....our time previously recovering from work on Ko Phangan......
When we initially bought our super cheap flights to Calcutta with Air Asia, we were happy
to see a very civilized arrival time in the afternoon. The problem with super
cheap flights with Air Asia is they are prone to time changes, and hence we
found ourselves bleary eyed, but happy, at the prepaid taxi booth in Calcutta airport at 1.30am after a
three hour flight from Bangkok.
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| Sleeping Calcutta |
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| Still sleeping..... |
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| Sleeping through the noise |
The ride into town was uneventful apart from several herds
of goats inexplicably on the road in the middle of the city, but when we
reached the backpacker haven of Sudder
Street, we remembered that most of Calcutta
shuts up very early, and we were somewhat stranded. Our choice of guesthouse,
the Paragon, was “full”(another way of saying “We are sleeping, piss off”), so
we took the second room shown to us next door at Maria Hotel for one night (we
declined the first after seeing several bed bugs running over the top of the
mattress). We eventually got into the Paragon the next morning, and amazingly
not only did we have the exact room we had 3 years ago, but it’s still the same
price in rupees. The weird thing is, back then it translated into AU$9, and
now, it’s a bargain at AU$6, thanks to the rupee crashing recently. And, it’s
been “renovated”, sort of, with a lick of paint making a big difference to the
room- it’s just a pity the repairs didn’t stretch to the toilet (see photo)!
Being the end of the monsoon, it wasn’t too busy, but there is always the odd
odd-ball around in these places. Apparently there had recently been a woman
staying who had 11 cats- hopefully not in our room, although it would explain
the renovations! A big pot plant on the terrace was another interesting
feature.
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| Guesthouse toilet |
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| Newly "renovated" room at Paragon Hotel |
As much as we adore India, our first days back are always
like falling in love again!! Calcutta
was our first point of entry last trip also, but that time, unfortunately we
became sick within the first couple of days, and couldn’t enjoy it as much as
we did this time around. We were full of enthusiasm at being back in India, and spent days walking and
exploring new areas of the remarkable and historic city. Instead of catching
the train out we had planned to after only a few days (only runs once a week),
we decided to stay another week to fully appreciate Calcutta.
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| Beautiful doorway |
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| Happy samosa makers |
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| Beedi maker/seller |
One of our first stops was Blue Sky Cafe- an institution
here, having been open for about 40 years. When we first visited Calcutta in 1997, it was a tiny,
crowded stall on a corner, full of hungry travellers, and one lone waiter running
around serving everyone. Sham is still working there (he’s been there for 21
years), and recognises us every time we go back, but the restaurant has changed
beyond recognition with air-con, fancy chairs and tables and even WIFI. The
food is excellent, and the atmosphere terrific, now with many more Indian
customers mixing with the backpackers.
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| With Sham at Blue Sky Cafe |
After getting Sal kitted out in some India-appropriate
clothing at the chaotic New Market,
and getting Richard transformed from a hairy man into a smooth one, we tried to
change our body clock from Thai time (getting up mid morning and staying up
late at night) to Indian, by getting up before 6am, and exploring before the
noise and crowds start. India’s
great for early risers, with plenty of stuff still going on in the market areas
especially, and not as much chance of getting run over by a
rickshaw/car/bicycle/motorbike/truck.
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| New threads |
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| After 15 years, Richard was surprised at the color of his beard, and wasn't impressed! |
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| We're half way there |
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| Back to normal!! |
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| Quiet mornings |
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| Busy afternoons |
Something we've always wanted to do here is ride the trams
(Sal, being from Melbourne, loves a
good tram ride!), but for some reason never got around to it. We were
determined this time, and walked to the tram terminus, and sat patiently
waiting for the tram we wanted to take, which eventually came an hour later
rattling slowly along the tracks. It was a charming trip to the northern part
of the river area- surprisingly uncrowded compared to the packed buses hurtling
past us on the road, and for 5 rupees (AU 8 cents) a pretty good deal! We subsequently
took several other trams around town, finding them a slow, but quirky means of
transport.
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| Lovely old trams |
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| Tram ride along College Rd |
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| On the trams |
River ferries are equally inexpensive, and such an
attractive way to see the Hooghly River.
The metro is an excellent experience if timed right- cheap, clean, regular,
fast and, out of peak hour, nearly empty. Unfortunately, peak hour is heaving
with commuters, making it difficult to board (and breathe!)
