As i have been frequently reminded, i never actually finished writing up my trip of India, so here it is! Only a few months late (I have been busy, i promise)
It is rather odd to write about this now, as it happened so long ago, but i will try my best!
The train down to Calcutta - I will use the old English name, i just prefer it - was the first i had taken in almost 2 months, and it was almost like doing it for the first time again. After all the buses and hiking in Nepal/Northern India, it was nice to be able to lie down on a long journey, even if the dirt and noise and inquisitiveness of my fellow passengers hadn't changed.
The heat down on the plains, as opposed to my mountain hide-away was a big shock. I think there was a 20 degree different, plus humidity. If only i could afford taxies and hotels with air conditioning! Instead, it was grotty guesthouses in the backpacker ghetto. But at 150rs a night, with a celling fan, i was able to survive.
Almost everything that has been written about Calcutta seems to be true - the poverty, the dirt, the fading glory of the Raj is certainly true. But i did find the people to be far nicer than i had been told about. They seem to have the worst reputation in India (probably related to all the Marxist striking and violence) but i dont remember having any problems at all.
I arrived early in the morning, and made straight away for Maiden Park, while it was still coolish. It truly is HUGE, and an amazing grassy green space in the middle of the city. Being a Sunday morning, it was full of people playing football and cricket - and herding goats.
(memorial in the background)
(herding goats along the still active tram line)
Next up was the Victoria Memorial and park, adjacent to Maiden Park, and another green space, this time of (semi) formal gardens, ponds and trees. The 4rs entrance fee to the gardens keeps the poor out, and while that is a bit harsh to say, it does mean no sleeping/washing/begging people inside the park, and no one taking the flowers. I didn't go inside the memorial (more of a museum) but enjoyed my time in the gardens and admired the building from outside - it is so British, it would not be surprising to find it in London.
I even managed to catch the end of the service at the Cathedral, with a 95% Indian congregation, but the most British feel to the building/service.
(what is left of someone's once splendid house)
**From here on, i doesn't seem like i took any notes, so will have to improvise the best i can, sorry about that**
I ended up visiting McDonalds a few times- in spite of my convictions - as they seem to have the cheapest soft-cone ice-cream in India, and their air-conditioning is Arctic! I try my best to cope without, but given all the walking around that i do (try not to take taxis/rickshaws etc), a nice 20min blast of cold air feels amazing.
(Unloading oranges at the fruit market)
Saw 2 films - Promethius and a Bengali police film. Both were rather underwhelming, and the Bengali film (about a policeman, and someone who looked like him, i think) wouldn't have been any better if i had been able to understand any of the words. But i had time to kill, and at 70rs for a ticket, its really hard to beat!
I had 2 shirts tailored for me, just to add to the bespoke collection in my wardrobe. Rather happy with how they turned out, and at 900rs for the pair, a real bargain.
(there are still jobs for typewriters - large numbers of the working class are illiterate (or lack access to typewriters)
I ate 3/4 mangoes a day - the mango season was in full swing, and they were just amazing. Never really been a fan before, but certainly am now.
And a quick roundup of everything else i did - Visited the Marble Palace, a crazy and rather tasteless (but very interesting) mansion, full of expensive antique crap. Its a bit like a National Trust house, mixed with an antique warehouse, just without anyone curating it. Also made it to as many charity/collective shops as i could, in 1 last ditch effort to have my money reach people that need it, in a constructive way. So ended up buying a number of things i probably dont need, but thats not really the point!
(the Marble Palace)
It is rather odd to write about this now, as it happened so long ago, but i will try my best!
The train down to Calcutta - I will use the old English name, i just prefer it - was the first i had taken in almost 2 months, and it was almost like doing it for the first time again. After all the buses and hiking in Nepal/Northern India, it was nice to be able to lie down on a long journey, even if the dirt and noise and inquisitiveness of my fellow passengers hadn't changed.
The heat down on the plains, as opposed to my mountain hide-away was a big shock. I think there was a 20 degree different, plus humidity. If only i could afford taxies and hotels with air conditioning! Instead, it was grotty guesthouses in the backpacker ghetto. But at 150rs a night, with a celling fan, i was able to survive.
Almost everything that has been written about Calcutta seems to be true - the poverty, the dirt, the fading glory of the Raj is certainly true. But i did find the people to be far nicer than i had been told about. They seem to have the worst reputation in India (probably related to all the Marxist striking and violence) but i dont remember having any problems at all.
(more cities need detective agencies!)
(one of the few cities in India to still have human powered rickshaws)
(artistic collapse)
(did i mention the poverty?)
(flower market)
(the former drinking water reservoir in the middle of 'English' Calcutta)
(window shutters)
I arrived early in the morning, and made straight away for Maiden Park, while it was still coolish. It truly is HUGE, and an amazing grassy green space in the middle of the city. Being a Sunday morning, it was full of people playing football and cricket - and herding goats.
(memorial in the background)
(herding goats along the still active tram line)
Next up was the Victoria Memorial and park, adjacent to Maiden Park, and another green space, this time of (semi) formal gardens, ponds and trees. The 4rs entrance fee to the gardens keeps the poor out, and while that is a bit harsh to say, it does mean no sleeping/washing/begging people inside the park, and no one taking the flowers. I didn't go inside the memorial (more of a museum) but enjoyed my time in the gardens and admired the building from outside - it is so British, it would not be surprising to find it in London.
I even managed to catch the end of the service at the Cathedral, with a 95% Indian congregation, but the most British feel to the building/service.
(what is left of someone's once splendid house)
**From here on, i doesn't seem like i took any notes, so will have to improvise the best i can, sorry about that**
I ended up visiting McDonalds a few times- in spite of my convictions - as they seem to have the cheapest soft-cone ice-cream in India, and their air-conditioning is Arctic! I try my best to cope without, but given all the walking around that i do (try not to take taxis/rickshaws etc), a nice 20min blast of cold air feels amazing.
(Unloading oranges at the fruit market)
Saw 2 films - Promethius and a Bengali police film. Both were rather underwhelming, and the Bengali film (about a policeman, and someone who looked like him, i think) wouldn't have been any better if i had been able to understand any of the words. But i had time to kill, and at 70rs for a ticket, its really hard to beat!
I had 2 shirts tailored for me, just to add to the bespoke collection in my wardrobe. Rather happy with how they turned out, and at 900rs for the pair, a real bargain.
(there are still jobs for typewriters - large numbers of the working class are illiterate (or lack access to typewriters)
I ate 3/4 mangoes a day - the mango season was in full swing, and they were just amazing. Never really been a fan before, but certainly am now.
And a quick roundup of everything else i did - Visited the Marble Palace, a crazy and rather tasteless (but very interesting) mansion, full of expensive antique crap. Its a bit like a National Trust house, mixed with an antique warehouse, just without anyone curating it. Also made it to as many charity/collective shops as i could, in 1 last ditch effort to have my money reach people that need it, in a constructive way. So ended up buying a number of things i probably dont need, but thats not really the point!
(the Marble Palace)
