Didn't Mother Theresa teach you people any manners??
One. Last. Train. .......
... To Kolkata (Calcutta). We celebrated the start of Diwali on an overnight train that was a few hours delayed. When most of the train was asleep and I was reading, the loudest explosion of sounds erupted on one side of the train... it sounded like either rocks were hitting the train or parts of the train were falling off. We screeched to a halt, the power failed. (Mars woke up briefly, looked confused, and went promptly went back to sleep!). I wandered out to the washroom area of the car to find, as usual with anything of even marginal interest in this country, a group of men gathered around the open train door. They were casually chatting with a train employee who was attempting to fix the problem with a pair of pliers. Haha! As our guide would say "TII" - "This Is India". 3 hours later a real train mechanic showed up and we were on our way. I never did find out what happened, as every time I asked what was wrong, the men treated me like an injured fawn, always saying "no worry, ma'am, the train is ok, it is very safe!". We laughed as we got off the train and piled into the old Ambassador taxis (the only car made domestically in India, and something out of a 50's gangster movie!).
We arrived in Kolkata, in the state of Bengal. Not sure what happened to these people, but they completely lacked any of the warmth and jovial nature of the rest of their countrymen. Kolkata is a ROUGH city! On the way into the city the 3 cabs we were traveling in just stopped and didn't want to take us further... one took off... so after a yelling match with our tour guide that of course brought many onlookers and some casually interest police officers, we all piled into 2 cabs and went on a trip for an hour that should have taken 15 mins! On a wander around the city, Mars almost got chased down by a screaming ice cream vendor for paying with a slightly ripped 10 rupee note (about 20 cents CDN)!!
We went to see Mother Theresa's house (which was a bit strange - not sure what the message on her grave that day meant?!?) and the Victoria Monument (not interesting enough to actually go into!). Then, on our last night, after we had dinner at the Moulin Rouge (seriously! The Indian Moulin Rouge!) and bid our boring tour group adieu, Anjli, Mars, Sam, Chandra, and I hit the clubs to celebrate Diwali right! We went to a club called Tantra where they played a great mix of English music from about 5 years ago! We rocked out until the early hours... great night! Although, let it be known that I have discovered that it is absolutely impossible to feel sexy in a club while wearing flat shoes and a money belt. Impossible. It was sad to say goodbye to Chandra, Anjli, and Sam, but we hope we'll see them again in our travels :)
The next day, we flew economy domestic coach back to Delhi. The plane was packed... we spotted only 2 other white folk in the distance at the front. We spent our last days in Delhi (and in India) checking out India Gate (the Indian Arc de Triomphe), wandering through Lodhi Gardens (saw some great mosques and tombs that aren't frequented by tourists and those who are buried there remain unknown), visiting the Ghandi museum, and stuffing ourselves with as much yummy Indian food as we could before we had to leave (including a Maharaja Mac at McDonalds!! It was an indian spiced Big Mac with chicken instead of beef!) .
At the end of almost a month in India, we were very sad to leave... we really loved it there. We had grown to love the people, tolerated the gawking and spitting, and understand the meaning of the notorious "head-waggle" as a response to every inquiry. Namaste India!!!!!!!
... To Kolkata (Calcutta). We celebrated the start of Diwali on an overnight train that was a few hours delayed. When most of the train was asleep and I was reading, the loudest explosion of sounds erupted on one side of the train... it sounded like either rocks were hitting the train or parts of the train were falling off. We screeched to a halt, the power failed. (Mars woke up briefly, looked confused, and went promptly went back to sleep!). I wandered out to the washroom area of the car to find, as usual with anything of even marginal interest in this country, a group of men gathered around the open train door. They were casually chatting with a train employee who was attempting to fix the problem with a pair of pliers. Haha! As our guide would say "TII" - "This Is India". 3 hours later a real train mechanic showed up and we were on our way. I never did find out what happened, as every time I asked what was wrong, the men treated me like an injured fawn, always saying "no worry, ma'am, the train is ok, it is very safe!". We laughed as we got off the train and piled into the old Ambassador taxis (the only car made domestically in India, and something out of a 50's gangster movie!).
We arrived in Kolkata, in the state of Bengal. Not sure what happened to these people, but they completely lacked any of the warmth and jovial nature of the rest of their countrymen. Kolkata is a ROUGH city! On the way into the city the 3 cabs we were traveling in just stopped and didn't want to take us further... one took off... so after a yelling match with our tour guide that of course brought many onlookers and some casually interest police officers, we all piled into 2 cabs and went on a trip for an hour that should have taken 15 mins! On a wander around the city, Mars almost got chased down by a screaming ice cream vendor for paying with a slightly ripped 10 rupee note (about 20 cents CDN)!!
We went to see Mother Theresa's house (which was a bit strange - not sure what the message on her grave that day meant?!?) and the Victoria Monument (not interesting enough to actually go into!). Then, on our last night, after we had dinner at the Moulin Rouge (seriously! The Indian Moulin Rouge!) and bid our boring tour group adieu, Anjli, Mars, Sam, Chandra, and I hit the clubs to celebrate Diwali right! We went to a club called Tantra where they played a great mix of English music from about 5 years ago! We rocked out until the early hours... great night! Although, let it be known that I have discovered that it is absolutely impossible to feel sexy in a club while wearing flat shoes and a money belt. Impossible. It was sad to say goodbye to Chandra, Anjli, and Sam, but we hope we'll see them again in our travels :)
The next day, we flew economy domestic coach back to Delhi. The plane was packed... we spotted only 2 other white folk in the distance at the front. We spent our last days in Delhi (and in India) checking out India Gate (the Indian Arc de Triomphe), wandering through Lodhi Gardens (saw some great mosques and tombs that aren't frequented by tourists and those who are buried there remain unknown), visiting the Ghandi museum, and stuffing ourselves with as much yummy Indian food as we could before we had to leave (including a Maharaja Mac at McDonalds!! It was an indian spiced Big Mac with chicken instead of beef!) .
At the end of almost a month in India, we were very sad to leave... we really loved it there. We had grown to love the people, tolerated the gawking and spitting, and understand the meaning of the notorious "head-waggle" as a response to every inquiry. Namaste India!!!!!!!
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