Blogs from Kolkata, West Bengal, India, Asia - page 10

I wish to travel by road (in own SUV) from Kolkata to Gujrat passing though the states of Bihar, UP and upto Delhi and going to Ahmedabad via Jaipur. seeing all the places of interest and religious and natural beauty. Looking for a male/female companion who would be intersted in spending a month on this journey. We travel lite and stay at budget hotels and all expenses for the trip are paid for but no extravagant expenses. Decent and physically fit people are required. Couples interested would be welcome as the car is absolutely empty. Companion/s must be educated, willing to experiment and travel and not complain. Must have a good sense of humour and be able to converse on myraid topics to make the journey intersting and preferable should know how to drive a car ... read more

Greeting from Calcutta! Things have warmed up from our chilly week in the hills and so have the noise, dust and pollution levels. Calcutta is a sprawling city with a centre that has a very significant colonial influence. Wide avenues, big parks and big while buildings with domes and columns straight out of central London give the city a very different feel to Delhi. The major benefit to us of the city having previously been the capital of British India is its pavements, it makes walking along far more relaxing when you are not being buzzed by trams, buses, taxis and motorbikes. We've been wondering around the city for the past couple of days getting the feel for the place as well as visiting some of the tourist landmarks like the impressive Victoria memorial (see photo) ... read more

Durga Puja 2008 - "The biggest party in the world" according to justifiably proud Kolkata-vallahs. Every block had a makeshift bamboo-and-cloth temple and inside were colorful statues of the multi-armed Durga astride a lion, slaying the Demon who Takes Many Forms. For five days everyone- the fat, the old, the young, the crippled, the students, workers, gangsters, drug-dealers, chai-stand owners, children and beggars of Kolkata - dressed in their finest clothes and enjoyed the festive atmosphere. Pale tourists, Sikhs with impenetrable forests of facial hair and conservative Muslim women in black Chadors visited the temporary temples to pay respect to feminine power and receive a small dish of channa chat. For five days the statues were brought to the Hoogli and deposited in this sacred offshoot of the Ganges. Some were small, with a single man ... read more

Today is my last full day before I check out of Kolkata , my travel agent came good and got me a reserved quota ticket. Yesterday I went to the Botanical Gardens (and honed my haggling skills with the taxi driver). It was very picturesque and a good way to spend a few hours in the sun. I nearly ended up having to take the bus home, due to said dispute with the sole taxi driver outside the gardens, which would not have been fun as I had no idea what was going on. I was already feeling a little put out because the driver on the journey down would not shift below his starting (over) price of 200 Rs, and though my Rough Guide is two years old, it says the fare should have been ... read more

Yesterday I also found time to do a bit of sight seeing and took a walk down Chowringhee Road, which I think, is the main street in Kolkata. It allowed me to see the hustle and bustle of life in Kolkata - the fruit and drink stalls every few metres, the cloth and jewelry shops, the crowds, the roadside stalls selling some of the nicest curries I've ever set my nose on, the bench by the bus stop underneath which there was a mother dog bringing up some puppies. If I'm going to become a Guru like Kate and Marta say (there, you got your mention! ), it won't be here, maybe South India! There seems to be a lot of nice parks on the other side of the busy motorway, but as I was just ... read more