So after a journey involving nearly being refused check in at Heathrow, 3 delayed flights, spending 45 minutes in Bangladesh and having to convince India immigration officers to let me back into India – I have finally arrived in Kolkata – the 4th largest city in the world by area. One taxi ride later – my first experience of an Indian road (let’s just say it was eventful) – and I got to be hotel to be reunited with Hannah. After much hugging we went out to dinner with the rest of the group to a rooftop terrace looking out over the city. There are 10 of us on the first portion of our tour from Kolkata to Delhi.
After a night of some much needed sleep this morning we headed out into the city. We saw the Howra bridge – a large suspension bridge over the Ganges that connects Kolkata and Howra. It is right next to the biggest station in India so is a very popular route into the city.
Afterwards we went to the wholesale flower market which was amazing – full of incredible flowers, lots of people and it smelled fantastic. After walking across the bridge and catching a ferry across the Ganges back to the city, Hannah and I had pancakes and lassi for lunch. We wandered around the streets drinking chai and looking for bargains.
This afternoon we visited the incredible Victoria Memorial – made of marble it was built to honour Queen Victoria (who never visited India). It cost about 10 million dollars to build – starting in 1906 and taking about 16 years. The building was never used for anything, but has become a major tourist attraction.
Currently making the most of free hotel wifi in the cool (it’s been about 38 degrees today). About to grab some dinner before boarding our first sleeper train to Kalimpong. Kolkata has been amazing – a buzzing city (especially after the cricket final), but am looking forward to going north for some cooler (hopefully) weather.
a wandering almond 