This was my third trip to India and was happy to have company in the form of my sister and brother in law. Not only that but we booked into one of the best hotels in the city, the Oberoi Grand. I have never indulged myself in such opulence but figured it was well deserved. I still can’t seem to get used to the extra excellent service provided by the Oberoi staff. They go above and beyond and this is one of my most wonderful experience staying in a hotel ever.
Our first evening in Kolkata can be described as being in the black hole of Kolkata. I never thought I would do this but I walked nearly 5 minutes to a temple in bare feet. The road was dirty, grimy and wet and I felt gross all the way but apparently people like to steal shoes so we had to leave them in the car. We walked to the Kali temple with a 3 meter high Kali statue. There was pushing and shoving and pulling on all sides and it was quite scary especially when the priest slapped my head with a blessing and red powder. Then it seemed like a long walk back to the car.
From the airport it was 90 minutes to the hotel but the ride was wonderful as we got to see the real Kolkata. Even the following morning tour was great. We visited the Victoria building, St John’s Church where the memorial of the 123 British men who died in a small room, called the black hole of Kolkata. This is where the saying originates from but actually it was the Indians who killed these British men and they are quite ashamed of it. This room doesn’t exist now and no one knows where it was but I got to see the memorial. Then we drove over Howrah Bridge which was quite an eye opener. I saw lots of street people living on pavements, under bridges, basically anywhere where there is space. And at certain times of the day the water from the Hoogley River is released into the drain pipes for the poor people to clean themselves. You can see them bathing and washing their clothes in the street from the drains.
Shopping here in India is very cheap. It’s unbelievably cheap for food, clothes and everything else. After a hard day of sightseeing and shopping I went back to the Oberoi to soak in their wonderful pool.
The next day we had another tour to visit Mother Theresa’s Mission which is where she stayed most of her life. Her tomb is there and her work is still being carried out. It was peaceful. Then the driver took us to College Street which is the longest and busiest street in Kolkata. Basically it’s a shopping street for the local college students to buy their course books and whatever else they need. It was pretty busy. The next stop was a place called Kumarthuli. This is the place where they build all the statues and deities. They use mud and straw and the most important ingredient, cow dung. Then they mould this paste over an already made model of straw. As the mud dries they shape it the way they want it to look. Then after drying it gets painted. Some statues are the size of a small house. It was amazing to see.
Then the rain started so off to the Oberoi we go and then for some last minute shopping before dinner.
The next day as I waited for my flight to start my trip to Bhutan I got to see Mo Farah win gold and Usain Bolt and his team set a world record for their relay.
I came back to West Bengal when I left Sikkim to visit Darjeeling. I did the usual tour and enjoyed the drive immensely. I rode the cable car which I thought was too long, 45 minutes. Then I went to visit the Tenzing Norgey museum but it was in the zoo. So I got to see the zoo as well and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute.
The last day before I left for the airport I had a 4am wake up call to go up Tiger ill to see the most beautiful sunrise of the Himalayas. But with the rainy season there was no chance it was going to happen. I even stayed till 5.30am and all I got was just white mist and fog. I headed back to the hotel missing out the monastery and one other place of interest of which I have no idea or want to know because all I want is my bed. I went back to bed for 2 more hours and then headed for the airport to leave for Kolkata.
I stayed at the Villa Everest which was run by a very old eccentric man with a black wig and a very black moustache. He was probably here when the British built the hotel in 1904. He had the most perfect queen’s English.
