I have the feeling I’m gonna be facing my worst fears here in Kolkata w/ regards to cleanliness and HAIR, after using the public bathroom in the Sunflower Guest House, where we have a reservation. We are currently waiting for our room to be cleaned as we have arrived an hour early.
Already the ride from the airport has giving us an unnerving yet extremely interesting first eye view of Kolkata, and we know it’s gonna be a very different experience to that of Mumbai.
Let me back track a bit. We sadly left Mumbai a few hours ago after nearly missing our Spice Jet Plane somehow. I say sadly because Mumbai turned out to be a really great city for us. Comparable even to NY, but I guess to NY back in the 50’s? I am unsure but it had this insane mix of old and new melded somehow into a living machine of everyday mayhem. I would not be able to understand a description of it if I hadn’t been there as both Dave and I had read Maximum City and had our own pre-conceptions of what it would be like. Only of course it was different to what we imagined.
The first day we trudged down to the India Gate and Taj Hotel (where the 11/26 terrorist attack had occurred). We were out ridiculously early because of the jet lag but even so it soon got incredibly hot and humid so we slunk into the Taj through very strict security to hang out and have coffee in the incredibly cool sumptuous surroundings.
After our core temperatures had dropped we walked around a bit and managed to get a SIM Card for our phone on the Dolphin Network. We basically followed the walking tour of Mumbai from the LPG (Lonely Planet Guide), hitting another terrorist hot spot which was the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue.
The next day after getting a Wifi card (withdrawal from no internet) we found an Australian girl, Natalie, outside the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus). She was totally distraught which was understandable as it was an absolutely crazy scene outside the station, even more chaotic then in the streets. She had been directed in and out and about and still had no idea where to get a ticket to Goa, so we joined in on her quest of how to get a train ticket. Eventually after being accosted by a travel tout who endeavored to sell us bus tickets instead we found the booking office and hence a ticket to Goa. After getting the $20 ticket we went to the Main Post Office to mail a package for Dave’s former company (last assignment ever J), if you can believe it, you had to stick the stamps on with glue from a pot.
We were walking up to the Crawford Market and a frail visually impaired little man kind of dragged us across one of the impossible to cross multi-laned roads. The only way to cross the roads was to either be taken like this or shield yourself from the oncoming traffic by as many people as possible, so they would act as a buffer in the event of a tragedy. We knew this guy was in it for more than the journey across the road but we were fine with it as we were entering a really strange area and had no clue to which direction to take. So we proceed to walk for three hours in 100 degree heat thorough this massive market. The worst/best part was the fish part. We entered this vast dark hanger which absolutely reeked. We only had sandals and Natalie unfortunately had flip flops and as we looked down we watched the fish swill only just beneath the top of our shoe soles. We knew we were in for fish feet. People were gutting, carrying, sitting with/on, and cooking next to all types of fish and fish entrails in semi darkness. They were eating their lunch and having a great old time but despite this it was the most disgusting thing to behold. We marveled at it all and could hardly believe what was going on around us. The whole thing had a rather nightmarish quality to it, especially with all the jollity that went along with it.
We proceeded to the outdoors, to the live animals and meat section where sickly cats, dogs, rabbits, rats and all types of birds were stuck in rusty cages and being sold as food or pets. By the time we couldn’t take it anymore Natalie was near to fainting as she hadn’t eaten since 3 PM the day before. We would have never found our way in or out if not for our near blind leader, Hari, who had introduced us to his entire family little by little during the grueling hike. Oh, and did I mention the flies? Yes, flies were everywhere but despite it all we had a fantastic time.
The rest of the time in Mumbai involved sight seeing like crazy, following the suggested spots of interest from the LPG. Two things which made things extra hard were the relentless heat and the insane traffic which made it difficult to freely maneuver around the city.
We learned to ride the buses and fantastic trains, which made traveling a little easier and cooler. Shall post more in Darjeeling if we can find a cyba café. It has taken us a while to get on the internet here in Kolkata as it’s all an incredibly arduous process (it didn’t help that I was trying to burn a DVD) Anyway---all is good despite Dave having rather massive allergy attacks due to the pollution.
