Kolkata

Hi everyone,

So we're here in Kolkata. It's 36 degrees out and it's hot. We never did get to see the amazing view of the Himalayas that Darjeeling boasts about but it's all the more reason to return. We got up at 4am and got a taxi up to Tiger hill to join all the other tourists for this view that is raved about. And it never came..the fog never lifted which was sad. (We have a sad photo of us all). So we climbed back in our taxi (freezing cold having stood outside for over half an hour) and on our way to river rafting, visited a Buddist monastery and a war memorial. The we went downhill for 2 hours (or so it seemed). We got to the Teesta river and met our rafting guide and headed in a jeep up river to launch the boat. Turns our, our taxi driver Ajit (I remembered his name!) got to go with us in our rafting adventure which was super funny. Our safety explanation consisted of..."Here is how you hold the paddle, when I say forward you paddle this way, when I say back you paddle this way..good? ok." So we set off down the river. Ajit had never been rafting before and doesn't know how to swim so the guide dragged him off the boat while floating in a quieter spot and helped him conquor his fears somewhat. :) The best rapids were the first ones we got...the guide had Deb crawl down in front of the boat, while Kristin and I paddled on each side and he hit the rapid right on and soaked us all. And there were a few right in a row so we were spluttering and laughing when we were through...the rest were pretty good too but it was a fairly tame ride. Mostly it was nice to see the scenery from the river. We stopped for lunch on our way back and tried a momo which is unique to Bengal. It looks like a perogie crossed with a gyoza but is filled withh cabbage and spices. Really tasty. We got some again the next day on our way to the airport...All this adventure and we arrived back in Darjeeling at oh...1pm. :) We had a group nap and then just wandered more of Darjeeling. The next day, our new taxi driver, Ajit, picked us up to take us to the airport and did the friend switch so his buddy Rim ended up driving us instead. It's a long ride...takes anywhere from 3-4 hours to get from the airport to Darjeeling because of all the bad mountain roads and potholes and tiny one way streets and traffic jams (cars squeezing by in spots you never thought wide enough). Not a drive for those who are uncomfortable with narrow roads..we called it the Indian road to Hana (and thought it might be worse).


We got to our guest house last night, in Kolkata, in Sudder street area (close to where Mother Theresa lived) and this morning walked over to visit the Mother house where her tomb is. They had a really informative room where you could read all about her life and her journey, you could see the room where she lived, and you can see all the sisters currently living there getting on with life and doing there daily things. Really cool visit. From there, we wandered...it got hot so we went to Big Bazzar (Walmart) which had AC (important when it's 36 degrees out and noon!). We hit a flower market near the Howrah bridge which was really dynamic and had lots of beautiful strings in the different stalls...fun to wander through. We're going to hit a light show tonight in this park somewhat close to our hotel so that should be fun...

Kolkata still has the British influence, seen in the architecture of major buildings..ie the post office, court house, writers hall etc. Gorgeous big buildings of marble and brick. And then there's challenging areas of the city where there's a lot of poverty and oppression. We were walking down the street and saw the cups that the Dalit's use (once used, they smash them on the sidewalk). Deb and I were at Missions fest a while ago and heard someone talking about this so it was really interesting to see it in person. (The Dalit's are a very low caste in India and are under significant oppression). Yeah - reading about the Missionaries of charity earlier (Mother Theresa) just raises awareness of the poor and dying in India and opens your eyes further.

We have one day left! Crazy how time has flown...we fly to Singapore tomorrow night and have a few days there..then back for Easter. :)

Mel