Kolkata, India

Trip Start Jun 26, 2006

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of India Kolkata, India
Tuesday, May 29, 2007

everyone we met who had been to india had stories of the difficulty of travel there. it seems there was always a love/hate relation ship when they told their stories. on the hate side there was everything from the poverty to the pollution, from the beggars to the crowds, from the traffic to long lines at the train station, from filth to overt leering. the other side of the coin brought tales of a culture of hope and wisdom, one that endures and triumphs, people who shine amidst squalor, a land of inspirational energy. so from the touch down in kolkata we were both a little apprehensive.

we got thru customs with no problems but we were to encounter our first taste of india at the currency exchange booth in the airport. i was in line and waiting my turn when i noticed 2-3 guys step right in front of me and push their money at the clerk. after 15 minutes of this i decided to try another counter rather than make a scene

amy drinking chai

. while waiting in line at the next bustling counter i heard a psst. a man past the security check point was waving bills at me. i went over and he gave me a better exchange rate than the counter and we were on our way...

to the taxi stand. the 1st thing we noticed was the heat and the humidity the temp was 46 (115 f) centigrade a week earlier but mercifully had dropped to only 38 but with 90% humidity it was stifling! we were mobbed by about 20 cabbies as we excited the airport. we had agreed to split a cab with an aussie guy who had been sort of negotiating but an argument broke out as we told them we were going to the prepay booth. eventually we got a cab at a good price and into town we went. kolkata has a reputation as being and extremely polluted, impoverished, and overcrowded city and while that is true as we sped thru different neighborhoods from unbelievable slums to high rises it became apparent that the city also has lots of flavors. we saw street art, heard music in the air (besides the blare of horns), mosaics, lots of parks, and of course the life blood of the city the hooghly river.

we of course stayed in the main backpacker area which usually means cheap, filthy, sparse accomodations with insects, smells, and linen that has seen much better days (just a reminder that we're not living a life of luxury)

city garbage problems

. the heat was overbearing and we had been up since very early so we tried nap after a quick bite. we awoke just before sunset and the temp was almost bearable now. many more people were out now and we felt the press of humanity that was to become a theme for much of our time here.

we enjoyed the museum of natural history which has the most impressive plant & herb collections i've ever seen. there were specimens of thousands of different plants and they were catagorized by use from food to clothing, from medicine to tool, from dye to weapon.

we spent most of our time wandering the streets, parks and the riverside. there were always so many people everywhere. the ferrys were full, the sidewalks jammed, the streets knotted, and the stores and restaurants packed. there were so many people everywhere, always!
there were lots of signs of development. evidence of the economic boom happening in india. this will hopefully help people at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder as well. now it really hi-lites the disparities. garbage & sewage are severe problems. we couldn't believe some of the dump sites we saw.
despite the pollution, heat, crowds, traffic, & poverty, we enjoyed the food, art, scenes, and the people, but after 3 days it was time to head north and escape the heat.