Claire and Morten Travel Blog in India 2012: 15/03/2012

Today was a looong day of sightseeing. We knew there was lots to do and see over the next couple of days so we got up early at 7:00, showered and got ready for breakfast at 8:00 as agreed with the guys in the apartment complex. However, as we came down there was no breakfast started and they said that they wouldn't be ready until 8:30. So we decided not to bother and instead walked out and got a cab - a bit of a nuisance really as breakfast was included in the room - but never mind...
We quickly found a cab driver and were on our way to Kumartuli, which is the northern part of town where they create lots of terracotta and also sorts of colourful figures. We had a quick look around there before walking southwards towards the Howrah bridge, through streets filled with little shacks where peopled lived and had their shops - it was poor but didn't really look anything as bad as what we expected for Kolkata. Arriving at the bridge we got up unto it and were immediately advised that no photography was allowed - not sure why, the metal construct could hardly be of any military or significant value to spy the "next great design" from. We do find that a lot in India - a kind of meaningless paranoia about photography for things that noone really would be interested in in the first place - in fact, I strongly suspect that it has the exact opposite effect on human psyche to many; after all if you're told that there's something you cannot do or see then you will "crave" doing or seeing it. At least that's often how it works for me, if for no other reason than being obstructive and staring authority in the face - something, I'm sure will get me in trouble one day ;-)
Anyway, from there we walked down to BBD Bag and Dalhousie Square; the former named after the three people trying to assassinate the latter in the Writer's House next to the square. On the way we also got a couple of pictures of impressive buildings.
Then we walked further south on BBD Bag, saw the Esplanade and literally stumbled on the government-run Tourism Centre. There we booked an A/C bus trip around town for tomorrow - there's simply sooo much to see in Kalkota - it is by far(!) the most tourism-site-littered city we have come across in India. We have a tourist map, WikiTravel and the Lonely Planet to back our claim - all are packed full with stuff to see and do here - and we only got 3 full days to do it in before we head off to ITC Sonar Bangla to celebrate Paddy's day and relax in style!
Afterwards we finally found a Barrista where I had my first ever Caffe-Chai Latte (effectively a Chai Latte with an espresso shot) while Claire was more conservative and got a Chai Latte; both with cream on top - much to her loss as the one with espresso was fantastic! We also had a couple of sandwiches and a tomato soup to keep us going for the day - after all we had had nothing to eat until now.
Then we went to the Indian Museum, which plenty of people had strongly recommended that we see. And we must admit that it was definitely worth a couple of hours of our time! There was a lot of art (pictures, statues etc) and then there was the animal section with stuffed tigers, leopards, hippopotamus etc; there were huge skeletons of dinosaurs and even whales hanging from the ceiling - I even spotted a skeleton of a huge pre-historic Irish deer, much to Claire's delight of course. It was really impressive stuff - even for someone who hardly ever frequents a museum out of fear of boredom!
We then intended to go off to Mother Teresa's Mother House and were on our way down Park Street when we came across yet another Coffee house and we sat down for a couple of coffees - there I quickly did some research on the Mother House and was glad that I did! It turns out that the place is closed on Thursdays - the only day of the week! Crap! So, a backup plan had to be thought up and after a bit of further research while poring over the countless sights in our guidebooks and maps, while cross referencing them with the bus trip tomorrow, we decided to go and see the Botanical Gardens there. So after completing our coffees we quickly found a cab and were on our way there.
We were glad that we did - go there - it was very beautiful and very quiet too, with the sounds of loads of exotic birds (that we couldn't see in the trees - I wonder if they were real or just loud speakers?! ;-) We also saw the very famous Banyan tree there, which really was impressive given the 1.08sq.km. it inhabits - all from the same centre tree, which is now long gone after rot got it!
I decided to head to the (most filthy ever!) loo for a quick trinkle and on my way back out I heard something make a sound next to me - and when I looked down I literally jumped! Not a foot away from my leg was a green/yellow snake passing in under the concrete that I was walking on - unfortunately I did not have the presence of mind to grab the camera and take a picture before it was gone - but what a shock! Jez!
Afterwards we trotted around for another hour before reaching the exit where we got another cab and were on our way to the "City Centre" shopping mall, which turned out to be only 650m from our apartment - handy, that! ;-) There we had a look around and found the food area where we had some quick Indo-Chinese to eat. Afterwards Claire went shopping for clothes for Paddy's day with me dragging behind her - sigh...
However, I turned out to be the finder and chooser (and payer) of her top for Paddy's day - a really funky hippie-top that suits her really well.
Then at 19:00 we finally had enough after nearly 11 hours on our feet and walked back to the apartment.
There we asked them to make easy continental breakfast for 7:15 (I think we'll be lucky if this happens!) and to order a cab for us for 7:30 in the morning - as we need to be in at the tourism office by 8:00.
Afterwards we got up to the room and chilled out.
First impressions of Kolkata are that it is far from what you would have expected with all the "stories" you hear from people. Sure there is poverty and undoubtedly plenty of human (and animal) suffering - but the (mostly) central parts we have seen have actually been quite impressive - and it is actually very green and leafy - not at all what we initially expected when coming here. Well worth a visit - perhaps the best major city in India to visit? The jury is still out until we have experienced Delhi.