For the third time I changed my plans to arriving (based on anxiety and procatination or waiting for the perfect situation) in Kalcutta and joined Mindy on a jeep and a busride. The thought of traveling with someone into the city was way more appealing....and to be honest it just didn't seem right for us to part.
Well India is well know for all the ways of transportation and the next 24hours was quite an experience....of course, anytime I decide to move a state or a country it means CRAZY EXPERIENCE is about to happen.
In a short few sentences the 5 hour jeep ride through out the mountains is well illustrated by the women throwing up out the window at least 6 times and 2 others joined in once. And when this happens nobody stops the car or pats a back or holds the hair back like we do. And the driver doesnt stop hitting the breaks and excelerating really hard while blowing the horn and going quickly around the turns on two wheels. We thankfully arrived in silugari and 8 of us still had our lunch in our stomaches.
Step 2 - the bus ride. We sat and waited in the station for our "Luxary sleeper" bus. Its funny in India, you are instantly live entertainment for the people. So the waiting time went pretty fast. Mindy and I sat down and announced "ladies and gentleman your eveing entertainment has arrived". Everybody watches us and our gestures and our animation. It is all fun and dandy until a child comes in, covered in dirt and has his hand right in your face and puppy eyes.
We get on the bus where they originally had us sharing a bunk bed...after we fix that situation we settle down to get ready for our 13 hour busride. When i was little there was this road that my school van would drive down sometimes. We called it the bumpity road. we loved it because we would bounce so high in the back seat, our head would hit the ceiling. We even had a song about it because it was sooooo much fun. Well, maybe its an age thing, but 13 hours of the bumpity road and i am suprise my bones are still in my body. It was quite a night.
Kalcutta was what I expected...dirty, poor, loud, and crowded. But now I am seeing more: smiles, glitter, great food, and survival. I havent really done too much here yet as I am waiting for Kurtis to come and we can share and explore it together. I am going to the airport in 3 hours to get him!!!!
The day we arrived we met a women Nitasha. OUr hearts and spirits quickly connected like old friends and she took me/us around and showed us the in s and outs of Calcutta and India Etticate. She is a yoga, meditation, massage and so on and so on teacher and has been here, in india, for many many years. It was great to have a strong women guide us around as we were dazed from our travels and swimming in a sea of people, breathing in stimulation of all sorts, and absorbing all the differnt tunes of INdia. We went and brought the appropriate dress attire for Inida, learned how to walk the streets, when to and not interact with others, who to and not give money to and most of all she reminded me the importance of putting out good positive healthy energy. One thing that is really obvious here in India is if you are patient, calm, positive, light, and strong the people and the country and the spirit embraces you amd you can ride the waves pretty well. Thaks Nitasha for reminding me:)
So much more to say BUT...the cafe is closing.
SOOOO Kurtis and I Varanassi for the Solstice and the Taj for xmas and then who knows....sounds romatic hey?!?!?!?!
Happy Holidays!
