Blogs from Kolkata, West Bengal, India, Asia - page 42

Alive and well .... not eaten by tiger or crocodile.... survivor of boat trip and ship fare! Monday was spent at the apartment of a most pleasant lady whose husband is an architectand who teaches english. She cooked delectable Bengali food whose recipes she provided. The arrival was a bit early so an eye catching ramble thru a totally different layout of a market was engaged in. The market seemed to be under a roof but actually was in the alley between the houses. The fruits and vegetables were arrayed on raised surfaces in geometric order that were pleasing in an artistic sense. And the variety was mush greater. Being led by David from Koli Travel iot was impossible to linger for long. The exit came out onto a breath taking display of flowers in ... read more

February 1 2006 has come and gone and it has been a great day. After some discussion it was decided that we would stick with the devil we know and we have opted to remain at the Broadway Hotel at 27A Ganesh Chandra Ave. because the beds separate, I can hang up my laundry and it dries during the day, sitting in a room full of drinking smoking men will never soon happen again, and even though during this trip my backpack and I are having a better relationship it is not so good that I want to pack it together if I do not absolutely have to! The day began with breakfast and a read of the IndiaTimes...I had to cut out a few pieces; my favourite expression since arriving in India....OHMYGOD.... printed over a ... read more

We are in the heat now... and it is winter in India! Spent a day on a tourist bus roaming around the city. Had absolutely no idea wher we were except we were driving around the city past mentionable buildings which were pointed out on the right but were really on the left and mentioned after the crazed driver, who did not realize he had tourists on the bus who wanted to take shots of the places, had already lurched past aforementioned attraction. Every time the traffic stopped the bus it was beside a not so fragrant pile of rubbish that was either in the process of being picked through for someone's idea of a treasure or was being dumped into a three sided rectangular cement "storage" place or shovelled onto an already overflowing garbage truck.... ... read more

I discovered this morning that the wall-to-wall curtains in my room don't conceal wall-to-wall windows but in fact hide a wall-to-wall wall, with just a small opaque window above the A/C unit to let in some light. After breakfast, I found the cheapest Internet so far in India (a mere Rs 15 per hour). First port of call for the day was the Victoria Memorial, a large and imposing structure in white marble, set in groomed grounds on the east side of the Maidan. It was built at the beginning of the last century to commemorate Queen Victoria's death. Inside, there is now a museum containing exhibits and information about the development of Calcutta as a city, as well as Bengali cultural highlights. Though the architecture of the building contains both European and Moghul influences, it ... read more

Geo: 28.5713, 75.4743After our impromptu detour through the Moslem village in the Shekhawati desert, we continued our semi-planned itinerary and took the train to the "Blue City" of Jodhpur, so named because the color signified the residence of a Brahmin - a high ranking class in India's caste system. Founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha, Jodhpur grew rich by its proximity to the Silk Road where opium, dates, silk, etc. were taken by camel train westward from Central Asia to the Middle East and Europe. Our own journey ended at the Saji Sanwri guesthouse - a 250 year-old haveli which was buried in the a labyrinth of twisty one-camel-wide streets. Four stories tall with a rooftop garden that has a fabulous view of the the magnificent fort of Mehrangarh, one could feel the history of the ... read more