We arrived remarkably refreshed after our epic train journey just in time to see the sun rise over
Kolkata's smog. Everyone warned us how awful this city was but in all honesty we rather liked it. Unlike any other city we've visited so far, there is some really lovely Victorian architecture although much of it is falling down, decrepit and hidden under decades of filth. The traffic is really lethal here so you have to watch every step, but from the magnificent post office to the cricket maiden to the Victoria Memorial building,
Kolkata is most enjoyable to wander around, although we drew the line at paying the extortionate fees to get into any of the sights!
The main tourist street,
Sudder Street, is pretty dire actually and so many waiters and hoteliers are surly little bastards. We escaped the bustle though by going to see "DOA" at the local cinema (crappy fight film about girls in bikinis doing
kung fu - excellent!) and planned our trip into the
Sunderban Tiger Reserve.
We made the mistake of having our first cane sugar juice and subsequently suffered our first bout of "Delhi Belly" or, as we have coined, "
Kolkata Belly"! We almost didn't make it to
Sunderban as we were ill the night before we had to leave, but decided that as we'd paid we should make the most of it.
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