Calcutta

For the first time after 20 February I'm back in India. I stayed more then 7 months in Thailand for mostly Yoga, meditation and also to learn Thai massage.  It is good to be back in India, this country is very alife and vibrant.  On 29 Sept in the early morning i took a Druk Airways flight (only 2 hours) to India after spending the night in Bangkok airport. This new airport is at night very, very cold you have to take winter clothes with you.

 

Arriving in Calcutta we changed some money (no ATM) and getting a taxi via the prepaid boot for taxi was very straight forward. After a search along some very cheap and dread full hotels i found a dorm bed in Hotel Paragon. Good atmospere a mixture of Japanese, Koreans and Americans a lot of them working as volunteer in Mother Teresa House of the dying. 

 

Compared to Bangkok, Calcutta is life and full of people of different ways of life from beggars, hand pulled riksja's  to car owners. People who have them self only to people drinking coffee in Barista. This is Calcutta.

 

Calcutta surprised me in many ways, i heard horror stories about Calcutta, the hassle etc.. but nothing like that. The streets are very clean, there are sidewalks, working traffic lights, beautiful clean parks, underground etc.  The Indian food mmmm, delouses sandwich's, bataru Chola, masala dosa's, paneer rolls etc.  Plus there is Barista for yummy Capachinos and AC, Oxford Bookshop for Organic Tea and books plus a Bollywood movie star called Devinand presenting his latest book and there is Flurry for amazing Chocolate balls which kept me going for another half day.

 

Calcutta can be very British with many monuments from that time, like the Victorian Memorial, The St Pauls Cathedral, the glass window is amazing. This church could be copy from any English church the only different is I'm in India. The neighborhood B B D Bagh  with the many old english buildings. Then there is at Kali Ghat mother Teresa's house for the dying..and of course the Kali temple. Mother Teresa's house of the dying is impressive but i peaked inside and made a small donation. In the hall there are old people dying and some western helping out...

 

Calcutta surprised me there are not many beggars on the street, there are my shoppers, but then again I only saw the centre of the city.

 

On the 2 of October i took a evening cab to Howrah train Station (built by the British) i saw many people living on the street. This view is so familiar with the rest of India. 

 

At 10 pm my train left for Gaya only 12 km outside of Bodgaya my next destination. 

 

some links:

 

Calcutta

St Pauls Cathedral

Oxford Bookshop

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Happy travels,
Ohm shanti, shanti, shanti
Meinoud
http://www.rijnentravel.blogspot.com
From Amsterdam to India by bus and train