Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, was a jewel of the British. There is some debate over the beginnings of the city. One theory is it was the British, but I think there is no debate that the British influenced it heavily with a number of buildings.
Get in
We took the day train, a first, as I was sick so wanted extra rest. It was meant to leave at 9:18am, but was 3 hours late. For the first time, we used the handy websites that track the train, so that we could spend more time reading the news on wi-fi. That meant we got in at 8pm instead of 5pm.
There is a prepaid taxi stand, so we got a cab there.
Eat, drink, sleep
We'd hoped to Couchsurf, but we're a bit last minute so didn't get any bites. Instead we made our way to Sudder street and checked out a few places finally landing at the Tourist inn. It's got some hipster touches, which I suppose is why they charge over Rs. 1500, but should really be avoided as it's not clean for the price tag. Other places were full, more expensive, or downright depressing.
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| Entry to Tourist Inn |
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| Stairs at Tourist Inn |
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| Hipster decor at Tourist Inn |
Raj's Spanish cafe: where Raj speaks Spanish perfectly and a solid scrambled eggs on toast, cappucino, and fresh juice can be enjoyed.
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| Scrambled eggs on toast |
What we did
For the first day, we decided to go to the Esplanade area as there are a number of noted building there, particularly governmental.
We wandered towards the Maiden, where there is a huge cricket field. A poor looking man was having a seizure and a younger man playing cricket came to the rescue, which was heartwarming.
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| Esplanade mansions near the Raj Bhavan |
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| Cool barbershop chairs are a thing here |
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| Admiring the stairs in Metcalfe hall |
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| More beautiful stairs in Metcalfe hall |
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| Jumped on the bus to avoid getting wet in downpour #2 |
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| These rainstorms are no joke |
The flower market was the last stop before crossing the Howdah bridge. Bring g the busiest bridge in the world and having g crossed it the night before, we jumped off the bus to see some flowers. It was one if the most chaotic places I've ever been. Men carrying huge, heavy baskets on there heads on narrow tights paths, yelling to get people to clear. Flowers being thrown hear and there.
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| Flowers being sold |
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| Rain coming down on the flower market |
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| Lots of flowers. |
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| Lots and lots of flowers. |
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| Space being used with odd shaped buildings |
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| Bauddha Dhsrmankur Sabha in Bow Barracks |
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| The Broadway hotel has an old-timey feel |
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| Broadway hotel and fruit |
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| Hindu Mutual building near Chandni Chowk metro |
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| Blue building from 1962 |
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| Hindustan building |
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| Colorful buildings near Makhoda masjid |
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| "Photo, photo!" she cried out. |
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| This little one was close behind and was ready to take the camera to look at all the photos |
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Mango lassi with cashews and raisins on top
One block east of Dacres food alley |
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| Stairs in Royal Insurance building |
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