Calcutta was a much more positive experience than Delhi. We arrived in Calcutta in the early evening, only to find that all taxi and bus drivers were on strike. Rather than try to find a way to Prosun's house, we stayed at a very nice 5 star hotel in Calcutta, the Park Hotel. Jake and I had the Presidential suite, which was just what I needed for a nice hot shower and a great night of sleep - I needed to get that crankiness and stress from travel out of my system!
On our first day in Calcutta, we (Jake and I, Prosun, Misty, and Annie) headed to the home of Prosun's extended family for lunch. We took cabs part of the way (traffic and driving in Calcutta are crazy!!), and rickshaws the rest of the way (dirt cheap). Since several of us in our little group were blonde, we stood out quite a bit, and we eventually had an entourage of Indian children. Prosun said that a lot of the people we encountered in the streets of Calcutta had probably never seen a white person before, much less a blonde. The sights were definitely a cultural shock, from people bathing in the streets, to men urinating on walls, to cows (and a horse) roaming freely.
After lunch at Prosun's family's, we headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags, and we took cabs to Prosun's parents' house. The house was amazing - 3 stories and beautiful (his parents are much better-off than the typical Indian family), although I must admit I wasn't a big fan of the shower! That night we checked out an authentic hookah bar.
The next day in Calcutta was full of sightseeing, from the beautiful Victoria Monument,with it's lush landscaping (quite the departure from the rest of Calcutta), to Mother Theresa's Mission, where we could tour her room and view her tomb. Our experience that evening was unforgettable - we took an impromptu tour of the Kalighat temple, where we participated in a ritual that included walking barefoot on the muddy floors, being shoved through the narrow rooms of the temple crowded with throngs of people, throwing flowers at a statue, saying prayers by a pool of holy water, and then, of course, being solicited for money. Wow! It was confusing and overwhelming, but a very cool experience, not one soon forgotten. When we got back to Prosun's, we washed our feet over and over, but the dirt just wouldn't wash out!
Before we left Calcutta, we made some time to do some shopping, meet more of Prosun's family, and ride in tuktuks... then we were on a plane back to Delhi!
1 comments:
Christy, I didn't realize you'd travelled so many places! What a great little journal to keep for your little one to see when she grows up. And for you two to look back on and look forward to the days when you take your little one along with you to these places!
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