Waylink Guesthouse Kolkata (Calcutta)

... and therefore stop you getting your feet wet (unless you are the poor rickshaw wallah). Pedal-powered Next came the pedal-power rickshaw, where the human puller was replaced by a human on top of a pedal powered tricycle. Whilst an improvement, these vehicles are still slow and they are not going to get you up a hill (no gears). There are plenty of these still in use ...

... earliest tribal conflicts of the native Indians. Despite taking advantage of India for trade purposes the British rule here introduced a raft of benefits for the country - roads, education, irrigation, military cohesion, rights for women, a medical and health system among many other reforms, however neglecting the country during the difficult times of the war, the Indian people suffered terribly and through the ...

... She is very old, timelessly so. She cannot be more than 3' 4" tall, and is bent with arthritis, obviously poor from the simple sari she wears, with a generous smile and bright, lively, dancing eyes. She comes twice a day to the temple, once in the morning, always bringing flowers for Baba Lokenath's altar, and again in the evening for satsang. Baba loves her so much. She pranams to him, and he asks for her blessing in return, each night. She rubs around his heart and ...

... left


Kakoli
was the head of our mission and she was the strangest girl I have ever
met. Later I will have understood what it meant, what was all that
strangeness about. I am open minded person and I expect the same from
other people. When I do not see this or when I see that some one is
staying away from you I consider this behavior as a ...

... bribes) and refuse to do simple things until money is exchanged. Bureaucracy and red tape prevent assistance getting through, and the Government don't do enough for the people who really need the help - there are lots of cracks and lots of people slip right through. Fatima and Mumeta are teo of the youngest girls there, and they give me big bright smiles and giggle when I ask them questions. Shiboni-di is an older organiser who is very stern, she's always commanding me - sit! trace ...

... Westerner. But once you reach their level, once you leave your inhibitions at the door, you start to consume their energy, and this is deeply empowering. This may be the real beauty of India, not just the sights and pleasant exchanges. Because after coming to this place, Im pretty confident I can go anywhere in the world. Pictures from India to come when I reach a good internet connection. I will try to be in touch as much as possible, also, about the developing situation here. Peace out.

... that is made for them is built within the hall. We have been there almost every night watching the statue progress. Also seeing the 300 year old gold and silver ornaments brought out and polished (yes, I helped) for adornment of the idols during the puja. It is his year to be the sponsor of his family's puja. It is quite an honor and quite a responsibility...not to mention cost. There will be food for everyone for the 5 days of Puja. And then on the ...

... where?" "Sunflower Guest House." "I know it. Seven Royd Street. One hundred fifty rupees. That's good price." "I doubt it. Listen, I'll be right back. I'm just going to wait in line to see what the fare's supposed to be. If it's one-fifty I'll go with you." "Okay, okay. One hundred, both of you, best price." I stepped into the line. He walked me to a pillar listing all the pre-paid prices. "See? Prices are eighty, ninety ...

From Khajuraho i managed to get back up onto the main Delhi-Kolkata drag in two days, stopping at a hotel in Satna who charged me more (Rs450; my second most expensive hotel yet, the best of a bad bunch) for booting me out at an ungodly 6am in the morning (to receive some sort of early arrival wedding guests). It worked in my favor though, the early start accredited to getting me to Allahabad in plenty of time to track down a good value hotel to try and make amends for last ...

... we know what we want and where we are going... it gets a little irritating. They are totally wasting their energy. Found an ok price for some sleeping bags, though they are far too thin. I guess we can always buy blankets up there. Also found some of the mixed fruit and nut packs that a guy called Paul shared with us yesterday, thinking of getting them for the train. After that we wandered along the main road to a masala dosa stall - really yummy. Stopping ...