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| Ferry on the Hooghly River |
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| Metro entrance |
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| A suburban train line |
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| Hard slog, Sudder Street |
But mostly, we just walked and walked, savouring the
crumbling colonial architecture we are such fans of and the chaos of the
streets, where stalls selling chai, omelettes, breads, fresh juices, curries,
bangles, scarves and clothes share the pavements with shoe cleaners, ear cleaners,
fortune tellers, beggars and barbers. It’s all out there in your face!
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| Professional typist at work on the pavement |
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| Chickens, New Market |
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| More chickens, New Market |
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| Cleaning up the rubbish |
A fantastic find this time was the South Park Street
Cemetery. In typical Indian fashion, it’s something mentioned briefly in the
guidebook, and we’d never heard anyone talk about it before, but we arrived to
find an incredible place nearly taken over by jungle, with huge ornate graves-
many in the shapes of obelisks and pyramids from the Raj era, some as old as 1780s.
The disrepair of the place, with bright green moss growing over everything including
the paths, added to the feeling of discovering something wonderful.
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| Park Street Cemetery |
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| Park Street Cemetery |
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| Park Street Cemetery |
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| Park Street Cemetery |
Kalighat temple is the most important Hindu holy place in Calcutta, and from where the city got
its name. We decided, in our enthusiasm, to join the throngs of worshippers in
the line snaking around the temple, and catch a glimpse at the black blobby
thing with eyes and a tongue that is the fearsome goddess Kali. As there is no
photography allowed inside, here is a picture of Kali inside the temple from the internet:
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| Sacred statue |
As is common in India,
the closer we got to the temple door, the more excited and feverish the crowd
became, and we struggled to stay together, and upright, as people pushed their
way in, eager to throw their hibiscus flowers at the statue, and, of course,
give the greedy priests money for the privilege. We were ready to make a
donation in the box, when several priest started grabbing us, and yelling to
give money now, so we instead legged it out of there as soon as we could. Not
exactly a spiritual experience!!
More interesting to us was wandering around the surrounding
streets looking at the “ticky tack” religious paraphernalia for sale, poking
our heads into some of the lesser temples, and watching some young boys fish
with a magnet in a disgusting festering stream for treasures.
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| Boys fishing for metal treasures with magnets, Kalighat |
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| Kalighat |
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| One photo Richard snuck in, inside the Kalighat Temple |
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| Around Kalighat Temple |
A more peaceful experience was Mother Theresa’s Motherhouse-
the original building she set up to help the poor of the city. Now, in addition
to the mission, there is a museum devoted to her simple life and philosophies,
as well as her tomb- she died in 1997.
Food is always a treat when we first arrive in India, and after 3 years in South-east Asia, it was very special to
have something different for our taste buds! Kati rolls were a new tasty treat,
with flat bread fried with an egg, then wrapped with delicious fillings- a
Bengali special. Indians do western food very well too- a left over from the
Brits presumably, and porridge is always a favourite for us both.
Unfortunately, after a week we became sick with tummy bugs for a couple of
days, which dampened our keenness to be adventurous with street food.
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| Chai stalls |
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| Basic food stalls |
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| Chapati makers |
Being in a big city definitely has its advantages with train
booking, as we found out when we visited the Howrah railway station and saw the
huge line for the general population for booking a train ticket, then
discovered the Foreigner’s Booking Office across the river, where an air-con
refuge of quiet, empty calm saw us wait for 5 minutes on comfy (yet tatty) sofas,
then book an onward ticket to our next destination at a desk with an English-speaking
clerk. So easy!
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| Howrah Bridge, Calcutta |
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| Under Howrah Bridge |
A unique sight in India
(particularly in Calcutta) is the
Hindustan Ambassador car. This is a car made under the name of Morris Oxford in
Britain during the 1950s, and for whatever reason was stopped being made there
and transferred to India. They have been making this model here since1958, with no changes. So, although it’s originally British, it’s now considered
the definitive Indian car. We love them- many are used as taxi and government
cars, but there are a few independent ones rattling around in various colours.
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| A particularly nice color (excuse the squashed rat on the road!) |
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| Most are used as taxis |
Because we lost a few days to sickness, we didn't see
everything we planned to- even in our 12 days. But we loved our time here, now
have a good excuse to come back again someday and see the rest!
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| Street corner, Calcutta |
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| Scaffolding worker |
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| Flower market under Howrah bridge |
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| Street scene, Calcutta |
