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Published: February 28th 2009
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Send off at the pier!
Avril, Me, TJ, and Por (thanks, gang!) Oh Calcutta!
I finally left Koh Phangan on the 23rd. Tearful goodbyes and lots of ‘see ya laters.’ I consider that island to be my second home. It is always easy to be there and ALWAYS difficult to leave…. But adventures in India awaited me and I could no longer drag my feet.
The hiccups with visas and staying to help with the clinic have given me just over 2 weeks to romp through India. My new plan was to fly into Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and make my way across India, flying home from Mumbai.
I arrived in Kolkata in the morning and took a taxi to a mid-luxury hotel in the middle of the city ($14/night). I had cable TV, hot water, AC, and a toilet to sit on! The toilet even flushed, though it needed some coaxing and persuading at times.
Kolkata is not the nicest city but being the first place I stopped I had no idea how it compared to the rest of India. It is dirty, stinky, and very very poor; just how I imagined it to be! After a short rest and a shower I ventured out to find a guide
book, a SIM card for my cell phone, and some food.
I have been warned about the difficulty of being a woman in India, especially a foreign woman. So I did my best to be incognito! I spent all of my time outside my hotel wearing dark sunglasses, with my entire body covered in very loose clothing, including my head covered, despite the temperature of 96 degrees! It worked! Most people did not notice me or notice my obvious ‘foreignness’ until I was long gone.
OK, it worked until it didn’t. Although the city is pretty well laid out and easy to navigate, I got a little lost. I knew I wasn’t far from my hotel but rather than bust out the Lonely Planet book and try to read the map, I got on a manual pulled rickshaw. I negotiated a price with the help of some very nice local gents and hoped on. I somehow went from ‘Woman in disguise’ to the absolute focus of attention and center of amusement. I got applauds, thumbs ups, and just general laughter. I still have no idea what I did that was so funny except that I was sitting up
Kolkata's version of Central Park
Nope. That's not fog, not a dirty lense either. That's good ole' fashion pollution. Mmmmm about 6 feet of the ground with a very frail man pulling me as fast as he could, shouting something and risking his life (likely mine too!) and he bobbed and weaved through traffic. I had to bite my lip so as not to laugh in hysterics at the spectacle that I clearly was.
Kolkata was an alright place to start the journey. Not too scary, a few cool things to see, and the people were generally very very sweet. But, Kolkata is very polluted and I am pretty sure I have a shorter life expectancy just from breathing in the carcinogens. I spent two full days (one night) and then got the train out of Kolkata to Bodhgaya, the place where Buddha was enlightened and became Buddha (more about that later). While in Kolkata I saw the Victoria Monument and learned a few rules of India:
1. Don’t fart in India, you are likely to crap your pants (thanks, TJ for that one, though no personal experience yet)
2. Eat with your right hand, the left is for cleaning your …. (locals are very offended if they see you handling any food with your left, even if you wash real good)
3. Utensils are for the foreign, but you look really stupid when you slop food all over yourself and the floor. Use a spoon, until you learn the trick to eating soups and curries with your hands! Baby steps!
About the Victoria Memorial: It was built between 1906 and 1921 for Queen Victoria of the UK, who also served as the Empress of India. It is now a museum and tourist attraction. There are some cool, very old oil paintings that have been restored and some old photos. The best part about this attraction is the outside, specifically the view from the far side of the reflection pool (as photographed). I sat in the garden, read my book, and just enjoyed the presence of it all.
Video 1: Notice the pedi-rickshaw, that is what I was on. And notice the nearly lack of women anywhere!
Video 2: Who needs lanes when you have dumb courage! Cool cars, psycho drivers!
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Trish
non-member comment
Awesome
I am so jealous. I guess I will have to travel this year thru you I am serious next time I am coming with you