneasy about it. I began to unpack my stuff and took out my toiletries, and towel and immediately brush my teeth and shower, despite having no hot water and it was about 18 degrees at night. I came out of the bathroom feeling fresh and began to settle down in my temporary nest for 3 nights, before I finally make my way down to the airport on the 11 Jan 2011 for home. While waiting for Byung to finish showering, I received a text from Tobi, to meet at some locaiton *gee, forgot the name* around 9PM. I decided to kill time by adjusting my bed and cover it with the wall hanging which I bought in Anjuna, Goa and use it as a bed linen cover.

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