Already the ride from the airport has giving us an unnerving yet extremely interesting first eye view of Kolkata, and we know it’s gonna be a very different experience to that of Mumbai.
Let me back track a bit. We sadly left Mumbai a few hours ago after nearly missing our Spice Jet Plane somehow. I say sadly because Mumbai turned out to be a really great city for us. Comparable even to NY, but I guess to NY back in the 50’s? I am unsure but it had this insane mix of old and new melded somehow into a living machine of everyday mayhem. I would not be able to understand a description of it if I hadn’t been there as both Dave and I had read Maximum City and had our own pre-conceptions of what it would be like. Only of course it was different to what we imagined.
The first day we trudged down to the India Gate and Taj Hotel (where the 11/26 terrorist attack had occurred). We were out ridiculously early because of the jet lag but even so it soon got incredibly hot and humid so we slunk into the Taj through very strict security to hang out and have coffee in the incredibly cool sumptuous surroundings.
After our core temperatures had dropped we walked around a bit and managed to get a SIM Card for our phone on the Dolphin Network. We basically followed the walking tour of Mumbai from the LPG (Lonely Planet Guide), hitting another terrorist hot spot which was the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue.
The next day after getting a Wifi card (withdrawal from no internet) we found an Australian girl, Natalie, outside the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus). She was totally distraught which was understandable as it was an absolutely crazy scene outside the station, even more chaotic then in the streets. She had been directed in and out and about and still had no idea where to get a ticket to Goa, so we joined in on her quest of how to get a train ticket. Eventually after being accosted by a travel tout who endeavored to sell us bus tickets instead we found the booking office and hence a ticket to Goa. After getting the $20 ticket we went to the Main Post Office to mail a package for Dave’s former company (last assignment ever J), if you can believe it, you had to stick the stamps on with glue from a pot.
We were walking up to the Crawford Market and a frail visually impaired little man kind of dragged us across one of the impossible to cross multi-laned roads. The only way to cross the roads was to either be taken like this or shield yourself from the oncoming traffic by as many people as possible, so they would act as a buffer in the event of a tragedy. We knew this guy was in it for more than the journey across the road but we were fine with it as we were entering a really strange area and had no clue to which direction to take. So we proceed to walk for three hours in 100 degree heat thorough this massive market. The worst/best part was the fish part. We entered this vast dark hanger which absolutely reeked. We only had sandals and Natalie unfortunately had flip flops and as we looked down we watched the fish swill only just beneath the top of our shoe soles. We knew we were in for fish feet. People were gutting, carrying, sitting with/on, and cooking next to all types of fish and fish entrails in semi darkness. They were eating their lunch and having a great old time but despite this it was the most disgusting thing to behold. We marveled at it all and could hardly believe what was going on around us. The whole thing had a rather nightmarish quality to it, especially with all the jollity that went along with it.
We proceeded to the outdoors, to the live animals and meat section where sickly cats, dogs, rabbits, rats and all types of birds were stuck in rusty cages and being sold as food or pets. By the time we couldn’t take it anymore Natalie was near to fainting as she hadn’t eaten since 3 PM the day before. We would have never found our way in or out if not for our near blind leader, Hari, who had introduced us to his entire family little by little during the grueling hike. Oh, and did I mention the flies? Yes, flies were everywhere but despite it all we had a fantastic time.
The rest of the time in Mumbai involved sight seeing like crazy, following the suggested spots of interest from the LPG. Two things which made things extra hard were the relentless heat and the insane traffic which made it difficult to freely maneuver around the city.
We learned to ride the buses and fantastic trains, which made traveling a little easier and cooler. Shall post more in Darjeeling if we can find a cyba café. It has taken us a while to get on the internet here in Kolkata as it’s all an incredibly arduous process (it didn’t help that I was trying to burn a DVD) Anyway---all is good despite Dave having rather massive allergy attacks due to the pollution.
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All is good here in Texas. Out of bed at 5am yesterday to cook a brisket. Friends from Calgary were in town visiting relatives. Fed 9 adults and 5 children.
ReplyDeleteSummer is coming on here. Rain and too much heat
Hope you are well. Definitely sounds like and adventure. I hate fish more than Australians.