Normally, we couldn't be bothered to wake up earlier than 10am unless it's really really important like, say, an earthquake (or a sunrise - Henri. Why are you so serious all the time? - Marj). But we had a train to catch at 9:18 and we needed to catch the bus that supposedly leaves every thirty minutes from Bodhgaya to Gaya.
We had lunch at Subway - just saying! Because the last time we had subs was 2 months ago. Ooooh, the sacrifice! But it left me full until evening. H - A luxury meal for Indians, almost the same as France..
We caught one at 7:50, which we thought was great, until we realized this bus wouldn't leave until it was full. So it went back and forth the main road, stopping for five to ten minutes in strategic areas, until it was 8:30! We were starting to panic, and we got to the train station at 9: 16! Then we saw the board; our train was rescheduled to 10:50 (11:15 for real - H). Merde. Guess that means we can have breakfast.
Several reincarnations later, we arrived at Kolkata. The train was hours late and I was bracing myself for a fight with rickshaw or taxi drivers, but there was a prepaid taxi service outside which charged a fair amount (100 Rs only, never saw a cheap taxi like that in India yet! - H) - unlike the robbery that's going on at the NAIA. Shame on you, you bastards!!!
We took the only room available at the the Ashreen Guest House, which was far from the budget accomodations we'd grown used to. I asked Henri how big the room is because it fetched a pretty sum for a mini hotel, and the concierge said, "it's not a room, it's a football field."
Well, I wouldn't say THAT, although it was roomy, with marble floors, and we had free shampoo and soap, toilet paper and towels, an airconditioner, disinfected glasses, a clean cabinet and a flat screen TV with all channels working...
But I couldn't stop gushing over the bathroom. It was clean, it didn't leak, it didn't have a lived-in smell and the fixtures were all brand new. There was a toothbrush holder, for crying out loud! I'll give it a year before it starts looking like the other hotel rooms. H - felt like paradise compared to the rooms we had so far...
Day 2.
The following morning, we got to see more of Kolkata. It was nothing like the India we had known for the past month and a half. The first cow we saw on the highway the night before was also the last cow we ever saw. Kolkata is not as dusty or dirty as the country's capital, and the people were not as annoying - save for the occasional beggar who will grab you and not leave you alone until you say "ney" or "chelo." Actually, it reminds me of Manila, or sometimes Cubao - but as I remember it in the 1980s.
Ok, back to Manila in the '80s A.K.A. Kolkata: After lunch, we wandered around Chowringhee until we bumped into the Esplanade.
Human pull carts are a popular mode of transportation, and a lot of these guys run around without slippers on.
This guy actually stopped for this picture then zoomed quickly off - only to stop a few inches later because of cart traffic :) H- he was so proud of his "kéké" car, sa voiture de kéké quoi... :)
There are also buses, taxis, autorickshaws and the super efficient metro system.
We found a church and the caretakers were starting to close the gates but they opened up for us. We were let in without any hassle, unlike our earlier experiences in temples.
Then we walked some more to see the little streets, and the houses that are battling the forces of nature with little help from their occupants.
We found the Esplanade, which was really just a street.
Then we took a shortcut back to Chowringhee, Henri was blinded for a moment by the bling-bling saris.
This is what I mean by Kolkata reminding me of Cubao.
We walked so much and we were super tired. We checked out the prices at Barista, which supposedly serves Lavazza - but what they don't advertise is that they serve Indian coffee (which is actually quite nice) and bump the price up if you want Lavazza.
Not convinced we should spend a lot on coffee that day, knowing we went over budget with the Subway subs, we walked around until we saw The Tea Junction, which serves masala tea in these traditional and disposable terra cotta cups for 10 Rs.
And then, boom! We were back on Lindsay Street!
At New Market, to be exact.
Day 3.
We woke up late because I felt the flu coming on, I had a ginger lemon tea like the waiter at Blue Sky told me and I started to feel a bit better. Since we didn't want to overexert ourselves, we went to see what was inside the airconditioned mall under New Market (A.K.A. S. S. Hogg Market) and what was inside the building that looked like a christmas village.
Underground.
Above-ground.
Window shopping at the market got me in the mood to walk some more, so we explored the New Market area. It was brimming with touts and some of them got on our nerves because they would cut in on our conversation and ask where Henri is from, or insist that I go to a shawl or sari store. I would say I don't want anything, but that only leads to a conversation on why would I not want anything? Their shop is small shop, their sari is good quality, blah blah blah.
In one street, I found this Chaplin chapeau... as it turns out, it IS a park dedicated to The Tramp.
But take a look at the on-duty guy inside the car... I think he's being "inceptioned" by the woman behind.
Well, we deserved a perk for all the walking we did so Henri convinced me to go to Barista. He got the Italian coffee he wanted, and I was tricked into getting something more expensive than I expected - Grr! They won't do that to me at Starbucks! But anyway, it was nice to have good coffee for a change.
So, after three days, we mostly just ate our way through Kolkata. More of the same for days 4-6, coupled with some nice building shots... And a cowboy-slapping incident!!!
H - as they say in Lonely Planet, Calcutta is a city you have to feel more than visit, and that's what we are doing. It feels really good here, totally different from the other Indian cities i know! There are real nice shops, sidewalks, it's cleaner, it really looks like Manila sometimes, so it's a really good feeling after 1 months and a 1/2 of deep India backpacking!
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