Thursday, May 05, 2005
Kolkata (Calcutta)
The rest of the day in Mumbai was good. I made a phone call, a more impressive feat than it may sound and met a local who occupied us for an hour with his advice and wisdom while walking us through the blazing sun to a shop in which any purchase we made he was likely to make a commision. It wasn't a waste of time, more his than ours I guess, because we had been starving for some interaction that was not that of a beggar or hard-sell tout.
If Mumbai was a long walk through the desert, Kolkata is the refreshing glass of lemonade at the end of that long walk, that is, if I was allowed to have a glass of lemonade... They have stands all over selling freshly squeezed juice, adding water that melts from a giant cube of ice. Surely the enjoyment of a cool glass of unfiltered lemon juice is not worth the guaranteed gastro-intestinal discomfort later. Too bad, it looks so good.
Unlike Mumbai, it would seem that not everyone here is out to lighten us of our rupees. Lee and I spent the day in a huge public green space watching the kids play cricket (that game still doesn't make any sense to me) and walking around Victoria Memorial without being nagged at.
I'm still finding the heat somewhat oppressive, my face is red about ten minutes after we leave our room in the morning and stays that way pretty much all day. Lee has taken to calling me his 'little lobster' and there never was a more apt nickname. It certainly doesn't help to be wearing long sleeves and long pants in forty degree weather and I'm looking forward to Darjeeling's cooler temperatures. We head there by train tonight.
If Mumbai was a long walk through the desert, Kolkata is the refreshing glass of lemonade at the end of that long walk, that is, if I was allowed to have a glass of lemonade... They have stands all over selling freshly squeezed juice, adding water that melts from a giant cube of ice. Surely the enjoyment of a cool glass of unfiltered lemon juice is not worth the guaranteed gastro-intestinal discomfort later. Too bad, it looks so good.
Unlike Mumbai, it would seem that not everyone here is out to lighten us of our rupees. Lee and I spent the day in a huge public green space watching the kids play cricket (that game still doesn't make any sense to me) and walking around Victoria Memorial without being nagged at.
I'm still finding the heat somewhat oppressive, my face is red about ten minutes after we leave our room in the morning and stays that way pretty much all day. Lee has taken to calling me his 'little lobster' and there never was a more apt nickname. It certainly doesn't help to be wearing long sleeves and long pants in forty degree weather and I'm looking forward to Darjeeling's cooler temperatures. We head there by train tonight.
